This has been the worst account opening experience I could have imagined. It's been a month and I still don't have a working debit card--no way to get my money! And after 6 or more calls to customer service, no one has been able to resolve anything promptly.

I really like the features of the bank and their account, but be forewarned that there may be significant hassles setting up your accounts.

I hate to rate them a one because they should be a -10! As long as you send them money for deposit, there are no problems. When you try to close out an account and send them all of their necessary paperwork that THEIR representative requested, it's a whole different story...it becomes a nightmare and no one gives straight answers. They assure you that they are doing everything to process the closing of the account but they claim that they haven't received the paperwork when I'm looking at the delivery confirmation in front of me and I have to give THEM the information! It has taken a month and a half and we still have not received the funds due to their incompetence and invalid excuses. Don't be fooled by the commercials and their "straightforward" practices because it's all a joke!

I'm upset to learn that Ally assumes the right to share my personal info outside of Ally Bank. By doing so, they increase your risk of ID theft and spam. You can take the time to "Opt Out", but you must do so every year.

There are banks that protect your info as a policy, not an exception with an "Opt In" option, such as ING. Vermont had to enact legislation to assure responsible behavior with private info.

I hope Ally gets enough negative response to change their policy.

IT SHOULDNT EVEN HAVE ONE STAR THEY HAVE MY MONEY AND REFUSE TO LET ME HAVE ACCESS ON MY ACCT. THEIR PLAYING ALL THESE GAMES I NOW HAVE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FROM FRUADS AND RAQUETS ON THEM AS WELL AS THE FDIC

AND IM NOT KIDDING FOR WHAT THEYVE PET ME THRU JUST TO HAVE ACCESS TO MY OWN MON EY BY WAY OF ALL THESE ATM CARD GAMES, THEY SHOULD HAVE THEIR CHARTER PULLED , THEY DO NOT DESERVE TO BE IN A DECENT MANS WORLD DOING BUSINESS AND PUTTING A SOUL WHAT THEYVE PUT ME , AND NOW MY LANDLORD THROUGH, PLAYING KEEP AWAY WITH MY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MONEY. PLEASE EMAILS ME FOR ANY FURHTER INFO AND DETAILS ON THIS HORROR STORY DEL7442@GMAIL.COM OR CALL 315 604 7442

Opened a new account with Ally 10 days ago online, but had customer service walk me through the new account via phone. I opened the account and was given instructions to mail in a deposit to fund my new account. My check arrived last Friday and was deposited in my account butt he funds were "unavailable." I just called to see why and was told the funds would be on hold for 11 days...!!! I tried speaking to some moron in customer service who couldn't do anything, then with her supervisor Rene, another robotic moron with no authority. I will be closing my account Monday when the bank opens.

My husband and I are buying a house and dealing with Ally bank to get cashier check and such is a complete hassle. The mortgage and title companies require cashier check but it took them 5 days to send us out an official check instead. We paid for expedited service but got an expedited mistake. So now we need to pay extra to wire the funds. Big SNAFU! We won't be banking with them anymore.

They truly are a bank that lives up to their promise. They have good rates and are amazingly focused on taking care of customers. Opening an account was easy, but more importantly, they truly look out for your interests. I was going to open a 6 month CD with them, but customer service advised me to open a 9 month No Penalty CD instead since I could withdraw the money whenever i wanted but earn a higher interest rate. Ally Bank is the real deal.

I just received an alert from Ally Bank suggesting that I could earn more money. They call it a sleeping money alert. I am impressed. I always liked their rates and their customer service and now they are even looking out for me at their own expense.
I would recommend Ally based on my experience,

I thought I'd give some follow up on my original late August post. I was finally able to get my account unlocked in early September with the help of Ally's fraud Dept. Almost immediately, I then transferred all but a few dollars to an account with my local bank. A huge relief, let me tell you.

Around the same time frame (9/7) I send in a 2nd signed affidavit denying responsibility for the approx. $140 in unauthorized charges on my account, which was what originally triggered this whole fiasco. Today is 9/20 and still no resolution. So I called, but got the same story: "We don't have any record of receiving your denial form, but let us check into it."

The form I sent in comes with a pre-addressed postage paid envelope. So how could it disappear, twice? The Postal Service isn't that unreliable.

So now I'm back in limbo again waiting to get a callback from their fraud dept. Unbelievable!

I feel sorry for the well-intentioned reps working in customer service at Ally Bank. But if you are unfortunate enough to have any fraudulent activity on your account, you will be left feeling just as helpless as they are.

There is a definite breakdown in communication between Ally's customer service and fraud departments. If you're considering opening an account there I would advise questioning them on their "disputed charges" procedure and how your account could be affected. Tell them you would like a phone number for their fraud dept. so you can better understand the process. The answer should be your first indicator of what could lie ahead.

To those that say (online) banks need to be extra diligent to avoid fraud, I totally agree. But it also shouldn't come at the expense of the legitimate customer who has meet all security challenges.

Last edited 6 months ago by Tim in Nashville

I am a MBA student currently enrolled in the course, "Marketing Management". I do NOT currently have an account with Ally, but seeing the very effectively cute commercials, prompted me to investigate commentary as to whether their advertising implications were for real, re the claims of, no small print, bait and switch tactics, etc. Reading the above commentaries was very helpful and informational. One day I hope I allow Ally''s reputation to earn my decision to open an account with them.

Nevertheless, readers of these reviews need to be aware that banks of the 21st century need to be cautious about more than just managing the funds, they hold. They also need to execute caution regarding the deposits they potentially receive. Unscrupulous depositors require vetting by hyper-scrupulous means to thwart their potentially deceptive intentions.

Examples deposits of which to be wary, include:
• Drug laundering
• International arms transfers
• Ponzi holding companies
• Off shore political lobby-leveraging
• Pending death or divorce estate issues
• Preparatory embezzlement masking
• Setting-up a favorite enemy, (ex-spouse, boss, politician, etc.), for unscrupulous purposes.

Old procedures are like old wine bottles. [I.e. no ID’s required, immediate access to new deposits]

New procedures are line new wine. [I.e. re-vetting of established business customers applying for new large loans, ID to take out cash, ID to deposit, holding of funds, etc.]

Never pour new wine into old wineskins. Just be nice to people. Explain what and why you do what your do. If you tell a customer you will call them back... do it, with a smile in your voice. jp3-71-1419