Bank of America: Is It Just Me…
October 13th, 2008UPDATE 3: It’s Working Again
It’s there now. * Twilight Zone Music *
UPDATE 2: Telephone Banking Seems to Work
I called back and used the automated system. I was able to check my account balance.
UPDATE 1: My Checking Account Is No Longer Listed in My Online Banking Profile
When I logged into online banking at Bank of America today, a screen appeared that said something like, “We cannot retrieve information on all of your accounts at this time.” I don’t have the screen shot. There was only an “OK” button to click at the bottom of the message. Once I clicked through, I was still able to see my credit card account, that I never use, but my checking account is not there at all. It’s not even listed. I tried to click into “Bill Pay,” the online payment system:
“You do not have any Bill Pay enabled accounts.”
I’m chuckling, more than anything else, right now. I’ve only kept minimum balances in there for years, thinking that “this” could happen at any time. I don’t know if “this” is “it” or if there’s some legit technical problem, whatever that would mean.
I’ve used online banking with Bank of America since around 1998. I’ve never experienced a problem like this before.
I just tried calling. The computer voice told me, “Our banking center is closed for the holiday. Please try your call again after the holiday.”
— End Update —
Before I post an EMERGENCY alert, can anyone out there access their Bank of America checking accounts online?
If you see “that” message, I’d appreciate a screen shot of it. I was so shocked by what I saw that I lost track of the screen shot, and it won’t display again for me.
Four days ago, I sent this link to my family:
This from a friend in Atlanta with strong banking connections: “Reliable word that Bank of America branch managers just received a letter or memo from the USFed instructing them to perhaps be ready for a one-week universal shut-down of the banking system, including access to checking accounts, savings accounts and credit cards. Reliable word has it that BofA bank branches received a shipment of signs last week, reading “WE’RE SORRY, BUT DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND OUR CONTROL, WE CANNOT BE OPEN AT THIS TIME.”
http://www.321gold.com/editorials/willie/willie100208.html
No problem here, but that might not mean much as they won’t be finished subsuming my local bank until next week.
For what it’s worth, I can log in successfully. However, when I click on the account name of the single VISA card account that I have with them, it times out with the message from my browser saying “TIMED OUT – CANNOT LOAD ADDRESS.” I tried twice, got same result both times…. hmmm. Hitting Back on the browser takes me to a working Accounts Overview page, but I can’t do anything substantial there; if try to “Pay now” I get this message from their server:
“We are unable to complete your request
We apologize for any inconvenience.
Please use the link below to return to the Accounts Overview page, where you can try again.”
Sounds like something is shut off or some crucial server is down.
@pookie:
Universal shut-down of the system including checking accounts and credit cards? How are people suppose to feed their families? Are merchants supposed to just take the checks and credit-card information, and then it all gets sent in once the freeze is lifted? Or is everybody just “S.O.L.”, as we used to say in the old hometown?
Sounds like a good way to make people freak the freaking freak out over the condition of the financial system, however it’s supposed to work.
@L&L
Gawd knows why our masters do what they do. Perhaps we peons are *supposed* to “freak the freaking freak out” to get us all frothing at the mouth and stampeding in the planned direction, which would be hanging over the cliff, of course. Then they roll out the Double Secret Probation Plan to Enslave — oops, I mean SAVE our freaking asses, for which we are grovingly, toe-suckingly grateful.
I can access mine with no problem.
Loveandlight, I’m no one of any importance and I have no special knowledge or understanding of what’s going on or coming down.
But, as a precaution, if you’ve got a family to feed (or a self to feed), get in a supply of staples and canned goods. A BIG supply.
This need not be expensive: beans, rice, flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, cooking oil. Flesh this out with canned goods, dehydrated items, seasonings, supplements, and vitamins.
It seems to be widely understood that just about everything is about to go “kablooey.” No one knows whether this will happen tomorrow or next year, but it seems to me the sensible thing to do is behave as if it will happen tomorrow.
Generally speaking, I dismiss these rumors of extended bank-holidays as not much more than urban legends, but this weekend, I still made sure I was well stocked-up on soap and TP. 20 double-rolls of TP and 30 bars of soap (I keep a brick of ten bars of soap and two “thousand-sheet” rolls of TP in permanent reserve in case some sort of urban legend actually becomes the real deal)!
@sharon:
“8” Wasn’t a response to your suggestion, in case you were wondering. I am stockpiling a modest amount of food. It may not be enough, but que sra sra. I’m doing as much as I can without drawing unwanted attention from the control-freak older bro.
Maybe you couldn’t access BOA cause they were updating their records with their cash infusion from the Feds!
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=adm0lax5u714&refer=home
BOA might need the cash since all that debt that Countrywide had on their books must have looked so appealing. Buying all that mortgage debt was something appealing to BOA? I don’t get it.
Yes, you can stand on your head and look at this situation upside down and it still does not make sense.
I can honestly say that I am very confused about what these foxes in charge of the hen house are doing. Or if they are sharks feeding off of the people (chum)thrown out over the waters.
These folks are trawling for suckers. The buy low, sell high gang. Whoopee.
Myself, I did not buy any stocks as I thought I was going to.
I think the one very interesting thing that did occur in my life is that my sister actually took some cash out the bank this past weekend.
@Loveandlight – a bank holiday is not an urban legend. Believe me, my Mom and Dad regaled me on those stories. So, when banks are defaulting left and right that apparently look like pretty normal places to bank, well cheez. I behave accordingly.
I do believe we’re in a lull right now. That the Plunge Protection Team took most, if not all of that $700 billion and pumped it into the market today to “show” that, YES! The peoples believe in us and are showing their confidence in our markets.
Hmph. what a crock of shit. Between now and November 4th I think they will have shot their bankroll. Just more piss in the wind. I don’t believe that you can turn money into debt and then think that can substain an economy.
Much as I dislike my being a doomsday phrophetess, that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.
That’s a good one, Eileen:
The Bush administration will announce a plan to rescue frozen credit markets that includes spending about half of a total of $250 billion for preferred shares of nine major banks, people briefed on the matter said.
The companies are Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley, State Street Corp., and Bank of New York Mellon Corp., the people said. One of the people also said Merrill Lynch & Co. will receive an investment.
What an effing joke.