Associated Bank

I wish I could give zero stars… this is the worst bank I have ever dealt with and how I did it for eight months is just unimaginable. We all know banks are out to steal the money from all the little people, it is why they nickle and dime you with overdraft fees and fees for ever possible service you could ever want. I had Bank of America for 15 years and never had a problem, I am aware I was also grandfathered into a lot perks since I have had my account with them since my teenage years. I moved to Madison in September and was dismayed to learn there aren’t BofA branches in this city. I mean they are in Milwaukee and Chicago, why not Madison. Whatever… that is beside the point. So I opened an account with Associated. Big mistake. I knew from day one it would be a bad relationship for us. Cassidy helped me open my account at the State St. location, she has the unfortunate diagnosis of dyslexia and mixed up two numbers on my account so after it was opened my card wouldn’t work even though I had funds available in my account. I felt this was a sign and decided I would just close my account and go to UW Credit Union. However, Cassidy tracked me down. She literally walked down the street to my place of employment and had me sign papers for the correct bank account number. Not only is this unprofessional, but it is borderline stalking because she had previously called me five times and I never returned her call. Did she not get a hint? Clearly. I was dismayed to learn I would have a five BUSINESS day waiting period for every deposit I made for the first 30 days my account was open. I pissed about htis but figured I could deal with this for one month. It sucked, but I managed.
Fast forward to December, I had a big trip planned to Chicago and needed my funds immediately available. I was past the 30 day mark so I went to the ATM and deposited my work check. Went to make a withdrawal and was denied. Went inside the bank and was told that because I had used the ATM to make my deposit, I would not have access to my funds for five days… I guess I should have walked 10 steps inside to do my banking. After two hours of dealing with management with came to a compromise. I still didn’t have full access to my account, but I was given $ 500 in cash so I could eat on my vacation and pay for a hotel. So word of advice, never use their ATMs for deposits.
Now we come to March, I realized that 50% of the transactions I made never posted within 7 days on my account. So I always had to be hypervigilant about not over-​drafting my account. Fortunately I signed up for overdraft protection and signed a document authorizing transactions to be denied in order to prevent overdrafts from occurring. However, in March a restaurant transaction didn’t go through for 10 days, I had forgotten about it and when my automated student loan payment went through, I was charged with an overdraft fee because it posted before my usual work check deposit. I called to complain, talked to corporate, referenced the paper I had signed all to no avail. I knew I was going to have to close this account. However, I just wanted to finish paying for my wedding prep and then I would do it.
A few weeks ago I received a phone call saying they were changing the terms of my account and I had to have a minimum amount in my account or a direct deposit to avoid a monthly fee for using their shitty services. Originally I had to only use my debit card 10 times a month to avoid a fee. I knew it was nearing the end of my tumultuous relationship with Associated.
Now we get to today. I needed two things today, very simple. I needed to deposit a check and to have a cashier’s check made. Sounds simple, right? I couldn’t deposit my check because it was made out to me and my partner, but she isn’t on the account. I had to get her signature, even though she isn’t on the account. So I went to a different branch (after getting her signature) and made the deposit and said I needed a cashiers check. Of course that is an $ 8 fee. F&^K that. I’m done. I was livid and red in the face. I am normally mild mannered, but I had had it. Went to empty my account and close it, however can’t close it because I have one transaction pending. Go figure… it will probably take 10 days to clear. I am sure I will be charged a fee of some kind in those 10 days.
Moral of the story… avoid avoid avoid. Use credit unions. Or just use cash everywhere and screw the banks that steal from the little people to line the pockets of their executives.

1 star for Associated. Associated has screwed over myself and many others close to me time and time again. They always make sure to screw you over in any way they possibly can. Make a purchase and know it’s going to take 5 days for it to go through so you make another and get paid in two days? You better believe those transactions are going to go through early and your paycheck is going to go through late.
Constantly travel out of state and tell the bank not to flag your account if you go there? Welcome to your new world of pleading with the cashier to not take your card from you while you scramble around trying to make calls so you can pay for gas!
5 stars for the personal banker Kiefer! My boyfriend got me a gift through his account and we never got the purchase. We put up a dispute and got denied it. The company the gift was from apparently likes to lie and told us it was Associated’s fault (screw you, BlackMilk Clothing). That’s a long story, but after dealing with this issue for 10 months now, we decided to go in and meet with a personal banker until the problem was solved. Enter Kiefer. Kiefer spent quite awhile looking through their system and talking on the phone. He talked to a higher up that we had been dealing with. The guy tried to just tell him all the same things he told us, but that didn’t solve the problem. So Kiefer kept at it. After coming up with nothing, he suggested that maybe BlackMilk was lying. I wasn’t sure about it, but Kiefer gave so much proof that the bank wasn’t at fault I really didn’t think it was Associated. He signed and notarizing papers for us stating the bank didn’t have our money. He was so terribly nice through out the whole process and so legitimately wanted to help us. I was incredibly impressed and thankful.
(Also, to end the story above. BlackMilk was lying, tried to blame it on PayPal, and finally admitted they should send us money.)