Ally Bank Review w. 1,100+ User Reviews

by David@MoneyNing.com · 1,128 comments

After being GMAC Bank first and then changing it’s name to Ally Bank, everyone’s no doubt seen the new advertisements that emphasizes no fine print.  With the bank being connected with General Motors, the first thing I can think of is whether my money will be safe. Of course, I went to research further before my readers could be ripped off with this bank so this review represents my opinion of putting money with its savings account offering.

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Safety of Ally Bank

ally bankFirst things first, Ally Bank saving accounts and CDs are all FDIC insured so our money is safe for up to $250k per account. There are ways to increase the amount covered even further, but you would need to open individual, joint, and accounts under other entities such as a trust to get a higher limit. (Another way is to just open accounts across different banks, which might be easier.)

Products Offered from the Online Bank

Ally Bank offers 2 main products that we are really concerned about – an online savings account and a certificate of deposit with above average rates. The extremely good interest rates for this type of product and the bank being FDIC insured prompt me to open an account with them.

When I opened an account, it was also nice to see that I can actually open multiple savings accounts and certificate deposits all on one screen. No more submitting multiple applications and spending time filling the exact same form more than necessary.

Ally Bank is Another Excellent Option

There’s really many options out there to compete for our money, but it’s nice to see a bank with competitive rates with a simple interface. The name GMAC may spook you in opening an account, but the safety of the FDIC guarantee should provide comfort, especially since you are getting more interest by going with them.

After 2 years of originally reviewing this bank, I am still an Ally Bank customer. But before you decide, make sure that you read through some of the other user reviews below. Though most people only speak up when they have a problem, you can get an idea of the types of issues people have with their accounts.

Resources:

Other News You May Want to Know About the Ally Bank

Is GMAC Really GM?

Many people asked me about this already, and I actually had the same question myself. I always thought that GMAC Financial Services was part of General Motors but I was wrong. GMAC is actually a standalone banking operation that provides lending and banking services. The difference with GMAC to a traditional loan company is that instead of offering mortgages and home equities to consumers, GMAC offers loans and lending to GM and Chrysler dealers to finance their operations.

Ally Bank is just one of the online banks we reviewed on MoneyNing.com. Click here for the full list of high yield online savings accounts we have experience with.

Money Saving Tip: An incredibly effective way to save more is to reduce your monthly Internet and TV costs. Click here for the current Verizon FiOS promotion codes and promos to see if you can save more money every month from now on.

{ read the comments below or add one }

  • Steve E. says:

    Won’t do business with these guys. Just your typical no-service, screw the customer, bank.
    Right out of the hat they were nice enough to loose the title to my one of my cars, accept my money, and then tried to reposes it after they messed up on the account numbers (I was paying for someone else’s vehicle apparently). No thank you, I think I will keep my local bank at least they can figure out how to a.) put the address on an envelope, b.) use this thing called a telephone and call somebody when there’s a problem. Quite possibly the worst customer service I have ever experienced. I would recommend never using their services and avoiding dealing with them at all costs if you appreciate good service.

  • Bobby (From Marco Island) says:

    OK……….So bottom line with all these comments. What you people are saying is find a bank within the US? Personally I would like a bank to be physically present in the US, where I can go and talk with a “real” person. Perhaps that is one of the reasons they are able to offer larger interest rates? Before I’m about to invest in a bank large sums of money I would like to see the branch that I am dealing with. Is that being a bit naive?

  • Micki says:

    I set up a CD with ally for 10G and planned on adding about 6G per year to my Cd. It’s been about a month and every promise made BEFORE I signed up has been broken. They wouldn’t talk to me about my husbands notes and visa versa and both of us are on acct. However everyone else gets access to my info. Even my SS#. It’s been aweful and now our accts blocked to keep us from backing out despite being told we could pull out any time with just two months intests penelty. I am angry and a dozen calls have me no closer to any help. At best I get a polite SORRY, some arejust snotty and Ally has some sneeky policies. I have NO idea how they got rated as being a top pick for customer satisfaction. My parents have almost 200 G in CDs makeing less money and they were waiting to see how it went for me. Needless to say they are sticking with the bank they have at a lower rate.

    • Bill says:

      Hi Micki,

      I am curious. What “sneaky” policies have you found at Ally?

      What was their explanation for why they blocked your account?

      I have over 350 K in Ally in various CDs and savings accounts. I have terminated several CDs early and paid the 2-month penalty without a problem. I’ve moved lots of money into and out of my savings electronically without a problem.

      I have not found any “sneaky” policies.

      I am concerned about all of the negative comments here. It is always hard to tell if only the people with a problem post and therefore the majority of posts are negative or if the negative posts are an accurate sampling of customers feelings.

      Thanks,

      Bill

      • Donald says:

        Hi Bill,

        Like you I am frustrated with this blog as there are a majority of complaints out here. I have about 230K invested with Ally mostly for my liquid capital that I want access to. My wife and I are both on the many accounts including CD’s. I have not had any issues with Ally. They are very strict in how they handle security which sometimes can be a pain but it’s a good thing at the same time. I’ve been with Ally for about two years now and enjoy them greatly. They are restricted by banking laws which some people get frustrated with but it’s not Ally’s fault, it’s just the banking industry.

        I’m happy with Ally and am sticking with them as I believe they have a good business model, many will attempt to emulate in the future. I’m sure brick and mortar banks cannot compete with them.

        Donald

        • Ward Cee says:

          “Frustrated” is a revealing word choice. I can see how someone with positive experiences with Ally would be “surprised” or “shocked” to hear so many negative comments about Ally Bank and GMAC.

          Frustrated on the other hand implies being thwarted in an endeavor, probably a relationship marketing job where your assignment is to put a positive spin on the cesspool of complaints about the services and policies of this bank. If that’s the case, I hope your frustration continues and more consumers get their eyes opened to the anti-consumer policies of these companies.

  • Washington retirement community says:

    You may have thought that Ally is an ally account, but it can block, prevent, hold your funds indefinitely at their own discretion. It’s unfair.

  • rj says:

    I post here from time to time and want to assure those interested in Ally Bank that they have nothing to fear. Don’t believe the bad remarks on this site as we cannot be sure they are real or not. They could be competitors slamming Ally or just persons who are not telling the whole story. All you see is one side of the story. I have been a customer of Ally for well over a year and a half and am very happy with Ally. I have a number of accounts with them. I applaud their security to ensure my money is safe. I have talked to customer service a number of times and each time they were very helpful. I have a story to tell as well. I use to work for a local bank who did not have any morals. It was all about money. After working for them for five years and being a designated high performer who received significant bonus awards and stock options, I was laid off. I understand they were going through hard times but they didn’t bother to offer senior employees who were close to retirement a package. Instead they laid off hard working employees like me who had families to support on a single income. I don’t really trust any bank nowadays but like what Ally is doing online and believe that it really makes sense for guys like me. For those of you with an attitude, good luck, take your money elsewhere and keep your comments to yourself. Let people try and decide for themselves if Ally is right for them. You can try Ally with a minimal investment for a period of time until you see for yourself. That’s actually what I did before I was comfortable with them.

    Regards,
    RJ

    • Alex B. says:

      Wow.. Such a heart-breaking story about some badass bank that you used to work for (why no name?). And now – big contrast.. ‘friendly’ Ally bank. Sort of ‘bad cop’ and ‘good cop’ story. Another try by a Ally Bank employee to boost the rating? Nice try.
      Now about your comment about customers ‘not telling the whole story’.. I told the story AS IT IS. I even posted phone numbers – feel free to call those numbers to ‘verify’ the story. Is it indeed about attitude? 70% of the posts on this site are NEGATIVE. And they are coming from REAL customers and not from some marketing people working for Ally Bank trying to play old tricks. Your post sounds pretty much like Ally Bank commercials with those little children. Nice try.

      • rj says:

        Alex,

        The reason I post here is mainly the fact that this site is not restricted nor is the authenticity of a poster verified in any way, that goes for me and for you. Anyone can post here, with or without a real email. There’s no way for anyone except me to know who I am and that goes the same for you. You could be the CEO of the bank that laid me off for all I know. And you’re right, I could work for Ally. And you could work for a competitor trying to bash Ally. Right?

        This is for those who read this blog. Don’t believe anything you read here, from me or anyone else. It’s best to get your information from reputable sources. You can easily start an account with Ally with only $10 and see how it works. You can move $1 between accounts and limit your exposure if you’re really worried. Don’t listen especially to the negative comments. I whole heartedly believe they are from competitors. Think of it. Competitors can measure the amount of money leaving their banks and being deposited into Ally accounts. That’s how I move my money to my Ally accounts. So if a CEO of a bank see’s millions if not billions of dollars being moved to Ally accounts from his banks which can easily be identified by the routing number, what do you think he would do? They have large marketing groups that have the time to post negative comments on this board.

        My bet is with Ally because they have a different business model than brick and mortar banks. That’s why I’m a customer, and that’s why I have the energy and the desire to continue to post here and ensure that consumers act wisely and understand my point of view regarding negative posts on this site.

        Take a hike Alex.

        • Ward Cee says:

          rj is absolutely right that you should take these comments with a grain of salt. He is disingenuous, however, in attributing the negative comments to Ally’s competitors. That is a laugh.

          This bank has upset so many customers with its incompetent and fraudulent service that there is no shortage of angry customers. And it is a fact that customers who have a bad experience are much more likely to talk about it than people who have a good experience. That means the negative comments are coming from normal human behavior. Anodyne positive comments like the one above aren’t the way normal people act unless they are being compensated for posting them.

          What you are seeing here is run-away negative word of mouth for a company with despicable business practices.

          I am a real customer and have had very bad experiences I documented in previous posts. For those who want to earn a few extra basis points of interest (that you may not even get. See comments about Ally fraud above), roll the dice. I would never do business with this company or their affiliate GMAC Mortgage again.

        • Alex B. says:

          RJ,
          I was Ally bank customer for a LONG period – see my original post. Just like you suggested, I started with only 100$ deposit. Later on I switched American Express, Chase and Capital One credit card payments to them.
          I even opened s savings account them.
          When they locked my accounts I had more than 15K in both savings and checking accounts. And as I stated in my previous comments, I could not get access to my money for over a week. I had to file a complaint with FDIC to get my money. And I strongly believe the others should learn from my mistakes. IF you keep $10 in the bank account then there is no reasons for them to lock you. That’s why you are just one of the happy cheap customers. My congratulations to you on that. However, if you plan to have more than $1,000 in Ally accounts – my advise – think twice, then think more and DON’T DO that.

          Alex.
          P.S.
          You advise the others to act wisely with $10 deposit. I advise the same with $1000+ deposits. And let’s leave it at that.

  • CS says:

    Ally Bank is a crock. The first time I opened a CD with them for 25k they withdrew 50k from my account and it took a week to get it back. That was about 2 years ago. I forgot about that and made the mistake of opening 3 new CDs with them this March. Their 6month APY rate was posted at 1.05% and their 9month rate was posted as .99%. Low and behold, 7 days after the account is funded, my online statement says the 6month CD is for an APY of .99% and the 9month is for .95% . This may not seem like a lot but this is LYING. I called and complained they said they would have to submit request to “banking operations”, which when I called 2 days later, just said that what they did was fine. So much for their 10 day “highest rate” guarantee. I will never bank with this scumbag internet bank again. The CS rep was unable to even give me a physical street address for their office, saying she was “contracted by some other company” to even perform customer service for Ally.

  • G says:

    Absolutely terrible customer service. Philipino customer service very difficult to work with. I told customer rep 5 times I would be handling my mothers financial affairs and they should of received power of attorney forms. He kept asking to speak with my mother. Was put on hold 7 times waiting for supervisor. After finally getting to sup I was put on hold for 25 min waiting for USA customer service which by the way never answered phone. I have been waiting 36 hrs for them to find/file poa forms. By the way, I sent same form to a USA company and they spoke with me about loan within 30 min of receiving. I will never suggest anyone by a GMAC vehicle.

  • Larry says:

    I love my bank-my bank is Ally….

    • Ward Cee says:

      Larry, are you possibly an Ally stockholder? Employee? Someone working on Ally’s behalf in relationship marketing?

      If you are a customer, your love for Ally is not very widely shared by real customers who have done business with them or GMAC. If you look at the posts from real customers on these forums, they are overwhelming negative.

      My personal experience is that it is the worst company I have dealt with.

