Free Checking
from Wachovia Bank

I absolutely love this account. First of all you get $25 to refer a friend and that friend aslo gets $25, and there is no limit to the amount of people you refer. Secondly if you get the checking account you should get the way-to-save savings acct. Everytime you use your debit card,$1 is taken out and put in your savings account. With overdraft protection, they automatically take the money from… your savings to your checking account. I can't tell you how many fees I would have had if it weren't for this. I love my Wachovia account!
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I have had their free checking account for a little over a year now. I would recommend it because unlike other banks there are no hidden fees that sneak up.

At first I really liked my Wachovia Free Checking account, but after a few months I began to get charged fees for cashing my payroll check instead of depositing it! Then, I had a problem with unauthorized charges that caused my account to overdraft. They did refund me for the unauthorized charges, but not for the several overdraft fees which actually totalled alot more than the actual charges…. I will never bank with Wachovia again!!
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When I was in college, I signed up for Wachovia free checking account. The pluses on this is that it was convenient to use when it came to online checking and web bill pay online. Another convenient thing was that there were plenty of ATM's available with Wachovia so you are able to use the card with no fees. The downside to me was that two years later I occured maintenance fees on my account w…hich since I never overdrawn I did should not pay the bank to maintain my account. Nevertheless, I left with them and went to Bank of America.
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Staff

I've done my checking with Wachovia for several years now (formerly a Crown Checking account and now free checking). Their web interface for managing your savings and checking accounts is quite nice, and integrates nicely with BillPay and investments (if you had an IRA or stock portfolio through Wachovia).

As far as I know, free checking entails no account fees, but you do have to purchase yo…ur own checks I didn't mind, as the checks from my original Crown Checking account were still usable. When the time comes to purchase new checks, I'll likely do so through Costco or a third-party, as Wachovia's checkbook prices are a tad high.

A huge plus for this product is Wachovia's online BillPay application. It's not just useful for paying utility and credit card bills with registered businesses. BillPay works great for mailing a check to anyone (friends, landlord, etc.) for free - Wachovia even covers the postage costs.

Perhaps one of the only negatives that comes to mind is the nonexistent interest rate, which doesn't stack up well against other banks that are offering free high-yield checking accounts.
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Wachovia checking is great. I manage almost everything through their web site. I agree with the above review - the bill pay is simple. The business lookup feature however is hit and miss. That leaves me sometimes wondering if my bill (the first time I did it) gets to where it needs to go - but it always does.

The branch banking can be expensive once you go over you threshold. The customer… service is always warm and friendly.
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Staff

My fiance and I have a joint Free Checking account with Wachovia. I'm able to transfer funds into the account from my linked Crown Checking account easily and quickly. I can pay bills online extremely easily. I like their reminder feature, where you sign up your bills with Wachovia and they notify you when a bill is coming due so you can go online and pay it. I'm a fan.

I've used Wachovia for 10 years. The customer service on the phone or in the branch is excellent.

I have recently started online bill pay through Wachovia. It is really simple and saved me lots of time on my bills.

Staff

I have held a Wachovia checking account for over five years. Here's what I think:

Positive:
- Clean, intuitive web site
- Bill pay that is fast, easy and reliable
- Superb customer service through their call center
- Branch locations are easy to reach - at least where I live
- It's really easy to move money from checking to savings. The whole transaction is completed in seconds.

Needs i…mprovement:
- No easy way to export my transactions into a spreadsheet
- No ability to organize and categorize my transactions (ala Geezeo)
- Really punitive fees for even small missteps. The overdrawn fee is $30 even with an attached savings account!

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