Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews

RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By Mike K (Guest Post) (06/04/2008) 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. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By Davis (Guest Post) (03/29/2008) 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%. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By Ed (Guest Post) (03/24/2008) 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. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By Jose (Guest Post) (03/17/2008) 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! Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By Nolan (Guest Post) (12/27/2007) 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. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By Jenise (Guest Post) (11/27/2007) 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.... Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By Russ (Guest Post) (09/15/2007) 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. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By Neal (Guest Post) (09/15/2007) 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. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By Andrew Knoch (Guest Post) (06/25/2007) It works excellent and the interest is great Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By Hoa (Guest Post) (02/09/2007) I have had both saving and CD accounts for over 2 years now. Can't complain. Good rate. Secure website. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post by just1more (1) | (01/31/2007) Contact 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 Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By Guest (Guest Post) (10/09/2006) 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 Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By Kim (Guest Post) (09/20/2006) 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. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By Yuan (Guest Post) (08/11/2006) 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! Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By guest (Guest Post) (07/26/2006) 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 Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By C.G. (Guest Post) (07/24/2006) 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! Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By guess22 (Guest Post) (06/01/2006) 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. Report Spam or Abuse Emigrant Post By Roger (Guest Post) (02/20/2006) 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...( Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By runningshoes (Guest Post) (11/16/2005) 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. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By Beverly Forney (Guest Post) (11/11/2005) 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! Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By Mark (Guest Post) (11/10/2005) 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. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Post By Victor (Guest Post) (11/06/2005) 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. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By Sean (Guest Post) (11/04/2005) 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. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By (Guest Post) (11/03/2005) 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 hasnt 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. If any one wants to get referred send me an email to Alejandro.saad @ gmail.com (without the spaces). I have 25 referrals left. With this you can sign up with a 25 dlls bonus, the only condition is that the initial deposit is over 250 bucks. Include in the email, your Name + Last Name, and your email address, of course. And add that you want to be referred. - Alex Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By A J (Guest Post) (10/31/2005) OK, I finally got through to customer service and was able to access my account. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By A J (Guest Post) (10/30/2005) 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? Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post by runningshoes (3) | (10/26/2005) Contact 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. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post by runningshoes (3) | (10/26/2005) Contact 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. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By Ryan Kreps (Guest Post) (10/25/2005) 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. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By (Guest Post) (10/25/2005) 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. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By chuck warner (Guest Post) (10/24/2005) 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."""" Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By Anand (Guest Post) (10/21/2005) 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; Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By Mike R (Guest Post) (09/28/2005) 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 Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By Kayleigh (Guest Post) (09/26/2005) 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 Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By fawn (Guest Post) (09/24/2005) 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 Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post by katylady77 (4) | (09/24/2005) Contact 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. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post by zascha (1) | (09/22/2005) Contact 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. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By Betty (Guest Post) (09/22/2005) 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. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post by Meari (90) | (09/22/2005) Contact 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. Report Spam or Abuse RE: Emigrant Direct Bank Reviews Post By guest (Guest Post) (09/22/2005) 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! Report Spam or Abuse