      I am very busy at work, but Ally/GMAC have upset me to the point where I am taking the time and effort to tell the world how bad they are in every forum available to me.

    • Alex B. says:

      Good for you. This won’t last long. Wait until you ran into a single problem. Then you’ll hate you ‘love’ with a passion.

  • Jennie Darby says:

    Your customer service is horrible. It is the stuff that commercials are made of – I have been hung up on transferred to incorrect departments and had a TON of empty promises. Your business SUCKS.. I intend on telling EVERYONE I know how horrible your company is. and if there is any way I can add to your demise as a so called financial institution I will. I can not believe this is how you think you need to run a business.

  • MoneyIsTheRoot says:

    I used to work in the corporate finance dept for GMAC, I was around when we started Ally Bank, and now the company has changed its moniker to Ally Financial. The bank is merely one portion of the company as a whole, as most of the profit still comes from automotive lending (at least for now). Honestly, they are FDIC insured like any other bank, and they offer a great no risk no fee CD…and their savings account rates are comparable, if not better, than any of the banks out there. People will always have their complaints about any bank, but because they don’t have the overhead of the typical brick-and-mortars, their fees are much much lower, and the perks much much higher…think Bank of America, anyone?? Their fees are ridiculous now…too much overheard eating into their profit…doesn’t that remind you of Blockbusters downfall? That being said, I wouldn’t peg a savings account at Ally or anywhere else as necessarily the best place if I had extra money… come check out my personal finance blog if you have a minute.

    • Alex B. says:

      Nobody argues about Ally ‘great’ rates. The question raised is about Ally Bank Customer service or the complete lack thereof. I’ve been a Bank of America Customer for over 3 years and I managed to resolve whatever problems over the phone within 20-40 mins top. When I opened an account at BOA it was initially frozen (with a famous 888,888.88 debit). The reason? I opened the account from Canada. I called the same day, faxed the copy of my DL. I received the call back from BOA within an hour with apologies. Same story happened with Ally Bank. They froze my account. I faxed 5 documents. No phone call back. I had to call 20 times to get a hold of a lousy employee who didn’t care much about my problem. I was locked out of my account for a WEEK. No access to money, with frozen bills to pay. So please don’t compare a pineapple (Bank of America) with a rotten banana (Ally Bank). I’m not even mentioning Bill Pay. I’ve been using BOA Bill Pay for 2 years and only once (.) the payment was delayed by one day and BOA reimbursed me the $35 late fee (that I paid to another company) the same (.) day. Bill Pay by Ally Bank was delayed by 10 days (..) and no reimbursement of any kind given. So if you want to rely on a piggy bank such as Ally Bank and one day be locked out of your money and no physical location to go an resolve the issue, then by all means go ahead and do risky business with Ally Bank. However, smart people should learn from the mistakes of others and choose another bank.

  • RD says:

    To all concerned.

    If you want to find out about Ally Bank, all the info is found on the website wikpedia and search for Ally Bank, and you can get all the info on them.

    I hope that gets all the inquiries about this bank to an end cuz everyone is trying to find out about this bank. All the info is there and all you have to do is do a search on google, and you can find it. Period.

    And for all those others. Maybe they misunderstood Ally Banks regulations cuz reading from some of this past posts, most don’t even know how to type on the keyboard, making it difficult to understand their typing sentences. Please before you post proofread your post before you send so we can understand what you are saying.

    It’s no wonder some of your clients were locked out of their account because they don’t know how to input their username or pwd on the computer.

    I hope this has helped to clear all misunderstandings from replying to Ally Bank.

    Good luck, and thanks.

    Remember.. CHECK YOU TYPING BEFORE YOU POST..

    • Alex B. says:

      Dear user RD.
      I even contacted Michael O’Neill – the head of your bank security department. His phone is (215) 734-5966. Your bank SUCKS – so please read my post earlier to understand why. And please stop pretending your bank has such a good customer service – none of the phone calls were returned, I still haven’t received the copy of my statement and most of your bank DOES have the WORST customer service when it comes to solving any problems. It’s only good to open an account – because you want to get money from your customers and for that you’ll be smiling, promising a lot and calling back. So please, do not post any chicken shit comments how good the bank is. Ally SUCKS.

  • Sendi Stockle says:

    I recently found out that I need surgery for a cancer diagnosis. Prior to surgery I wanted to update my trust. I contacted my banks and with a copy of the trust all banks changed my accounts to the trust, within minutues no hassle. When I contacted Ally bank they wanted me to close my accounts and reopen them under the trust. Hassle but not that big of a deal. Other than they wanted me to pay a penalty for withdrawing my money, which of course I was not doing. They cannot convert an account to a trust without closing and reopening the account. So due to their cliche ( and no I was not actually withdrawing even one cent) I was told I had to pay a withdrawal penalty.
    Rather than forgo charging me a fee for their cliche, they were willing to forgo the accounts I currently have there and the 6 accounts I would have been adding this year and 6 next year as part of my laddering strategy.
    If they are willing to forgo so many accounts and don’t need the money; I hope they have paid back their government bail out.
    I am done with this bank.

  • Tamara Sarkovsky says:

    Does anyone check their facts anymore before making outrageous claims in public? Puh-leeeese. Ally Bank used to be GMAC. It is now no longer associated with General Motors in any way, shape or form. Ally Bank is now owned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury which thanks to TARP owns 73.8 percent of Ally Bank.

    • Ward Cee says:

      Ally bank is no longer GMAC in the way that KFC is no longer Kentucky Fried Chicken. KFC changed their name to get rid of “fried.” GMAC Financial (Ally’s holding company) changed their name to get rid of the angry baggage of mistreated consumers. GMAC Mortgage is still affiliated with Ally Bank. Just check the gmacmortgage.com website to see all the Ally marketing on the site.

      One side of the company poorly services and mishandles consumer’s bank deposits. The other side uses those deposits to mishandle the servicing of consumer loans. Tamara is correct that they don’t sell cars. They only do finance. Poorly. The unfortunate thing is that tax payers do own the largest stake in the company and we are the ones they are not treating properly.

      I still have not heard back on my correspondence disputing over $1,000 in improperly applied fees sent February 4. I’ll probably get another non-informative form letter today, slipped in just within the legally required 20 days.

      Nothing kills a bad product faster than good advertising. Ally’s ads are pretty good. All of us who are upset with them and GMAC mortgage, please keep posting your experiences so that consumers who check them out in response to the ads don’t make the same mistakes we did. So far on this forum at least, I think the real customers are overpowering the bank’s relationship marketing effort to bury bad consumer reviews. That only happens when a business really upsets its customers, which these two clearly have done.

    • Darren says:

      Must be why they SUCK.

  • Andrew D. says:

    My auto is financed via Ally (formerly GMACFS.) I made two payments on 2-18.
    The web site posted the confirmation number. Today is 2-22. No confirmation email has been sent. Neither payment has hit my checking account. When I called Ally customer service the representative had no information to provide as to why. I was told someone would investigate and send a message as to (possibly) what happened. Nothing yet. I tried calling today (2-22) to speak with Ally. The phone wait is greater than 10 minutes. That is the same message given on 2-18. If the call center is in Phillipines and labor is cheap – why does it take so long to speak with a representative? The service provided thus far is poor and I am dissatisfied with Ally. This may cause me to move the financing to a U.S. based credit union.

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  • An says:

    Thank you all for sharing your experiences. After 5 years with ING Direct, I recently underwent a very bad experience with regards to my rights on a joint account. I was looking for another internet bank and was considering Ally.

    The customer services experiences sound worse than what I experienced the last month trying to resolve an issue with ING Direct. I will definitely not consider Ally and will continue looking for another bank.

  • Tom Cross says:

    What a shame that a financial institute such as ally that started back in 1918 as GMAC can make such mistakes as it is currently doing. I have had several auto laons with GMAC all without any issues. Today their web site doesn’t have a clue who I am, keeps telling me they are sorry but my info doen’t match their records. Executive branch will gey back to me in 24 to 48 hours, well that’s not good enough for me. They will take a payment over the phone for a $15.00 fee, really, I don’t think so. They must have cleaned house and the techies left their calling card. They must be in trouble, they suggest, via their voice mail that if it is not an “EMERGENCY” call back in a few days.

  • Alex B. says:

    Just wanted to share my story. Stay away from them and here is why.
    I opened an account in September 2009. Everything was great until I had to use a Bill Pay. The check for $2550 for supposed to be delivered by February 2nd. When the check didn’t come on time, I called the bank and I was told they had some ‘issues’ with BillPay and that check should come on February 3rd, then on February 4th, then on February 5th… When the check didn’t come on February 7th, I told the supervisor (Daniel Moore) that I can’t wait no longer and that now I have to cancel the check. Also, I had to pay 10% fine ($255). Ally Bank promised to cover the fee. However, when I submitted the claim, my account was frozen because of ‘red flags’. Nobody called me, I discovered it only because I couldn’t login into my bank account. Here is when the funny part begins. I called the Customer service and I was told that my account was assigned to a ‘fraud’ specialist that can be reached at 215-682-3163. If you try to call that number, you’ll always go to a voice mail. I left multiple messages and I received a call only once (and I had to go through a customer service again for that). Francis (who told me to address her as ‘Franny’ instead) told me that she couldn’t verify my identity through public records. I have a dual citizenship Canada / US. So I faxed her my US and Canadian driver’s licenses, Bank of America statements and Federal Tax return.
    She didn’t even bother to give me a call back to confirm that she received the sensitive information. I had to call 20 times the next day to finally get a hold of her. To make story short, do not open an account with Ally Bank because if they don’t like something there is no easy way for you to get your money back. I had to file a complaint with FDIC to be able to talk to a supervisor who closed both my accounts (savings with about $8,500 in it and checking with about $6,000 in it). Stay away from them.

  • Darren says:

    Not Recommended. I hope Ally goes down in flames just like GMAC. After purchasing a new GMC truck from a local dealer, we got 0% financincing from Ally….awesome deal right. WRONG. When the dealer figured the taxes wrong the dealer refunded $1600 towards my loan and Ally said they would credit it as 2 monthly payments, then they send me a bill clearly stating that i would only owe a partial payment of $60.32 for the March 2011 payment then i would owe the normal payment in April. After checking my Acct. online 2 days ago, they claim that i was late making my February 11 payment and it reflected on my acct. I was IRATE to say the least. Then the jerkoff i spoke with on the phone was not very friendly and stated what they’re regulations were and that there was nothing he could do. After talking to a person in the US they were a little more helpful with the situation but nothing has been solved yet. Overall, it does not even seem like they have good communication (in house, i had to send them the March billing statement they sent me in the mail because they claimed that they did not have it) and they are not as “Straightforward” /honest as they seem. If they end up solving my issue with no problems and doing what they said, then i will remove this review..but until they do i will keep it posted as a warning to all prospective clients. So far, I am not impressed. Very stressful situation for me and my family. Thanks alot Ally…NOT.

  • Doyal Cooper says:

    OK, the saga continues. I wrote a check in September for my car note and the check did not clear, so I wrote another check in early October for September payment…..well all of a sudden the September payment appeared and cleared but Ally tried to run the October check and it bounced four times…then I received a $30 charge from the bank trying to run the second check and threatened to repo car…..I tried to tell them I received a job offer and was to receive ample money from filing early on tax refund, so because they repo’d car I have to pay $550 for repo and drive three hours to Atlanta to get car…for those who call me stupid this veteran was in Iceland, England and Japan and was first strike notice to the citizens of these United States with Top Secret Codeword Clearance during Reagan Years…Ally will go out of business mark my words they are short-sighted and I have a credit score of 780 before a lay off. I am the same person, but had a momentary loss of cash flow, and received a job with benefits and more pay than previous job….Ally will stick it to you in any way they can…do not set yourself up and be at their mercy….I plan to pay off loan fast to make up my losses and run, run, run away….Ally is the worst institution that I have ever encountered…I work for the best Ritz-Carlton, Club Car, First City Club and BB&T bank….So I feel my comments are justified and with merit…

  • Walt Wilson says:

    I called Ally last May to open an IRA account. The lady said that the IRA program was not set up just yet but should be in operation by August. I called Ally in August to open an IRA account. A different person said the IRA program was not ready for customers but would be in October. I called Ally in October to open an IRA account. This lady apologized greatly and said the program would be running by the end of the year (2010) and said they would call me when I could sign up. No one has called since. Ally has been deceptive with me and did string me along with a long series of false schedules. I have since gone to bankrate.com and found a better bank with better rates providing established products. I encourage others to do the same.
    On a different subject, I find it curious that the freshest comments on this blog are found at the bottom of this web page. Just saying.
    Last item, loved the commercials.

