Ally Bank is the new name of the banking division of GMAC since anything “GM” is pretty much tarnished. Can Ally Bank be safe for our money and is it a good option for our money? Let’s find out with this review.
Since changing and relaunching its new name in May 15, 2009, Ally Bank has been trying to gather customer and deposits. What it offers is a higher than average interest rate with its four products: Classic CD, No Penalty CD, Online Savings Account, and Money Market Account.
Products and Fees
The bank has low fees (most of the time, it’s non-existent). In fact, the no penalty CD allows us to withdraw money from the CD without penalty fees as quickly as 6 days after opening the CD.
With the online savings accounts, there are no minimum balances, no account opening minimums, and no maintenance fees. They call it “straight forward and no sneaky disclaimers”.
Is Ally Bank Safe?
What’s most crucial for me with Ally Bank is whether my money is safe, because of its association of GMAC. I’m relieved to see that the bank is FDIC insured, which meant that I’m covered for up to $250,000 with my saving accounts.
Click here to sign up for an Ally Bank account
Ally Bank’s Focus on Customer Service
I haven’t called customer support yet but it’s nice to see that a bank is focused on customer service. The reason I know is because the phone number is up on top of every single page. In addition, they have a “current wait time” widget beside it as well, letting you know the wait time if you were to call. This is a subtle but welcome detail that shows the bank’s commitment to customer satisfaction.
Account Opening Process
The process was simple but what I liked about it is the fact that I can actually open several accounts with one application. One online savings account? One application. Want to add a CD on top of that? Same application.
While this process usually happen once so it’s not that big of a deal, I’m happy anytime when a company makes my life easier.
Ally Bank is or isn’t Right for Me?
The interest rate is high, the money is safe, there are no fees and they literally work harder than everyone else for our business. As a customer, I don’t see why not so I’m giving some business to Ally Bank.
You can sign up for an account here.
- Ally Bank – Official Site
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It’s great to be FDIC insured except when the government runs out of paper to pay for the failure. of all these banks, do you think they {FDIC} have the money sitting in an account for this.
FDIC’s funds are down to about $13 billion at the end of Q1 in their latest report but they are taking steps to replenish them like getting more money from member banks etc.
Congress also passed a bill to allow the FDIC to borrow up to $100 billion from the Treasury, an increase from the previous $30 billion.
So they should be okay in terms of funding. With all the changes and they still run out of money, the government won’t let FDIC fail because it plays the crucial role in the confidence of the whole U.S. savings system so I don’t think we need to worry about FDIC.
I’ve been a customer for GMAC for a long time and it’s been working out okay. There’s a change in name and all these news about the bank but so far, I haven’t really seen any changes (other than the website I log into). The interest are compounded daily and I still see it and can access my cash anytime I want.
In all my 75 years I have not encountered a commercial as disgusting and cruel
as the “horse” commercial where the smart-assed adult delivers his vulgar lines
so well, and the children are being made victims. Horrible!
Holy cow. Those kids are ACTORS. You may want to turn-off the dumb-box, visit your local library, and read a few books.
LOL!!!
Actually, the kids are not actors. The reactions you see are real. The parents knew that the kids are being lied to, but the kids did not. I love the commercials, but I am troubled by the fact that they lied to the kids. CNBC did a story about it.
I have been with Ally (GMAC) for 3 years. I had no problem with GMAC before.
Recently I spend 2 months in Ally and still can not open a new account, this experience is very frustrated. The customer representatives have inconsistent answers. One day they call you with one answer, and please don’t feel surprised for the call from them in the following days with another answer; I fax the documents to them, and they can not find/locate the fax. I am tired with several rounds of this kind of inconsistence.
My question is:
If representatives can NOT provide standard guidance/answer, what’s the meaning of customer service of the bank?
Although they have 7-24 call service, it won’t help if they can NOT solve your problem. (In fact, it wastes your time!)
I am searching for another bank with relative high rates. Enough is enough.
My wife and I tried to open a CD account with them. After several back and forth phone calls and requests to establish our residence and mailing addresses (in addition to our original paperwork and copies of our drivers licenses they wanted utility bills and a copy of our PO Box receipt), we told them to return our money. Their customer service said they would send our original check back. They didn’t. We never had an account with them but they cashed our check. Our bank statement showed the check was paid.
When I called to ask why my check was cashed, no one could explain. They told me that they would send my complaint to an escalation team for immediate resolution and they would call me back with the results 2 days later. No one ever did. When I called them to find out the status of my check, I was told that my account was pending and that in 5 days or so, they would review the matter. After yelling at the CSR, I was put on hold and eventually told by the rep that she made a mistake, my check was already mailed. I would have it in 7-10 working days.
