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| 1 star: | (9) |
They will find any reason in the world to reject one of your transactions... saying that you need to contact them to raise your daily limit. CONFIRMING IS LIKE PULLING TEETH IF THEY ARE ACTUALLY WORKING WHEN YOU NEED TO MAKE A PURCHASE.
Sometimes they just reject transactions for "Potential Fraudulent Activity" and shut down your card. You have to walk away from the sales counter, unable to access your own money and talk to them later. The mobile app? A joke. Fingerprint scan, passwords, etc and they STILL make you re-verify by asking your great grandmother's maiden name and the street you grew up on.
It's great security right? Helps you to keep your money secure? HAH! I've had one company fraudulently take money out of my account on TWO occasions now. Provident Customer Service told me essentially "too bad, work it out with them directly". All of this security to inconvenience you, the account holder and keep YOU away from YOUR money while other businesses can take what they want. Ridiculous.
I just turned 18 and I'm very aware and conscious about where my money is and goes. I want to make the most out of my money. So when I saw their Green Checking account with 1% interest on balances $50-$1000 I jumped on it. Well, it's online only, which is perfectly fine, but does require that you go through different steps than that if you were to be in a branch. Well, my first application didn't go through because I wasn't 18. Then the 2nd application did go through because the "expiration date was wrong on my driver's license," which infact false because it was a temporary license. (When you turn 18 in the State of Texas they require you to get a new license.) So, I called them up the next day and they said "just keep applying til it goes through." Which was strange considering all the information was correct and right, but I did so because he said their was "something wrong with my ID." So I ended up calling DPS down in Austin, Texas, the Capital of the State of Texas, and told them what was going on and if I could have the expiration of my license that was coming in the mail. They told me, and I use that date in order to complete a new application, but yet again it failed. So I then contacted them as there was literally nothing else I could change. Rico said that when Mannie had told me "to keep on applying" was "COMPLETELY wrong information." You're only allowed one try at the application every 30 days and that since I've applied so many times he'd have to send this higher up. Well he did and Gregory the higher up said he'd need to verify my account and check into a couple of days. I plead my case and told him that I could send picture proof evidence of everything. He said it could help, but wouldn't be the determining factor in the end to move forward with the account. He said he'd call back in 2 days to tell what's going on, well I'll have you know, this bank never calls back, you gotta call them and intiate the conversation. So, 2 days later I called him and he said he still, yet, need more time, and could give me an answer the next day. I contact him the next day, only to find that my case was passed to the HEAD of the FRAUD DEPARTMENT, Roxanne K. She said they need to get in contact with my dad.? Well I got him on the phone (3 way phone call) and she really didn't say much to me or my dad at all. Except that a "new" account can't be opened for another 30 days, and that if I called in beginning (which I did and spoke with Mannie, and she obviously didn't take this into consideration because she refuse to make an exception to the 30 day limit) that maybe she could do something. But I'm presisant and stubborn and come April 4th 12:00 AM, I will be and Provident Bank's website applying for a Green Checking account. They haven't heard the last of me. Lol.
Please stay far away from this bank.. it is the worse bank in whole wide world - their employees are rude, moody and unprofessional starting with managers. I owed like 5 dollars on my overdraft account and they debited my account like 4 times without letting me know + they charged $50.00 late fee and they don't even send you a bill to let the customer know the account status. another thing, they take decisions for you... they just stop sending me my bank stmts over the mail... without me requesting they changed It to online only... and their online banking is terrible - it never works. Don't even go near this bank because you will loose your joy!!!!
1ST OF ALL, THEY NEVER GAVE ME A NOTICE WHEN I WAS OVERDRAWN UNTIL 45 DAYS LATER!!!!! THEY KEPT TAKING DIRECT DEPOSITS OUT. I HAVE MS. I HAVE NO JOB. I'M LOOKING FOR ONE AND THEY KNEW THAT AT THE BRANCH. MY POINT IS THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE NOTIFIED ME. WHICH THEY DIDN'T. ITS UNPROFESSIONAL. THIS BANK IS CRAP. I WOULDN'T ADVISE MY WORSE ENEMY TO GO THERE.
Prior online information included the current APY of the Smart Checking account. As of July 2012 the web site now states that you must phone them to get the current rate.
It would seem this is another way to bury further rate decreases from immediate notice.
Unfortunately, my mother and father had trust accounts for me at this bank. After they died, my lawyer asked them to consolidate the accounts. They refused to do this, since it involved "too much paper work". I am trying to get the trust moved to the local bank where I now live. I still am unable to get the trusts consolidated. My local bank cannot believe how unhelpful and rude the people at Provident (now Beacon Trust) have been. Do not under any circumstances bank with this outfit. They are unbelievable!
First they get you with the high rates, "no fees", etc. Well, the first time that my account went in overdraft, they kept charging me $35 PER TRANSACTION over a period of 5 days, until i was notified by SNAIL MAIL that my account had a negative balance. I was charged $210 in overdraft fees in a period of two days! I called them up to ask why such high fees (I only charged $250 too much, so the interest rate over 5 days would be greater than 2000% annualized!), and they declined to waive any fees (typically banks waive the fees in your first overdraft, but not provident!). Secondly, they have the worst online banking service of any bank that I have ever dealt with! No balance transfers, bill-payments only had a handful of payees, literally, and even checking my balance proved difficult due to the sluggishness of their website. Even closing my account has proven difficult, as they demand that I show up in person! Do not fall for the fees, go bank elsewhere! Try IGOBanking.com, for example, but just about any bank is better than this one!
Stay away of The Provident Bank. Incompetent, rude, unprofessional and ignorant people.
They will make you lose your money.
My cousin and I had separate checking accounts with this bank and I was managing / using both accounts since my cousin was in China and we maintain the same residence in NJ so I paid bills from my a his accounts.
The Provident froze our both accounts because they have incorrect information on my account and assumed that I was using my cousin’s account illegally without him knowing it which I was not. They canceled all our pending transactions including a money transfer to my father in Russia for his heart medications which endangered his life.
When I called them and talked to them in person first they told me to bring my ID (which I did 3 times) to confirm my identity. I also brought a copy of my cousin's passport. They took everything and did not release the accounts saying that till my cousin and I came to the local branch and brought our ID's the accounts would remain frozen.
They refused to call my cousin in China or accept his calls to discuss the situation and confirm his identity without any explanation.
In short it is a nightmare, we can’t use our accounts to buy food or pay our bills and mortgage, all our money is frozen.
The Bank Rep from Compliance Department (Mina) rudely told me “I don’t care if you have no money to buy food and pay bills and I don’t want any calls from your cousin or him calling me. You both need to come over your local branch and bring your ID’s”
I explained to her that I had been at the local branch 3 times already and they have a copy of my DL and my cousin was not coming back to the US till after the New Years but I brought a copy of his US passport and the Bank has it on file. She would just keep saying the same thing ““I don’t care if you have no money and I don’t want any calls from your cousin or him calling me. You both need to come over your local branch and bring your ID’s”.
I filed complaints with State and Federal Authorities but in the meanwhile we are hanging there without our honestly earned money because the Bank without any proof consider us frau