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| Screw Citibank | |
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| Topic Started: Feb 26 2008, 07:38:52 PM (556 Views) | |
| elsja | Feb 26 2008, 07:38:52 PM Post #1 |
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aussie pilot lover
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I know I've posted about the greatness of Citibank... but I take it all back. (US Citibank that is, Aussie CB is still alright). When I joined, the reason I joined was that i could withdraw money from ANY citibank ATM in the world=- free of charge. Well, not anymore. Just checked my statement and had charges. I was pissed- mostly because I drive out of the freaking way to actually FIND a citibank ATM that has cash in it (yes, some areas i can't even find one with cash!) The kicker is that I called stupid customer service... no hatrid here- but its the outsourced customer service in India and it seems that whenever I call India (whether it be for citibank or Quickbooks) they are ALWAYS fuckwits who can't help me. Ok- so this chick tells me they've always charged foreign fees. I said "NO YOU HAVEN'T" - trust me, I've been doing this in Australia since September and I've never been charged for using a citibank ATM. She then proceeds to point out that I was charged in December. I said "YEAH that WASN'T a Citibank ATM- that was at the airport" "oh yeah that's right" IDIOTS! So my free banking option is now out the window. Who was it that had BofA?? I can't remember. I'll go search the threads to find you because I want to know EXACTLY what you do to keep from getting charged!! Luckily I'm going home in a few weeks and I plan on switching banks ASAP. I plan on telling them that the # 1 reason for changing is because of their poor customer service every time I call and the fact that they keep changing their deals on me! They have NO appeal whatsoever anymore! |
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| SuperMindy | Feb 26 2008, 09:17:49 PM Post #2 |
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True Blue Mate
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I have bank of America but i can't seem to use it at any atm .. On Bank of America's website it says that i should be able to use my card at any westpac ATMs however none of them seem to accept my card. So i'm just forced to use my card at the shops only and paypal when i want to take money out of my account |
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Maine to Sydney since August 1st 2007 SuperMindy***Blog  | |
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| Nanook | Feb 27 2008, 03:12:59 AM Post #3 |
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True Blue Mate
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Does anyone use USAA banking? Since you can withdraw at any ATM in the US with no penalties I wonder if they extend that to Australia?! |
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| heykeith | Feb 27 2008, 03:59:49 AM Post #4 |
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Chinwagger
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i have the same worries about banking, even when i visit. every time i order even flowers from the local australian flower shop, i have to notify my bank beforehand or else the charge is denied. was thinking BofA but heck i dont know. |
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| trix | Feb 27 2008, 06:57:11 AM Post #5 |
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True Blue Mate
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I've always hated citibank. I would suggest you call your branch at home, ask to speak to a manager, and explain the situation, noting why you stayed with the bank. I bet those charges will get taken off! |
| Americans in Adelaide on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/group.php?gid=18654578423 | |
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| Angie | Feb 27 2008, 08:20:22 AM Post #6 |
True Blue Mate
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Just gotta love those outsourced sustomer service centers!! I have had to deal with tons of call centers since moving and I am ready to pull my hair out! Whats funny is when I start threatening cancellation and disconnect I am immediately but on hold and put on the phone with an Australian who solved my problem in under 5 minutes. Amazing! These days I just choose the options to disconnect my said service and suprisingly I stay right here in Australia. haha Anyways... I have mentioned B of A on serveral ocassions. It surprises me to hear that others have had charges or troubles using westpac atms because in the 4 years I have been here I have never once had any problems or ever been charged a fee. I accidently used a Bendigo ATM once, took out $20, and was charged an additional $10.50 in fees! (youch) Elsja... I sent you more details in PM. |
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| VenUpOver | Feb 27 2008, 08:36:35 AM Post #7 |
True Blue Mate
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Citicorp (and all their various subsidiaries) is one of a handful of companies I will never do business with again. They screwed us over several years ago -- we ended up losing thousands of dollars -- and their customer service reps ranged from unhelpful to downright rude. Two thumbs down...way down! |
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| JimmyD | Feb 27 2008, 01:37:26 PM Post #8 |
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True Blue Mate
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I'm confused. Why are you using an ATM to withdraw money from you American bank account while in Oz? Do you not have a bank account in Oz that your paychecks go directly to? Assuming of course that you are not working for a US company while in Oz. |
| "I don't think we have reached any kind of consensus coherent enough to be called a state of thinking." | |
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| AmyFromCO | Feb 27 2008, 01:37:46 PM Post #9 |
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True Blue Mate
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For Cash - You might look into a US Credit Union. Ours is AWESOME. They reimburse any ATM fees 3 times a month and give the actual exchange rate. For pretty much all other purposes, we use our Capital One Card which has Zero fees when converting currency. We've avoided the whole Aussie Banking thing with relative ease. We did have a few problems with Capital One when we first arrived. Once we got our Aussie Address on file with them, no more problems. ~Amy |
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| elsja | Feb 27 2008, 01:49:05 PM Post #10 |
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aussie pilot lover
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That's it exactly... I AM working for a California company so my money goes into my US account, I withdraw twice per month and deposit it straight back into my Aussie account. It's a pain, but at least it's been free up until now. It sounds like I'll go back to BofA since Angie can withdraw at any Westpac. |
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Elsja's Bloggity Blog | |
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| Angie | Feb 27 2008, 03:35:24 PM Post #11 |
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True Blue Mate
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Yep my situation is the same as Elsja's. I am employed by a California company that pays via direct deposit each week. For this company to transfer into an Australian account, we found would cost us both $40+ dollars in transfer and conversion fees. Neither of us were going to have any part of that so I kept my account with Bank of America open for them to deposit into. Now I just go to an ATM here and take the money out. It's a bit of a pain but it's free!!! |
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| SuperMindy | Feb 27 2008, 04:30:37 PM Post #12 |
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True Blue Mate
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I've got to figure out why westpac atms don't work for me.. I have tried 3 or 4 different atms |
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Maine to Sydney since August 1st 2007 SuperMindy***Blog | |
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| elsja | Feb 27 2008, 05:25:49 PM Post #13 |
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aussie pilot lover
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Mindy... when it asks if you want to withdraw from checking or savings, what do you choose? I find it annoying because here- a normal "checking" account is considered "savings." One time I tried to withdraw from my US account and accidentally hit "savings" and it didn't work. Gave me an error. When I re-did it and selected "checking" it did go through. It's the opposite for my Aussie account- I have to select Savings. Just a thought. |
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| shylady | Feb 27 2008, 05:59:55 PM Post #14 |
oldYank
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:headscratch: oh, hey... that makes sense! I wondered about that.... 
