Part I – Indymac Bank CD Account Opening Review

Part II – Indymac CD Review – Addendum – PURE GARBAGE

Part III – Making Peace with Indymac Bank?

For over a month, all I’ve been trying to do is simply open a CD account online at Indymac. As you can see, I’ve faced serious obstacles every step of the way. Fortunately, my account is finally open! Indymac also re-imbursed my $30 stop payment fee as a credit to my account. However, there is one final problem.

One last slap in the face

When I logged into my CD account through their online banking service, imagine my complete and utter lack of surprise to see that they gave me the WRONG rate. After all of this time and hassle, after solving far too many problems that should not have happened in the first place… they gave me a LOWER rate than promised. Instead of the guaranteed 5.15% APY that they assured me I would still receive, they locked in my CD at 5.00%.

It’s one last slap in the face with a dead fish.

Furiously, I speed-dialed Indymac’s customer service number and barraged the poor outsourced CSR with a one-breath summary of the entire situation. After putting me on hold (of course), he came back and told me he would raise the rate to the promised 5.15% APY. “You’re darn right you will,” I replied, with a sigh of relief.

Today I logged into my account and noticed that the rate is now correct. All seems to be settled with my account, with the exception that I still have not received a signature guarantee form in the mail from them. Without it, I supposedly won’t be able to withdraw the money from my account. The last CSR promised to overnight the form to me, but I have yet to receive it.

Indymac’s company slogan is Raise your expectations. I propose a slight change – Raise your expectations… in vain!

How to frustrate a customer, Indymac style:

Step 1 – Make the initial ACH transfer fail.

Step 2 – Sign for an overnighted check from the customer, and then LOSE it.

Step 3 – Fail to mail a required signature guarantee. Oh, promise to send it twice.

Step 4 – Be sure to hire outsourced CSRs who barely read English.

Step 5 – When you finally decide to open the customer’s account, be sure to give a lower rate than promised. Maybe the customer won’t notice.

Step 6 – At no point should you contact the customer to provide information on any “problems.” What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.

Step 7 – Profit?

Needless to say, I will never do business with Indymac again.

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Photo credit – unknown. Please contact me if you know the origin of that awesome photo.

Part I – Indymac Bank CD Account Opening Review

Part II – Indymac CD Review – Addendum – PURE GARBAGE

Since January 21, all I’ve been trying to do is open a 7-month CD with Indymac. When I last posted, I was in a state of limbo. An Indian CSR by the supposed name of “Alan” was supposed to call me back after he got ahold of his supervisor.

As I expected, he didn’t call me back. No surprise. I sent a mental mind missile in his direction.

The Final Call?

At this point, I’m ready to contact The Consumerist with my story. Before I do so, I decide to give them one last call.

Perhaps it’s the tone of my voice, but luckily, I get connected with a supervisor named Jill very quickly. Not only that, her accent is distinctly… well, American!

Jill reviews my account and tells me:

1. Indymac will refund my “stop payment” fee for the lost check.
2. The Indian CSR was supposed to tell me to initiate a refundable “stop payment.” Instead, he told me that I already HAD stopped the payment. Sheesh.
3. I need to mail a new check (regular mail). She gave me a different address (straight to her group). Indymac will then “back date” the deposit so that I will not lose any interest. Nice!

It’s truly a wonder what can happen when one connects with a competent person. Wait, let me revise that statement: It’s truly abysmal what does NOT happen correctly while slogging through the mire of incompetent people.

Hopefully, this impossibly frustrating process is over. For the time being, my horde of rabid, laser-wielding, ankle-biting gophers is at ease.

I hope my experience in opening a CD at Indymac is not typical. In the end, the only expenses I have incurred have been the mailing of the two checks. Provided that the situation truly IS resolved (nothing surprises me anymore), this will be my last post in this saga.

While my rage at Indymac has been placated for the moment, I still do not recommend them. I have no plans to ever open an account with them again, lest they invoke the wrath of my feral gopher army!

At the end of my review, I reported that Indymac was looking for my lost check. Once they found it, they were supposed to open my CD with the guaranteed rate of 5.15% APY. Here is a continuation of the timeline. Keep in mind that I began what should have been the simple process of opening an account on January 21.

