I am the type of person who maintains many different bank accounts because they all have special features. I have had an account with PNC for more than 10 years. My experience with PNC Bank has generally been disappointing, due to several factors.
One good aspect of PNC is their ATM machines. In the states of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey, PNC bank sponsors no-surcharge ATM machines inside of WaWa stores. WaWa is a very popular chain of convenience stores in the Northeast. Anyone can go into a WaWa and withdraw as little as $10 from the PNC ATM machine without having to pay a surcharge. This is a very handy tool for people on the run, especially those that have accounts at banks with no ATMs in the area.
The 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 give out $1 bills. Yes, you can go to the branch and withdraw $3 from the ATM machine. No other bank in the area has this feature as of yet.
But unfortunately, there is an upside and a downside to just about every situation. Now on to the downside of banking with PNC.
PNC bank has never been known as a king of customer service. There have been times that I called the customer service line at PNC bank and was treated so rudely that I thought I was talking to a nasty bill collector rather than my bank.
As a customer for over 11 years (I opened my first account there in college), I have always had a suspicion that there is some kind of priority ranking system for callers to the 800 number, because it seems as if whenever I have had a lot of money in the bank, I’ve been treated more kindly and experienced lower wait periods. The opposite is true when I’ve had a low balance towards the end of the month. The representatives are rude, unhelpful, and unwilling to give me a break.
Ah yes, the fees. PNC bank has designed its checking accounts to accept ACH debits and checks even when a customer does not have enough money in the bank to cover it. When your account goes overdrawn, you are charged a fee of $34. But here’s the kicker-they usually will then refuse the payment and send it back to the vendor at the close of business the very same day without giving you a chance to cover it.
By the time your realize something is amiss in your account, you have been charged $34, your check has been returned to the merchant, and you now owe an additional $25 returned check fee to your merchant. This is the case even if you have gone overdrawn by $1.
Unfortunately this happened to me recently. I had an agreement with a merchant for business services-I gave them my account number for a monthly ACH agreement. I cancelled the service. They still charged me the next month without consent, overdrawing my account. PNC reversed the payment back to the merchant immediately and charged my account $34 the same day. By the time I realized what had happened it was too late. I was then charged $25 by the merchant! That’s $59 down the drain for a mistake on the part of this unscrupulous merchant.
When I called PNC’s customer service line and asked them to dispute the charge, they said there was nothing they could do, it had already been reversed. When I spoke to their customer service supervisor, he was so rude and dismissive that I came out of my character.
I asked him what was the $34 for, if they didn’t even hold onto the debt for more than 12 hours? Where is the risk for PNC here? They told me that the fee was for “processing” the transaction. After this situation I came to the resolution that PNC is playing a dangerous game with its everyday customers. They quickly reverse charges, regardless of their validity, so that they can collect their fees before an item is disputed or covered by the customer.
Is this what the banking industry has come to?
I can’t say yes to that question completely. Other banks may charge you an overdraft fee, but they will clear the payment and give you a reasonable amount of time to pay it off on your account to avoid additional fees from the merchant.
PNC does not fight for everyday customers like me. I’ve seen the bank as more of my enemy rather than an ally in my decade long relationship with them. It is why I chose to finally close my account at this bank. The costs of holding the account open exceeded the benefits. I feel as if I can now breathe a sigh of relief-I no longer have to worry about checking my account every single morning for surprises.
Pros:
ATMs give out amounts as low as $1, and even change
No-charge ATMs
Cons:
Horrible customer service
High fees that have no basis
Immediate reversal of overdraft items
PNC Bank is not your ally in a dispute situation with a merchant
Inconvenient lobby hours (most branches close at 3pm on an average weekday, and noon on the weekends)
