Avoiding Chase Bank Checking Account Monthly Fees

"So if you want to avoid Chase Bank's monthly fees, the ACH transfer option appears to work at least for now. "

 Definitely a hit or miss propostion - an emphatic miss according to this CS rep last January:

Date: 01-28-2011 16:45:33
From: Chase Online
Subject: Re: Account Inquiry
Message:
Dear CraigPD,

Thank you for contacting the Internet Service Center. I
can certainly understand your concern in regards to the
Direct Deposit on your account. I sincerely apologize for
any inconvenience.

In response to your inquiry, please be advised that the
ACH credit from an external account is not considered a
Direct Deposit. Please note that Direct Deposit comes from
your place of employment, or pension, or government.
External account are account that you transfers between
accounts that you are signers on.

Again, I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience you may
be experiencing at this time. Please be assured that we
value you as a customer and wish for your experience with
Chase to be one of satisfaction and ease.

If you have any questions or require further assistance,
please e-mail us via the Secure Message Center or contact
our Internet Service Center at 1-877-242-7372.

Thank you,

Loretta Veronica Moore
Internet Service Center

People really need to look into Alliant.  All of the features, none of the crud.

Chase will let you use ACH for few times, then they will back peddle and charge you retro service fees. Be careful, they did it to me. I used Ally as sending the ACH.

Chase audits all checking accounts every 3 months for compliance, don’t be fool and fall for the ACH as substitute for direct deposit.

Last week I withdrew the money I had in a Chase special savings account for which I received $100 interest for investing $10,000 for three months.  I was told that if I wanted a check paid to me for the money it would cost me $8.  I took the money in cash instead - that was still free.

I have been doing banking for over 40 years and never have I ever had to pay for a check for withdrawing funds.  Clearly, Chase doesn't give a **** about customers anymore and I've closed my accounts with them.

FYI:  I'll share this excerpt from a conversation I had via chat with a Chase Bank customer service representative on 12/13/2010 regarding how to avoid fees on my Total Checking account:

you: I forgot. One more thing (sorry): One way to avoid the $12 monthly service fee on the new Chase Total Checking is to have a minimum $500 direct deposit each month. The fine print says that it must be an ACH credit and may include payroll, pension, Social Security, etc. This implies that it does not HAVE TO be payroll, pension, Social Security, etc. but ANY ACH credit to the account. Am I reading this correctly?

Lillian: Yes that is correct.

you: So I can have $500 or more transferred from my online Discover Bank savings account to my Chase Total Checking monthly and avoid all service fees?

Lillian: You can do so as long as it is a direct deposit.

you: What other type of deposit would it be other than a direct deposit? If it is an ACH credit to my account, isn't that a direct deposit? Please clarify.

Lillian: Yes it would be direct deposit if coming as ACH.

you: Thank you for all your help as I contemplate what to do now that my Basic Checking account is being changed.

Lillian: You're very welcome! It was my pleasure assisting you today.

I have or have had checking accounts with the following banks and CU's. Every one of them offers totally free checking accounts with no minimum balance or DD requirements. As far as I know, they have no geographic restrictions, and some of them even give you free checks. Before you pay a fee to BOA, Citi, or Chase, check with:

Alliant CU

Acacia FSB

BB&T

Columbia Bank

Flagstar

FNBO (online payment account)

ING (online payment account)

Justice Federal CU

Sandy Spring Bank

Susquehanna Bank

Suntrust

SECU

United Bank

Wachovia

Wilmington Trust

 

 

To Bill - #6,

All outside initiated ACHs are direct deposits, since all direct deposits come as ACHs but the sub code that is embedded in the ACH either makes it direct deposit or just transfer from one account to another using the ACH.
Be careful when dealing with CSR, they all have a variation of their understanding of ACH, but not the real inside working of the ACHs.

QuickDeposit is the only reason I have to have my Chase checking account.  It's just sooo much more convenient than mailing checks to my online bank (Capital One).

Why hasn't *every* bank gotten in on remote deposit?  I don't know... it gets more deposits into their hands faster, and makes customers happy.  Seem like a win-win.

To Anonymous - #8

Please see this Web page:

http://www.achdirect.com/resources/seccodes.asp

PPD - Prearranged Payment & Deposit Entry

• Direct Deposit (credit) - Direct deposit is a credit application that transfers funds into a consumer’s account at the Receiving Depository Financial Institution. The funds being deposited can represent a variety of products, such as payroll, interest, pension, dividends, etc.

Note that the Chase Bank wording is "The direct deposit, which must be an ACH credit, may include a payroll, pension or government benefit payment, such as Social Security." 

The key, I should think, is that is says that the direct deposit MAY include and not MUST include payroll, pension, etc.  The transfer from my Discover online savings account to my Chase checking account is currently listed as a "PPD" transaction on my Chase checking statement. 

The direct deposit MUST be an ACH credit, and PPD identifies it as such on my checking account statement.

With this information in hand, I cannot see how Chase can argue with this method as a means to avoid the monthly service fee.

To Bill #6,

This is the original terms and condition from Chase, you may talk to ACH and she or he may say anything to you since you agree that info not to be binding due to this disclosure:

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In other words you don't count as a being and they can do what ever they please.

 

 

 

Chase what matters and what matters is good rates and low or no fees.

Re. Chase's bill pay system.

