A Sea Of Red

Does anyone have suggestions on which bank in the Lynchburg area would be good for me to open a saving account with? Preferably one with a low minimum balance and not many fees.

I go with Wachovia, only because it's the one with locations everywhere I live/visit. They have a student checking program with low fees and balances, but if you want savings there might be better options out there. I haven't really investigated. But I'm sure Wachovia's is average at worst.

BB&T--and they have ATMs on campus.

Do you really need local? If you dont I'd do a ING Direct or Etrade account for checking and savings. Dealing with 99% of the morons out there in the banks is enough to drive you insane

Hold My Own wrote:Do you really need local? If you dont I'd do a ING Direct or Etrade account for checking and savings. Dealing with 99% of the morons out there in the banks is enough to drive you insane

Harry Williams is in that 1%. Haha.

If you just want a savings, go online like HMO suggests
If you want a checking, go to a local bank like Bank of the James. They're easier to deal with.
If you want a bank that you may need to borrow money from, find a credit union http://www.creditunion.coop/

Cider Jim wrote:BB&T--and they have ATMs on campus.

BB&T customer service (at least on the phone) is run by a bunch of morons that don't even show as much as a high school education when they talk though.

It's not an option for everyone, but I've been with the Lynchburg Municipal Employees Federal Credit Union for more years than I care to mention, and have very few complaints. This is the one in the little stone building next to City Stadium. You don't have to work for the city, but there are some criteria to join. I really like the fact that everyone there literally knows me by name and it seems bend over backwards to help. I lost the Visa card I have through them on vacation overseas a few years ago, and instead of having to deal with "customer no service" at Visa, I made one call to Jane the manager and the card was cancelled and a new one was waiting for me when I got back. In the past they had very competitive rates on money market accounts, but not so much lately.

If you're looking for the best rate - go online. If you're looking for the best service then Bank of the James or Select Bank.

Hold My Own wrote:Dealing with 99% of the morons out there in the banks is enough to drive you insane

You're going to the wrong banks

I've had dealings with them all...in the one percents are the locally owned banks like Carter, BOTJ and that's about it. I've had SOME good dealings with Wachovia but they are still pretty Corporate and just dont get it sometimes. BBT is the worst I've ever had to deal with....seriously so bad.

I've never had a bad experience of any sort at any BB&T. Ever.

Didnt have to many problems with their checking side except for one that was so frustrating I closed everything out that day, Cant say anything good about the mortgage side and business side

I've never had a problem with the mortgage side of them. Of all the mortgage people I've dealt with, they're actually close to the top.

They still have the Wachovia brand in Virginia? I thought it was supposed to be all Wells Fargo by now.

BB&T acquired a big chain of banks here in Texas a year ago and the feedback on the takeover has not been positive from those around me.

I used the one inside WalMart while I was on campus. They were fairly easy to deal with.

Wachovia sucks, they are unable to do basic math and charge fees for ridiculous things, including just checking your account balance on another bank's ATMs.

I use BOTJ and have a SunTrust account for travelling b/c my agency has a great relationship with SunTrust.

Ive been with Wachovia for 7 years (basically since I first got to Lynchburg) and they have been nothing but professional, friendly and helpful. When I had to reopen my account in December, Harry Williams worked with me and I would recommend him to anyone that goes with Wachovia (I would not be surprised if he RAN a bank one day).

Hold My Own wrote:Do you really need local? If you dont I'd do a ING Direct or Etrade account for checking and savings. Dealing with 99% of the morons out there in the banks is enough to drive you insane

I actually have been using a combination of ING Direct and my Liberty OneCard, but I would really like to have a place where I can deposit cash and checks in person without having to mail something in and transfer it online a week later.

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I'll check out a few of them and see what they have to offer.

Now edited with the correct link...

http://tr.im/KpTj

That's how I'm currently measuring good banks. I'm also one of those people who's not going to deal with any of the "big 4" anymore if I can help it. I'll be moving my accounts soon.

I closed my account at Wachovia after a string of screwups on their part. The biggest being they took my student loan check, then closed my account a few days later without notifying me.

I have personal and business checking through BBT, they have been fine. I use them for just what you said, depositing stuff locally. I prefer a credit union, which is what I use in NC. I immediately pull money out of BBT and transfer to ING when I make a deposit though. But like you said,you need somewhere local where you can deposit checks, etc

El Scorcho wrote:http://bit.ly/7xRAig

That's how I'm currently measuring good banks.

Talented kindergartner ... but I'm missing the correlation.

Sly Fox wrote:

El Scorcho wrote:http://bit.ly/7xRAig

That's how I'm currently measuring good banks.

Talented kindergartner ... but I'm missing the correlation.

Weird. That was supposed to be this link: http://tr.im/KpTj

That makes much more sense. But i stand by my statement about the 5-year-old drummer.