February 11 (Day 22)

After noticing that the check STILL has not been withdrawn from my account, I call Indymac again. This time I spoke with Dwayne, and after giving him the USPS tracking number for the lost check (again), he put me on hold. While on hold, I passed the time by mulling in my mind why on earth I decided to open an account with these people in the first place.

Eventually, he returns, and he tells me that he walked a memo over to his manager, and that she will take care of the issue personally. Yeah right, Dwayne. While I’d like to believe you, past experiences leave me doubtful.

Anyway, he tells me to call back in a few days if the check has not been withdrawn.

February 15 (Day 26)

Of course, NOTHING has happened yet. The money is still sitting in my checking account. Of course, it’s time to give them yet another call. By now, I’m getting really good at navigating the Indymac automated phone system.

This time, a man with a thick Indian accent answers. He says his name is “Alan.” Yeah right.

Ok Alan, I give up. I have no idea what’s going on anymore. Here’s my account number. Enlighten me as to what’s happening with my account.

“Alan” puts me on hold for a while. While on hold, I pass the time mentally dropping virtual nuclear warheads on Indymac headquarters. When he returns, he tells me that he cannot find my check. No sh*t, Alan. He then tells me that I put a “stop payment” on the check. Huh? No I didn’t! Silence ensues. During the silence, I envision a plague of locusts descending on Indymac.

“Alan” then mutters that they have given up looking for the check, and that I should therefore put a “stop payment” on it. However, I can still lock in the original rate of 5.15% APY if I mail them ANOTHER check. When I ask him if there is a cutoff date for this next check, he says I would need to mail it so that it arrives in two business days.

Ok, wow. I’m speechless.

Let’s recap here: I’ve spent almost a MONTH trying to open a CD account at Indymac. First of all, my ACH transfer failed because Indymac refused to pull from FNBO Direct. Second of all, I had to overnight a check them ($16). Third, they lost the check, so I have to place a “stop payment” on it ($30 fee). Now, I’m supposed to mail another check so that it arrives in two business day ($5 minimum).

Meanwhile, the thousands of dollars that I want to deposit have been sitting in my checking account earning no interest for almost a month!

Pardon me for objecting Indymac (and “Alan”), but this is unjust! After summarizing the situation for “Alan”, I asked if there is anything Indymac can do to reimburse my expenses. After all, it is NOT my fault that they lost my check. Of course, he put me of hold for 20 minutes. I spent the time virtually pouring Mountain Dew on all of Indymac’s computers.

“Alan” eventually returned, but informed me that he could not get ahold of his supervisor. So, he claims, he will call me back in an hour or two. Yeah right.

And that, my friends, is where I currently stand. I’m sitting here waiting for “Alan” (or another Indian CSR of equal or lesser value) to call me back. My prediction is that no one will call, I will call them back (again), and that they will NOT offer any reimbursement for the fees I have to pay.

I also predict that I will end up telling Indymac to piss off, close my account, and that I’ll end up spending the evening envisioning a massive army of rabid, laser-wielding, ankle-biting gophers attacking Indymac’s citadel.

Stay tuned.

As I mentioned on January 22, I wanted to lock in a CD due to the emergency rate cut by the Fed. At the time, one of the best rates that I could find was a 7-month CD at 5.15% APY. So, I decided to lock that rate. Here is the timeframe of that process:

Jan. 21 (Day 1)

I completed the online application. To fund the account, one can choose between initiating an ACH transfer, sending in a check, or wiring in the money. I opted for an ACH transfer, funding the CD directly from my FNBO Direct savings account.

After I completed the application, I received an e-mail informing me that I would soon receive a Welcome Kit in the mail with a Signature Card to sign and return. Sounds good to me. So far, opening the CD has been a painless process.

Jan. 22 (Day 2)

I received an e-mail from a representative at Indymac, asking me to call them with regard to the status of my account. Curiously, I called them to see if there was a problem. After waiting on hold for about 30 minutes (ugh), I finally got a live person on the phone.

Here’s the scoop: they wanted to know the physical address of FNBO Direct (my funding source). Um, I explained that it is the online extension of a physical bank in Omaha, NE. The customer service representative had never heard of FNBO Direct. Apparently, the CSR is not a rate chaser.

