I'm done Union Federal Bank... Sky Bank... now Huntington Bank

I’m done Union Federal Bank… Sky Bank… now Huntington Bank

This week I tried to log in to my Union Federal Bank account. It’s not Union Federal Bank anymore, Sky Bank purchased them. Sky made the decision to change the online banking address but keep the same online banking system. It was a little bit of an inconvenience, but not much. Now Huntington comes in, changes my banking features, and simply cuts off my online access!

When I try to sign up for online access, it keeps telling me my ATM password is wrong… kind of silly since I used it before and after I attempted to sign up. Being the nice guy I am, I decide I’ll use their Contact Form to let them know that I’m irritated (you just DON’T mess with people’s money!). Only one problem… no matter what I write, the form won’t submit. Check out the nice error messages:

Thanks Union Federal Bank, Sky Bank, Huntington Bank… I’m done! I figure if you can’t handle a simple form posting, you probably shouldn’t be handling my banking.

The irony is that I started this account online and never actually stepped foot in a bank for quite a while. At the recommendation of my friend, Randy, I’m opening an account at Everbank.

About Douglas Karr

Douglas Karr is the founder of The Marketing Technology Blog. Doug is President and CEO of DK New Media, an online marketing company specializing in inbound marketing leveraging social media, blogging, search engine optimization, pay per click and public relations. Their clients include Angie's List, Mindjet, Webtrends, ChaCha and many more. Douglas is also the author of Corporate Blogging for Dummies. If you're interested in having Douglas speak, please propose an event!

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Note: Comments are welcome from real people, not companies. Most comments with links will be deleted.

http://modifoo.com modifoo

I just had a similar experience when looking for accounting software. I wrote a message to one provider using their form. There I got the error message “you have to enter a valid e-mail address in the phone number field”. No kidding. (And I even had entered correct details.)

In the end I just gave up.

I wish they would use some money on testing their forms. Not only do they miss a chance (after all if someone goes to the trouble of filling out a form, they are a hot lead), but they turn an interested potential customer into an annoyed customer.

(If then you are doing your best at hiding your e-mail address and saying that one should use the on-line form, you are not helping things, either.)
Jason

Amen brother!! I’m a former Sky Bank and now Huntington customer

I only have a few words. HUNTINGTON SUCKS!!! We had a lot of problems even beginning to access our online banking. Then when we finally did, I wish I really hadn’t. Online banking with Huntington is confusing, irratic, and not very accurate. Charges show up only to disappear, and then through the magic of banking post to the account in a different amount.

Sky Bank was nice and predictable, what I spent actually showed up on the online banking in correct amounts-and stayed. It got to the point where I didn’t even have to keep a written register-it was that good.

You really hit the nail on the head. If Huntington can’t even figure out “simple form posting” how are we supposed to trust them with our money?
- http://marketingtechblog.com Douglas Karr
  
  I opened my Indiana Members Federal Credit Union account earlier this week and my direct deposit was up within two business days! I did look seriously at Everbank but the minimum balance was a little steep. No more banks for me!
  
  I’m going to close my Huntington account tomorrow… and I still never received my credentials to use their online banking.
- http://Iagree amy
  
  I had the same problems with Huntington – Sky was wonderful…now, I’ve been charged various fees for atm & debit card use and keep getting overdraft fees because things are posting like 3 or 4 days later…and I’m loosing track of what is going on in my account! I am in the process of moving my car loan and my checking to a credit union.
  - Marge and Shawn Olson
    
    Since Sky has changed to Huntinton, they are holding all our deposits (even cash) for up to 7 days! They forced a bouce when the money should have been there and charged $38 over draft and $7.00 a day for 3 weeks…didn’t call, send a notice, NOTHING! and we had no responce except “Sorry, that’s our Policy” and we were our $250! Needless to say, we closed the account. We have a business account with them too (not for long) and they are holding our deposits again, 7 days now. I’m starting to think there’s a conspiracy
    to force check bouncing. I would like to rally all who have experienced something similar and get a lawyer involved.
    I know many voices are louder than one! The financial Rape has to stop somewhere! Who’s with me?
    - Marilyn
      
      I deal with huntington, and you’re right…there is something going on there. I had my account changed so a certain company could not draw my funds out and they still gave out my new account to the very company that I complaint about.
      Yes I would love to file a suit charge against them scammers…
      
      Marilyn
    - jeannie
      
      you know we had the the same experiance, we were with the same bank since it was bank one (i think thats what the name used to before any way it was about 14 years. loved it UNTIL huntington came inlto the picture. now i have a hard time making head or tail of the statment. and you know we have 3 accounts with them. we would change in a min. but we love all the girls that work there, they would do any thing to help us they could. one time we had 5 checks over drawn. yes we had the money there, anyway they helped us get over draft money. God bless them. but let me explain, we had kinda done this ourself. we decided to transfer over to another acc. the money that was in one acc. to the other an when checks came in there was no money in that account. but———- when we tranfered we had an over draft protecting of $55o some dollars. so of course we had to put the back an when we did there was no money in the overdraft to tranfer. i have not presuied this but i will because i need to know.
- Andrea
  
  Screw Hunting Bank. I miss Sky bank. I have had nothing but problem after problem with this rip off bank. I admit I dont exactally write down everything that I charge, but Im smart enough to have a general idea of how much money I have in my account.
  