A few days later, Ally called me again. This time, I was told that I would have to prove that the check had been cashed in order to receive a refund. So basically, they never opened an account for me, they cashed my check, lied to me that they had already refunded my money, then called me and told me that I had to prove my check had been cashed to get a refund. This is after they acknowledged receiving the check and accidentally cashing it. They knew the check number and the amount but still no refund. Unbelievable.
In all, they’ve held my money hostage for a month. Someone either lost or stole my check and they won’t give my money back yet. Don’t give this company your business.
I sympathize with your situation. I trust you’ll eventually get you’re money back. Here’s a tip… since 9/11 it’s not a good idea to attempt to open a new bank account using a P.O. Box as an address.
With many baby boomers retiring and looking for a safe place to invest. Ally bank should also offer a rollover IRA CD. Discover bank online offers this and pays a great interest rate.
“In all my 75 years I have not encountered a commercial as disgusting and cruel
as the “horse” commercial where the smart-assed adult delivers his vulgar lines
so well, and the children are being made victims. Horrible!”
AMEN to this woman…Ally bank should be ashamed of themselves. You are exploiting children and they can’t even bank. This commercial was dumb, boring and very sad. You could get the same point across using adults.
I thought the Ally Bank commercial were hysterical and had to open an account just for that reason alone. I am really glad I did because they are the best bank I have dealt with. Opening an account was quite simple, but more importantly, everything about their experience is centered around the customer. I needed a transfer done urgently and customer service offered to wire the funds for me at no charge! A bank that finally cares about customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Ally bank has stolen my money as well. The made a $15,000 withdrawal and keep giving me the run around on looking into the matter. Every time I call they say it will take 24-48 hours to resolve the problem. They won’t let me speak with anyone that can resolve the issue, just representatives that will document the problem. I’m not sure what to do.
Go to ING. Abit lower interest rate, but more professional.
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What the?
I have tried ING, Bank of America, E-trade and Ally and I have to say that Ally is just a better experience overall. I have moved all my money over to Ally and am just glad that not only is my money working harder but I also have great service anytime I want.
I opened an on-line account with Ally in Jan 2010 and found their representatives to be very helpful & professional. I’ve had the pleasure to communicated with their reps via phone and chat several times. They were concise in resolving any and all questions. It’s a pleasure to be banking with an organization who seems to care about it’s customers. So far, it’s been great!
I’ve been an Ally customer for a couple of years now; and have been very happy with my experiences so far. When I’ve needed to call, I usually (80%) get very knowledge & helpful reps. I think they’re able to offer higher-than-average rates because they have less overhead (no/few physical branches to buy/maintain). I’ve heard of some credit-unions that have slightly higher rates than Ally (like http://www.alliantcreditunion.org). The CUs can offer even higher-than-Ally rates because they have no/few physical branches AND they exist in the non-profit sector (don’t have to payout shareholders dividends, etc).
At 1st I ABSOLUTLY LOVED Ally…. Now since January 2010 on the 15th of every month (my statement date) I have random “service charges” yet NOBODY can tell me what they are for?!?! And some of the charges have been amounts that they don’t even have service fees for!?! I have concluded (altho the rep I talked to denied it) That their customer service reps work out of their home, which is why there is never anyone else to talk to (like a supervisor), and they have NO PHONE NUMBER for the department which is suppose to be working on my issues so that I can contact them, since they NEVER NEVER NEVER call me back!
Also, double check your atm fee refunds.. Last month I had $32.50 in atm fees yet was only refunded $9.50… (same with the 2 previous statement, but I forgot the amounts)
I have just concluded I totally hate this bank now, and am moving my money… but where??? Under my matress???
And as for the people of who say they are so disgusted with the commercials, wtf? I think they are halarious… that’s why i switched (that and the high earning interest), there is nothing sick or sad about them! But now after my recent bouts of poor service, I just find that they make me angry.
I closed my ally bank account in March, which was difficult in its own right, and all of a sudden in this month my money was withdrawn from the external bank account I had transferred my money to and put back into my closed ally bank. I was not notified of this transfer. When I called to ask why, no one could explain why my money was transferred. When I requested it be transferred back, because it was taken out of my account by mistake, it was sent to the incorrect account. When I had not received my money by the promised day, I called again, and it was explained to me that it was sent to the wrong account, but that the error had already been caught and I would receive my money by Friday (yesterday.) My money had not been put back into my account on the promised, and I called just now to ask where it is, and they told me that it would not be transferred into my account until the next Wednesday. Everyone I’ve spoken to hasn’t really understood how money was transferred out of my account in the first place, or how it was sent to the wrong account, and I really don’t feel as if I should have to wait this long for my money when it was Ally’s mistake. This money never should have been withdrawn from my account in the first place, especially without my notification. At this point I’m concerned that I’ll even get my money back. And, after my account is closed, I shouldn’t have any ties with ally any more. This bank shouldn’t even have access to my external account to withdraw money in the first place. And now it’s unnecessarily difficult to resolve the issue. At this point it’s been so difficult to just get my money back that it honestly seems like theft. I don’t even feel like my complaints even help, because no one even has any idea what’s going on. Every time I try to complain everyone just says that they don’t understand what’s happening with my account and that they weren’t the ones that made the mistake. It’s very frustrating. I don’t know who made the mistake, but regardless I feel as if the employees should have been more helpful in solving it. Many people I’ve spoken with have talked down to me as if I was stupid for complaining so much about my predicament, and I don’t appreciate it. I feel as if my ordeal has given me the right to be upset. I am extremely dissatisfied with my entire Ally bank experience.
