New York Community Bank

Since The Start
- bugie - Monday, April 29, 2013 - 8:40 PM

I come to NYCB via their acquisition of Penn Federal Savings. I only have a savings account but the bank has always been helpful. They refunded wire fees when it was clear I didn't know the policies etc. Branch folks are always very friendly whether in person or on phone. I started with PennFSB in 2000.

Ohio Savings - NOT!!
- jeanetted - Saturday, April 13, 2013 - 6:11 PM

Sadly I agree with the other two customers. I have been with Ohio Savings for many years. They were bought by New York Community Bank and the service has been terrible. I don't need to be redundant, but I have had numerous problems in terms of freezing my account when traveling, not being made aware of processing times, non-consumer-friendly ATM'a and others.

I will definitely be changing banks ASAP!

Checking Account Issues
- Kimber - Friday, November 16, 2012 - 4:17 PM

I have had a checking account with Ohio Savings for over 25 years.  I have never had an issue until the last 2 years.  First issue:  about 2 years ago, a check for $400 deposited to my account bounced.  They removed the $400, but I noticed that my "available balance" was missing an additional $400.  When I inquired, I was informed that "that is just a policy".  When I asked why they were holding $400 of MY OWN money (after charging me a $36 fee), they could not give me an answer.  They did ask "did you need the funds?"  By unusual circumstance, the missing $400 luckily did not cause any of my checks to bounce.  When I asked to speak to a supervisor, one was not available and I was told I would be contacted, but I never heard from anyone. 

8 days ago, I deposited a personal check for $8000.  A paycheck also was auto-deposited, and a few items were debited, leaving me an average of $8800.  5 business days later I transferred $4500 to another account.  No problem.  At 6 business days, I transferred $1000 to a credit card.  The next day, I charged $970 on my debit card to the car dealer.  The next day, my card was denied, and I looked up my account, and it said "available balance - $0". I inquire.  The person says, "I'm thinking what happened is sometimes a business will request double the amount to be held in the account.  It looks like maybe that happened with the $970."  I said, "What, I've never heard of that".  the response was, "Oh, yes, sometimes vendors will do that.  It should come off in a couple days".  The next day, I look at my account, and the $1000 has been returned and $36 charged.  I inquire.  I'm then told that deposits over $5000 take 7 days to clear, and it will be available at midnight tonight. Under that it's only 3 days.  I say, "o.k., let's count.  7 days would have been yesterday.  Why did the $970 clear, but the $1000 did not?  And how am I to know of this difference in policy?"  I was told I should have been able to tell by the amount available.  But the amount available was different each time, sometimes $3000 of that 8 was available.  And why was I told that story about the double holding when I was asking yesterday?  And why was I able to transfer $4500 of that money right away?

I told them I was extremely upset over this.  I asked why was my $500 overdraft not enacted?  I was told because it wasn't really an overdraft (but apparently STILL warranted a RETURN FEE).  I asked if it could be refunded as a courtesy, and was told no, since THE SAME THING HAD HAPPENED ONCE BEFORE AND I WAS AFFORDED THAT COURTESY BEFORE.  Yes, this was the second incident of them witholding a payment transfer and then charging me for it.  So I'm done.  I will be looking for another bank. 

A couple of complaints
- sharona - Sunday, October 14, 2012 - 6:34 PM

So recently Ohio Savings changed it's automated system to commune with NY Community Bank. WHAT A NIGHTMARE. DEFINITELY not easy to navigate through the system! Then I made a purchase in another state and instead of calling me to make sure of the transactions, they FROZE my account WITHOUT ANY NOTIFICATION. Seriously? What another nightmare. Investigating other banking options after being a loyal customer for over 25 years.