  • Chris says:

    I find all these negative comments hilarious. They all sound either:

    1. Completely fake and people just trying to bash a legit business

    2. People who are ignorant and are blaming Ally for their only stupidity.

    I’ve had Ally for almost a year now and they have been nothing but great. Prior to having Ally I had BoA and had such a horrible experience with them (which I just got done paying for) that I pulled every cent I had with them and put it all into Ally. The only complaint I have is the difficulty in making a deposit, I hate having to mail in a check when I want to deposit it. Honestly though, this really only becomes a factor around my birthday.

    Their customer service has always been top notch, generally if I have a problem I can get it solved with my first contact with them, which usually just involves using their online chat.

    • Ward Cee says:

      Well if I was considering doing business with Ally or GMAC, I would take all the negative comments pretty seriously. I don’t usually post anything online — even on facebook — but both have made me so angry with the way they treated me, I am on a mission. It’s a rule of human behavior (check with marketing professionals) that people are much more likely to comment on negative experiences than positive ones, so I would be more skeptical of the positive posts than the negative ones. Here’s why I won’t do business with them.
      – Errors are always in their favor.
      – They only do the most cursory and incomplete accounting when you call them on errors. (In my case, they only went back two months, not to the third month where they would have found the $516 error in their favor).
      – In cases where monthly fees were due to them, they forced my correspondence to be through snail mail (just under the legally required 20 day turn-around), delaying the process, increasing their fees (in my case by over $1032).
      – I believe they have been downright dishonest with me, by mis-stating contractual terms (in their favor) until they understood that I understood the contract.
      Some of the above is GMAC, some is Ally. It’s the same corporate culture so be forewarned. I can totally believe they mis-treated some customers to the point that those customers are shouting on this forum calling them the devil. I agree that is not very persuasive or appropriate, but don’t let the next one be you. I don’t work for a different bank. I have been their customer. I have never been so angry at the way a business treated me. Roll the dice if you like.

      • Darren says:

        I find all (not many) these “Positive” comments RIDICULOUS.

        They sound either:

        1) completely fake and Ally Bank/Finance employees trying to cover their companies ASS.

        or

        2) Ally bank/finance employees trying to offset their screwups and un-professionalism or lack of understanding/knowledge of their own companies policies

        I have been an Ally customer for almost 3 months and as soon as my other financial institution completes the new loan agreement…i will be paying off Ally and will never ask/want/get financing from them again. I have all the proof that they screwed up (NOT ME), and all they can offer is “I sure do apologize for our mistake sir”. BULLSHIT. I do read my loan documents and their “policy” (on the issue i had) they said i agreed to is NOT stated like they said it was. So it is not i that is “ignorant and stupid” pal, it is the folks i talked to at Ally Bank/Finance that were supposed to be knowledgeable in their job and their “Policies” that gave me the wrong answer to a simple question. You probably work for them. Oh yeah, Ally bank and finance IS the same damn thing…they may be different divisions but they are the same 1 company, that does not have worthy communication amongst themselves to give people a correct answer when a question is asked. All i can say is “Good Luck”.

  • Doyal Cooper says:

    DO NOT GET INVOLVED WITH DEVIL’S ALLY………DO NOT MAKE A DEAL WITH SATAN>>>>>>>>>>JUST REPO-ED CAR AFTER TELLING THEM I RECEIVED A BETTER JOB THAN THE ONE I WAS LAID OFF FROM PREVIOUSLY AND I DID TAXES THIS WEEKEND AND WAS TO CALL FEBRUARY 7th 2011 to notify them I WAS RECEIVING A CONSIDERABLE SUM AND WOULD BE BACK ON TRACK. THIS DEVIL’S ALLY IS SHORTSIGHTED AND HAS NO LISTENING SKILLS. WORST INTERACTION WITH A BUSINESS IN MY LIFE>>>>>DO NOT MAKE A DEAL WITH THE SATAN.

  • Doyal Cooper says:

    DEVIL”S ALLY just repo my car and I was laid off, but received a better payingme job, and I will pay my debts….Satan’s Ally came like a thief in the night…..Also I was going to call them today February 7th,2011, because I completed my taxes and will have more than enough money to catch up with my better job….DO NOT GET INVOLVED WITH DEVIL’S ALLY THEY SAY ITS NOT PERSONAL BUT VERY SHORT-SIGHTED ESPECIALLY IN MY CASE. My score was 780 before the layoff………..

  • d says:

    all I can say about this company is that I’m glad I only have a couple car payments left and then I’m done with them. I will never use this bank for anything

  • Bunny says:

    Someone just responded to my comment as mine sounded good to the bank where the people were discussing about, if you thought my comment posted on this blog was from a person who worked for the bank then yours were also considered the same with other bank(s). Please mind your words when posted, response with reasonable and educated manner. I am just a customer of two banks and I would comment to the posts that I’ve had experiences. Why would only the bad comments be real or from real customers? Is this blog only for bad comments posted?

  • RJ says:

    I’ve been with Ally for about 18 months now. Just a note to those of you looking to possibly be a customer of Ally. Anyone can post on this site, good or bad and there is no way to authenticate anyone so take everything you read with a grain of salt. I’ll tell you that I enjoy Ally Bank as an online bank and find the accounts easy to use and move money between accounts at other banks. The customer service is always good when I needed their help. I find it odd that there are so many spammers on this site putting down Ally. My personal belief is that they are competitors of Ally and are seeing a loss in business because off Ally’s great rates, and ease of use. The best way to try Ally out is to open an account with say $100 and try them out. It’s easy to get hooked on Ally. I urge you not to believe any post on this site but rather try for yourself. Happy banking.

    • Jennie Darby says:

      How do you ever get to anyone? They are never open and when they are the lose you in the transfer or translation. I am currently on hold have have been for 20 minutes.

  • ppp says:

    I would like everyone to notice that whenever a real customer posts a real comment about this terrible bank that it is followed up by one or two fake positive comments by ALLY bank. Just look are the lingo with some of them– they are basically commercials. We are not buying it ALLY. Most people have terrible experiences with your bank and by putting fake positive comments on this website you just insult us more.

  • b says:

    I would like everyone to notice that whenever a real customer posts a real comment about this terrible bank that it is followed up by one or two fake positive comments by ALLY bank. Just look are the lingo with some of them– they are basically commercials. We are not buying it ALLY. Most people have terrible experiences with your bank and by putting fake positive comments on this website you just insult us more.

  • Carly says:

    Their website has been inaccessible since last week, as they were transitioning all the GMAC accounts to their new site. When I called to make my payment I was told I would have to pay a $15 processing fee, REALLY. Huh, let’s see they are having issues with their website, and it’s my fault WHY? So I recived an e-mail saying we are sorry, please visit the new website to access your account. RIGHT – hmmm, now my username and password no longer works. Called only to be on hold for 15 minutes, with a statement “high call volume due to problems with our website”. This has to be the worst banking experience I have ever had. I will be telling all my friends and family about my experience.

    • Larry says:

      I totally agree Same thing here with me ;] and its weeks later and still no fix yet for months prior when it was National Auto Finance all my online payments went thru ? ;[[[
      Sad indeed

  • Woody says:

    Confused
    I became confused when I heard the word “Service” used with these agencies:

    Bank customer ‘Service’
    Internal Revenue ‘Service’
    U.S. Postal ‘Service’
    Telephone ‘Service’
    Cable TV ‘Service’
    Dell computer technical ‘Service’

    This is not what I thought ‘Service’ meant.

    But today, I overheard two farmers talking, and one of them said he had hired a bull to ‘Service’ a few cows.
    BAM… It all came into focus. Now I understand what all those agencies are doing to us.

  • stacy justice says:

    what is ally grace period on car loans?

  • vernon says:

    my be safe but when you need to cash it in and need the moneyforsomething now or in a week will take you 2-4 months to get itnot like the banks close by
    and before you do ask where the bank is at? then the address and is it a building or what
    been told by 4 employess there that there isnt a BRICK MOTAR building so i suspect its off shore or terrorist run. so if you wanted to go in to open a lock box where would you go??? middle ocean???? or on a piling in some ocean like they use for oil drilling

  • Avis Mast says:

    I am considering opening a CD with Ally. After reading all these comments, it makes me wonder if I should, even though the bank is FDIC insured. Would my CD be safe if something happened and the bank went under?

    • Bill says:

      I saw the first answer to your question and decided to write. Ally is an Internet bank. There is no physical location. I have about 15 CDs with them now spread out over various maturity dates. I have had CDs mature at Ally. I’ve never had a problem getting my money out. I just transfer it to a brick and morter bank that I maintain here locally.

      Ally pays very good interest (there are a few Internet banks that pay higher interest than Ally does). That is the only reason to save with them. The reason I use Ally is that they have a interest penalty of 2-months for early withdrawal from a CD. With that small penalty everyone should consider 5-year CDs and if you need the money earlier take the 2-month hit in interest and be happy. You will have earned way more in interest on the 5-year CD than you would on any other CD even though you got hit with a penalty at early withdrawal.

      In general the only people posting here are those that have experienced a problem. All of the rest of us that are happy with Ally normally don’t write.

      Just in case you are wondering I live in Washington State and my only connection with Ally is as a customer. I am not an employee.

      My recommendation is that you go ahead with your CD at Ally and enjoy the higher interest rate that they pay.

    • Ward Cee says:

      Ally Bank is FDIC insured so your money should be safe (up to the coverage threshold). As far as the comments about service and problems go…

      You can be pretty sure that the people posting problems are real people with real experiences. It’s what people do when they get angry at being ill-treated by big faceless corporations that outsource customer service to, well, non-service. You can also be pretty sure that most of the positive comments are what is called “relationship management.” Those posters don’t necessarily work for Ally/GMAC, but they are paid to “bury” negative comments by covering them up with a positive smokescreen. When you read them, think “Would I visit this forum and add such a bland, non-specific comment?” Probably not, real people don’t waste time with that, but that is how people working in relationship management get paid.

      Unless you have time for the inconvenience of dealing with inevitable problems, I would sacrifice a few basis points of interest in favor of doing business with a more reputable company.

  • Ward Cee says:

    There are so many complaints against Ally Bank and GMAC Mortgage that follow the same pattern and practice of theft by deliberate delay. On top of that there are the robo-signing and tax-payer funded bailout issues. If I were technically competent, I would set up a website or facebook page, say, Ally_GMAC_complaint.com, where injured parties can post their complaints. Individually, they may not add up to much, but collectively, it could be a big enough class action case to get the attention of some good attorneys. A site like that is a good way to fish for professional help. If a more technically savvy aggrieved customer could do this, I would definitely join and share all the documented details of my story (where GMAC has so far misappropriated over $2,000 from me).

  • vernon says:

    ok so whos the fleet company thats writing this note. Andrew A. who do you work for or is this just another employee possing as another “good Customer”…

  • Andrew A says:

    Our business recently partnered with Ally for our fleet vehicle purchases. They gave us an open line of credit that allows us to walk into our local dealerships and take delivery of a vehicle without hassle. The interest rate they are providing is also a lot lower than what other banks are providing currently. I can say I am glad I found them, as they are saving us both time and money in regards to fleet.

  • Christine says:

    I turned my lease car in around Nov,2010. I thought I could get another car right away, but that was not so. Ally sent me a letter saying my score was to low even though I have had all my leases from GM for the last 20 yrs. They turned me down. I have worked on my job for 26 yrs. I had no car to drive to work. I went to a Honda dealership and they let me buy a car. They said buy AMERICA but AMERICA GM will not let us have cars, even when you want to buy your lease car back.

  • Angry Client says:

    TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE—I applied for a mortgage through GMAC (now ALLY) about a month ago. I was told for the past three weeks that everything was going great and the loan would be finalized soon. I received a wonderful credit and interest rate….and then, last Friday got a call from them saying that despite making more than enough money, despite a previous mortgage with GMAC with an excellent payment history, despite credit scores over 720, etc etc etc, that they do not want to give the loan.