STAY AWAY FROM ALLY BANK.
i opened an account online and noted that i want my free checks to be mailed. i called a couple of days later to double check and make sure everything went through. the representative told me that i did not note that i want my free checks to be mailed. so he took care of it and told me that my debit card and checks should arrive in 7-10 business days. today is the 10th business day and nothing is here – no debit card, no checks.
i called them and asked them why i havent received anything. after 15 minutes of holding, they told me that the debit card was returned after three days because the address i gave them was insufficient. this doesnt make sense because i received my welcome packet on time with no trouble at all.
what pissed me off was that the bank didnt even bother to call me when the debit card was returned to them. what the fuck kind of customer service is that? and then here is the icing on the cake…the bitch asked, “what would you like us to do?” DO I WORK THERE? FIGURE IT OUT BITCH.
and then i asked about my checks. they told me that NO CHECKS WERE ORDERED. that was the last straw. i withdrew my funds and moved on to greener pastures.
fuck ally bank. end of story.
***I just spoke to another person who might be a supervisor and apparently there is NO POLICY ON FOLLOWING UP WITH CUSTOMERS. dumb shits.
I opened 2 checking accounts with Ally bank about 45 days ago. At tat time I made a SIMPLE request. I wanted (2) Debit Cards 1 for each account they said it would take up to 10 business days. I also specifically told them NOT to send me a paper checkbook.
Well 3 weeks later and I didnt get any debit cards, but I got other correspondence from Ally during that time so it’s obv. the mail is working properly.
I call back about not receiving the cards and the customer service rep FLAT OUT LIES and says that they show the (2) debit cards were sent out. I KNOW 100% THAT WAS NOT TRUE (I will explain why later)
I am cordial anyway to the rep. and he says they will send out another 2 debit cards. I made double sure to explain (1) card per each account.
Now 5 days later I receive (1) debit card and 3 days after that I receive the pin #. It was about 10 days and I wondered where the 2nd debit card was. Judging by my previous experience with Ally a few weeks earlier, I was pretty sure they never sent out the 2nd one.
I proceed to call customer service back again and explain to them that I only got 1 card and not 2. The customer service rep. checks and says they only sent me out 1 card but its “hooked up” to both accounts. This is CLEARLY NOT what I requested so I calmly explained that I wanted another debit card to be hooked up with the 2nd account and they said it will be yet ANOTHER 5-10 days. This is the third time already.
So now today what do I receive in my mailbox? (2) sets of checkbooks from Ally bank dated the day after the last time I called. I never requested checks, in fact I mentioned clearly a few times do not send me paper checks. So what the idiot customer service rep did was send be sets of checkbooks instead of the debit card I wanted.
So I call back again today, (4th time Ive had to call these morons) over at Ally and ask why did I get 2 checkbooks that I never ordered, and specifically told them numerous times to NOT send me checks. Why did I receive checkbooks instead of a debit card? I was sure at this point they never sent out the 2nd card not they sent checkbooks instead.
This customer service rep this time JUST FLAT OUT TELLS ABOUT 10 FULL FLEDGED LIES. Starting with – “there was no money in the account so that’s why the card never got sent” uh excuse me I said but there was money in both accounts when originally requested. I only took out the money because Ally kept screwing up my simple request for (2) debit cards – 1 for each account.
After knowing that she got caught in a lie the cust. service rep. said “Oh, the second time I ordered cards there was no money in the account” TRUE but I only took the money out of both accounts because they screwed up. But why would they send me 1 debit card anyway if they had that policy in effect. Which means that it doesnt matter if money was in the account or not, she was just trying to cover up for the fact that they never sent out 2.
I then went on to request another debit card for my 2nd account which does have a zero balance. (I took all the money out because they kept messing up)and she said they wont send me a card when the account balance is ZERO. ANOTHER LIE!!!! Then how did I get the 1st card idiot?
She just kept making tings up off the top of her head and every LIE/Point she tried to make was quickly disputed. Every point I made was valid and Im very sure they keep a record so she had no ground to dispute anything I said so she juat had to resort to making up lies.
