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Chase Incompetence

I think it’s time to look for a new local bank. WAMU was marginally competent at best. Chase isn’t even that. I login to my account this morning and here’s what I see:

Choose a new User Name to get started. Your online security is always a top priority with us. That’s why we are taking steps to increase the security of your account. With that in mind, we need you to change your User Name. Please create your new User Name by using the criteria we’ve detailed below. (Note: There’s no need to change your Password.) Must be 8 to 32 characters in length. Must include at least one letter and one number. Cannot include special characters (@, &, %, *, etc) Cannot be the same as your Passwor

They say they want this for security, but I call bullshit on that. The real problem is that Chase’s system doesn’t allow the e-mail addresses that WAMU used for its usernames. Rather than upgrade their systems, they decided to inconvenience millions of customers.

And on top of that, the form doesn’t actually work. As I type this, it’s been “Transferring data from online.wamu.com….” for many minutes. And the final result?

The connection has timed out

The server at online.wamu.com is taking too long to respond.

  • The site could be temporarily unavailable or too busy. Try again in a few
    moments.
  • If you are unable to load any pages, check your computer’s network
    connection.
  • If your computer or network is protected by a firewall or proxy, make sure
    that Firefox is permitted to access the Web.

Sadly, I can’t think of a single local bank that’s likely to do better than this.

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This entry was posted on Friday, June 19th, 2009 at 8:27 AM and is filed under Finance, User Interface. You can follow any responses to this entry through the Atom feed. You can skip to the end and make a comment. Pinging is currently not allowed.

4 Responses to “Chase Incompetence”

  1. Dolan Halbrook Says:
    June 19th, 2009 at 12:28 PM

    Planning to dump Chase for my 401k (it was moved there by my former employer) for similar reasons.

    Through the years I’ve had good luck with Wells Fargo, FWIW.

  2. Robert Young Says:
    June 22nd, 2009 at 7:40 AM

    “Too big to fail, too big to exist.” Rinse. Repeat. I’ve been delving into BioTech for investment purposes. There’s far more innovation (and shenanigans, to be fair) in the small ones than the large ones. OTOH, I and other more well known writers have been asking the base question: what purpose is served the polity by “innovation” in financial services. Except for for some Right WingNuts (who might have an agenda), the conclusion is None. So, even if “innovation” were desirable in FS, you won’t get it from the elephants. How about a public credit union? Here in New England, such are fairly common and didn’t get involved in “innovation” are remain stable.

  3. C. Doley Says:
    June 24th, 2009 at 10:31 AM

    Citibank’s technology is quite good, and provides an excellent array of services (want to do an international wire transfer from your personal checking account — no problem). _Far_ better than any other bank I’ve had (Fleet, Bank of America, Chase, WaMu, Wells Fargo, Sovereign, ING, …).

    Of course, as far as their management they, like all large banks, are an absolute disgrace. But their technology is solid — best ATMs, best on-line banking, etc.

  4. Aaron Says:
    June 25th, 2009 at 10:57 PM

    Citibank does have great services, but all banks are crooks (just like the insurance companies). Find a good credit union.

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