Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
Thanks,
Ruth D.
Feedback About This Post:
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
Ruth, take a peek at dollarsavings.com. It's a division of emigrant. It's presently offering 4% on savings.
Post By jerry (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
I have been with them for more than four years. They are very good on everything. Never had any problem. I recommend.
Post By amelia (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
I have been using ED for almost 2 years and so far had no problems. Had to call customer service to rest a password and the experience was painless but for a minor language problem. Still, in today's world it pays to stay alert.
Post By guest (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
All I know is I opened my Emigrant account about 18 months ago when they were paying 6% interest. Today they are paying 2.75%.
I would switch to Capital One, which is paying 3.50%, but I'm afraid that if I go through the trouble it won't be long before they drop below 3% as well.
Post By Mike K (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
I joined with Emigrant in late Feb. 2008 and the rate was 3.75% in months time it has dropped to 2.75%. I bailed out and joined up w/ Countrywide Bank, which is currently at 4.02%.
Post By Davis (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
I have had my emergency savings account with ED for about two years and have no complaints. The money is transferred to the account and I forget about it, which is good. My only issue was contacting customer service via an email and got an answer that didn't answer my question... Oh well. Other than that, can't complain.
Post By Ed (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
The rates are good, but if you need to change the checking account that your ED account is linked to, then you are in for a royal hassle. They have an online process, but it won't actually work, and you have to fill out two forms and send in a voided check. I did it twice, and they never set it up. Given that my previous checking account was closed, I had no way to access my money. So, after two months of trying, I sent an email to close my account and send me a check. Oddly enough, this was done in two days!
Post By Jose (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
I have to say that I have been with Emigrant for about 6 months now and I love the service and high interest rate. I've had absolutely no problems and no reason to call them for anything. I even need to withdraw some money to cover overdraft expenses in my checking account and just a couple clicks and all was well. I would and do recommend Emigrant Direct to all my friends and family.
Post By Nolan (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
Did NOT enjoy the customer service experience. I called as a potential member with a few basic questions and the woman on the other line 1) made me feel like an idiot and 2) never actually answered my main question. Disappointing. The interest rate may be high, but....
Post By Jenise (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
Ive had an ED account for about 5 months now. I have mad more in interest in these last 5 months than I did in 3 years with my credit union. In reference to customer service, I've had to call them only once when I had a question with setting up the account. They were very polite and thrifty in resolving the issue. I am very pleased with my decision to open this account and expect continued satisfaction.
Post By Russ (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
GMAC (http://www.gmacbank.com/) is a better choice in my opinion. They are a higher rated bank and pay a higher interest rate (5.3). You can also write checks against the account. The only negative is that you have to keep at least $500 in the account to avoid fees.
Post By Neal (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
It works excellent and the interest is great
Post By Andrew Knoch (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
I have had both saving and CD accounts for over 2 years now.
Can't complain. Good rate. Secure website.
Post By Hoa (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
Don't ever open and Account with Emigrant Direct. The Customer Service is very very bad. They are rude and don't care of their customer. There are lot of hidden charges for example, they charge $30.00 fees for Balance Confirmation Letter/Verification of Deposit Letter. And $5.00 for each additional copy. The amount deposited with not be allowed for withdrawal for first 1 week. Also, they keep coming with innovative ways to charge the customers. The interest rate looks tempting. But that is just a marketing gimmick. BEWARE OF THIS BANK. The website is also not user friendly
Post by just1more
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
I've had an account for 2-3 years and they're okay as long as you don't have to deal with customer service. For example, I tried to change my email address on-line but there's a bug in their software that won't let you change it because the box where you enter the email address for the second time is uneditable. Here's what it's like trying to deal with them via email.
10/04/2006 15:35:27-----Me
How do I change the email on my account. I go to Profile to change it but the box where it says to re-enter my email address is not an input box where I can re-enter it. The first box where I enter my email address is fine but I can't re-enter it so the email addresses in the two boxes don't match (the re-enter box has my old email address in it).
10/05/2006 09:12:30---- Emigrant Direct (ED)
Dear Valued Customer, Thank you for contacting EmigrantDirect. We truly appreciate this opportunity to assist you. Our records indicate that your email address was updated successfully. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at 1-800-836-1997. We are here to assist our customers 7 days a week from 8:00am to 11:30pm EST. Once again, thank you for contacting EmigrantDirect. Sincerely, Tonya How do I change the email on my account. I go to Profile to change it but the box where it says to re-enter my email address is not an input box where I can re-enter it. The first box where I enter my email address is fine but I can't re-enter it so the email addresses in the two boxes don't match (the re-enter box has my old email address in it).