  1st problem….. Their overdraft fees are freeking outrageous. Skys were only what… 32 something? This bank has a sliding scale.. my most recent charge was 37.50. 5 dollars and 50 cents more than Sky’s. That extra 5.50 adds up when you have multiple overdraft fees.
  
  2nd…. Im sure a lot of banks do this (never had a problem with Sky) but if I have small charges, they ALWAYS have to take the larger charge first to overdraft the account and screw the customer. Their explanation “Oh, well some places post faster than others….” funny how its always the charge thats going screw you that comes out first.
  
  Whatever. Im so upset with Huntington.. I hope a lot of their customers see how horible this bank’s system is.
  
  Thanks Huntington… You’ve runined my little girls Christmas because you like to screw people over. Have fun all you rich CEO’s with my 150 dollars that means shit to you.
  
  Im done with this bank. Please tell your family and everyone you know to never even consider that Money trap as their bank.
  - Marge and Shawn Olson
    
    I got the shaft in over drafts too! They have been holding our deposits for 7 days now! I’m trying to run a business and they are trying to run me into the ground! This is the second time they are trying to force us to bounce! I’m ready to team up with a lawyer…I’m tired of getting financially raped.
    Who’s with me?
  - Amanda Schrotenboer
    
    If you kept track of your account and didnt spend money that wasnt in you account you wouldnt have a problem! Crazy idea but try it
    - Victoria
      
      I’m with you. I’m a teller for Huntington and you wouldn’t believe how many stupid, hillbilly Sky customers try to spend money they don’t have and have the nerve to get pissed at Huntington because they are too dumb to keep a register!
- David Wesner
  
  Ditto, my experience with Huntington. But you haven’t covered half of the problems they are generating. Their sloppy accounting is mysteriously always in their favor. They do not return calls, and
  communicating with them is nearly impossible. I also was satisfied with Sky Bank, but that’s in the past. Good comment.
Angela

Hear this…Fiance goes into the bank to deposit his CASH. They give him the receipt and they call today to see where the money is. They can’t locate the $750 CASH he deposited. They say unless he can provide a receipt number there is no record of the money going in. My Question….what happened to that cash? There has to be an extra $750 SOMEWHERE. Now I get to go home and turn the house upside down to hopefully find that receipt. I saw it last night but with a toddler running around the house…who the hell knows where it went.
John

I hate Huntington and their hidden fees for my free checking account. They charged me .25 cents for everytime I use my pin number at any store where sky bank never charged a fee until huntington took over. they suck and I will be switching to a bank who doesn’t have hidden fees for their customers. national city bank I think will be better for me. huntington sucks and those b******* can go **** themselves
- Nicole
  
  To John……….UMMMMM, enjoy National City Bank, which charges $.75 to run your card with a PIN!!!!!!!
Robert

I made 2 house payments on 09-23-2007 one for sept and the other for Oct. with SKY BANK.
I get a letter in the mail today from Huntington stating they are going to forclose If I dont make two (2) payments by the 1st of November, I tolsd them I made 2 at SKY… they say they have no record
edward

this is a twist a happy one i hope. i had a mortage thru bank one that was purchased by chase but then was sold to franklin corp which was in turn skybank . i had too go bankrupt and still afterthat ; all three are still fighting over the forecloser.im a new huntington customer who still hopes for recovery not departure…
nicole haveman

I had my unfair share dealing with huntington fake!!! and they can go to hell!!!!! What’s up with those overdraft fee’s? How can they do this to their own customers who make them a thriving business to begin with!!! Instead they reverse checks you deposit and hit you with overdraft fees, confuse you with their online banking system, charge you for overdraft fee’s when your still in the positive, and fee us to death with their new overdraft charging policy! I have never had problems with a bank before until they switched to huntington FAKE! Who the hell can afford three hundred dollars in overdraft fee’s? I know I can’t cause that’s what they did to me!!! Whoever reads this I hope you NEVER bank with them!!! Stay away from those money grubbing a-holes!
- Marge and Shawn Olson
  
  You got it! They have been holding our deposits for 7 days now,
  just waiting for us to bounce! Then the money suddenly appears,
  ass we found out with our other account. $38 overdraft, then $7
  a day for 3 weeks and they never called, sent a letter, notice,
  NOTHING! We had to pay $250 just have our credit shot and we closed the account! Sky was nice. I see how Huntington bought every bank out and took over…they financially raped everyone along the way! I think alot of people that have been taken advantage of should unite and get a lawyer, I’m ready! Who’s with me?
  - Tonya B
    