In hindsight, after I talked to the last rep. I realized the other reps I had talked to in the past were making up facts, because they all said different things.
Summary – 1 month wait to get my 1st debit card from Ally. Its been 45 days from my 1st request and I havent received my 2nd debit card.
Ally bank reps. LIE LIE LIE
ABSOLUTELY THE WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE I HAVE RECEIVED FROM ANYONE IN ANY INDUSTRY EVER!!!!
I opened 2 checking accounts with Ally bank about 45 days ago. At tat time I made a SIMPLE request. I wanted (2) Debit Cards 1 for each account they said it would take up to 10 business days. I also specifically told them NOT to send me a paper checkbook.
Well 3 weeks later and I didnt get any debit cards, but I got other correspondence from Ally during that time so it’s obv. the mail is working properly.
I call back about not receiving the cards and the customer service rep FLAT OUT LIES and says that they show the (2) debit cards were sent out. I KNOW 100% THAT WAS NOT TRUE (I will explain why later)
I am cordial anyway to the rep. and he says they will send out another 2 debit cards. I made double sure to explain (1) card per each account.
Now 5 days later I receive (1) debit card and 3 days after that I receive the pin #. It was about 10 days and I wondered where the 2nd debit card was. Judging by my previous experience with Ally a few weeks earlier, I was pretty sure they never sent out the 2nd one.
I proceed to call customer service back again and explain to them that I only got 1 card and not 2. The customer service rep. checks and says they only sent me out 1 card but its “hooked up” to both accounts. This is CLEARLY NOT what I requested so I calmly explained that I wanted another debit card to be hooked up with the 2nd account and they said it will be yet ANOTHER 5-10 days. This is the third time already.
So now today what do I receive in my mailbox? (2) sets of checkbooks from Ally bank dated the day after the last time I called. I never requested checks, in fact I mentioned clearly a few times do not send me paper checks. So what the idiot customer service rep did was send be sets of checkbooks instead of the debit card I wanted.
So I call back again today, (4th time Ive had to call these morons) over at Ally and ask why did I get 2 checkbooks that I never ordered, and specifically told them numerous times to NOT send me checks. Why did I receive checkbooks instead of a debit card? I was sure at this point they never sent out the 2nd card not they sent checkbooks instead.
This customer service rep this time JUST FLAT OUT TELLS ABOUT 10 FULL FLEDGED LIES. Starting with – “there was no money in the account so that’s why the card never got sent” uh excuse me I said but there was money in both accounts when originally requested. I only took out the money because Ally kept screwing up my simple request for (2) debit cards – 1 for each account.
After knowing that she got caught in a lie the cust. service rep. said “Oh, the second time I ordered cards there was no money in the account” TRUE but I only took the money out of both accounts because they screwed up. But why would they send me 1 debit card anyway if they had that policy in effect. Which means that it doesnt matter if money was in the account or not, she was just trying to cover up for the fact that they never sent out 2.
I then went on to request another debit card for my 2nd account which does have a zero balance. (I took all the money out because they kept messing up)and she said they wont send me a card when the account balance is ZERO. ANOTHER LIE!!!! Then how did I get the 1st card idiot?
She just kept making tings up off the top of her head and every LIE/Point she tried to make was quickly disputed. Every point I made was valid and Im very sure they keep a record so she had no ground to dispute anything I said so she juat had to resort to making up lies.
In hindsight, after I talked to the last rep. I realized the other reps I had talked to in the past were making up facts, because they all said different things.
Summary – 1 month wait to get my 1st debit card from Ally. Its been 45 days from my 1st request and I havent received my 2nd debit card.
Ally bank reps. LIE LIE LIE
ABSOLUTELY THE WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE I HAVE RECEIVED FROM ANYONE IN ANY INDUSTRY EVER!!!!
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I have never had such a hugh problem. It took over 45 minutes for them to finish AFter all that time they still could not finish the application. the person taking the information kept typing in the wrong information. I had to call back I was placed on hold for 10 minutes then i had to do the whole application again which took another 20 minutes
It was horrilbe. Went to Discover Bank same rates , applied on line in 10 minutes.
TO SUM THINGS UP, LOOKS LIKE I WILL NOT BE OPENING AN ALLY BANK CD-BECAUSE OF MANY PROBLEMS I HAVE JUST READ ABOUT ON THIS SITE, AND WHOEVER GAVE ALLY BANK 3 STARS OUT OF 5 RATING, NEEDS TO HAVE THERE HEAD EXAMINED !!!!! AFTER READING MANY COMPLAINTS , I WOULD GIVE IT A HALF STAR RATING-AT BEST…. GOOD LUCK TO ALL……….. CHARLIE ….ct299@msn.com