0/05/2006 19:37:35----Me
No, the email address was not updated successfully because your software wants the email address verified by entering it in a second input box and the second box in not editable. My email address is still set to what it was previously set to. Sincerely, xxxx
10/06/2006 13:53:54-----ED
Dear Valued Customer, Thank you for contacting EmigrantDirect. We appreciate this opportunity to assist you. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you. We see from our records that your issue has been resolved. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact customer service at 1-800-836-1997. For your convenience we are available between 8:00 am 11:30 pm, Eastern Time. Once again thank you for contacting EmigrantDirect Sincerely, Francis No, the email address was not updated successfully because your software wants the email address verified by entering it in a second input box and the second box in not editable. My email address is still set to what it was previously set to. Sincerely, xxxx
10/06/2006 16:22:35---Me
What is so DIFFICULT about this? The issue has NOT been resolved so please don't send me a message that it has been resolved. I CANNOT update my email address on-line because EmigrantDirect's SOFTWARE will not let me update it. There are suppose to be two (2) boxes to enter the email address. The software at EmigrantDircect checks to see if the same email address was entered in BOTH boxes. However, the software will not let the user (me) enter the email address in the second box because it it an un-editable box. Please refer this problem to the people who support your on-line software. xxxxxxx
10/08/2006 12:33:11----ED
Dear Valued Customer, Thank you for contacting EmigrantDirect. We truly appreciate this opportunity to assist you. Please respond to this email with your correct email address and we will process the change from our side. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact customer service at 1-800-836-1997. For your convenience, we are available from 8am- 11:30pm, Eastern Time. Once again, thank you for contacting EmigrantDirect. Sincerely, Francis What is so DIFFICULT about this? The issue has NOT been resolved so please don't send me a message that it has been resolved. I CANNOT update my email address on-line because EmigrantDirect's SOFTWARE will not let me update it. There are suppose to be two (2) boxes to enter the email address. The software at EmigrantDircect checks to see if the same email address was entered in BOTH boxes. However, the software will not let the user (me) enter the email address in the second box because it it an un-editable box. Please refer this problem to the people who support your on-line software.
10/08/2006 18:19:31----Me
Please change my email address to xxxxxx@gmail.com Thanks, Neal Treadway
10/09/2006 10:57:08---ED
Dear Valued Customer, Thank you for contacting Emigrant Direct. We truly appreciate this opportunity to assist you. To update your e-mail address click on 'My Profile' and then select 'Personal'. On this page you will have the option to change your personal information such as your e-mail address. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact customer service at 1-800-836-1997. For your convenience, we are available from 8am - 11:30pm, Eastern Standard Time. Once again, thank you for contacting Emigrant Direct. Sincerely, Kimberly P Please change my email address to xxxxxx@gmail.com Thanks
Post By Guest (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
I've had an account with Emigrant for almost two years now. Emigrant Direct Bank takes you a bit longer to sign up with than other online banks because they take just a few extra precautions, verifying you in a few ways that other online banks do not. To me, I appreciated the extra steps up front (and believe me, I checked them out, including ING). Next, customer service is definitely NOT rude - another responder said they were borderline rude - not so. I am absolutely anal about this and I would be the first to tear them down and hang up and drop their service if I even detected a whiff of it. Before I signed up, I called them SEVERAL times a day for about a week, just to be sure they would always answer the phone in a timely manner, politely, and that they would be able to answer any questions I had. Every time I called, they were great. I verified their street address and called the solid building to make sure that THAT was there. Then, I checked the FDIC register number and found they were one of the very first banks in the US to be registered in something like 1935 or 39, so they've been around awhile. Once I signed up, it was still good. You have to link to your checking account and do business that way. My bank, Downey Savings, does not charge me for any transfers and they tell me that Emigrant transfers are NOT wires, so I don't understand others on here who have claimed banks charge them for Emigrant "wires". I think they may be confused. Just call the bank with whom you have your checking account before you open an Emigrant account and ask them. But again, I've asked many customer service reps at my bank and they've all said Emigrant transfers are NOT wires. Okay, next up - when you transfer money from an external account INTO Emigrant, they do wait about five days before that money becomes available for withdrawal. Big deal. Don't deposit the money in Emigrant in the first place if you haven't got an emergency fund. I think that's common sense. Next, when you transfer money OUT of Emigrant, they literally have it available in your external account the NEXT DAY. That is their policy. Lastly, the only bad thing that has ever happened with them is the day after they reconstructed their whole website and I had to get some money transferred. That was BAD and Emigrant fully admitted they had really messed up. But, it was ONE DAY out of over 600 days of service I've had with them and they were rebuilding their website, okay? Customer service is still great. Another thing you should be aware of is that you cannot transfer OUT of Emigrant more than six times in one month, but I think that is very generous. You can transfer INTO Emigrant unlimited times. I asked Emigrant, so what happens if I transfer money out of my account seven times in one month? I thought they were going to tell me they would charge me. But, nooooooo. Without skipping a beat, they said, "We would send you a letter telling you not to do it again and if you did it a second time, we would close your account and transfer your money to your external account." So, better not do that ;) . Anyway, who needs to pull money from a savings account more than six times a month, anyway???? Finally, they've got a credit card that pays, I think 1.4% on all purchases, transfers, and automatically transfers the money into your savings account at regular intervals and that's pretty great. And, they ALWAYS pay more than ING even if it isn't by much, it adds up if you've got enough in your account. Plus, I've heard a few bad reports from friends of mine who are sorry they're with ING.
