Is anyone currently using Fifth Third Bank? I’d like to hear from those who are. How long have you been with them, and what are your thoughts? I’m interested in learning more.
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We used Fifth Third Bank for a while but switched to Wells Fargo due to better customer service. At that time, the only branch was located in a Kroger store, and they were often understaffed, with some employees lacking good customer service skills. The worst experience we had was with PNC, who refused to close an account and falsely claimed they didn’t have the funds to do so, despite the account having a minimum balance.
After we left Fifth Third, my mother had a terrible experience with them. Their check readers mistakenly read money orders from Fifth Third’s own account as if they were from her account, leading to multiple incorrect withdrawals each month. It was frustrating because she didn’t want to keep her money there, but they kept withdrawing amounts from the money orders, causing her account to go negative. Each dispute took time to resolve, and they wouldn’t close the account or change the account number while disputes were pending.
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They purchased my mortgage from the company I refinanced with, so I didn’t have a choice in dealing with them. Based on my experience with them managing my mortgage, I would prefer not to do business with them if I had the option.
I have until the 15th of each month to make my mortgage payment, but if I don’t pay by the 1st, even if it’s a weekend, they call me every day to tell me I’m late and press me for a resolution.
They also send people to take pictures of my house and then charge me a “property inspection” fee without notifying me beforehand, which violates federal housing and predatory lending laws. I’ve sent them certified letters demanding the removal of these charges, as advised by the .gov website, but Fifth Third Bank has completely ignored them and continues these practices every month if I’m not paid up by the 1st.
Additionally, they won’t accept “partial” payments if you pay after the 15th. If I’ve been late and tried to pay whatever I could sometimes $50 or $100 short they would not accept it. Instead, they post the payment as unapplied and issue a refund by check, which takes a couple of weeks to receive. This means they hold onto my money for up to a month without applying it to my loan, leaving me without access to it. I quickly learned to only pay them if I had the full amount.
Their customer service is extremely poor, and their website and online banking are very frustrating to use. They are by far the worst mortgage company I’ve dealt with, and among banks, I’d say they are the worst, alongside Chase. In contrast, I’ve had a great experience with Wells Fargo. I’ve been with the same credit union for over 25 years, but they’ve been slow to adopt new technology like ATM deposits and in-app check deposits, and their nearest branch is 20 miles away. I’ve maintained a basic checking account with a larger bank for convenience, and I find Wells Fargo to be better than my credit union and any other bank I’ve used. I even opened an account there for my daughter when she was a teenager, and she’s been very satisfied with them as well.
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I know this is coming late, but I wanted to share my experience with them. I had an auto loan through them, and every interaction I’ve had has been incredibly challenging. While I initially got a low payment, I had to refinance because they don’t allow cars to be shipped outside the continental US. I paid off the loan, but apparently, there was an error that I was unaware of, so the payment wasn’t fully processed. They never informed me of this issue, even though they sent me a payoff letter. I only discovered the problem when I received an email three weeks later saying I had a past due payment. When I called to inquire, they explained what happened but said it’s not their policy to notify customers if a payment fails. Now, I’m in a difficult situation due to this “late payment.” Almost everyone I’ve spoken to on the phone has been unhelpful and hard to understand. I do not recommend them and look forward to the day when I no longer have to deal with them.