    I am a single disabled mother of 3 school age children, and they got me for $162.11 for my overdraft of $1.61—I don't know how I am gonna pay my rent this month, as I am on a fixed income……the @$$hole at the bank just said there was "nothing he could do to help me", and for me to "have a nice day"….like that was gonna happen after I just got robbed!!
- alex
  
  People that complain about fees can not balance an account. I have been at many banks in my life and huntington has the best online banking. their overdraft fees are the same as everyone else and their processing of items is like every other bank. I can not stand when I see people complain about overdraft fees because they can not add and subtract or READ!!! IF you open up a checking account and do not read the disclosures it is YOUR OWN FAULT!!!!
  - http://www.ourstockmarketjourney.blogspot.com/ Alisa
    
    I have had several conversations with my bank concerning my account. Based on my experience, they purposely hold back transactions until the processing of them results in fees and over-draft charges to the account. On more than one occassion, deposits where not credited in a timely manner. (2 weeks to credit an account?) Transactions mysteriously get reversed (I have taken before and after screen shots of my account). And then they have the nerve to charge outrageous fees… for doing absolutely nothing!
    
    When I asked for an explanation of this strange activity, the reps. try to explain why these things happen. In a nut shell, I concluded form their explanations that there is activity that occurs that the customer does not “see” on the account. But feels it in their wallet.
    
    This is ashame and I hope that more people become aware to what banks can do to take your money!
Jim F.

STAY AWAY FROM HUNTINGTON!!! And if you still have an account with them close it ASAP!

Here’s my nightmare, maybe someone else will get saved from the same. These stupid idiots charged me for 3 overdraft fees when I still had a positive balance. They said it was because I had 6 pending checkcard transactions and that they held those funds which made my balance exceed for the 3 checks. OK I can live with that, my electronic deposit hadn’t hit yet, my fault I’ll pay the penalty…… but wait…. then they charge me 6 overdraft fees for the checkcard transactions. Now if your keeping track here they bounced the 3 checks because they HELD the money for the pending checkcard transactions.
I spent an hour on the phone with them arguing my point with collections that you can’t hold money for a transaction to make others bounce and then charge me overdraft fees for the ones you HELD money for. If you held the money, then they were covered and could not have bounced. This stupid &^%&^ kept on arguing until I told her flat out that “you can’t have it both ways and that trying to use “New math” and rearrange numbers to confuse people to get it both ways is flat out FRAUD”. Suddenly upon hearing that word she immediately began to back peddle and “as a courtesy to me, this one time would refund the 6 overdrafts” Hmmm, odd that it wasn’t until I used that word that she was willing to refund them. I’ll be there Monday morning with cash in hand to clear this up and close my accounts, and I’ve already got a call in to an attorney. Just because they got caught trying to scam and are going to refund it doesn’t make them any less thieves, because if I had not called BS on it they would have committed fraud and taken the money
Anyone else out there who deals with them, check your statements carefully because they’ll screw you twice sideways if you don’t watch them and call BS when they pull it. They are scam artists of the worst kind. Smart money is to get away from Huntington as fast as you can!
- Marge and Shawn Olson
  
  I’m with you on the Lawyer! If you need back up, let’s get a “posse” of financially raped victims and nail Huntington Bank to the wall!
  They have been holding our deposits for 7 days now and are trying to force us to bounce again (with our business account, they already did with our personal! $38 OD and $7 per day for 3 weeks and didn’t call us , send us a letter, NOTHING!) We are a small business and honest at that! These large, faceless institutions that are supposed to take care of OUR MONEY, NOT THEIRS, which they should be so honored, are yet trying to shadily pick-pocket us legally with their “policies” . I’m not buying it! This is financial rape at it’s best, and nothing else! Lawyer! Who’s with me? I’m ready!
http://marketingtechblog.com Douglas Karr

The saga continues with me as well. I visited my local branch to complain I didn’t have access – so they provided me with the 1-800 number to get assistance.

I called the 1-800 number and in order for them to assist me, I needed to provide my last deposit. “I wish I knew, but I can’t login!”, I said. After 45 minutes on the phone, I was told to visit a local branch AND call the 1-800 number so that my identification could be validated.

I recognize the importance of them validating who I am… but THEY DID THIS! Not me! I provided all my personal info… name, address, bank card, account number, phone, etc…. no go.

I actually had to make a deposit to the account so I can call them in a week and tell them what the deposit was! Ridiculous.
- Nicole
  
  Douglas………Wake up! The bank has security measures in place FOR A REASON! So what if you know your name, address, and phone number? That’s info any Joe Schmoe can obtain. And your bank card/acct. number? OK, let’s say your card or checkbook gets stolen………would you be happy if Huntington verified the thief using that information and relinquished YOUR account information so that they knew how much was in YOUR account, and could make transactions using YOUR money? I don’t think so. The amount of a recent deposit is something only YOU should know, and if you don’t, I have two words for you……….CHECK REGISTER!
  - http://marketingtechblog.com Douglas Karr
    
    Hi Nicole,
    
    I think you missed my point – they are the ones that disabled my access, not me. I’m not complaining about security, I’m complaining about their ineptness in locking me out of the account and then providing such and inconvenient means of getting back in.
    
