November 23, 2010

Head Over Heels

I've spoke of my love over ING before. But my affection has only grown. Truly, I never thought I could love a bank more. Especially, since I tend to hate banks. A perfect example, we recently broke up with Nevada State Bank. We had a 7.5 year relationship, then they became a massive pain in the ass so we cut ties. Frank's gram convinced us to open an account with them when we first moved to Las Vegas. They were small, local and friendly. We did as she said, and we really had no issues until they expanded after buying out every Tom, Dick and Harry bank that folded. Then, they started hitting us with fees. And more fees. After three strikes, Frank went into the bank and told them they could refund unneccessary fees or we'd close the account. We withdrew our funds, and the next day I discontinued my direct deposits. A few weeks later they called to say we had overdrawn the account and we owed $160 in fees. I laughed. This is precisely why we closed the account.

Back to ING, we've been satisfied customers for quite sometime, we've been using their checking account for a year now. When we reached our anniversary they sent us a nice greeting, who does that? They do. They also make transferring money a breeze. We have free access to ATM's nationwide, a mobile app gives us the nearest location. When we needed cash in Seattle, we were able to transfer funds from savings instantly and access the cash immediately. October and November they're giving us 1% back on all purchases under $50. It netted us almost $20 last month, we use the card for everything! There's so much more...

However, what really sealed the deal was working with them over our dispute with Mexicana Airlines. Once I filed recourse with Mexicana I also filed a report with ING. I explained that the airline went bankrupt and they offered us no alternative flights. I wanted to protect us anyway possible, I did not want to be out $600. I had bought the airlines tickets months before so the time period for disputes had expired. Still, they offered to see what they could do. I sent them requested information and supporting docs, then I waited. Today, I received notice that the dispute has been resolved and our account was fully credited. I'm absolutely thrilled. Mexicana still has a month before they must respond. Now, I can fully enjoy our upcoming trip. I won't have that $600 loss sitting in the back of my mind. Instead, it'll be funds set aside to be spent on food and drink.

No comments: