ING to put Netbank accounts into limbo?
Posted October 30th, 2007 by Shawn Parr
Today I, and others, received this email:
IMPORTANT CHANGES TO NETBANK MONEY MARKET, NET VALUE INTEREST CHECKING, and SUPER VALUE INTEREST CHECKING ACCOUNTS
Effective 11/23/2007 ("Effective Date") we will no longer process ATM transfers (including withdrawals) and point of sale transactions (including online and cash-back transactions) that you initiate using an ATM or debit card that accesses a NetBank Money Market, Net Value Interest Checking, or Super Value Interest Checking Account that was acquired by ING DIRECT on September 28, 2007. This means that on or after the Effective Date your NetBank ATM and/or NetBank VISA® Check card(s) won't work.
If you have any questions, please give us a call at 1-866-327-4599. For your convenience, we're available from 8 AM - 8 PM, 7 days a week.
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ING DIRECT
1 South Orange Street
Wilmington DE 19801
So they are going to turn off our ability to use our accounts on the day after Thanksgiving, so called Black Friday? That seems like a wise decision...
This buyout gets weirder and weirder.
Originally I was told that Netbank accounts would be converted to ING accounts of similar status. Is this part of the transition? Locking up funds for a while until we get new ATM cards? I should note that the email also has a marketing pitch offering $25 to open a 'native' ING account.
I wouldn't hold my breath
I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for them to convert NetBank accounts to ING Direct accounts.
I applied for Electric Orange in response to this. I was denied because I haven't had any activity on my Equifax account in some time.
I spoke with someone at ING, they confirmed what I always suspected: They don't want my checking account business.
So if you depend on your old NetBank checking accounts, don't wait for ING Direct to convert you over. They may not even want your checking account business. Go out today and open a backup account with another bank if need be.
On Sep 28th I called and presented my problem of not being able to qualify for EO to one of ING's customer service reps. She said it would not be a problem, that I would be able to continue with my current checking accounts (1 personal, 2 corp) indefinitely.
This is not necessarily true.
Anyway, the point is to be prepared because ING is handling this transition in some weird ways.
I will never go near ING with a ten foot pole.
I got another letter from ing confirming for sure that netbank accounts are converting to online savings. Not even electric orange. My CD money already went out to another online savings bank, and I opened a checking account with a local bank here to replace the netbank one.
ING takeover of Netbank Accounts
I opened an OrangeElectric checking account at ING's request to facilitate the conversion of my NetBank accounts. When the transfer came, two savings accounts were opened by ING and my checking account balance was put into one of these. I had to enter all my payee information again by hand. I had initially been assured that this would be transfered along with my payment information. Since then I have had nothing but trouble. Since the direct deposit of my paycheck will take a month to transfer, I needed to quickly link an external account to my ING account. When this failed, ING froze my accounts. I can now not gain access to my accounts. When I asked a customer representative and his supervisor why I had lost access to my accounts I was told that it was because the link to the external account was not completed - despite repeated calls from me. Why these are related I have no idea. When I asked if I could close my accounts and have the balance sent to me, I was told this was not a good idea. ING claimed it would be faster to first complete the external link. At this stage my deposits at ING are of no use to me and neither is the bank. After hearing many other complaints, I no longer want to attempt to do business with them. As soon as I can get my accounts unfrozen, I am moving to another online bank - likely Everbank or Wells Fargo. Banking is not a good place for amateur hour. ING has a long way to go before they reach a Beta version of online banking.
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