Bozo and his Pals are Running USAA (in to the ground)
Written: May 03 '00 (Updated Jul 03 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Bank can control every facet of your spending and saving
Cons: customer service is slacking, and if they have everything of yours- why try harder?
The Bottom Line: You must decide if you can stand a strictly online banking experience. You are at the mercy of phone interaction.
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| Minx_In_LA's Full Review: USAA |
I can no longer agree with other Epinioneers, who extol the virtues of USAA. We have been with them for fifteen years, and have seen an alarming erosion in customer service in just about the last five years. Their interest in their patrons seems to have degraded overall. The following charts my recent experiences, and in no way is presented as an expert opinion of the bank. I am asking you a simple question. Is this how you wish to be treated?
First of all, USAA is going to be a "long distance" banking relationship. Your transactions are automatically posted and paychecks are deposited. Sure, in a perfect world. My sources show my military paycheck being deposited to my account three days before it appears as credited to my USAA checking account. Why the lag? USAA services our mortgage, and- precisely because I am wary of mistakes with automatic deductions- I write a check to USAA for the mortgage. I mailed the check to arrive by the first of the month. It arrived one day early (thanks post office), and our DIRECT DEPOSIT paycheck wasn't credited until midnight that day. Get that? My check arrives at 4pm and my paycheck at midnight, and I was charged an overdraft. Of course I had overdraft protection, but should it really have been invoked? Fifteen years of faithful bill paying, sterling credit, and thousands in USAA savings- and I receive a notice of overdraft. That's what computers and no human interaction get you. When I called, the Customer Service rep treated me like a whining indigent, and became hostile when I asked for her supervisor. Later I wrote a letter about this incident and my general feelings about USAA's slide to the President of the company and cc'd the various depts. I did not even receive a form letter back. Our other mortgage company never cashed the check until the 1st- because of something to do with interest that would accrue against the principal payment...(I am lost in the financial boggle here)...where does this extra interest go? USAA coffers, anyone?
I can understand computer errors, but the uncaring attitude I faced from the Customer Service was like a hearty slap in the face.
USAA also controls our car insurance. We moved from Kansas to Texas in 1993. We had a car and a pickup truck. USAA explained that my rates would go up because "more cars were stolen in Texas". When I moved five years later to Southern California with the same vehicles, my rates went up AGAIN, because SoCal is full of..well...SoCal drivers! We sighed, but it seemed in keeping with other companies. Two years later we moved BACK to Texas...but what's this? The rates went up AGAIN. Same vehicles. They are now 11 and 8 yrs old, my premiums are higher, and if they were totaled tomorrow, I'd be lucky to get a thin dime for either. USAA opened their doors to a new segment of people in that time span, and I wonder if they aren't recouping their losses on claims by their new clientele by sticking it to the old customers. USAA won't even insure our motorcycle, because- being a "superbike"- it costs almost 600% more than other companies. One last note on car insurance- if you call for quotes- know EXACTLY what you're asking. I received a new policy with some errors in it, and had to educate the Customer Service person for almost an hour.
In the interest of fairness, I will say that when we submitted a claim for a repair to our vehicle- USAA paid the entire claim without comment. Other insurance companies may have quibbled on the individual part cost. But you have to weigh your chances of being in an accident with the premiums you'll be paying year after year.
USAA also offers a Travel service, and here again- it is the people making the system break down. We had taken two cruises, arranged by a local tour agent, so we felt comfortable "ordering" a cruise on the phone with USAA. I knew exactly what I wanted, and still the experience was heartburn inducing! They never called back to confirm our reservation, never bothered to return my calls, and I never could speak to the same person twice. After writing a blistering letter to them, I FINALLY received an ACTUAL LETTER (!) from the travel supervisor. She admitted to problems with their automated phone system, and with training of their phone reps. I do not recommend using their travel agents unless you enjoy agonizing over whether your reservation is complete, or not!
I think USAA has fallen prey to being smug in their success. They don't need "you" anymore, and they think you need them. Don't bet on it. We pay off our credit card balance each month, so I can't speak to the dis/advantages of their credit card. It seems to have a competitive interest rate. But many cards offer cashback incentives, or travel miles, or car buying incentives. What does the USAA card offer you? We prefer our Discover card, and the USAA card is only used when the merchant only accepts Visa/MC.
My advice is to look closely at this bank and weigh your need for personal interaction with the people who hold your money hostage. USAA offers everything- checking, savings, insurance for life, home, vehicles, and many other services. If you like that all-inclusive approach, then check them out. But if they own every facet of your life like that, do they really try that hard to please you? Will you really cancel your savings account, order new checks from a new bank, transfer your insurances and cancel your credit card if they screw up? Or is that too much trouble, so you would let them slide on a few screw-ups? At what point do the accumulated screw-ups become a giant, glaring problem?
And by the way, I apologize to Bozo, since I'm sure he's a hard working clown, and the people running this company aren't...
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Update: July 2007. Much of this review has become outdated due to the fantastic addition of online banking. I can now transfer my mortgage payment immediately, instead of mailing a check, or having it removed from my automatic deposit at a time of the bank's choosing! I can also watch my credit cards like a hawk. USAA shows "pending" transactions as well as completed ones, which can occasionally have an odd entry when a company is "pre-authorizing" your card, usually by posting a one dollar charge, which is later reversed.
However, one thing remains the same. The customer service is not geared to customer satisfaction anymore, but strictly toward selling you something extra. I have removed almost ALL contact with human beings by using the online banking system, but recently we were hounded endlessly by their life insurance bureau when we let our policy lapse. They called, they emailed, they sent letters- and ignored our point that their policy was simply more expensive than competitor's offers.
The credit card remains non-competitive as well. American Express offers a much better deal for people who pay off cards each month, with bonus percentages from 1 to 5 percent back on purchases, and even Discover beats their interest rate and offers better cash back deals.
Using the Online Bill Pay part of the website offers you a chance to win money by paying your bills online, but instead of a sweepstakes, I'd rather have a guaranteed higher pay back on my cash back rewards.
USAA has recently begun spending a lot of money on an ad campaign of billboards to point out to their customers that their card is accepted at anyone's ATM. I assume this is to combat the perception that USAA is not a bank on every corner of your town- as Bank of America is- but that they are still easy to use. There is also a new program to scan a check in to your account, instead of mailing the check to deposit it.
My initial analysis stands: I prefer a higher level of customer service from a bank that controls many aspects of my financial world. It's exhausting keeping a tight leash on USAA when I really need human help.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
Minx_In_LA
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 - Top 1000 |
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Member: Adrienne
Location: Carmel, CA and Abilene, TX
Reviews written: 105
Trusted by: 104 members
About Me:
Writer, artist, musician- everyone's favorite dilettante. Update Jan 09-still sneaking around-see below.
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