    They made the illusion that I had the loan and everything was going to go through fine for a month straight and then said no. They gave me NO explanation or reason why. This was a TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE, now I have to close in less than a month on the house I am buying because they wasted my time for a month straight. I wish that they were allowed to fail as they are failing to provide the services they advertise. It is all a facade, they got the bail out and they are not lending the money out and the customer service is terrible. No wonder they are changing there name to ALLY bank, they need to bury the skeletons they have. It is practices like this that make it obvious why they were in the trouble they were in financially and why THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO FAIL.

    • vernon says:

      they should have never got a bail out from the U S A goverment their bank isnt even on solid ground here in U S A its overseas or in the off shore category…..

      • nicki says:

        you need to do some research vernon…ally bank is chartered out of utah and their headquarters is in penn……also all of their call centers are in n america….just ask them or actually do some real research (not just scanning these boards)… you sound ignorant…..also NO i do not work for them…nor am I paid by them, i just have had yet to have a bad experience….yes other places have higher rate–but they also have maintenence fees and no grace period for cds….i have also had yet to experience an issue with a wire and most of the reps i have dealt with have been nice and knowledgeable (yes i said most not all)

        • Darren says:

          Call centers in the U.S. huh. Not true. Is that why when i called i got a representative in the territory of the Phillipines? Did not speak english that well. Maybe you should do some more research.

          • CY says:

            I agree with Darren. Both times I called it was a call center in the Phillipines. In fact, I heard them speaking in tagalog in the background.

          • ret says:

            Ally Bank is all in north America. How do I know? I used to work for them. Now Ally financial who services auto loans – that is a different story.

  • Ward Cee says:

    My opinion is that Ally Bank and GMAC, its mortgage affiliate, are not just incompetent. There’s a pattern and practice in their business that’s beyond the borderline of criminal behavior. Incompetence is one thing. When the errors are consistently in the erring party’s favor, that is called theft.

    I have documentation of GMAC misrepresenting the terms of my mortgage and tacking on fraudulent charges. If anyone knows of attorneys pursuing class action cases against GMAC, please post that information here. I’d be happy to help either put them out of business or change their business practices, not so much for myself, but for all the less fortunate people they have screwed.

  • m maxwell says:

    have a o9 gmc pick up.made payments on it a year through gmac.Then ally took it over.decided to pay it off in dec,called for the payoff and got it.went to wachovia bank and got a cashiers check for the amount owed and sent it certified mail.they recieved it past the date of when the payoff was supposed to be due,i get a call from ally informing me i owed another 68 dollars on top of the payoff amount which was roughly 26,500 dollars.I sent the ballance to them.thay have had the cashiers check now for three weeks,never posting the check.I got a letter from ally today,enclosed was the cashiers chec,and a note saying it was not enough to pay off the truck.these idiots were totally clueless,did not have enough sense to add the 2 checks together for the payoff of the truck.after a full hour of the ass chewing they recieved from me,for their incompetence.they appologized.so now i will set up a one time payment online and try once more to payoff my truck.I deposited the cashiers check back into my account today and spoke with the branch mgr at wachovia,told him about it,and he was totally blown away by the whole thing,I would steer clear of this bank,and never do any business with them if i were you.I will keep you posted on round two,of paying off my truck,and dealing with a group of plain idiots.

  • Tami says:

    Also, in regards to his dings, charges, etc. The Dealership has NOTHING whatsoever to do with lease returns or fees of any sort. The leasing bank sends someone out who inspects the vehicle and makes a report. After inspection it is picked up by a tow company or drive service.
    If you want, it is possible to request that the inspector meet you when you return the leased vehicle, but you need some advance notice to do that. The dealerships are only dumping grounds for lease returns.
    If you have a dealership doing the inspection and charging you, that is illegal and you should report them.

    • Charles Phillips says:

      Well, the dealer ended up with my Hummer on their lot – midBlue book at $35,000 but on sale for $44,000 – due to my excellent care of the vehicle for three years and my low milage. I went to check the dings online and they are parking lot issues. But Ally is threatening my credit if I do not quickly pay them for the dings – locally fixed.

      I have explained to the dealer that I will ask the State of California if all of this is fair business or if I have become a stimulus program for the Ally/dealer partnership. Since Ally wants to add my credit to the discussion, I will explain that in buying a car from the same dealer in December I put down a $13,000 cashier’s check.

      The dealer explained that Ally would only okay me for one new car – and full sticker price and no choice. It is all fascinating to me.

      Charles Phillips, MD – Fresno

      • Tami says:

        Yeah sometimes the dealerships do buyout lease returns (wholesale) but until then the vehicle belongs to the lender who leased it to you.
        I’m simply defending the dealership from the guy who wrote that it was the dealership’s fault for the charges. I work at a dealership and deal with lease returns all the time. I assure you, they are just the middle man in the whole return process.
        It is strange they won’t lease again though. But again, the dealership can’t do anything about that.
        Hope all works out for you.

  • Charles Phillips says:

    I finished a 3 year lease with GMAC-Ally for a 2007 Hummer, could only get them to finance a new car and not buy that the leased Hummer. That gave them the chance of creating post lease charges against the Hummer just under $500. They gave me no credit for low milage but rather billed for minor, parking lot dings (which I did not even see). I am thinking this is a scam. What do you think?

    Chuck Phillips

    • nick says:

      number one ally bank does not have anything to do with your loan…also the things that you got billed for came from the dealership…so you may want to talk to them, especially since their report may be why ally financial does not want to be more cooperative with you

      • Judy says:

        Nick, Ally bank most certainly does have something to do with his loan. My loan, which used to be GMAC, is now Ally and I now send my car payments to Ally Bank. I commented above about Ally not accepting overnight transactions like all other banks and credit cards. GMAC did but with Ally it’s a five day move as you have to MAIL them your payment. They need to get with the times.

        As for Phillips dings, I agree. The dealership handles that.

        • nick says:

          ally bank is part of ally financial—who takes care of your loan. so ally bank is not in charge of your loan. think about it like this: if you had to return a sweater to macys in the mall and they told you no, and were rude- would you go to the mall offices and file a complaint?

          • Tami says:

            Nick, it IS the same company, just different branch, different customer service number. Being turned off by one branch would certainly turn you off from the entire company. A mall office and Macys is not the same company.

  • Judy says:

    My biggest complaint is they are the ONLY bank I have ever dealt with that does not do overnight transactions. I get two checks a month. My car payment was set up to be taken out of the second check. That is when it was GMAC. Since it went to Ally it is a FIVE day move as the check now has to be mailed. So now I have to have it taken out of my first check along with a mortgage payment. All credit cards and banks do overnight except Ally. They need to catch up to the times.

  • Susan says:

    To anyone thinking about opening an account with this bank, DON’T. Of course I do realize that banks can make mistakes and I have dealt with a lot of problems with other banks too. But not like this one. And I have NEVER written comments about any bank EVER regardless of a negative situation. This bank will seem decent until you run into a big problem where they screw up and they will not resolve the situation for you but just do their own thing to leave you in a messy situation and not give a DAMN. Not even an apology… I think you would probably want to keep your money in a safe place where people will take care of your money carefully and responsibly and be held accountable for their mistakes and resolve the situation if you run into a problem because of them. THIS BANK WILL NOT DO THAT FOR YOU.. I am leaving this comment because I know I would not have opened an account with them to do an important transaction if I had known I would be left with a huge mess of a situation by dealing with Ally.

    • Darren says:

      You said it. They mess up but youre the one they blame. I have only been acustomer for 3 months and i got suckered into believing Ally is an “Ally”.

  • Missy says:

    I currently bank with a credit union. Ally fees are either lower or nonexistent. : ) I recently have had a problem being unable to use my debit card at certain bank US Bank ATM’s (closest ATM to my house) to withdraw money. They will allow me to make a deposit, then withdraw money, for a fee. My question is, can the Ally debit card be used at any bank ATM and does the bank control which debit cards are accepted at it’s ATMs or does the ATM systems determine that? Is it possible to read the posts older than the ones which are currently shown?
    Thanks

    • Tami says:

      Missy, In case you did not yet find your answer, you can read older posts by clicking on the “previous comments” link found right under the main story.

  • MzGlow says:

    Hey there. I’ve been looking up info for online banks and ally looks like a really nice choice. Im just concerned with all the negative comments i have read here. Plus i live in Puerto Rico so i would like to know if they would be a good choice for me being over here. Thank you vey much……

    • MzGlow says:

      P.S I have no experience whatsoever with banks. Never trusted them. But as i am getting older i realize i cant keep “saving” my money in my house. 🙂

      • Bill says:

        Hi,

        I would call their customer service department at 1-888-925-ALLY(2559) and ask them if it is possible for you to have an account with them and what problems, if any, you could expect.

        Ally is where a majority of my cash is located. I like their customer service and I like the interest they pay. If you go way back in this thread you will see where I have had problems but they got solved. It just took a little longer than I wanted to get them solved.

        Whenever you see a series of postings like this you need to remember that all the happy customers never write anything at all. It is only when there is a problem that they someone leaves a message here.

        Even though I follow this thread I am still a happy customer at Ally. I recommend them to my friends.

        I might add that I still have a local bank as well. I use them for my checking because there are places that will only take local checks. I also want a place to go in and deposit checks that I receive. I have Ally linked to my local bank so I can move funds back and forth as needed.

        • Bunny says:

          Same here, still keep local bank account like Chase’s for convenience, but if they are going to charge few dollars here and there; Ally will be a destination bank where I will move my money to.

  • Jay says:

    ally is a great bank. great customer service and even better products. I had B of A, Chase, Wells Fargo, US Bank and all of these FAIL in comparison to the top level of support I have with Ally. Opening accounts is easy, getting answers or help on any account is even easier. Any customer with a big bank should SERIOUSLY consider switching to Ally.

    Despite the fact that they refund all ATM fee’s automatically, they also give interest and do not require and min balances like other banks do.

    Ally Bank – the future of smart consumers.

    • Bunny says:

      I have several accounts with Ally, so far I have had very good experiences with them both online and on the phone. I agree with Jay’s comment, however switching saving money to Ally within amount FDIC assured is recommended.

  • Ally Financial says:

    Thank you for your comments and your feedback. At Ally Financial, we are always striving for continuous improvement and continue to monitor and review our policies and procedures to make it easier for customers to do business with us. We’d like to look into these situations further to see what can be done to address your concerns. Please send us an email at autorep@ally.com and provide your contact information so that we can contact you directly. We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

  • candida says:

    i had the same problem, tried to pull a loan til i got my back payment and was gonna direct deposit it into my account. i even talked to the representive and he said that was fine, even informed me ways on how to do it. once i did, they put my account on lock down and a man from the fraud unit called me. said i cant access my account and was trying to accuse me of fraud. i had to put a stop on my direct deposit, why am i gonna put money into an account i cant access. for all i know they could keep my money and i would never know til i called about where the money was. to me this bank needs to hire people who knows what the heck they are doing, instead of trying to set people up into getting in trouble, i even called my attorney he even said this bank sounds like its a fraud… i need to hire a group of people and start a fraud unit that way i can make extra money for my business…

    • Susan says:

      This is what happened. I bet you talked to Pam, or David. They talk down to you like you did something illegal right? And you can’t talk to anyone else other than these two idiots. It’s ridiculous. And today I find out they deposited my check after my account was closed and I still have to talk to the two idiots and can’t find out where my money is until tomorrow. I’m also thinking about getting a lawyer.

    • Richard says:

      If you had money to hire a group of people, I don’t think you would be trying to get a loan from a bank until you get a “back payment” and I don’t think you would be on the internet complaining about it.

      Like nearly ALL of the negative comments about this bank, it sounds like people are blaming the bank for their own stupidity and misfortune.

      • Tami says:

        I will never use Ally Financial for my auto loans again. I have had to call “customer service” a couple different times and you get some person named “John” who can barely speak Enlish on the other end and obviously reading from rebuttal cards. It’s annoying when you are trying to get something accomplished and can’t understand the person you speak to.
        Ally, here is a tip: When your recording says “Press 1 for English”…MEAN IT.

        How about this complaint Richard….is this MY own stupidity too?

        • Derrick says:

          I have never had a bad experience with a customer service rep at ally. I also have never been not able to understand them unless I am using a phone with bad reception. I also don’t understand why people are always mad when people don’t speak in crystal clear English. Has no ever asked you what you said because they couldn’t understand you?