    Doug
http://www.sloaneirwin.com Sloane T. Irwin

I’ve been banking with Huntington for two years and am 21 years old. At the end of this month I had planned to set up a Roth IRA and a money market account. In January I’ll be buying a brand new 450,000 house. By June I will have purchased a 3-business, 5 apartment building in a major metropolitan area. Given that I’m 21 years old, I have a LOT of banking left to do in my life. Until yesterday, I was a potential lifelong customer of Huntington Bank, I’d never had a problem, other than their online bill pay feature being a little confusing.
I got a letter in the mail yesterday saying I was overdrafted. I logged in, and I see 17 overdraft charges, totaling 522 dollars. The first three were charged before my account was listed as NSF. I called Huntington, spoke with three different very rude people, would up meeting a bank manager this morning, only to have him call me a few minutes ago and say, “Well gee, sorry, all the charges stand and we don’t really care about you as a customer”. I found it amazing that on the way to the bank this morning to meet with him there was an ad for Huntington on NPR that said, “Huntington, a business investing in people”. Investing my ass, a more apt slogan would be “Huntington, stealing money from our clients through blatant fraud since 1856″.
- Marge and Shawn Olson
  
  I’m getting the shaft as well. I’m a small business and trying to get by. Huntington has held our deposits for 7 days now and must be trying to force us to bounce again! (They’ve already done it with another account. $38 OD and $7 a day for 3 weeks!
  Didn’t call, sent a letter, NOTHING! We gave them $250 just to close that account!) I’m ready for legal intervention! I’m tired of Faceless Institutions like Huntington, financially raping me and my family! I think this is worthy of a multiple lawsuit. Who’s with me?
Brandon B

I had been with Sky (Mid Am at that time) since my first job at age 16. I was very pleased with their service and never had a single complaint in the 10 yrs I did my banking with them. In the short while since Sky became Huntington I have had several issues, the most important one being a confusing loss of about 300 dollars in insufficient funds. Upon talking with Huntington, the only conclusion to be made is I must close my account because those people are terrible. In a nutshell I felt strongly that they had made a mistake and they were not willing to budge even a little to help out someone who thinks $300 is a lot of money being taken for something that made no sense (same as peoples’ previous posts above). They were rude and I am leaving that —— bank. It almost makes me sad because over the years Sky always worked with me and were very customer-oriented.
- Marge and Shawn Olson
  
  I here that…Sky was always very personal, friendly…
  Huntington is just another Faceless Finacial Rapist to come along and try to bleed every single person who entrusts them with the money they work for, which they should be greatful that they were betowed the honer! It was never their money! But they crept in under the radar and bought out an exsisting good company and the pick pocketing continued. I am ready go for legal intervention for all those affected by this financial sodomy!
  I know there are thousands of others out there…Who’s with me?
http://HshouldstandforHORRIBLE amy

I never had a problem with Sky Bank – but with Huntington I do…transactions post like 3 or 4 days later, I’m getting hit with transaction fees for debit use and $4.00 foreign atm usage fees. I NEVER had those fees with Sky. I kind of run pretty tight between pays – but when they don’t post things timely I loose track of my account and I’m now getting overdraft fees. But I’ve also caught them charging overdrafts when I have a positive balance! AND they have been posting withdrawls before posting deposits – I am SO Frustrated! I am in the process of switching banks to a credit union – but what a hassle that is – I use my checking account for a lot of automatic pay deals…and something will probably get screwed up in the process!
Brian

I am a former Sky/Huntington employee

First off, I quit due to this merger…..if you think they are bad as a bank imagine them as an employer

In terms of onine banking, i still have my personal account there and think their online banking is better….but thats just my opinion….i to hate the 25 cent pin purchase fees but thats life i guess….i probably should care now that I am unemployed

Now lets go to the “huntington sucks” people…..did I like them? no! but banks are banks….all banks are the same….if they dont get you with 25 cent fees they’ll get you another way….banks are a business, they are in business to make money…point blank…..you know how many clients i talked to that said “national city sucks, chase sucks, bank of america sucks, etc”……”huntington sucks” because people hate change but in reality, banks in general suck

Now in terms of NSF fees and verifying your last deposit….here is a great quote to live by “It is not the banks job to know how much is in your account, it is yours”…..people, its called a checking account register….you make a purchase you subtract it, you make a deposit you add it….i know how much is my account right now….i dont care what my atm receipt says or my online banking balance says…..those balances are all pulled from different sources anyway….keeping a register is your responsibility, so to those who dont and get fees, i do not feel bad for you whatsoever…esp. to those who use their debit card everywhere (i.e. $3 at Mcdonalds, etc)…its your money keep track of it…banks are there for you to take advantage of…online banking should solely be used to catch fraud/id theft quicker and to balance your register quicker then every month

now after that, heres a hint:
Lets says you have $50 in you account and you write 3 checks….one for $60, $10, $5….say all these try to clear the same day…banks are set up to pay highest to lowest (thinking the highest is more important)…this means, it will try to pay the $60 first causing the $10 and $5 to NSF also causing 3 NSF fees when in reality the $5 and $10 would have cleared and the $60 wouldnt anyway but at least you would only get 1 NSF fee…..tell the bank manager its check sequencing error, they refund your nsf fee 99%