It's great until you have a problem. As I did recently. Chase said 1 bisiness day for a payment, I scheduled for one week in advance, payee says received late (1 day after due date, 1 week and 1 day after it was sent). I called payee, they said it was an electronic payment received when they said it was (1 week later than should have been). I submitted an inquiry with Chase for this payment, indicating that I was charged late fee, etc., and all they did was to say they checked their system, and the payment was sent when scheduled, gave me some internal tracking number, and that's that. No attempt to contact the payee or offer to refund the late fee or anything else -- which is what I'm used to with bill pays provided by CheckFree. So I'm not using Chase bill pay any longer. (I did get the payee to refund the late fee, which they did as a "one-time courtesy to me", which is not at all a satisfactory outcome to me.)

Why even deal with them? It's amazing that people get on here and post that their difficulties with Chase are worth it. Does the phrase "gluttons for punishment" come to mind?

To #16 -

You nailed it, but somehow I feel your post will mainly fall on deaf ears!

 

Chase is HIDEOUS.

WORST.  BANK.  EVER.

Don't use this bank! Why would anyone put up with this crap. Are you masochists?

Do not use this bank. They will only **** you and make you suffer. Why would anyone subject themselves to that.

i find chase to be excellent in every way, they have the best rewards, pay on time and service that exceeds , they outline the rules clearly those who complain are out of their mind

Just to be clear.

All externally initiated (sourced from another financial institution) electronic funds transfers are accepted by the receiving institution as a Direct Deposit AKA "Pre-Authorized Credit".

By definition, this means the funds need no verification, since they've already been authorized by the sender.

ANY & ALL pre-authorized credits are "Direct Deposits", period.


However, the receiver may choose not to count non-payroll or non- government payments as meeting their unique definition, but that doesn't change the fact that those payments are still indeed direct deposits.

Another way of looking at it, is that all direct deposits are not necessarily valid to meet the subjective criteria made up by the institution offering the supposedly "free" checking account-


I would simply try it and see if it works.

If not, dump them.

They don't deserve your money/business anyway.

How do you avoid fees -

DON'T BANK AT CHASE

I like Chase. One day availability for deposited checks, Quick Deposit from my Droid phone and no lines when I visit my local branch.

If you can afford it, fees are easily avoided by leaving a minimum balance of $1500 in the basic checking account. That's forfeiting about a dollar and a half a month in interest you could earn elsewhere. Before taxes! :-)

And Chase has enough promotions of $100, $150 or $200 for checking and savings accounts which you can avail yourself of if you were of such a mind.

 

bbug,  You're missing the big picture (Chase maximizing profits by artibrary and mutating fee traps).  It's not a matter of forfeiting $1.25/mo. - reasonable for the value of services provided.  It's the intentional gouging of customers that deviate insignificantly in the minefield.  This isn't the basis of a "valued customer relationship", despite CSR script recitations. It's a primordial hunting expedition - constantly calculating, calibrating and taking aim at prey.  Assessing the odds, seeing how survival of the fittest handsomely lines their pockets at the expense of fleecing disadvantaged victims, real winners choose wisely and run (do not walk) away.

A way to avoid Bank charges you can make a repetitive deposit into your saving account, it can be of any amount i currently deposit $100 dollars monthly. It cuts out all checking account maintenance fees and it is also a great way to start saving some money.

Craig (#25),

I wasn't agreeing with their business practices or customer relations policies, just stating that I like them for what I use them for. For my purposes, they deliver what I need at a cost that's acceptable.

I'm not here to judge, just to utilize.

We have used Chase since they took over from WAMU and I can't say I dislike them.  We do have SS deposited there and keep a tidy balance.   So far we have had no fees and I kind of like the way all accounts show up with one log in, even credit cards.   Can't say the same for Wells Fargo, the young staff at the branches are exceptionally polite and nice but I feel that they are out to nickel and dime. The cost of new checks is way out of line at WF.

im the same ive been with them since they were wamu. And ive olny had one or two problems with them each of witch were fixed as soon as posable. my card got lost and of all time for it to happen christmas season, so it to two trys to get a new card. But i have a collage account so i dont have to deal with the monthly fee chase gives us kids a break. nanananan

"...leaving a minimum balance of $1500..." Essentially saying that $1500 is not mine.

if chase  or anyone needs to have a fee, does it have to be as high as 12 dollars? that is a RIP OFF.  I told my

branch that several times, hasn't done any good. I'm looking elsewhere. 

I keep hearing comments like "DON'T BANK AT CHASE", "Do not use this bank". What do you suggest as an alternative and why??????????

We have 4 accounts with Chase with a combined balance over $35,000.  Two of them are used for paying bills so we transfer enough each month to pay bills.  At $12/month x 2 accounts = $288/year for the "privilege" of allowing them to use my cash.  Bye bye Chase...go to hell you greedy a-holes!

I left Chase the other day for a local Credit Union.  No more madness.

I just left Chase due to all their fees. My headache went away. Can I do an infomercial and make money?

well, seems like a wild goose CHASE after all...the stupid bank wouldnt allow me to open a checking account if they dont have a branch in our area...go figure !

Ok well I haven't found a clear answer to the ACH direct deposit dilemma but I did notice that when you transfer money from your Paypal account to your bank....it shows as "ACH Credit - Paypal PPD" on my statement....I have only had my account for 1 month so far so I don't know if I will get charged retro for the monthly checking fees.

Does Chase offer a life insurance policy with the Premier checking account?  I thought when I opened my account I was told this account offered a $1000.00 policy and I to put down a beneficiary.  When I inquired at the local branch they told me that wasn't correct.

$1000 policy? Who cares!