          • Tami says:

            LOL Derrick. I’m talking about outsourcing, not Americans with Accents.
            I am also talking about the vehicle loan department, not the bank branches who still are fortunate enough to have English-speaking Customer Service reps.
            Try calling 800-200-4622 and see if you can understand them.

        • candida says:

          each person and circumstance is different. And just to verify my situation, i wasnt trying to say the bank itself is bad, just the ones i had to deal with. I did receive my back payment and guess what, thats 5000 in my pocket instead of going into thier bank. Oh and another 5000 in another 6-7 days. stupidy is when you make snyde comments on someone else and have no clue the circumstances or all details. before commenting on something you have no clue about, do some research and get some help with your nasty attitude. they way you sound, maybe your just one of the employees for ally, each one to his own i guess.

  • susan lee says:

    Ally bank has the rudest customer service reps and mangers ever. They are so incompetent with the information as well. I had to wire money from overseas and because they gave me two different information not only did I had to have the money wired twice but the wire got recalled and they closed my account. On top of that, they treated me like a criminal and tried to blame it ALL ON ME.. It was just amazing there’s is a bank like that out there. I never dealt with such a crappy bank with such rude staff in my entire life and I thought bank of america was bad…

    • Lisa says:

      If Ally makes a error in judgment whether it’s wiring money or making purchases using your debit card, they will BLAME IT ALL ON THE CUSTOMER. I’m a customer of GMAC. As you may know, before Ally was founded in 2009, the company was part of GMAC Financial Services. However, GMAC FAILED, they needed government bail out. Then when they receive their BAIL OUT, they change their name from GMAC to Ally Bank. I only had one checking bank account with the internet bank Ally. I used this account to receive deposits from a PayPal account when I sell my personal items on eBay. The last deposit I made to this account was when I sold a text book on ebay for a few dollars, and I received the payment through my PayPal account. After the payment was in my PayPal account, I then had the funds transfer to my Ally checking account. So one day I tried to log into my online banking account with Ally and for some reason I was not able to log into my account online. I thought I may have accidentally used the wrong password and block myself out. I tried calling the ally bank customer service number at (877)247-ALLY (2559). The customer service representatives could not give my any type of answers and always said that they would just call me right bank and they never did. So I was left with having them transfer me to a supervisor and they told me they don’t have a direct line for me to speak with a supervisor and that the supervisor will call me back at my home phone number and that never happen. I haven’t been able to log into my account since August of 2010 and I still had some funds left in this account. Due to the bad service with Ally bank, I decided to close my account on January in 2011. I called the customer service number and spoke with another customer service representative by the name of Gonzales. Gonzales said I can close my account over the phone and he ask for social security, full first and last name, and he wanted me to answer the security question. Gonzales said he close the account and it should take 1-2 business days for the remaining funds to be transfer electronically to my Bank of America account I had on file with Ally. It has been approximately more than a week and I have yet to see the funds in my Bank of America account or receive a confirmation via email stating that my account is even close. I read other numerous reviews about Ally Bank and the poor customer service they provide. I can definitely speak on the horrible customer service Ally has. A lot of the customer service representatives work from home and have no true knowledge on how to help the customer when something is wrong. They just dig into the employee manual to find the information, and if they can’t find it they just have someone to call you back and sometimes they never do. A lot of the customers representatives and supervisors are rude and plain ignorant at Ally Bank. I just wanted to close my account and receive help for this matter. I called the Ally Bank customer care number in order to get the corporate number because the customer representatives and supervisors at the regular customer care Ally Bank number weren’t able to provide any answers as to why they couldn’t close my account even though Gonzales said he could. I called the corporate Ally number at 215-734-6566 and guess what, I spoke to a rude supervisor. For some reason she acted as if she didn’t even know who she was speaking with on the phone, even though I had already answer all her verification questions to identify who I was. So it makes you wonder if a supervisor for some reason has a hard time verifying one of their customers over the phone even though their customer answers and gives all their personal information such as social security, is Ally a true secure and safe online bank. It makes me wonder how anyone can even trust the safety and security of an online bank like Ally if they can’t even verify a customer over the phone even though the customer provided all their verification (personal) information. How can you trust an Online Bank like Ally. I still can’t even get any answers from the manager and supervisors located at the headquarters of Ally, as to why they can’t close my account. So iof this issue is not resolve, I will proceed to other legal actions.

  • Chuck says:

    Ally Bank is a joke. they claim to be a bank, but really are nothing but a financial holding company that no one can talk to. I have been trying to pay off an auto loan that they have after converting from GMAC Bank to Ally. But when I call, all I get is someone in the Phillipines who speaks broken English, reads from a script, and tells me that they can not accept a wire transfer as payoff. They want me to “hire” Moneygram or Western Union to pay the loan off. I have never heard of a Bank that can’t take a wire transfer. And if this is so difficult, why would anyone open an account with them. They probably would tell you they can’t wire your funds to you when you need them. Stay away from this scam.

    • nicki says:

      chuck–ally bank does not have anything to do with your loan…ally financial does…jesus people, do your homework before complaining in the wrong place. may i will be like you and go to hsbc to complain about my laptop.

  • Eye opener says:

    To me, these are the wrong questions and answers. My question would be “Do I feel Ally is a moral and ethical bank who are good for the USA?” My answer would be “Absolutely not.”

    The US Government gave 14 Trillion dollars to GMAC Mortgage in bailout money when the Fed declared them a bank to qualify them, even though they were not a bank. GMAC Mortgage never repaid those bailout loans and are now 56% owned by the US Treasury.

    After the Government bailed them out, GMAC Mortgage foreclosed on more homes than any other mortgage company, resulting in plenty of wrongful foreclosure lawsuits against them. No one bailed out the US Citizens, and Ally Financial proved to be an “Ally” to no one when they robbed the nation from the top and bottom.

    During the Mortgage Crisis which they were partially responsible for, GMAC Mortgage were unable to properly answer their phones and rushed to hire a completely untrained staff who remained poorly trained to this day. Customers waited months for customer service. Most either got none, or got service so poor that it may have been illegal.

    Suddenly they have decided to rename themselves and to take advantage of their “bank” status with online bank accounts.

    Your money will be FDIC insured, but will your conscience allow you to lend your money to the people who are more responsible for the collapse of our economy than anyone else?

  • Blackkat74 says:

    Mike,

    I understand and agree with one thing you’ve said. Nicki, Bill, Larrry (as spelled), and Bradley are either getting a bonus from ally or ally is sucking their dicks (nicki included). No bank, I mean NO BANK is worth posting multiple times in their defense. So….either you work there and monitor the boards, or you have NO BUSINESS. Why would you spend this much time on a message board negating someone else’s opinion? And all of you with horrible grammar and spelling. I say the recession is over just based on the fact that all of you people are spending you time responding to others’ posts and not working, while talking about the virtues of one bank. Whether I agree with the posts or not, this information is invaluable. Why, because even with the sufficient and diligent amount of research, you still want to hear opinions from others, whether you agree with them or not. For instance, just based on Mike’s review, I will not just base my decision on the terms and conditions I read, I will now also ask pointed questions regarding the savings account and the fees so that I completely understand my options. Thanks Mike and others for your review. To those just responding to tell people how stupid and ignorant they are for voicing their opinions AND being passionate about it, GET A LIFE.

  • nicki says:

    also how is knowning your banking rules being closed minded…they are rules and laws, which means you can’t really think outside of the box…way to make a pointless attack at the informed masses and investors

  • Larrry says:

    Mike-the first fabrication you made-you talked to them face to face-duh. Secondly if you have all that money wouldn’t banks be seeking you out-not the reverse???

    • nicki says:

      yes you got our attn for being immature, to bad that attn didn’t help you make your point….when you have a valid complaint to make—then we may listen, until then deal with fees that you deserve

      • Blackkat74 says:

        Mike,

        I understand and agree with one thing you’ve said. Nicki, Bill, Larrry (as spelled), and Bradley are either getting a bonus from ally or ally is sucking their dicks (nicki included). No bank, I mean NO BANK is worth posting multiple times in their defense. So….either you work there and monitor the boards, or you have NO BUSINESS. Why would you spend this much time on a message board negating someone else’s opinion? And all of you with horrible grammar and spelling. I say the recession is over just based on the fact that all of you people are spending you time responding to others’ posts and not working, while talking about the virtues of one bank. Whether I agree with the posts or not, this information is invaluable. Why, because even with the sufficient and diligent amount of research, you still want to hear opinions from others, whether you agree with them or not. For instance, just based on Mike’s review, I will not just base my decision on the terms and conditions I read, I will now also ask pointed questions regarding the savings account and the fees so that I completely understand my options. Thanks Mike and others for your review. To those just responding to tell people how stupid and ignorant they are for voicing their opinions AND being passionate about it, GET A LIFE.

        AND, since I don’t frequent these boards like others, I seem to have posted in the wrong place. I wanted to respond to this post and ended up posting twice.

        • Larry says:

          They should not allow someone as crude as you on any message board. Sorry I misspelled my name but it is my name-not yours. I am retired, 70 years old and worked since I was 12 years old. I do not work for Ally and I would not allow you within a block of my penis…..

          • nicki says:

            number one–i dont know what kind of girls you have been with (but we arent supposed to have dicks)…number 2— i dont sit here and troll these boards like you do, everytime you put an uneducated comment on this board it sends me an email that then is sent to my phone (yay technology.)….number 3–why cant people be passionate about positive things. i dig this bank for the most part. mike also did not have a valid complaint. he felt passionate about the fact that he incurred fees and felt that ally does not inform the customer of the fees. which they do, both online and in the deposit agreement. with a savings account he could get an nsf fee or an excessive transaction fee- both of which are posted. lastly, since you are sooooo into felatio maybe you should take your mouth off of mike and open your eyes.

            ps i have a job, i work full time and i have completed college….i dont sit on my butt like you assume and write on these sites all day. in fact this is the only one i have posted on. oh and any grammar mistakes i have–is because i am on my phone (and do not have microsoft to correct my mistakes, which by the way you missed a few), oh and it is also bc i do not want to take any more effort than you are worth verifying and correct and being careful with my speech.

  • Mike says:

    Yeah like I care if you believe how much money I make, doesn’t really matter to me because I’m used to people not believing (but if you really want to proof then come to 90404 – I started making over $100,000 a year when I was 16). I talk with an edge because I’m young (under 30) and believe in talking like that to get peoples attention (it worked.) Good for everybody that has nice experiences with Ally, they probably love close minded customers like you that don’t mind getting BS fees and then having to spend there time asking for a refund. $10 means nothing to me, I throw $20’s at bums. What matters to me is that this Bank lied over and over again about their policies to my face. Yes I read the Terms of Service, and when I had questions about it, they lied to me… pretty simple. All of you get so defensive just because you bank with them, and think too much inside the box to realize they maybe things might be different for other people. My final thoughts: This is very typical of humans to jump on a band wagon and think the world is flat instead of listening to the crazy guy screaming that it’s not flat. Where you invest your money doesn’t matter to me, I don’t care if you give Ally business or not (I know I’ll stay with them because of the interest rate). My whole point is letting the web know (hence my 50 posts accross boards) that this bank will lie to your face and smile doing it. There’s no disputing it since they did lie and deceive me about their policies (this is called a fact not a complaint) and that’s the end of the story.

  • Skeptical says:

    Mike –

    I have followed your rants across multiple posts and believe you to be unscrupulous in your attacks. Furthermore, you appear to be a coward that will not explain what fees were assessed against you and your “million dollar company” (yeah, right.)

    Futhermore, your latest post was offensive and crude.

    I transfer funds between my Ally accounts and have gotten no fees.
    I do this about 5 times per month and have no fees.

    Get a grip and try to be straightforward in your review so others can learn if there is a valid issue to your complaint.

  • nicki says:

    * you have ‘over…..

  • Mike says:

    Ally bank will lie straight to your face. I have had my savings acount for over a year with Ally bank and thought everything was good until they started charging me tons of fees that they specially had told me that didn’t charge. Don’t use this bank unless you want to wake up one day and see your account pounded with fees when you though you had a “free” account with “no fees”. SURPISE there is a reason why the interest rate is so high, they make up for it with fraudulent fees. I am filing a small claims case in the state of Pennsylvania – go check out the court records.

    • Bill says:

      I dislike a post like yours. All you did was complain. Please give us some facts so we can judge for ourselves how valid both your position and Ally’s are. What fees did they charge you. What was their reason?

      When I’ve had fees charged I either deserved it or have been successful at politely asking them to refund them.