Hope that helps
- Marge and Shawn Olson
  
  Ok…We made a deposit 7 days ago, still not showing in our account…not the first time…deposit goes in…5 days later, not in our account, bounce!, then suddenly, only minutes later, there are our deposits, after our money has been held hostage to force a bounce that should have never happened, (Never with Sky…EVER!)…Either the CEO of Huntington and his affiliates are in fact the dumbest people to own a business, OR a huge scandalous “money-grubbing ” is financially raping those who trust them as an institution that is there to watch over and protect OUR money, not pick pocket us with a smile!
Keely Jones

When I contacted the Indiana Attorney Generals office, they advised that Huntington is a national bank. This means that the federal Comptrollers office is the mediator that can help. The web-site that was given to me was: helpwithmybank.org. Hope this helps as well. Banks are banks but this is still America and we still have free legal help.
agitated too

I too, have been hit with numerous nsf charges, due to huntingtons policies. It seems, that withdrawls can be made, and then can post within minutes, to my pending transactions. Why then, can’t my deposits, do the same? I run a business, and regularly deposit checks, from long standing area business’s, local, state, and federal government agencies, as well as checks from other individuals with sky/huntington accounts. All of these transactions, have taken 24 hours to clear, as is policy, however, none of these have ever “bounced”. So why can’t I see these transactions, in my pending transactions? It would appear, that huntington could supply the information, but chooses not to. The tellers see it. It really irks me, that once it is in their brick and mortar place of business, that they choose not to credit it to your account, untill their good and satisfied, that they won’t get stuck with a bad check. (Which, i’m sure, they do charge another fee for.) I do keep a personal register. My deposits go in that day; I shouldn’t have to reconcile my check book, but once a month. This is impossible to do with huntingtons on-line banking. It appears to me that huntington prefers to not show the deposits, so that they can claim nsf’s. Yes, I also think it’s fraud and worthy of a class action lawsuit.
- Marge and Shawn Olson
  
  I agree! I’m going through the same thing with my business!
  They have not shown deposits in our account for 7 days now!
  I feel they are trying to force yet another bounce (as they did in another account…$38 OD and $7 a day for 3 weeks without a call, notice letter, NOTHING! We closed the account with nothing left and had to hear “Sorry, that’s our policy”). I too feel that Legal action should be taken. This is nothing but yet another financial institution “financially raping” an endless list of people and businesses entrusting OUR MONEY to a bank that should feel honored to be there for us, but crept in and took over without any warning. Legal Action? Who’s with me?
http://hunnigtonsucks kathy

Well, I have been with this bank forever . I live in salineville and this bank was formally known as citizens banking co. When I say for ever lets say over 30 years. Citizens banking became sky bank and sky bank became hunnington. Salineville was the birth place for citizens and started with onr bank and I know that the man who started this bank ( god rest his soul), would be appauled to see what his bank has turned into today. I wasn’t to happy to see our little bank turn into sky bank, but at least skybank was an honest bank. HUnnington on the other hand with all there hidden fees and bull**** overdraft fees. I have talked to so many people in my smalll town that have had the same problem with hunnington. So many people can not be this wrong , Hunnington system is messed up. W ell I have had enough I am closing my account with them . When you think about , who does all the fees and messed up system they have , that makes you have overdraft you shouldn’t have hurt anyways, I’ll will tell who thet hurt people that can’t afford it !! People who have a lot of money don’t have to worry about being caught in their trap. All I can say is they suck!!
- Marge and Shawn Olson
  
  I understand everything you’re saying… In Ohio, Sky was recently bought out by Huntington… They have taken us for at least $250 and counting… Overdraft fees, daily fees that they didn’t notify us about…Rally up all those in your community that have been financially raped and we’ll form a legal action against
  Huntinton Bank. I’m working on all the voices that are yelling
  about them and HB should not be allowed to do this to us.
  It was never their money! What gives them the right to hold our money hostage to force ISF’s and more fees upon fees…what happened to the bank paying us to use our money!
  I’m ready for Legal Action………….Nationwide! Who’s with me?
  - Tina Pace
    
    I am with you. My 18 year old daughter who works full time and supports herself, bounced two debit card charges for $20 each. They actually charged her 4 bounce fees two days before the first charge cleared and two the next day and so on. She is now in the hole for $342. I figure she does owe them $120 for the two bounced items and the 2 $40 bounce fees and I refuse to let her pay the balance. The manager of bank was willing to forgive $100 and I said no way. All accounts will be close and they can take us to court. This is BS. I personally have not bounced a check in over 15 years and I’ve bounced 4 times since Huntington took over. Please keep me in mind if you are planning some sort of legal action.
  - becky
    
    and when you overdraft your account, you are using money (the banks) that dosen’t belong to you….you are paying overdraft fees so you can have the convience of “borrowing” money.
Robert

