How To Close An Account At Washington Mutual
Before Washington Mutual was acquired by JP Morgan Chase, in better times for the bank, they offered a yield on their online savings account that was tops in the land. Since then, the rate as fallen to 2.25% APY, which doesn’t even register on the radar of high yield savings account rates, and so I opted to close my account when I opened a Dollar Savings Direct account.
This is the first online savings account I have ever closed and I had no idea it would be such a headache. I don’t know if this is unique to WaMu’s policies or if it’s universal to online savings accounts but it was a pain. First, let me tell you about my experience and then I’ll explain the easiest way to do it.
How To Improperly Try Close A WaMu Account
In Maryland, there are no convenient WaMu branches to visit so I would have to do it by mail. Yep, they can’t close an account over the phone, which makes sense but is quite infuriating. The first time I called, I was told that I needed to zero out the accounts (I had both checking and savings) and then I could close the accounts by phone. So, I transferred all the funds out of my checking into my savings and then initiated a transfer out of savings. The checking to savings transfer was instantaneous, so I immediately closed my checking. I was told I could just call back in a couple days once the savings was zeroed out and could close that by phone. That was wrong.
What happened was that once the checking was closed, the $300 minimum daily balance requirement kicked in for the online savings account. I was assessed a $4 fee, overdrawing the account! When I called today, I had to fight with the call center CSR, who had no power but the follow the script she was given, to understand the actual process, then escalated to a supervisor who reversed the $4 fee. Overall, the experience with the call center CSR, through no fault of her own, was frustrating and infuriating but the supervisor was accommodating and great.
How To Properly Close A WaMu Account
There are rules as to how you can close out interest-bearing and non-interest bearing accounts, just forget about them. You only need to know the two ways to close a WaMu account:
- Visit a branch and close it with a teller. I didn’t have this option, but this is by far the easiest.
- Send a letter to WaMu’s Bank By Mail, indicating that you want to close your account. You’ll need to provide your account number (which you can get by viewing one of your statements through online banking) and a return address so they can send you your balance by check.
The mailing address for that letter is:
Washington Mutual BBM
PO Box 659588
San Antonio TX, 78265-9588
Don’t close any accounts over the phone, you’ll just end up decoupling your checking and savings and be hit with fees.
(Photo: Sërch)
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I wonder if the full blown online banks are that difficult? I would hope not. It’s good to hear you got the issue resolved though.
I’ll be closing my Emigrant Direct account in January when my CD matures, I’ll be able to give a better answer then. Hopefully it won’t be too bad.
I thought I was the only one with problems trying to close my account. I don’t think they want people to leave
Yeah, I’ve tried to close my accounts via the secure online contact form, and they just ignored me. No response at all, not even to say that you can’t do it that way. Thanks WaMu. Guess I’ll have to write them a letter.
Why close the Emigrant Direct account? It lacks a minimum balance requirement right? I’d keep a dollar in there just for flexibility.
I’m closing it to simplify things, plus, I opened a Dollar Savings Direct account which already has a higher yield.
Ironically, when I needed to close my Chase Checking account, the opposite situation held. In response to my written request to close my Chase checking account, they wrote back saying that they would not close the account because the signatures did not match… frustrated, a quick phone call got the account closed.
What made the situation even more absurd was that I was only closing *one* of two Chase checking accounts, and asking that the money be moved over…
Woah, timely post Jim!
I opened my WaMu accounts roughly when you opened yours and I’ve been thinking about closing them for awhile now (see: sucky rate). Luckily though, I do have a WaMu branch near me so I’m hoping to avoid the headache. I wonder if they’ll shred my checks for me too……..
Thanks for this tip!
The same thing for Bank of America. Do NOT try to zero out your balances first or you’ll get hit with an insufficient funds fee.
Either go to the teller and request them to close the account or you have to send a written letter to them.
I’m having the same problem with WAMU. I don’t live by a branch and am having to close out via snail mail. !!!
That is very interesting that you had problems, as I just closed my accounts recently by phone and had virtually no problems. I zeroed both my accounts, called them up (I didn’t even remember what my phone password was), asked them to close it, and they said fine. The savings was closed first and the interest was credited to my checking, which I then moved out again. The only slight problem I had, was I had to call again to get them to close the checking. They resubmitted the form and it’s now closed as well. Strange.
Hi,
Couldn’t you just have transferred all of your money to the free checking account, closed the savings account right away, then transferred your money to the new bank from the free checking account, then closed the free checking account. Would fees still have been assessed?