      I like Ally as a bank very much. They have a majority of my deposits that reside at a bank.

      • Mike says:

        All I did was complain? Why don’t you quote me on a single complaint then? I believe a complaint would go something like “Ally doesn’t give me what I want”. Calling somebody a liar when they lie to you is not a complaint, it’s calling them out for what they are. I have over a million dollars to invest (for my company) and they charge me fees for things the specifically tell me they wont (no I’m not about to fully disclose my banking practices on the internet). All people to need to know is that there no fees promise is a lie, and you will get unexpect fees for things like transfering between an Ally checking and and an Ally savings account. That’s right both Ally accounts and they will charge you a fee. Hope that’s a good enough example for you Bill? Just because you haven’t had problems YET doesn’t mean they are a good bank and that you should bank them. Like I said I’ve had an account with them over a year before I had problems.

        • EC says:

          I agree all you did was in fact complaint, being an extremely satisfied Ally customer for YEARS I can second Bill’s post. The only fees they ever actually give are those that the government regulates, such as the fee they have to charge if you go over 6 withdrawals per statement cycle on savings accounts. They will not give any other fees, except if you want a wire transfer or a certified check I mean those cost a lot of money a bank can’t lose money on that right? They already give us free transfers and free checks and debit cards for life what more do you want? By the looks of it seems like you probably called and gave an innocent worker a hard time over this and refused to hear an explanation or if you did you refused to take it, well I’m sorry princess the world cannot always go the way you want it to.
          I personally think you should stop your whining, and if you’re really this adamant to continue fighting with them over something you most likely caused and they have no fault over then take your million elsewhere. It’s just pocket change to them anyways and you will not find an institution with a better rate. And if they did make a mistake hey they’re human, how many times have you screwed up? So kindly inform them of the error and let them work it out.

          • Mike says:

            LOL I’m sure Ally will give you a pat on the back for backing up their lies. I am not whining, and I think it’s halarious that you think just because somebody isn’t jacking off Ally in their post that they they are just whining and complaining. People with real money take things seriously when they have their accounts messed with, and I don’t take even $10 fees lightly when they are based on lies and fraud. You two are looking like idiots by trying to back up a bank that lies to you.

      • Mike says:

        Also it doesn’t matter to me whether they will refund the fees, the point is that they are charging me fees when they are not suppose to, and I don’t want to have to monitor my bank account so closely that I have to worry about my own bank institution making false charges. Is that really too much to ask for?

        • EC says:

          “LOL” “Jacking off”… Yes good sir you sound like a million dollar investor, quite amusing. People with real money actually know the law and look where they will be most satisfied, I worked in banking for over a decade so let me clarify this for you okay? That $10 fee is a government law which every institution has to follow, every savings account is limited to 6 withdrawal transactions per statement cycle. Call any institution and ask if you’d like, if I’m not wrong it is part of Regulation D (You may google it if you’d like). If someone informed you wrong oh well it happens, could have been a new person or they could have been having a bad day, I don’t really know but truth is that it’s a simple mistake you’re making a big deal out of.
          So if you’re done with your juvenile smut, please go do your research and contact Ally Bank to apologize for your incompetence.

          • James says:

            Mike I also agree with EC, you are definitely whining. Plus nobody is asking you to ‘fully disclose’ your banking, just give us some details. Personally I think from the way you reacted on here that you are lying.

        • Bradley says:

          Your poor choice of words makes me take “EC”‘s side. He definitely knows what he is talking about. Please be mature in your responses next time.

          • nicki says:

            all fees are in your deposit agreement and online…so a lawyer is going to laugh in your face….also they dont have business accounts so i dont know how you are ‘ over a million dollars to invest (for my company)’ with ally….

  • Pete says:

    Be smart when doing business with Ally. When they took over GMAC’s accounts, they ruined any customer service skills that were a part of GMAC.

    Ally, like most companies, outsources it’s phone customer service line. You can figure out the rest.

    • nicki says:

      all of ally BANK’s call centers are in North America/US so if by outsourcing you mean that not all of the call centers are in pennsylvania (due to the fact that they are 24/7 and have call centers across all of the time zones in the US)…then yes they are outsourced….lol

  • Larry says:

    I have had an Ally account for over 6 months-nothing but praise for this bank. Would highly reccomend to my best friend. They are who they say they are unlike so many other banks. I also have an account at Wachovia/Wells Fargo and went in to get printed copies of my last three months bank statements and they were unable to do it and they would have to be mailed. I also had to deal with a “new age banker” with his hair greased into a peak on top of his head. Online banking eliminates the need to be turned off by rude “personal bankers”…..

  • Ally Customer Care says:

    Thank you for your comments and your feedback. At Ally Bank, we are always striving for continuous improvement and continue to monitor and review our policies and procedures to make it easier to do business with us. Our goal is to be straightforward and obviously better and we apologize that this was not your experience. We’d like to look into these situations further to see what can be done to address your concerns. Please send us an email at allycommunity@ally.com and provide your contact information so that we can contact you directly. We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

    Ally Customer Care

  • Neko says:

    They gave me the worst ever service available out there…they hung up on me. It’s not an accident, they did it as soon as I started complainted…twice.
    They don’t want to hear anything you have to say. It wasn’t my fault. I never signed anything as they said…as soon as I said that, they hung up on me. There is not place to bring this up on their website. I will never deal with this bank in my life.

  • Joanie says:

    My experience with Ally Bank has been less than satisfactory. I had a one year CD with them. No problems there. At the end of the year I decided to keep the money in place for another year and added additional monies to the original amount. At that same time I opened an online saving account. Long story short, Ally completed the transfers into the CD and online saving account and then took an additional $20,000 from my account, which I didn’t authorize. I discovered this when I checked the account from which the funds came. The money wasn’t there, but it didn’t show up in the Ally account either. My current bank told me that the transfer had been initiated from Ally, but when I called Ally, no one could tell me anything. After 24 hours, my money did finally show up at Ally, but to date, no one at Ally has been able to give me a satisfactory answer as to why the transfer ever took place at all. They keep telling me it was initiated by me, but it wasn’t. I am in the process of closing my online account with Ally, and when my CD matures, I’ll be moving that money too. I’m steering clear of Ally Bank.

  • Summer says:

    Ally has polite reps – however, I found them very inefficient when things really matter. A week ago, I closed the CDs after speaking to a rep to tell her that my intention is to wire the money from the CDs once closed. I then faxed the form for a wire transfer. I got confirmation that the fax went through but did not hear from them. A few days later I contacted Ally to ask about the wire. Rep says they didn’t receive it. I sent it again (that’s Wednesday). Finally, on Friday, someone from bank operations call me in the early afternoon to ask me to confirm my new address because he needs it to make the wire. I did. He calls me back again (same day) and tells me that he couldn’t get the wire out on time before the cut-off time so I have to wait till Monday next week. They should have initiated the wire a few days ago and not wait till afternoon on Friday to process it and by then it was too late. I told him that I didn’t understand why it took them so long to initiate the wire…he apologized and said that he will waive the $20 transfer fee. Thanks but I am losing a lot more than $20 in interest by pulling it out from the CD. Okay, Monday comes and I don’t hear ANYTHING from them. NADA.

    I call in the morning, being told that the status is not refreshed. Refreshed it. Says it is escalated. I didn’t receive any emails or phone calls from them. Call again in the early afternoon. Told me that I should expect a phone call. NADA. I call again an hour later. Finally, someone from bank operations calls me to tell me that they CANNOT process the wire until they get a copy of my driver’s license/ID confirming my new address. WHAT? IT TOOK THEM 7 DAYS AND LOTS OF INTERESTS LOST FOR THEM TO TELL ME THAT? I told her that Ally should refund me any interests that I could have accrued had I left the money in the CD – had I known that they were not going to process the wire. NO ONE TILL NOW TOLD ME ABOUT THIS…

    She says no, Ally won’t be able to refund the money. So too bad for me I guess??
    Had I not actively called them, no one would have called me to let me know the status of the wire.. This could have been a family emergency. I cannot trust Ally Bank to faithfully treat their customers with professionalism and properly handle a simple thing as a wire.

    Shame on them..

    • Ally Customer Care says:

      Thank you for your comments and your feedback. At Ally Bank, we are always striving for continuous improvement and continue to monitor and review our policies and procedures to make it easier to do business with us. Our goal is to be straightforward and obviously better and we apologize that this was not your experience. We’d like to look into these situations further to see what can be done to address your concerns. Please send us an email at allycommunity@ally.com and provide your contact information so that we can contact you directly. We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

  • Shei says:

    They have recently changed their website. 4 STEPS BACKWARDS. Unless you have 20 year old eyes, the text will be too small to read. If you zoom text, it reverts back to small text whenever you go to another page. The pending transfer page has gone to some framed thing with constant scrolling. After you make a transfer deposit, the account balance looks like it was subtracted, rather than added. EVERY time you change anything, they send you an email. They send you an email 3 days before a transfer to tell you they are going to transfer money. Can NOT opt out of emails. All this is way too much hand-holding for my liking.

    Interest rates seem to drop every day or 2. Thursday rate was 1.19% – 2 days later its 1.09%. Beginning of the month it was 1.34% . I’m moving my money as soon as I find another place.

    • Nolan Bastanchury says:

      I didn’t notice anything different about the text size, then again I am 19. Yes the rates have dropped so have other online banks. Ally’s rate was still 1.29 when ING was down at 1.10. Now somehow Ally is lower, at 1.09. Anyway, don’t rely on high-yield savings accounts to earn your monthly interest. I’m glad I locked in my 3% CD with them and each month my CD interest is deposited into my checking account, which I live off. Yes I am living on monthly CD interest from my inheritance.

  • Phil says:

    Ally screwed me also. I bought my car at the end of a lease. There was an extended service plan that I paid for that they so generously cancelled. Of course, after 3 weeks, I haven’t seen the refund yet. They tell me this is automatic and they have no mechanism for the person that was leasing the car to continue the protection plan when they buy it. When you try to get any answers from customer service, you get some foreign person you can hardly understand who won’t help you. The first time I called them, they denied any knowledge of cancelling the plan, even though I received a letter from them stating it. The week after I bought the car, it went in for service and that’s when I found out the plan had been cancelled. Even the dealer was not aware that they did this. It cost me $190.00 to fix my car that I think Ally should reimburse me for. I have asked that an executive with some power call me back about this. I suppose I shouldn’t hold my breath…

  • Nicole says:

    Has anyone had any experience with the 11-month no penalty CD?

    • Bill says:

      There is no reason to start a no penalty CD. They pay less interest (the short term ones) than a savings account does. I will go one step further. If you are going to leave your money in any CD for a minimum of 2 months you are way better off going with their 60 Month High Rate CD. If you want the money sooner than the 60 months just cash it out and pay the 2 month interest penalty (all other banks charge something like 6 months interest for early withdrawal). With Ally you can not get a better interest rate by having one large CD so you are better off starting a bunch of small CDs. That way if you need money you just cash out one of the small ones, pay the penalty and end up a bunch of interest ahead. Currently the 60 month CD is paying 2.49%.

      • Blue Spyder says:

        Navy Federal has a better rate on a 1 year, start with $50 and add a minimum of $15 each month, they’ll pay 2.9% interest, can’t beat that. I wish they would raise rates but I’m happy with them…

        • Bill says:

          There are two problems with Navy Federal. They are not FDIC insured. They are insured by a Credit Union Insurance group. I have not researched it so I have no opinion about how good the insurance is. The second problem is that you have to be in the military to join. It is a great benefit for those in the service but I can not be a member.

          That brings up a question. Is anyone aware of other good deals from an interest standpoint on a bank offering CDs at a significantly better rate than Ally’s. The only ones I have found have poor ratings for “safe and sound”. I would very much like to find a 2.9% CD rate for a bank that had a good “safe and sound” rating and a good internet interface.

          • Blue Spyder says:

            NCUA and FDIC are internally the same, they just cover 2 different things, but all the limits are the same, and I’d be happy to sponsor you in, although they don’t check references to get in, you could sign up they not gonna call the Navy (*sidenote* I’m also with Nasa Fed, you think I’m ever gonna go into space?)…

          • Nobody says:

            Navy Federal Credit Union is regulated and supervised by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) and it is insured by National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, which is backed by the Federal government. The standard, non-trust, single-owner account is insured up to 250,000, which is comparable to a bank.

