I am the type of person who maintains many bank accounts because they all have special features. I have had an account with PNC for over 10 years. My experience with PNC Bank has been generally disappointing, due to several factors.
One good thing about PNC is their machine tools. In the states of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey, PNC Bank sponsors no surcharge machines delivered inside WaWa. WaWa is a very popular chain of convenience stores in the Middle East. Anyone can go into WaWa and withdraw as little as $10 from a PNC machine, without incurring a surcharge. This tool is very handy for people on the go, especially those who have accounts in banks with no ATMs in the area.
ATMs at PNC branches are unique in that they are the only ATMs in the tri-state area of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware that dispense $1 bills. Also, you can go to a branch and withdraw $3 from a cash machine. No other bank in the country has this feature as yet.
But unfortunately, it’s upside down and down to just about everything. Now to the downside of banking with PNC.
PNC Bank has never been known as the king of customer service. There have been a few times that I have called the customer line at PNC Bank and been treated so rudely that I thought I was talking to a dirty decumen bill rather than my bank.
As a customer for more than 11 years (I opened my first account there in college), I always had a suspicion that there was some sort of priority order for the number of 800 visitors, because it seems like whenever I had. I have been treated much more kindly by the banks and experienced the lowest periods of the plot. The opposite is true when I had a low balance towards the end of the month. The officers were rude, cocky, and unwilling to give me a break.
Yes, the fees. PNC has set up its bank accounts to accept ACH debits and delays even when the buyer doesn’t have enough money in the bank to cover it. When your account is charged, a fee of $34 is charged. But here’s the kicker – they’ll usually then deny the payment and send it back to the seller on the exact same day, giving you no chance to make up for it.
By the time you realize something has gone wrong with your account, you’ve been charged $34, your merchant’s check has been returned, and now you owe your merchant an additional $25 returned check fee. This is true even if you are robbed of $.
Unfortunately this happened to me recently. I had an agreement with a merchant for business services – I gave them my account number for the monthly ACH agreement. 1. He resigned the ministry. However, the next month they charged me without my consent, because they turned off my account. PNC returned the payment to the merchant immediately and charged my account the $34 the same day. By the time I realized what had happened it was too late. Then I was charged $25 by the merchant! That’s a $59 drain for this rogue merchant’s mistake.
When I called the PNCcustomer-service-tips line, asking them to discuss the charge, they said It can’t be anything. I was so rude and dismissive that I got out of my character. .
I asked what the $34 was for, if they didn’t hold the debt for more than 12 hours? Where is the PNC risk here? They told me there was a transaction fee for “processing”. After this situation I came to solve PNC playing a dangerous game with daily customers. They quickly reassess their charges of any validity, so that they collect before the dispute or the covered customer is judged on the matter.
Is this the loan industry?
I can’t say that I answer the question perfectly. Other banks will charge you an overdraft fee, but they will clear the payment and give you a reasonable amount of time. Pay for your account to avoid additional merchant fees.
PNC is not fighting for everyday customers like me. I saw the bank as more of my enemy than my partner in my decade long relationship with them. That’s why I finally decided to close my account with this bank. The costs of having opening a bank account outweigh the benefits. I feel as if I can now breathe a sigh of relief—I no longer have to worry about every checking my account sneaking up one morning.
Pros:
ATMs give amounts as low as $1 and even change
No ATMs charge
Cons:
Horrible customer
High fees that have no foundation
Immediate change of overdraft items
PNC Bank is not your partner in a dispute with a merchant
Inconvenient lobby hours (most branches close to 3pm on an average weekday, and noon on weekends)
