Guaranty Bank (WI)

This Bank Should Be Ashamed.
- hkay - Tuesday, December 20, 2011 - 8:13 PM

IF YOU’RE FINANCIALLY STRUGGLING IT COULD BE BECAUSE YOU BANK HERE

Please read this and save yourself thousands of dollar sof dollars in fees; Guaranty Bank is NOT a free bank, it is designed to cost you money….and lots of it.

 

Are you financially struggling?  If so, it is not a coincidence you bank here.  Guaranty Bank chases after economically struggling individuals, because, well, these are the folks they can make the most money from.  In fact, Guaranty Bank doesn’t even care about acquiring the richer customers; they don’t make money off these people: Guaranty Bank makes money from fees and fees come from low balances which lead to overdrawn accounts, meaning BIG 37.00 fees that continue to grow as more checks bounce off of the rapidly growing negative balances. 

 

It’s not your fault.  The rich are all targeting us, the economically struggling.  Credit card companies give us more credit than we can repay, our jobs pay us as little as possible so the president can go to Hawaii, and meanwhile we think we’re the problem.  We need to open our eyes and act.  Banks make it difficult to leave the banking system by keeping us dependent on things like direct deposit, debit cards (who can live without these?), automatic payment plans, automatic bill pay, etc.  Although it will be hard, please switch to a credit union, of which most are almost always FREE, have much lower overdraft charges (plus are nicer in negotiating reversals), and, most importantly do not work to make profits, so are therefore less inclined to be dishonest and try to cost you money.  Guaranty Bank’s employees make commission off of getting you the wrong account and the wrong products which will increase the chances you will overdraft, frequently.  Read examples below.  Besides this, the workers at credit unions are generally kinder and more able to help.  I do not work for a credit union, I used to work for “a” bank, and the differences are obvious.  Besides, credit unions didn’t contribute to America’s financial crisis, banks did.  That’s enough reason for me to say good-bye to their dishonest business model.

 

 

 

 

Here are some examples of products that Guaranty Bank hopes will make you overdraft/ aka Keep you poor:


Debit Cards- Guaranty Bank encourages you to “opt-in” which basically means you can swipe for a purchase above your account balance limit and you will likely not be declined, but you will overdraft.  Guaranty Bank’s employees are told to encourage you that this is a “benefit”, that you can use this feature in case of an “emergency”.  The truth is, if there was an emergency, you could simply call to change your “opt-out” status to “opt-in”.  Opt-out (ask to be opted out) means no money, no purchase, no HUGE fees that only keep adding up.  If you’re down to your last $10, and you accidentally swipe the card for $11.98, Guaranty Bank wants to let this purchase go through to then slap you with a 37.00 charge.  Is the sandwich really worth 48.00?  Probably not.  And when you come begging for a reversal, they’ll suggest you take an Easy Advance next time (read “Easy Advance” section below), while their filthy rich president continues to run, laughing, all the way to the..that’s right….the bank.  

 

(CLEAR coverage) “Overdraft Protection” - Clear coverage pulls money from your account each month so that you may conveniently forget that the $10 Clear coverage fee was coming out and, that’s right, overdraft.  Don’t be fooled, Guaranty Bank DOES NOT WANT TO SAVE YOU MONEY.  In fact, if you look at their business model, you’ll see that they make almost all of their profit off of fees, not from their rich customer’s investments.  In fact, Guaranty Bank purposefully advertises in places like Wal-Mart (nothing wrong with Wal-Mart, but rich people do not shop there; those trying to get by do), at Libery Tax locations in what some people call the “hood”, and if you look at their Chicago market, they are only located in the more impoverished, inner-city areas.   

 

Easy Advance- Easy advance is a great cash-advance service, especially compared to check cashing stores, right?  In a sense, yes.  You pay $30 dollars and can qualify for a 200-400 dollar loan.  However, this product is further proof that Guaranty Bank is preying on the poorest, on those living paycheck to paycheck.  So, when it comes time to pay back that loan, you are now doubly behind because the bills haven’t stopped rolling in.  Not only this, but people who write checks, forgetting that they extracted this loan, can go negative if they accidentally write a check that clears the same day the payment for the loan pulls (which is 31 days later).  Now the customer is negative $400+check amount(s)+37.00 for each check+8.00/day for up to 10 days or until the account is brought positive.  The bank has now made 30 fee+37 overdraft+80 consecutive day fees= 127.00 or more than 25% from the $400 loan they gave.

 

7 days a week banking:  Do you know why Guaranty Bank is open late and on Sundays?  Because their most profitable customers work like dogs trying to make ends meet; their average customer is barely getting by and needs that overtime, or works a lousy third-shift job (though, not all third-shift jobs are lousy).  Most branches do not even open until 10:00 am, which outrages the old folks.  Nope, Guaranty Bank wants to prey on the struggling younger generation who is more likely to be in need of extra cash to care for their young children, to try and make their mortgage payment, to be in deep credit card debt. 

FREE Checking
- gq - Thursday, November 17, 2011 - 9:11 AM

November 2011 I went to the Evanston Illinois branch and opened a FREE checking account with Guaranty Bank Assistant Branch Manager Rhoda Frost.  She was very informative and helpful. 

 

This bank gives many free services with their FREE checking which other banks do not.  Guaranty Bank even pays interest on their FREE checking accounts for anyone 50 years or older.  My only complaint is I wish they had more free ATMs in my area, which is near Lincolnwood Illinois.  Other than that, I must say that the free mobile banking features and the free online banking combined with the FREE checking makes Guaranty Bank a tough bank to beat!!