    • Dennis says:

      I would just like to comment on my experience with Ally Bank. I had an online account, 1 yr CD and a 2 yr CD. Both CDs matured on October 31st. When the one year CD matured they sent me less money than the final balance. After several conversations they agreed I was correct and sent the balance. When the 2nd CD matured they did the same thing. They sent less than the amount I had on Oct 31. This time they said it was a 60 penalty for closing the CD “early”. I closed it on November 16th. They automatically renewed the CD at some unknown rate and said I had 10 days to contact them and tell them I didn’t want to renew the CD. These were calendar days (Interesting they quote you business days but use calendar days for their benefit). The CD I signed for in October 2008 was at a fixed rate for a fixed period. Ally should not have the right to renew it at their discretion at some variable unspecified rate.
      Their customer service reps are polite, but do little except put you on hold.

      I opened CDs at my credit union, and the amount they told me I would receive when I opened it, was exactly what they paid at maturity – no more no less.

      At any rate I closed all of my Ally accounts. What is it they say? Fool me once shame on you; fool me twice…….

      • mitch says:

        All banks give you a small window to add, withdraw or close your CD after it matures. Ten is pretty standard before it automatically renews at the current interest for the same length of time. I never dealt with a bank that doesn’t have those same policies….

  • Stephen J. Bennett says:

    ALLY Bank has very polite customer service representatives, BUT they are incompetent. I have made 4 phone calls (lasting over 1 hour cumulatively) trying to get my billing address changed. I have spoken to their “so called” checking specialists and to their “so called checking supervisor Jeffrey Banks to no avail. I asked him for the phone number of their corporate “so called checking account customer service” which he failed to give to me stating that “there was no such number.” Once and if this matter is ever straightened out, I will be severing all ties with ALLY Bank.

    Stephen J. Bennett

  • JJ says:

    Thank you all for your personal experiences while I’ve been waiting on Ally to get my account started. It still isn’t finalized because of logistical problems of their own.
    Mean the while, I checked on Am. Exp. as another interest source and had an account up, active and collecting interest in three business days. I also learned that during the past year their rates have not varied as much as their competitors, an issue I was concerned about (see my previous post).
    Cons: no checks or debit cards are issued.
    Pros: variable rates are steadier and the system is streamlined (efficient).

  • Nina says:

    I just went to transfer some money into my Ally account from my brick-and-mortar bank, and got a message that they could find no session for me. I called customer service as directed in the message, and it seems my bank is no longer linked to Ally after a recent upgrade to their system. The rep tried to put my routing number in, and the system would not accept it. He submitted a request for Bank Operations to get back to me via email about this, and noted that my account “is one of the ones that experienced a problem after the upgrade.” At this point, they have a good chunk of my money, and there is no way to transfer anything in or out of the account. I’m lucky I found this situation out now and that this was a simple transfer in and not an emergency where I needed money transferred back to me. I have had nothing but problems setting up the online account, and have to call customer service every time I do anything. I am disappointed that this bank did not notify customers that there might be a problem with accessing their money after an apparent computer glitch during an upgrade–they obviously know about it since I am not the only one this has happened to.

  • Bill E says:

    I’ve been an Ally customer for just about a year now. Up until now everything has been great. Now I’m having trouble getting Ally to respond to problems. Their customer service department is always great to deal with but they have no control over problems. When a problem happens and an adjustment is required that is taken care of by Bank Operations. Customer Service will not give you a phone number for Bank Operations so you can’t talk to them (you can only FAX them). Ally took $25,000 out of two accounts and I can’t get them to give it back. Customer service continues to say all the right things but Bank Operations still (its been a week now) has not done anything to fix the problem. Even a Customer Service Supervisor can not get a response from them. I wish I could find a phone number for Bank Operations.

    • Bill says:

      This is a followup. I have finally resolved all my problems with Ally. It took two weeks but I got what I wanted from them. I never was able to talk with anyone except Customer Service. I did end up having to work with two supervisors (one in Georgia and one in Texas). The supervisors can call Bank Operations on your behalf. Resolution is slow but if you keep on them they do get to the bottom of your problem. I also found that FAXing Bank Operations at 866-699-2969 with the problem and exactly what I wanted done to correct it helped. Bank operations tagged the FAX to my account and it saved having to explain the problem over and over again as I talked with various people in Customer Service. Everyone could see and refer to the FAX.

      • Tammy says:

        Bill why not tell us some details about this problem? How and why did they just take 25,000 from your account? freak computer glitch? crime? what? VERY frustrating for us to read your post without you telling us the details. For example when it was cleared up did they tell you why this happened?

  • Unknown says:

    A credit check is required per The Patriot Act. 600 isn’t asking much considering what an Ally checking account has to offer.

    • James P says:

      The point is that this is not consistent with standard banking practice. I had no idea I would or could be turned down for a basic checking account due to my credit score. I am not asking for credit.

      They should at least have a disclaimer or warning on their signup page, “If you are a college student, or have had any problems due to the economic downturn – YOU NEED NOT APPLY.”

      After I found out Ally is really just GMAC trying to rebrand itself I understood completely.

      • Blue Spyder says:

        Ally looks good but it just ain’t solid enough for me. I here up with names like Discover and AmEx

        • JJ says:

          I’m hip. After reading these posts about their method of operation, I’m not making any deposits there in the near future.

          I too am becoming interested in Am. Ex. and Discover now-have you opened an account with either of them yet and is so, how’s that going, please.

      • sue says:

        you do know that standard internet bank practices and standard physical bank practices are different right?

    • boo says:

      A credit check is not required. An identity check is. They are two different things.

  • James P says:

    Don’t sign up without a perfect credit score.

    I just wasted 20 minutes of my life signing up for a checking and savings account. Ally requires a high credit score to get a basic checking account. This is not consistent with standard banking practice. If it was 1/3 of America couldn’t do banking.

    If your credit score is not perfect, don’t bother signing up for this bank. They do NOT want your business.

    My credit score is now below average due to major difficulties selling a home in another state. This is not my fault and I can’t do anything about it.

    • Blue Spyder says:

      I’ve been told the same thing about them, I’m starting with AmEx on payday

      • Jason Shields says:

        Actual banks do not run your credit score. Seriosuly folks, I have joined and left more banks than I have fingers and I have never had a credit score run once. Accurate information should be posted vice talking out one’s ass to seem intelligent.

        • Blue Spyder says:

          American Express and Ally does hard pulls on your credit, some banks do soft pulls to verify who you are, but those 2 do hard pulls

        • Miranda says:

          I was applying to a bank and they did run a credit check. They had me wait while they went and got some papers to sign and came back with information on an account that I was behind on. Also, had a couple other things from my credit history. For this reason they denied me an account.

        • kari says:

          they do run credit checks. i just filed bankruptcy and was discharged and i want to get out of my chase account due to the new fees and I haven’t been able to get one at Ing, wells fargo online or ally. the wells fargo said it was due to my experien credit report. it never used to be this way. this is new.

    • lee says:

      so 600 is a perfect credit score? that is what i was told was needed for a checking. that isnt that high. also banks that you can walk into do runyour credit- to see if you are going to be a risk of a customer or not….that is standard practice

      • James P says:

        After Ally I called several national brick and mortar banks. While they all check credit scores, none had a minimum credit score required to receive a basic checking account. Have you walked into a BofA lately? Do you really think all of our Spanish speaking friends have credit scores above 600? Of course not.

        Tens of millions have been impacted by the economic downturn. The national average credit score is nose-diving. I wonder if you would be so flip if you lost your job and missed a couple house payments or credit card payments?

    • tammie & robert says:

      thank u for the info….maybe i will not call them on monday JUST to get my sign on user id.

  • JJ says:

    I’m testing the waters at Ally now. I’ve done business with GMAC before, no problem.
    I only have one one question: the variable rates listed (Bankrate, etc.) have never been consistent with the rates we actually receive. Even today, one institution I am leaving was still trying to tell me that I was getting .45% more than I’m really earning. Yeah, right.
    So, Ally customers of two or more months, would you please tell us the truth: are the interest rates that Ally quotes consistent with the actual rates?

  • Mike says:

    I’ve had no problems with Ally for the past 6 months. I’m now considering opening up new accounts with them. Initially, I entered an incompatible user name and had to call customer service to find out why I couldn’t log in. They fixed me right up.

    • tammie & robert says:

      well how do u get user id, my welcome ur have been accepted email stated nothing but my pass word…i thougth that onlind banking would be great intead of going to suntrust, bank of america, etc and spendining HOURS on just opening a new account but they wont give us our user id, just password and roughting number?

      • nicki says:

        if you didnt set it up during the application, you have to call to get it set up. that happened to me- i timed out at the end of my account set up. when you call it should only take a couple mintues.

  • Percy says:

    It is simply amazing the number of people that are singing Ally’s praise because of CD rates. Wake up people .
    You are better of buying stable dividend paying stocks in the stockmarket.
    What would 600 shares of say intel stock do for you? You would be looking at a yearly EPS of $1116 or more per $12000 investment. Can an ally CD do that? Why let a bank use your money for business only to return a pittance?
    Invest in china, india, and the emerging markets of brazil.
    Do you think people would stop Drinking coke or pepsi, washing their clothes, needing a doctor, or eating cornflakes ?
    Better yet if you are too scared of the Markets then look into funds like vanguard..which gives better returns than a CD.
    Yes stocks fluctuate but you can always get your earnings per share if you own the right ones. Yes I am talking about owning a part of a company. Don’t let the bank keep your money.
    Listen to the idiot that bought visa at IPO, Riverbed tech, ETFC@ $3.25, & Chipotle mexican grill.
    Lets become wiser investors.

  • Mark says:

    I am a fan of Ally bank’s raise your rate CD. It’s a great way to take advantage of a rising interest rate environment.

  • NotMe Bob says:

    Think Black Panthers… Then Watch the Ally Bank Commercial where the kid that makes Apricot Jam is applying… What’s that all about? Reverse Discrimination??

    Check it out… Please tell me if it has anything to do with good banking…

    • becky says:

      omg why does everything have to be about race?. it is an ad about miscommunication. which happens when you are a small fish (customer) in a big pond (corp banks).

  • Jenni says:

    I recently opened a joint checking and savings at Ally with my husband, and absolutely love it thus far. I have had to speak to their customer service specialists several times (due to my mistakes and confusion) and they have been nothing but helpful. I worked for a large credit union for 3 years, and am moving all of my accounts from them, due to their values and lack of customer service. Ally has been an enjoyable and refreshing experience.

  • Larry says:

    Sorry, but I have had only great experiences for the last 7 months…

  • Peter says:

    GMAC is at it again…. Let them die. They don’t belong in the banking business which they have proofed. They can’t compete in the car business either. All greed. They had to buy back to lemons from me in 2001 and 2002. Both vehicles had engine knocks which they stated would not affect the resale value of the vehicle. As it turned out they they were forced to pay but they refused to correct the problem and just kept selling the same engine.

  • Joe says:

    Beware All,
    Ally Bank is a wolf in sheeps clothing. They run ads all over saying they are new, fresh, streamlined, lean, well managed, and other cool descriptions but what they don’t tell you that they are in fact NOT new. They just took our bailout money to save them from their greed and gross financial mis-management and change their name from GMAC to Ally. Please enjoy all of their ads because you, your kids, and your grandkids will be paying for them while they deny loans to hard working people because those bad people don’t handle their finances well. I hate hipocrites. P.S. I just read that one of their top loan executives forged the documents on tens of thousands of forclosures that GMAC did not actually hold the mortgage on. It should be interesting to see how their PR people whitewash this one.

    • Fred says:

      Learn how to spell and read a newspaper. Pay your bills on time, save money, have an emergency fund, get rid of cable, get a cheap cell phone plan without Internet, stop spending money on things you don’t need, quit you whining, raise your credit score and then maybe any bank will loan you money. People keep blaming the banks for the mess our economy is in but a huge part of the blame is their own.

      • Percy says:

        Fred your last name should be “tell it like it is”.
        People are 90% the cause of this real estate meltdown. Taking out loans they couldn’t pay for and just plain leaving beyond their means. Now they whine because the economy is not recovering fast enough.

      • Jennie Darby says:

        Fred. I pay my bills on time — I work for a reputable large co and I still believe their customer service is horrible. It is the stuff that commercials are made of – I have been hung up on transferred to incorrect departments and had a TON of empty promises. This business SUCKS.. I intend on telling EVERYONE I know how horrible this company is and if there is any way I can add to the demise of this, so called, financial institution I will.