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"I could’ve turned a different corner, I could’ve gone another place... " ku,'09 | |
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| SuperMindy | Feb 27 2008, 06:13:17 PM Post #15 |
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True Blue Mate
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I choose checking. Because it is a checking account.. Hmm maybe i should try savings and if that doesnt work try checking again.. I'm gonna give it another go. I'll go to the atm outside the westpac branch and if i have a problem i'll ask someone who works there. |
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Maine to Sydney since August 1st 2007 SuperMindy***Blog | |
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| TerritorianTori | Feb 27 2008, 06:21:58 PM Post #16 |
It couldn't happen here
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Oh, I remember that. :mrgreen: Took me a few tries but eventually figured out that "cheque" was the option to use... because hey, it's a checking account after all. hehehe. However, if I tried to make an EFTPOS purchase at a store, it wouldn't work at all unless I hit "Credit"... it was a VISA check card. You can get a regular "chequing" account here in Oz if you want to use paper cheques (checks) like you do in the States, I've seen a few people use them at the store. But most people don't because paper transactions attract big fees. So they get a savings account instead and do everything by EFTPOS. We joke that the it should be called "spendings" instead. Good luck finding a bank that won't charge you fees. Seems like they're all just as bad as eachother in one way or another... :(( |
 South Texas to the Northern Territory - since 2004 I'm a huge fan of... Angry Video Game Nerd | The Big Bang Theory | Doctor Who | Pet Shop Boys | Yanks Down Under ~ Americans living in Australia Avatar by Sketch Shop Boys I don't do Facebook, sorry. | |
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| travanx | Feb 27 2008, 06:49:10 PM Post #17 |
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True Blue Mate
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I dont think you can beat the US HSBC's online savings account. Not only do they have ATM's everywhere, but they also refund the ATM fees whenever you use it. So I was in Vegas on the casino floor at one of those little charge you lots of money ATM's and they even refunded that charge. I also used this a lot in Paris, London, and all over Australia. Plus its one of the highest interest earning savings accounts you can get. I am looking into getting my account transferred over to an Oz HSBC savings account before moving over. In case you don't know, Citi is in some really big financial trouble. So it doesn't surprise me that they would start changing policies overnight. I am pretty sure most US banks are in this situation, the main ones doing this right now are Citi, BOA, and Wamu. So expect those to change their policies drastically. |
| job fell through, guess i wont be going anymore | |
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| dave2006 | Feb 27 2008, 08:03:57 PM Post #18 |
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True Blue Mate
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Folks seem to be very concerned about ATM fees but don't seem to care about the crap exchange rates most banks give you compared to other methods of moving money (perhaps its just a psychological thing? You can give me a crap exchange rate, just don't charge me any fees!?. For medium and large sums and for repeated transactions you may very well be better off using something like ozforex or xetrade. For transfers from us to australia, you can transfer via xetrade online. They can use ACH withdrawals to take the money out of your us account, no action on your part other than the initial signup process and filling out the online form. They do charge a nominal fee, but they give significantly better exchange rates than most banks, so that for anything more than a few hundred dollars, you will likely get more Aussie dollars for your us dollars than no fee bank ATM transfers. The transfer can take three or four business days, so does not have the instant gratification value of an ATM withdrawal and a bit of planning is necessary. ozforex gives slightly better rates than xetrade, but you have to initiate an outgoing wire from a US bank, so there is a bit more work involved. |
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| elsja | Feb 27 2008, 08:19:00 PM Post #19 |
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aussie pilot lover
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When withdrawing money, I get the daily exchange rate- it's never been crap. I always look it up here before I withdraw: http://currencies.news.com.au/money/converter.asp the rate i get always matches up. I never get a cruddy exchange rate (although the current rate is cruddy anyways). |
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| elsja | Feb 27 2008, 08:31:42 PM Post #20 |
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aussie pilot lover
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Ok so I found this really cool breakdown of the currency conversion costs- this is the best reference I've found: check out the webpage here: Bank Conversion fees  |
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