Update: Closing Bank Accounts, the easy and the not so easy
Photo by Gaetan LeeAbout a month ago I wrote about how I had decided it was time to close some bank accounts. Consolidation of my unwieldy number accounts was overdue, as I simple did not have a need for many of them, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to juggle the requirements necessary to keep all of them maintenance fee-free. So I made a list of accounts that I wanted to close, and sent off signed letters to those banks requesting the account closure.
How did the effort go?
Easy: Bank of America
Bank of America made the entire process incredibly painless. To start with, they appear to be one of the few major banks to actually address this issue on their website, and even provide an address to send the request. From their Account Information FAQ:
We are sorry to hear that you want to close your account. We are constantly looking for ways to make banking work for you in ways it never has before and would like to know how we can make this happen for you. Please call us at 1.800.622.8731 or send us an email if we can assist you in any way.
To close your account, please submit your request in writing to Account Closure, FL1-300-02-07, 4109 Gandy Blvd Tampa Fl 33611-3401. Be sure to have all account owners sign the letter and tell us how you would like to receive your balance.
In my case, I wasn’t closing *all* of my accounts at Bank of America, simply one of the excess checking accounts. So I simply wrote to them asking that they close the second checking account and deposit the balance into my first account. Within days of mailing the letter, the change was visible online, and I received a follow-up letter shortly thereafter.
Nice and easy, as it should be.
Just as Easy: LaSalle Bank aka Bank of America
Another example of a painless process comes from LaSalle Bank — of course, LaSalle is now part of Bank of America, so this may not come as a surprise, but I figure its worth mentioning anyway. I had opened a savings and checking account at LaSalle last year as part of a nationwide promotion they were running, and now no longer had a need for the account, especially since they were now part of the Bank of America family.
I requested that when they close the account, to deposit the balance into my Bank of America checking account if possible, and if not, to provide me with a check. Apparently their system is not yet set up to make that transfer possible, so I quickly received a check in the mail for the balance of the amount.
Again, nice and easy, as it should be.
Annoying: Chase
Chase, on the other hand, decided to make things difficult. Just like at Bank of America, I was not actually closing *all* of my Chase accounts, just a second checking account, so I figured I would not run into much resistance. To start with, not only does Chase (not surprisingly) not mention account closure on their website, they do not seem to offer any mailing address to write in with customer requests. Luckily, the monthly account statements list a mailing address for the bank, which is where I mailed my request to close the accounts.
Flash forward about two weeks, when I get a response from Chase saying that they were unable to close my account because they could not verify my signature on the letter. Seriously? Something tells me they would have had no problem processing a check with that signature, but apparently it (plus account information, last four of social) doesn’t pass muster for closing an account. Their advice was that I either send them a notarized version of my signature or visit a branch. Until then, for my protection, they were keeping the account open. How nice.
Despite the fact that they made no mention of calling the customer service number, I decided to give the phone a try. After a brief hold time, the Chase representative was more than happy to close my account over the phone after I provided pretty much the same information that was in the letter. Of course, I briefly had to talk to their account closure/retention department, but they quickly processed my request after I told them I wasn’t closing all of my accounts, simply consolidating.
So in the end, Chase was perfectly willing to do over the phone what they wouldn’t do via the mail, despite the fact that I provided the same information.
Not as easy as it should be.
Why A Letter?
It might seem silly that I was so insistent on writing a letter instead of calling-in or going into a branch. However, I have a few reasons for doing this:
- I would prefer to have a written record of my account closure. Bank of America and LaSalle provided that to me, Chase did not.
- A template letter requires less time on my part, especially when compared with going in to a bank.
- I have always been under the (perhaps mistaken) impression that many banks penalize their representatives when people close accounts (and certainly don’t reward people for closures). Sending a letter allows me to at the very least avoid wasting a local branch agent’s time and perhaps spares them any sort of penalties for losing me as a customer.
- Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I don’t want to deal with the sales pitch. I can stand up for myself, I would just prefer to not have to.
Regardless, here I am now, many bank accounts lighter, and all the happier.
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