Nevertheless, I found an address for FNBO Direct, gave it to the CSR, and was told that the account should be funded in 2-3 business days. This was a slight hurdle, but I am still pretty happy about the whole process.

The situation is about to get a lot worse….

Jan. 30 (Day 10)

Several days have passed, and I assume all is well with my new CD account at Indymac. Strangely enough, I remember that I was supposed to receive that Welcome Kit in the mail, but nothing has arrived. In fact, I have not received ANY notification from Indymac at all since I last spoke with them 8 days ago. Maybe I should check to see if there are any problems.

I start by logging into my FNBO Direct account. I see money that is not supposed to be there! There have been no withdrawals. Something is wrong.

I call Indymac again (and wait on hold again – ugh). Finally, I get a live person who informs me that they have NOT pulled the money from FNBO Direct. When I asked for a reason, this is what the CSR told me:

We need to know FNBO Direct’s physical address before we can initiate a transfer.

WHAT? Incredulously, I told her that I had already called and taken care of this problem EIGHT DAYS AGO! No effect. I might has well have been talking to a brick wall.

The stony CSR also told me that had until February 2nd to fund the account before my rate (5.15%) expired. Not wanting to bother with trying to get Indymac to actually create a working ACH transfer, I decided to fund the account by mail.

I immediately initiated a transfer from FNBO to my checking account. Next, I drove to the post office and paid to overnight a check to Indymac Bank. It cost me $16 to mail the check, so now I’m already eating into my first month’s interest on the CD. Ugh.

February 1 (Day 12)

Using the USPS tracking service, I verified that my check was signed for and delivered to Indymac, one full day before the cutoff date. Yay! Finally, perhaps this frustrating ordeal is coming to an end.

Wrong again.

February 6 (Day 17)

This morning I logged into my checking account and noticed that the check to Indymac has not yet been withdrawn. HUH?

Immediately, I called Indymac (again!) and spoke to an apologetic gentleman named Carlos, who informed me that they did NOT receive my check! This is getting really disgusting.

Recognizing the severity of the situation, he decided to connect me to a supervisor. To add insult to injury, the phone system mechanically informed me that no supervisor was available and HUNG UP ON ME! Aargh!

Furiously, I called Indymac again (ugh!). Once I connected to a CSR, I told him what had just happened, and he assured me he would try to handle everything without connecting me to a non-existent supervisor.

I briefed him on the entire situation, and he compiled a report for me. I even gave him the USPS tracking number for the check, and he verified that it was delivered. They just don’t know where it is. Um, this doesn’t exactly instill confidence in their bank.

To make a long story short, he informed me that they should honor the original rate once they figure out what happened to the check. He also told me that he would send another Welcome Kit in the mail.

Conclusions

I hope this ordeal is now over. Quite simply, everything that could possibly go wrong HAS gone wrong. What should have been a simple account opening procedure has turned into a drama of epic proportion.

Ok, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but this last statement is not:

I would rather face an army of ankle-biting gophers than open another CD with Indymac Bank!

One-word summary of the entire experience: Ugh!

In other words, there’s no time like the present to lock in a CD. Sadly, I’m afraid that any remaining 5% savings accounts and CDs will soon be flirting with extinction. Heck, even 4% accounts will soon be scarce!

Yesterday I locked in a 7-month CD with IndyMac Bank at 5.15% APY. It was ideal timing – rates have already dropped slightly, with more rate cuts undoubtedly looming.

A Few CD Options

Here are a few possibilities, with rates current as of this typing.

• IndyMac Bank – 5.00% APY (7 months). The rate locks once you apply, giving you 12 days to fund the account. Available online. $5,000 minimum.

• Superior Savings – 5.25% APY (7 months). The rate locks for 14 days following your initial call to setup the account. $500 minimum.

• E-Loan – 4.76% APY (6 months). Requires ACH transfer from an existing account (such as your checking or certain savings accounts). The rate locks immediately after applying. $10,000 minimum.

• Key Direct – 4.75% APY (36 months). The rate locks from the date of your postmarked check, so don’t delay! Rates may vary by location. $5,000 minimum.

• TD Ameritrade – 5.30% (3 months). Only available online, and requires that you open a brokerage account. $10,000 minimum.

Once again, these rates may already have changed by the time you read this, so please double-check before you pull the trigger.