Post By Kim (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
I have had a saving account with Emigrant Direct for more than a year now. I really like everything about this bank: the interest is really good, the customer service is better than my local bank. I just hope that they will keep the interest up!
Post By Yuan (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
I've been using ED for a year now. I agree with most of the above statements. The interest rate is good and seems to be very competitive with the best rates out there. Customer service sucks and they are borderline rude. I haven't tried to take money out yet since my whole goal is to save but doubt it would be a good account for someone who needed their money in a hurry.
I would also recommend reading the Account disclosure agreement at the bottom of their webpage. It may be standard but you should be aware of it.
regards
Post By guest (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
Yes, I've had pretty good results with my Emigrant Savings Account. The combination of a great APR, no fees or minimum balance, and linking to my existing checking account, is pretty hard to beat. The customer service is marginal, but I hardly ever have a reason to call, you know? It's just a bare-bones, simple account that is easy to manage and works great!
Post By C.G. (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
I don't like it when I miss type the password with ed it give me the respond that due to technical problem i can't login at this time. It is misleading that I though their server is down, if this is the way for security reason It is not the right way, but it deffinately confusing and waste time to most of the customers.
Post By guess22 (Guest Post)
Emigrant
I've had my account for about 6 months with ED, so far I love it
Its easy to transfer,,
look on the left, click on transfer, click on one time transfer, then over on the main window click on what bank you want the money to come out of, then below click on what bank you want the deposit,, then at the bottom put in the amount...(
Post By Roger (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
Someone asked about tranfering money in and out of their ED account. There is a screen for that transaction on the left side once you are in your account.
The hold time for customer service is long so I wasn't too happy about that.
The other thing to keep in mind is whatever bank account you link to, make sure your bank doesn't charge a wire transfer in or out fee. For example: Washington Mutual charges a fee to wire money in from any external source. You can also link more than one account. I'm in the process of doing that so I'll see how that goes.
Post By runningshoes (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
Just be aware that EB holds all deposits for 5 days before you can get it back out. So if you run into an emergency (as I did)--they held on to my money for 5 days and I couldn't touch it!
Post By Beverly Forney (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
I am an ING Account holder. I just called Emigrant to explore setting up an account and to ask about their CD rates and got the "unusually high call volume" schtick for soooo long that I finally gave up and hung up. With about $20,000 in my ING Account, missing the extra .5% that Emigrant offers is $100/year, but I don't want crappy customer service because the whole reason for having it in a short-term account is in case I need it quickly. I don't want to have to wait 2 hours on hold one day if I need this money quick for an emergency. Sounds like Emigrant wants to compete with ING but isn't equipped to handle the massive interest offering a better rate drums up.
Post By Mark (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank
I just opened an account, hope to get in no problems. I have researched bank of america and wachovia savings, rates are significantly different, + monthly fee, which basicly eliminate you APY.
I will see how ED works out, ING is a good option too.
Post By Victor (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
I recently opened an Emigrant Driect account but I can't find any way to deposit or withdrawal money. I have verified the money they deposited into my checking account and I followed the instructions in the letter they sent me. It has now been two weeks since my account was activated but I still don't see any options to deposit or withdrawal money. I sent them a note using the online customer service form but I have yet to receive a response. I may just stick with ING Direct if this doesn't get resolved soon.
