Salem Five Direct

Salem Five Direct Charges $3 To Process Many ACH Debits & Pulled Hard Credit Report
- Molotov - Thursday, February 16, 2012 - 1:09 AM

I find it incredibly hard to believe that people are signing up for Salem Five Direct's eOne Savings Account. Salem Five charges $3 for each ACH debit that you initiate through Salem Five Direct. A withdrawal from Salem Five Direct initiated through your external account is free.

This information is available in Salem Five Direct's Fee Schedule. You may have to do a site Search for it; it's somewhat buried.

This seems like a depositer-unfriendly fee which all the other online banks I've dealt with do not have. I assumed all banks ate the ACH fee in order to attract depositers. Even if they didn't, I wouldn't have expected it to rise above $1.00.

In addition, Salem Five Direct will assess a $10.00 fee for any account closed within 90 days. I guess this is to protect them from rate-hopping depositers, but it was difficult to find the info when I looked at opening an account there.

If you close the account by mail you will be assessed a $10.00 fee, as well (I guess online closure is free, but this isn't specifically stated).

Perhaps these fees were justified in the days of 5+% interest, but for an online bank offering 1% (as of 2/15/12) they seem out of line.

Perhaps most egregious is that Salem Direct Five pulled a hard credit report on me when I applied for an eOne Savings Account for under $500; an account which I did not consummate after doing a deeper dive into their Disclosures. This hard credit report pull will remain on my credit report for 2 years; potentially affecting my credit score--depending on who's looking, and how the credit agency applies its unique FICO algorithm--as if I had applied for credit.

I can not recommend Salem Five Direct to anyone for anything whatsoever.

Fees And Limits - Beware!!!
- Sperry8 - Wednesday, June 1, 2011 - 11:38 AM

I recently opened up a Salem Five account, after all 1.25% guaranteed til Apr 2012, that's for me!

However, be very careful before you open an account.  It turns out they charge $3 for every ACH transfer out.  As well, they cap monthly debits at $25,000 per mo.  And you can only ACH in $20,000 (although you can send them a check if you want to deposit more).  Still - even if you deposit more, they won't allow you to take out more than $25k per month and will charge you $3 to get it.

Worst fee structure and limits I've ever found.  Stay far away!

Salemfive Fees And Lack Of Customer Service
- lincoln54 - Saturday, September 8, 2012 - 8:26 AM

Stay away from this bank. The people running this bank could care less about customers. SaleFive will fee you constantly

Disrespectful Of Existing Customers
- sjh13 - Thursday, September 6, 2012 - 10:42 AM

Hard to figure out what your rate is, but if you're an existing customer, be aware, it's .75%, not 1% as shown on the "front page."   1% is only for new money.....so if you're a loyal customer....forget about it, you're of no importance in this Banks opinon.

They Will Hold Your Money Hostage!!!
- BillZ - Wednesday, February 13, 2013 - 10:15 PM

I just opened a Salem Five Savings account and am very disappointed by all the hidden terms.  Your money will go into the account very easily, but beware, they will make it very hard to get it back.  After I opened the account I called to verify some of the things I read (a little too late.)  The rep told me that if I did not want to keep the account, I could just have an external bank account transfer the money out (without any fees).  Well, I tried that, and they replied to my external bank that my funds were frozen.  Yet, if I login to my account, it says they are available for withdrawal.

It's just another example of the ugly side of banking.  Steer clear!

Worst Bank I've Ever Dealt With - Run For The Hills!
- anonymous111 - Sunday, December 23, 2012 - 3:37 PM

Everything already noted here by others is true - but on top of that made major errors with my account, the last one possibly leaving me open to identity fraud.  They ****ed up so bad that I am not even going to cash the last check sent to close out my account (only pennies) for fear of being fee'd for something!

I Would Not Trust Them With My Money.
- accute - Thursday, April 4, 2013 - 12:15 AM

I opened an account according to their process.

A few days later, on a Saturday, they called me from a phone number other than the one on their website.

When I returned the call on Monday, they wanted me to tell them the account and routing numbers from my primary checking (at another bank). I told them no way! I was then told I could not have the account unless I would divulge that information. I told her there is no way I should know whom I was talking with.

So I said, fine, I don't want an account with a place that does business like that. But then a few weeks later, I noticed they accepted my initial $100 deposit!

It took a few months and the FDIC, but I finally got my money back... a huge waste of my time.

Superb Service, Great Products, Customer Since 2007
- smith120bh - Monday, February 25, 2013 - 12:13 PM

I've had an eOne Checking account since July 2007, and an eOne Savings acocunt since January 2012. I can understand the complaints that other people on this site have had with ACH deposits *initiated from SalemFive* (the fee does not apply if the other bank initiated the deposit) and restrictions with very large sums of money (but if you have over $25,000 available to invest, why are you putting it in a standard savings account?).

However, I have definitely had polar opposite experiences with their customer service compared to what other reviewers seem to be saying. I've had to call them for at least a dozen various reasons (inform of travel, fix a failed ACH transfer, inquire to a returned bill pay, etc.), and every time, I've gotten a live, native-English speaking, intelligent human within 30 seconds (they have a one-level phone tree). They've answered my question or fixed the problem almost immediately each time. The worst situation I had was where a large transfer from my external mutual fund account failed to show up in my checking account. SalemFive got me and my mutual fund company on a three-way conference call. I'm still not entirely clear what went wrong, but they fixed the problem and the money showed up in my checking account an hour later, while both companies offered to pay the late fee for my then-late tuition bill for me.

The products they offer have been perfect for me. I've never encountered any service charge from them, and they refund all ATM fees, including from international ATMs, for up to $15 in fees per month. I've never lived near any of their physical branches, but I feel completely free to go to any ATM I run into. Their bill pay is quick and free (offering a regular and expedited - 1-2 day delivery - delivery speed). I don't use the debit card much, but that gives small rewards for using it. There are no minimums to maintain, no minimum number of debit card transactions, and no monthly fees. They don't have the best interest rates out there, but they have been consistently in the top 20 or so (as listed on this website) on both the checking and savings accounts.

The biggest difficulty I've had with my accounts is related to finding ways to deposit money into the account. They accept NYCE Shared Deposit, but there aren't many of those ATMs around, even in NYC. They do send you free postage-paid deposit envelopes (with a nice and obscure "Service Center" address), but mailing deposits is still a pain.

Overall though - I've had a fantastic experience with this bank, and have recommended them to many of my friends. No fees, great products, and superb customer service seems hard to beat to me. Plus, they're a small bank so they get you away from the BoA and other corporate behemoths.

Salem 5 Direct Savings Account
- sookiebush - Monday, December 3, 2012 - 4:51 PM

I share the concerns noted so I called the bank.  They claim that there are no fess or limits if you initiate the transfer from your external account rather than from Salem 5.  Seems wired, but if it works then I will revise my rating up.