How is it that I havent used my account since Jan 2nd with a balance of 4.81 .. I now have 5/3.. But my balane is -369.00, with a checking account that has been in a drawer since Jan 2nd
Naomi C

Okay everyone! Here’s a clue for you! BALANCE YOUR OWN CHECKBOOKS AND DON”T SPEND MORE MONEY THAN YOU HAVE IN YOUR ACCOUNT. Having worked at Huntington for over 10 years, I have heard everything from the online story, to the missing deposit, to the NSF charges being unfair. HELLO…. we are not a non-profit organization! If there is one thing that irks me more than a client coming in to raise hell with me over their account being overdrawn but not having a checkbook register to back up their complaint. 99% of the time I can find the error (like something not being written down) and then I am willing to help them out. ATM’s and teller balances are simply guidelines to be followed, they are not to be used as a starting balance for clients to go on shopping trips with…. How is an ATM supposed to know that you just dropped a stack of bills in the mail 2 minutes before you drove up to the ATM and that those checks are going to clear in 2-3 days. Don’t play roulette with your bank account. It sounds to me like most of you who have problems with Huntington and had NSF fees with Sky in the past are just showing that you probably shouldn’t have a checking account anyway. Here’s my suggestion, go into a branch, ask (nicely) for a check register and a balance, then wait 7 days and go in and ask for a print out of your transactions for the last 7 days. Then you will be able to get to a “good” balance and start fresh! Happy banking!
- Sloane T. Irwin
  
  Naomi C:
  
  I find it funny that you would use a line used by a cheating carnival worker in ‘Joe Dirt’ to describe Huntington’s policies. I have checking accounts at three different banking organizations (Used to have 4, but I closed my Huntington accounts.) Every single one of them DENIES a charge to a debit card when there are insufficient funds, Huntington allowed the charges to go through 17 times without a notification. All three banking organizations I use also have TXT messaging features, where it notifies you immediately of overdrafts. I enrolled in overdraft protection at Huntington two years ago when I opened my account. A year later I changed the type of account, and the overdraft protection was lost without me being notified. Huntington holds deposits and checks for longer than they should before they put them in the account. They also process charges from highest dollar amount to lowest dollar amount. They say that this is because the largest charge is probably the most important. This would make sense if the DIDN’T ALLOW OTHER CHARGES TO BE MADE ONCE THE ACCOUNT WAS OVERDRAFTED. This is not the case, they allow any charge through, process the most expensive ones first to increase the possibility of more overdraft charges, and withhold deposits for longer than they should.
  
  I didn’t demand all 587 dollars of my overdraft charges back, I asked that they refund 15 of the 17 charges. I understand that the initial overdrafts were my fault, but with the amount of money I allowed Huntington to manage over the years their exploitation of my patronage was reason enough to demand some of my money back.
  
  Two branch tellers, the branch manager, and two regional managers said that nothing could be done to get my money back. I sent a letter to the CEO and CFO of Huntington Bankshares and got what I asked for back, 15 of 17 charges. Unfortunately for Huntington, that money didn’t go into one of their accounts, it went straight to HSBC, where they know how to treat customers. (Even when they don’t have a branch in my state.)
- IndyDevil
  
  Naomi:
  HELLO… you are not a non-for-profit! Huntington earned over 75 million dollars last year. And that is after $77 million in write- offs (mostly from sub-prime lending. In 2006 it earned over 461 million. I really hate to think that you handle other peoples money when you don’t even know the basics of corporate structure. The problem most people are having is that thanks to the “check 21″ laws, the bank can hold funds deposited by check for up to 5 days depending on where the check originates. But pretty much the second that you swipe your ATM or check card, or your check is presented to another bank, BOOM! The money is out of your account and floating between banks. The banks realized years ago how much money they can earn with junk fees. They do it on your deposit accounts, on your credit cards, you loans, and anywhere else they can. It is almost 100% pure profit. They don’t incur transaction fees, administrative costs, or any of the other costs that they incur when you use a check, use a foreign ATM, use a credit card, etc. I can understand $5 or $10 for an overdraft but $37.50? And to be charged 17 times without having the courtesy of a phone call after 2 or 3? I am fortunate enough to have enough invested in Huntington that I don’t have to wory about fees. But I would hesitate to recommend that anyone starting out or who lives paycheck-to-paycheck deal with a large bank. You are much better off with a small bank (yes there are still a few) or a credit union. Better yet, ask your employer to cash your check and keep your money under your matress until you can save enough to avoid these fees.
- Marge and Shawn Olson
  
  OK princess, Explain a deposit made over 7 days ago that is still not showing in my account! This is not the first time…Cash is Cash. To not show a cash deposit for 4-5 days is not about keeping track of this account, which WE have done faithfully for many years and never had ISF’s! Although you make a good point about keeping track, don’t spent it if you don’t have it is
  a concept that every human being should understand! But if the money should be there and it’s an entire WEEK LATER, the bank is undoubtedly reasponsible!!! It is the year 2008…Things are speeding up not slowing down…If I make deposit, it should be there the NEXT BUSINESS DAY! Not 7 days later, and still waiting. I don’t have my own business for nothing~!
- terry
  