Post By Sean (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
I have been trying to sign up with Emigrant Direct for about 4 months now. These guys keep sending me the form to make a check to them and I have not received it yet. Once I received it, my check hasn't been deposit yet. I have spent like 8 hours talking to them or on hold.
I just got fed-up with them and told them to cancel the deposit. I went over with ING Direct and with their online service I set up the account in less then 30min. The check took like 3 days to deposit. The best part of it was that I was referred and they added 25 bucks to my account. The service is well worth not getting the extra 0.005 interest of my money.
Post By Enter your name. (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
OK, I finally got through to customer service and was able to access my account.
Post By A J (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
I signed up a month ago with ED to get another 0.5+% over ING. I have yet to "activate" my account for lack of a better term. I put $1.00 for an opening deposit. I waited about a week to get something in the mail to complete sign-up with my account #. When I try to log-in now it says my application is being reviewed. I call the customer service # and it always says due to unusually high call volume there may be an extended wait time. Well I can't sit here indefinitely waiting. Does anyone know if this is actually legit?
Post By A J (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
After reading about ED, I decided to open an account with them. So far so good though I haven't done a lot with the account yet as I only recently opened the account. Can't beat the 4% rate. In these times, every point you can earn on your money counts.
Post by runningshoes
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
After reading about ED, I decided to open an account with them. So far so good though I haven't done a lot with the account yet as I only recently opened the account. Can't beat the 4% rate. In these times, every point you can earn on your money counts.
Post by runningshoes
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
Is ING direct better than Emigrant Direct? I've heard more positive about ING. Though ING is at 3.4% while Emigrant Direct is 4%, I would still trust ING because of all the good reviews I've heard about them.
Post By Ryan Kreps (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
I am just starting to use a new ED account that I set up. My only question though is, which I am waiting to hear an answer back from the company itself, how do I transfer money from my external funding account into my ED account. It seems like a simple questions that should have a simple answer but nowhere on my online account do I see a function to do this.
Post By Enter your name. (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
I opened an account with them. It's linked to my
checking account, about 2500 miles away from Manhattan.
It was easy, painless, and I'm glad I did it. 4% compounded monthly beats anything else.
it takes about 4 days for it to appear, and there is a hold
on the funds for several days, as expected.
So far, it's exactly as advertised.""""
Post By chuck warner (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
Under Account Disclosure link in the main page, I see the following. Has anybody asked under what conditions can withdrwals be delayed by 60 days?
Refusal To Permit Withdrawal: The Bank may refuse to permit withdrawals in cases such as, but not limited to, the following:
The Bank chooses to exercise its legal rights to require up to 60 days' advance written notice of any intended withdrawal from this Account and the 60 days have not passed since we received the required notice from you;
Post By Anand (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
I opened an Emigrant direct account for the last 6 mos.
haven't had any problems. Amazingly fast rate hikes. As soon as the fed increases the bank does so in 1 or 2 days. Up to 4% which you can't get unless you are in a bank CD for 4/5 years
Post By Mike R (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
I have been using ING for years and have had no problems, delays or other issues. Was thinking about switching, but if ED is constantly up and down I don't think it would be worth it, any feedback with current users on this ? Thanks
Post By Kayleigh (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
I have ING direct too, and I love it. If you get a referral from a current member, you get a $25 bonus for opening the account.
You can email me if you want a referral for the bonus - fawnmarie @ hotmail.com
(remove spaces)
Fawn
Post By fawn (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
Hi,
I dont have that company but I have an ING Orange savings account and its 3-5 percent mainly and I like them, never had a problem.
Post by katylady77
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
Awesome bank. I have 2 accounts with them and I just got an email that the current rate is 4%. Very informative over the phone with any question I have asked.
Post by zascha
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
I have had an account with them for about six months also and have had NO PROBLEMS. They are also compatible with webtv, which IngDirect no longer is. They are also offering a higher rate of interest than Ing, which I had since it first started.
Post By Betty (Guest Post)
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
I have an ED bank account. It seems to be working out OK for me so far. I've only had it maybe 6 months. I do a lot of my banking online so it doesn't bother me that I don't have an actual bank near me that I can walk into. ED got a good review on bankrate.com's website so I tried them out.
Post by Meari
RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews
I don't know about that bank, but I have been using INGdirect.com for several years now. They offer 3.3% for a savings account, which you can link to your regular checking account. Money can be transferred both ways, with a turnaround time of 2-3 days!
Post By guest (Guest Post)
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