Not only should you avoid this branch but you should also avoid this corporation.
I had been using Fifth Third for ten years, since I turned eighteen and was with my northwest suburban branch. At first their no fee checking was indeed that. No minimums for a low income student. In college, I got hit with fees when my account ran under so I learned my lesson and became a killer check balancer.
Then I grew older, I paid off loans and was on top of my credit balances. I saved enough to open an IRA with Jason Tosh, for both tax purposes and my future planning, truly he was a godsend. Not only did he explain financial planning with me but he also drew graphs and pie charts so I could understand the benefits.
Fast forward a few years. My rental went up several hundred dollars. I found I could empty my IRAs and pool together enough money for a down payment and mortgage on a condo. I asked for pre-approval on a loan and received it, went under contracts, then ONE week before closing I lost their loan. When I was in vacation. Out of country. Visiting my grandma. Why? Because the condo wasn't at 80% capacity, that because only 7 out of 8 units bought they couldn't approve the last bits of the contract. It was an impossible situation because it was mathematically impossible.
How I stayed with them after that was utter confusion what to do. I had researched other banks and not found anything much better. Then the tipping point was when my fiancée and I opened a shared account at this branch for bills while we lived together. Seemed simple enough.
This part of the review will go over the second tragic part in this epic saga. The head of this brand opened our shared account. He went on and on about how his doctor wife and him kept separate accounts at Fifth Third. The benefits of this one over that. We had his reassurance that as long as a certain amount of money flowed in and out of these accounts we would never get a charge. First month we had $20 taken from the account, but we thought it was a discrepancy and ignored it. The next month it happened again, we called and he refused to speak with us. We were told by another associate that it was an accident and it would be remedied. Next month again $20 gone. We called again and had money put back into the account. Next month again deducted, and again we called we were told the bank branch manager LIED to us and to MANY other people about the account's minimum balance.
I am shamed to say before we left, $140 was taken from us because of this bank. We thought we were smarter then this but we let it go on thinking it was a mistake and would be fixed. When we received a letter in the mail saying that free checking was being abolished so we left for Charles Schwab, a brokerage and checking corp that actually cares about its customers.
If you chose to stay then contact Nicolas Gaudiot at this branch. He's a newer hire that I had only met the day I closed my accounts. Not only was he intelligent and funny, he seemed to be the only person who regards his work as someone at his pay scale and not McDonalds. I have never in my life met so many people then the ones who work at this branch who care less then those making minimum wage. I am sorry to have met Nicolas so late in the game. He seems to be the only one who understands there is a person in front of him and not a sale to be lied to and rushed out. If i wanted a chocolate shake for $20 and crap treatment I'd have gone to Weiner Circle. Considering I have never seen more then three customers at this branch at a time, to be treated and sent out so poorly is a travesty. Our money and futures should be treated with dignity and respect.
Fifth Third you have no idea of what you lost. You will never be spoken of with any less then disdain by me and mine. read more