  Naomi,
  How do you explain Huntingtons actions: After 3 months they stopped crediting our mortgage payments and put them on suspension. They did not notify us that they had done this. I found it because I am very diligent and review my account. After my encounter with my first few “message” communication I was priveliged to speak with a rude young man who claimed it was their policy to suspend any payment that was not an automatic withdrawl. It took a month to get our payment posted. Then in March of 08, they attempted to pull our payment (without authorization) from an old SKy Bank account that was closed in September of 07. They fined us because the account did not give them any money. OK…. Each time we call the 800 number we get different answers and am giving them one more chance to finally post our payment at least three days from the date that we pay it. After that we will pay the mortgage off and they will be out of our life for good. If we are unfortunate to have our current bank bought by Huntington, we will waste no time to close those accounts. At this point it would seem that using cash and having NO bank would be best if Huntington ends up the only bank in town.
Naomi C

P.S. If you are having trouble logging into Huntington’s website, just call 1-877-WEB-BANK and you will talk directly to an online banking specialist!
I. Dixon

Switch to a Local or Regional Credit Union with a mid-size to large community holding, BUT low construction and mortgage foot print. If you haven’t been paying attention to the financial world lately. The banks that are going to struggle in the next 2 years are ones with the strong reliance of construction loans and unconventional mortgages, and those bank who are always forking out credit loans to any and everybody with a pulse…

OH! and at most Credit Unions, you can attend monthly finance and board meetings. You can have a say on how they keep and invest your securites…that’s better than some fat gut in a 3 peice suit tuggnig on a stogie and looking @ his Rolex waiting until 3pm to hop in his Bentley and go to his $10Mil estate (gated). while he charges you to get your own money out of the ATM machine that he has on his property and in his bank..and DARES you to go somewhere else to withdrawl your own money…that mistake just cost you a Whopper (w/cheese) value meal.
J

I am 20 years old and I am a teller for the Huntington National Bank. I did not work for Sky Bank, however I had my accounts there. I have never went negative for the two years I have had a checking acct. until we became Huntington, and I agree with all of you that this bank is taking money. I am an employee making s*$!@ for money as it is from these people and they don’t refund me anything! they didn’t put my paycheck in my account on time and then over drafted my account and charged me SIX times, each now $37.50 but my main point is, be nice to the tellers, I can’t tell you how many customers rip me apart because they are unhappy and they don’t think I understand but all of the tellers at my branch understand, believe me. The tellers, the personal bankers, and the Managers do not have control over the fee’s and the other problems, we try very hard to make everyone happy, and we just follow the rules so we don’t lose our jobs. I can also tell you that many unhappy people have stayed with HNB because all of the tellers are very nice to them…. good luck to all of you!
IndyDevil

OK, my apologies to Naomi, I mis-read your post. Major egg on my face. Please disregard the first five lines of my post. To “J”: you have my sympathy. I could never work retail because of the inconsiderate a-holes that storm into a place of business and just want to scream at the first employee they find. Probably 70% of the problems reside with the customer. Tho old addage about a fool and his money still holds true 400 years later. Unfortunatley the banks are really good at taking advantage of fools.
Jackiejr54

Huntington Bank is by far the worst bank I have ever dealt with. I miss Sky Bank. The listing of complaints on here show exactly what this bank is all about. We never had any trouble with overdrafts until this outfit took over. They should be ashamed of themselves. They let our account go in the negative with over $700.00 in penalties alone. They could have stopped this nonscense alot earlier. Think how much this outfit has made so far from this scam! This was not our fault. It was theirs! But reasoning with them is like trying to reason with a tree. They even told us that if we didnt pay not to bother to open a checking account with another bank because they are all tied to the same network. We finally just gave in and paid them off. Like they cared! This is the second time my original bank has changed hands. Maybe a class action suit is the answer. Any lawyers out there?
Tina Pace

Wow, I knew I was dissatisfied but just thought it was me. I have not bounced a check in 15 years, that is until Huntington took over. I deposit my check inside the bank on Saturday and it does not post until Tuesday? They will give me more than half back cash while I’m at the window but they can’t clear a $30.00 check card transaction? As of Friday, I was $300+ in the hole. I deposited $1200 Saturday, at the teller. Today, I see and additional $7.00 EXTENDED OVERDRAFT FEE?????? I called to find out what it was and they charged me the $7. because I was overdrawn over the weekend. What bull is that? I told Kevin, the same helpful guy who worked for Sky, my issues and all I got was a too bad, you know SKY was the same way. They were not, I never had any issues with SKY. I will be removing my money as soon as everything clears. I will not use the account any furhter and move to a different bank. When I told him this, I got “I’m sorry to hear that” Goodbye!
http://Huntington&StupidSky Gordon

