My husband and I have been with Charter One for YEARS. Before they switched they were excellent. HOWEVER, since the switch they have been slowly getting rid of all the features that we have come to love about this bank. Their practices are deceitful. Their online banking is a joke. The "managers" who handle this are rude and do not even try to help. They even admit that the online banking is "wrong". We have recently had a "overdraft" and called because we showed we still had a positive amount. The woman on the phone was polite and agreed with us. The "manager" that calls back is rude, doesn't care about customer service and will try anything in their power to get any fees out of you. Even if they have to use deceitful means. We, after years of business will be moving all of our banking elsewhere. DO NOT USE THIS BANK IF YOU WANT TO KEEP YOUR MONEY! All they care about is selling products.

999unhappycustomer

USA

I'm not a big fan of Charter One Banking. I've used them for their basic, free checking account for as long as they have been in existence as Charter One (I'm not sure what they changed their name from, as they were probably in existence long before they became Charter One) Though I have no major praise, overall they provide what you would expect from a free checking account... A place to store your money. I do have a few minor complaints: 1. I doubt any bank is much different, but Charter One once cashed a check of mine for several thousand dollars that someone else had signed (not with my name, with theirs) mistaking it for their charter one check. That check lead to an overdraft which, while I was not charged for, it did subtract from my three free overdrafts that came with the account... I've never used them, but still they were nice to have just in case. They did not return the overdrafts that were caused by their error as they were given as a promotion (One of the reasons I signed up for the account, so that is dissapointing) 2. Their old rewards program (still available if you don't use GreenSense) was of no use to a moderate spender. It had a cost of $25.00 per year... Meaning if you didn't spend $2500 per year using that account you would lose money or barely break even if you spent a little more. I doubt those that hold a FREE checking account that bears no interest use it to spend much more than that.

wmorriso44

Ann Arbor, MI

I have been a Charter One Bank customer for the last 10 or so years; and I must say that I've never had the quality service anywhere else that Charter One has provided.  They are friendly and truly committed to their customers.  I have a checking and savings account with Charter One and have always had easy access to my funds both in the bank and online.  Any time I've had a question about my transactions the customer service reps have been prompt and respectful.  Truly not a trait you see with many banking institutions today.  And they really look out for your best interest.  When I lost my debit card, they called several times to make sure that purchased made were by me and not someone else.  And when I made a larger than usual purchase with my card they called to verify that it was me who made the purchase since it wasn't common with my spending habits.  This is a great banking institute that I would recommend to anyone.

kyleelietzke

Blissfield, MI

I recently changed banks due to Charter Ones deceptive practices. If you have a credit/debit card with them, make sure you opt OUT of overdraft protection! This still does not save you from paper checks bouncing at a 37.00 fee. They take it upon themselves to pay the check, then hit you with the 37.00 fee. Congress recently passed a law that lets the consumer opt out of overdraft protection, but, they are tricky and have found ways to still screw you. Before legislation had passed, I was constantly arguing overdraft fees and the way they clear debits/credits and checks. Heres their scam. They will hold onto several credit/debit purchases sometimes up to 10 days, when they should go through the same day. They wait until something big, like your mortgage check comes in, then, they pay the mortgage check and leave you overdrawn on all of those debit/credit transactions, usually for items such as 10.00 in gas, a pack of cigarrettes, even a candy bar. Every item then gets charged to your acct. 37.00 EACH! During my arguments with the branch manager, I told her I knew thats what they were doing and she basically told me I was crazy. We have no way of knowing what you used your card for until the merchant sends it in, which can take up to a week. Thats a big fat lie, because now that the new law went into effect, I can use my debit/credit card ANYWHERE and it immediately posts to my account. So, that proves my point that they know the transaction is there, they know how much it is for and they hold them hoping you are not right on top of every penny you have spent. I have online banking so I am constantly checking my acct. and I have also noticed that a check can clear on say Oct. 20th, but they will change that date to suit their goal of overdrawing your acct. This happened to me last week. I had written a check to ComEd for 75.00. It cleared on Oct. 8th. I put the X in my checkbook that day, then, the night before my wifes direct deposit went in at midnight on the 15th, they switched the clear date to the 14th and it overdrafted, another 37.00 fee. So, that was the last straw, I immediately went to Chase bank and opened a checking acct. and as a reward, they put 125.00 extra into my acct. One more thing about Charter One. I had the rewards program in which you use your debit/credit card and receive points redeemable for merchandise. My daughter wanted an i pod, we had the points so I ordered it. 5 weeks later, I receive an E mail saying, we no longer carry the i pods. My points were reimbursed, but we can't find anything else thats worth ordering, another scam. I asked, why then do you still advertise 6 different styles of i pods? I have yet to receive that answer, its been a few weeks now, I won't hold my breath....

Minuteman1

Hometown, IL

Charter One was a great bank years ago. They have been bought out by RBS and have become the worst bank ever. All of their fees are the highest in the industry. Policies have been changed to try to charge as many fees for everything under the sun that they can. Payroll checks are even on hold for 3-5 business days until they clear (so if you live pay check to pay check your in trouble). Everything is made to be as difficult as possible. Everyone that I have dealt with even at the call center are rude and obviously have not been tought how to talk to customers. This is a bank that is interested in bringing you in and squeezing as much money out of you as they can before you finally get mad and leave. I am switching to 5/3 and they are great so far. People are freindly, fees are fair, and policies are customer freindly. For example, If you are going to overdraft and need to cover something you can log online and do an advance ($10 per $100) to cover the account to prevent overdraft. When you put money in the ATM up to $100 is available immediately. They even have a lot of branches so your not driving 20 minutes to get to the bank. Bottom line do not do business with Charter One. Any bank but Charter One.

danschuk

Elyria, OH

My husband and I have been customers with **Charter One Bank** for several years.  We are very happy with their banking service, however, we do not recommend their mortgage services ([CCO Mortgage][1] ).  **Charter One Bank **locations are in the Midwest - Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio.  Online accounts are also available. We have a non-interest bearing **checking account**, which is **free**, has **no minimum balance requirement**, and has **unlimited check writing**.  My husband also has his own personal checking account and we often use the online transfer feature to easily move funds from one account to the other.  We have had excellent customer service experience with the local bank branches, including the one time in which my math error resulted in an overdraft.  The employee who helped me was kind enough to remove the overdraft fee and help me figure out where my mistake was made.  We do not have a savings account with **Charter One Bank**, due to the typical nature of bricks and mortar banks not having a very good interest rate.  We chose to have our savings account with online banks such as [ING Direct][2] and *E*trade*. The **Charter One** website is easy to use and has several account features including account summary, transfer options, and easy to set-up bill paying. **Charter One Bank **offers services for personal, small business, and commercial uses.  These include mortgages, home equity loans, mutual funds, IRA's, student loans, insurance, online investing options, etc.  The website is pretty informative about these products and it's easy to contact customer service if you need additional information. Overall, my husband and I are happy **Charter One Bank** customers and will continue to use their banking services.       [1]: http://www.viewpoints.com/CCO-Mortgage-review-3d386 [2]: http://www.viewpoints.com/ING-Direct-Savings-Account-and-CDs-reviews

mindyvol

Undisclosed