Huntington deserves to drop enough that a “real bank” might purchased the firm, fire the managers, and sell-off its insurance failed and juvenille brokerages. . That is the hope if it wishes not to just die on the vine. A real bottom of looser, Sky (aka Huntington).

http://www.streetinsider.com/Analyst+Comments/S&P+Equity+Research+Maintains+Sell+on+Huntington+Bancshares+(HBAN)/3539190.html
D. Willaims

I am 30+ year customer of Mid-Am, later Sky, most recently Huntington. After transfering money from within my Huntington account to the Checking line of credit, the bank posted checks coming into the checking account, but NOT the internal cash transfer from one account to the other and then charged me nearly $40 for each NSF, even though the money remained in their hands before during and after the transactions. Their explanation was that that was their posting policy.

Clearly, their weak assertion is to cover the fraud that their bank is committing with their customer’s assets.

After closing all of my accounts tomorrow with the bank, my next call will be to the attorney general of the State of Ohio to open an investigation into what is obviously at best decepive business practices and more likely deliberate consumer fraud. I’ll enjoy reading about the investigation in the local papers soon.
Kerry

Yes Huntington BANK SUCKS!! I filed a complaint with the FRC!!!
Ohio

Yeah, overdraft the account while there is still money in the account so you can get your fee. Of course it’s pure and simple profit, but a working family can’t put up with that when ITS NOT WARRANTED. Obviously the server is too slow to process anything (except when it wants to)… or is it something else? Sequencing error or just plain priority? Take advice, go elsewhere. HNB builds new branches at the expense of those who are trying to be fair and understanding… look around…, if you see a new one going up and you are affected, assume that you are paying for every brick!!
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Kerry

File a complaint against Huntington at Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Joey

Bank of America hold deposits too! I deposited some money in the bank via a check and guess what I couldnt use it. The reason they gave was “we need to establish a relationship with new customers…blablabla….and to ensure it is not fraud…” wtfffffff
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B

I agree with Naomi. I work at a different Bank, but I also get really irked at the “I didnt pay attention to my account, didnt log in and check or make sure I had money until AFETR I got fees or spent money, but thats not MY fault!” Stories.

Folks its YOUR money, not the banks. The bank is not a personal finance advisor, not required to track your spending for your records and NOT going to give back money for fees you SIGNED you agree to pay when you opened the account.

I also dont like when people refuse to admit it is thier own fault for most fees. When you come in kicking and crying like this, employees are slow to show sympathy to you. Banks are NOT required to give you any fees back at anytime..it is pure Bank courtesy to do so. If your bank “sucks’ so bad, you are free to move your money elsewhere. But I guaranatee you, whining on a forum will NOT stop banks from charging fees. But what WILL cease ALL fees from your account is YOU.

Manage your account and your money and your fees will dissappear.
- http://marketingtechblog.com Douglas Karr
  
  B, I don’t argue that it’s a person’s responsibility. However, you’re not being fully honest if you don’t admit that banks prey on people that don’t pay attention. In the past, banks would simply not pay – no questions, no problems. The person you wrote the check to took it up with you, not the bank.
  
  Now the bank sits in the middle tacking on an explosion of fees at the slightest error…. transfer fees to move the money, overdraft fees to pay the check, extended overdraft fees. This is predatory and it’s why banks have destroyed this country’s economy.
B

Douglas,

I DO agree some fees are excessive..but again, you also have to consider that when you pay for the bank to move your money money, like any other Business, you are paying for a service.

No one is REQUIRED to have a bank account. Yes, it is easier to have one, but it indeed a responsibility to have one. I have an account with my bank and 2 others. In 5 years I can attest I have had exacly 2 overdraft fees. I took responsibility for them, I caused them and paid them. I am not rich, a genius or from the planet Krypton. I simply manage my account.

To say the bank “preys” on that dont pay attention is the same as saying Cops “prey” on people who break the law.

If you are charged a fee and its your fault, then take the responsibility. If its not and it’s the Banks fault – then request the fee be returned. Rarely do they really refuse topay a fee when it is proven bank error.

In my usual work day, more than 95 percent of the fees caused on accounts are Customer generated. When the customer is honest enough to admit it, 9/10 I will allow them a courtesy fee returned. But when they attest to blame the bank because it “was only $3.00 neg. and the fee is “rediculous.” I refer them to thier account agreement they signed, let them know the system doesn not read amounts, only positive and negative..and rarely does this customer get the fee back.

It comes down to fiscal responsibility..THAT is that has brought the US to fauilure in finance..that and greed. ( Thanks Bernie Madoff )
Ed Price

2 words – BOTTOM FEEDERS – after 300 dollars in NSF fees which i paid the next day to prevent another 200 in NSF fees. I tried to go in and put a freeze on my own account.

I told the manager. – If there is no money in the account, simply freeze it to prevent additonal nsf fees-

The manager said they can not do that- and that this is how the bank makes their money

As a small business owner, I would never in a million years think of treating my customers this way

About Douglas Karr

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