    • tammie & robert says:

      oh dear. THANK U FOR THE HEADS UP.

  • nancy says:

    …also all of their address are in pennsylvania…so you were getting entrapped in fraud….

  • vernon says:

    So far this morning I have call ally bank and talked to 3 different countries and 3 different 800 numbers
    after the first call I wrote down the next to find out I was talking to some one in the Caribbean, then they gave me the next number and that went to Jamaica. All I was trying to get was a print out of the year of 2009 transaction on my account all 12 months. Cause I am a month behind in my account was then told they wouldnt send it out TILL ACCOUNT WAS CURRENT. Then they would, and would then take 7-14 business days and all it takes is pulling up account and clicking a key to print then, and mail it out.
    Another thing where is Ally bank located at? Return address is to Bloomington Minesota but call for phone number no listing. So where are they located another country away?????? Or is this one of those off shore banks we hear so much about???

    • Unknown says:

      Ally has only 1 cust service number for the bank side. And is chartered out of Utah. Not offshore at all. It’s a real bank folks.

    • nancy says:

      ummmm yeah they are only in the us and only have one banking number. but if you are a ‘month behind’ than that means you may have been calling about a car……which has a seperate number but is also in the us….sounds like you may have been talking to a fake company—it screams fraud~.

    • tammie & robert says:

      THEY TOLD ME TODAY IT IS AT:

      PO BOX 13625,
      PHILADELOHIk PA 19101-3625
      #1-877-247-2559

      • Lost in NYC says:

        Off of the Ally “Contact Us” page
        Ally Bank
        P.O. Box 13625
        Philadelphia, PA 19101

        Mail general banking correspondence to:
        Ally Bank Customer Care
        P.O. Box 951
        Horsham, PA 19044
        ___________________________________
        Where do I mail my auto finance payment?
        Auto Finance
        To make a payment:
        Payment Processing Center
        P.O. Box 9001951
        Louisville, KY 40290-1951

        For customer service:
        Ally Automotive Financing
        P. O. Box 380901
        Bloomington, MN 55438

        ***********Please note the difference between BANK & AUTO*********

        Also, even though Ally BANKS main headquarters/correspondence/employees work out of Pennsylvania, does not mean the bank itself cannot be CHARTERED out of Utah.

  • Tony says:

    I have only bad experience with what is now Ally Bank.

  • sam says:

    Seems ally has started charging $10 as per description “FEE-ACHDW: Service Fees” if there are 6 or more transactions per statement cycle. You can call them on phone to have the charges reversed

    FEE-ACHDW: Service Fees
    $10.00

    • EC says:

      That’s true sam. But this fee has always been there. It’s actually a fee that the goverment has demanded be placed after 6 withdrawls from a savings account, so Ally can’t actually control that.

    • Isaac says:

      Not just savings accounts but also Money Market accounts, which are other forms of savings accounts, but generally have the ability to withdraw money using a check card.

    • boo says:

      The six transaction limit is associated with “Regulation D”.

  • Paige says:

    I opened a joint money market account with my fiance 2 months ago. The account setup process online was very easy. Only had one problem, which is that I was not able to link my checking account at another bank to the Ally account using the online form. I called for help and they told me to mail them a check, which I did and a week or two later the accounts were linked with no problem. I have been able to make transfers (even large amounts) from my other bank to my Ally account without any problems since then. I did get locked out of my account once because I forgot my password, but I called customer service and was immediately connected with someone who helped me reset the account and stayed on the phone until I could log in again. I haven’t been with this bank long, but the biggest difference I can see from my other bank (BofA) is that it is much, much, much easier to get a real person on the phone, which I love.

  • Britt says:

    I’m thinking of opening a cd with this bank. Any opinions or advice?
    Thanks.

    • JG says:

      I have a couple of CDs with Ally opened them a couple of months ago….the representatives were so helpful and patient…..they are available 24/7…the rates are better than other banks…and this Bank was highly recommended with 4 others by MoneyMagazine…which I respect and have followed their resourse list many times

  • Happy with this Bank says:

    I have been with this bank for 3 years now. I have never had any trouble trainsfering money. Any time I call the bank the staff is always frendly and willing to help in any way. This is a very good online bank to deal with.

  • Don says:

    I’m glad Ally is stiff with their accounts. There are a million ways to take someone’s money. I am leaving my current bank because they gave personal information to someone who walked in claiming to know me. Plus, Ayowale sounds like a bitter person.

    • Percy says:

      Don,
      you are an idiot. Did you even read the man’s comments. you are comming off as very uneducated. By the way which bank will ever give out personal information without verification

      • EC says:

        Percy, exactly his point. They shouldnt but still gave information. I believe the uneducated person in the thread is the person who chooses to use words such as “idiot” to define other’s opinions.

      • Miranda says:

        I am sure that it could happen. Not everyone that gets hired by a bank follows the rules that they are supposed to. This is true anywhere not all people are professional where they work. And you make yourself sound rude and uneducated yourself by attacking someone you don’t know like that.

    • Richard says:

      Ayowale Akin does sound like a bitter person who is blaming others for his/her problems. When sending money from overseas, that is best done as a wire through Western Union or MoneyGram, etc not as a direct deposit to your bank account. It can take 3-5 business days for an international transfer deposit to be available, 2-3 for a domestic transfer. A Western Union is available within an hour or a day depending on the service you use. If Ally returned the funds to thte sender, it was likely because the sender entered wrong information or perhaps left out some information needed to complete the transfer.
      An example of how much time it can take for money to be available in your account…just the other day I rented a car using my Bank Debit Card, Enterprise charged my card for the amount of the rental + a $150 deposit. I returned the car on a Friday, the $150 deposit was credited to my Debit Card but did not show up in my account until the following Wednesday morning.

      Finally, because I tend to be a bit of an opinionated person…any moron who can’t type their password correctly after 3 tries doesn’t need to have a bank account anyway. 🙂

  • Doug says:

    This Bank was a nightmare from the get go.

    If you have any inclination to use your new account with Paypal, forget it. Start looking elsewhere.

    • Isaac says:

      I had no problem puting my account together with my PayPal account. I use back up debit funding and use my PayPal card to make online transactions that automatically just pulls money out of my Ally account when I use it. Don’t go around spreading lies about Ally, and did you contact customer service.

    • tammie & robert says:

      THANK U DOUG, IT WAS A NIGHTMARE JUST SIGNING UP WITH THEM, NOW i AM A LITTLE CONCERNED

  • Marge says:

    Ayowale Akin sorry to hear of your loss but frankly the person to blame is yourself. Ally is doing their job and protecting your money and the senders money as well. As an FYI all US originated ACH transfers take on average of 2-3 days before the funds are available for your use. You may see it in your account but it is not available for you to begin spending until it has been confirmed. You should have had the sender of the funds wire transfer the funds to you or use Western Union or to guarantee you got on that plane they could of purchased the plane ticket for you.

    Fraud is so rampent that banks need to take precautions and since you stated the funds were coming from overseas they did their job and I commend them and will definitely consider Ally as a bank, beside they have better rates then BofA, TDBank and most local banks.

    • David says:

      I was looking at opening a bank account with Ally Bank and fortunately I found this review and these comments before I funded the account. I contacted Ally Bank and Ayowale Akin is correct. Ally bank does not receive incoming wires from overseas bank accounts unless they are in the same name as the receiving account. I am working overseas and my salary is paid from an overseas bank business account which they will not accept.

      • Lost in NYC says:

        David, I believe you are confusing the terms ACH transfer and Wire transfer. I have checked into Ally’s deposit options as well for overseas transfers. An ACH transfer is generally where you have a routing and account number. ACH stands for Automated (automatic, depends on who you ask) Clearing House. These transfers are less secure and I find that Ally’s policy of only ACH transferring to funds that are owned by you (and can be verified as so) is more secure. A Wire Transfer (such as Western Union and the like) are generally faster and more secure. Wire Transfers (imagine them to be a telegram with money attached to them) usually cost a fee for convenience, speed and security. These (per Ally) can be done to/from anyone.

  • Jim in Kootenai says:

    My experience with Ally has been all but flawless. Over the past month, I have opened three accounts and ‘linked’ two external acconts for the purpose of transferring funds needed in daily banking activities. Transfers from the banks losing the funds were initially slow, but have since improved. My customer service relationship has been comendable both during on-line chats and voice conversations.
    I am a senior who shops rates monthly, looking for conservative places to park excess funds in a volatile investment environment. I have found that Ally cannot be beat, even having met with my local bank VP’s to ask for similar rates. The only fear that I have in being ‘old school’ is the absence of a bricks and mortar store where I can look a bank representative in the eye.
    I am not an Ally Bank shill writing this testimonial. I’ve had a good experience to date in all aspects, and trust this enterprise as much as or more than the industry as a whole where bank closings have become the norm.

    • Austin Powers says:

      Blame your bad experience on your fellow citizens, not Ally. It is because of the scum of the earth and the activities that these people inflict on other law abiding citizens that businesses like Ally are just trying to cover their ASS. You see there are many, many people that will try to rip you off. There are people that steal, cheat, lie and screw it up for the rest of us. It sounds like your activity wasn’t fraudulent but with the rash of identity theft, credit card fraud, check forgery, online scams, etc. that go on every day- Ally was just implementing good business practices by putting a hold on your account activity. Do you know that online hackers have programs that can try multiple passwords over billions of times to access your account. If Ally didn’t have the 3x maximum, how many accounts would be hacked. There are also programs that can ‘grab’ your keystrokes as you type, thereby, gaining confidential information (if you happen to be on a malicious site). Also if you’re using wi-fi that’s not encrypted, everything sent and received can be intercepted by a third party. Turn your experience around and let’s say for example someone tried to gain illegal access to your account. Would you be pissed Ally put a hold on that access from happening? Since you only had $5000 bucks- who really gives a rats ass, but someone with several hundred thousand dollars or more would be very appreciative of their security features. I’ve had multiple accounts with Ally since their inception and have been very happy with their website and customer service.

  • clara says:

    Curious to know does ally bank perform credit checks before opening an account

    • Rick from Conn. says:

      I believe that every bank does a credit check when you open an account. It is a way to tell them about their new customer’s character. Even insurance companies check credit. The higher the credit score the lower the risk for them on that person. So you see , it is important to maintain good credit.

      • Vince says:

        I do not believe that a bank can run a credit check when you open an account. They can check with a company like Chexsystems to see if you have had any problems with checking accounts in the past. A bank can only run a credit check if you are applying for credit.

        • EC says:

          You’re on the right path vince but I’m afraid wrong. A bank (Specially online) MUST run a credit check on you, due to the fact you cannot walk in and provide them with ID the only way to verify your identity is to compare the information you give with the credit agencies such as TransUnion or Equifax. This is actually a law and cannot be bent.
          My experience overall is excellent with Ally, they have great rates, easy website, great 24/7 customer service and all their products have no fees (not counting count the government enduced fees of course). They are excellent overall.

          • Jason Shields says:

            I’m sorry but you are incorrect. There are numerous ways for a bank to verify your identity other then running credit checks. Most banks do not run credit checks on new customers, unless that customer is applying for a loan, a credit card, etc. Please don’t confuse yourself by thinking otherwise.

          • Nobody says:

            I do want to add a modification to that statement. Financial institutions are required by the Federal Government through the Patriot Act to utilize Customer Identification Programs for security reasons. This does involve a pull of your credit report to verify information contained within, such as your name, address, etc. But this is not a “hard inquiry,” and is not documented in your future credit reports. Once CIP is used, any additional inquires that are documented are not required by law. The institution I work at does not pull credit to determine eligibility for a checking account. And a list (link included) only listed one possible FI that does. Keep in mind, if you request a Overdraft Line-of-Credit, or any other loan-based checking protection account while opening an account, a credit report will be pulled. Most institutions just use a 3rd party, such as Chexsystems, to verify your history with checking accounts. This includes Ally.

            Here is a basic list of FIs and their procedures:
            http://www.credit.com/blog/2006/10/credit_reports_/

            Here is a link to other FIs that do *not* use Chexsystems to verify accounts. I hope it will be helpful:
            http://www.chexaccount.com/free-list-of-non-chexsystems-banks/

        • tammie & robert says:

          THEY TOLD US ON11/20 THAT THEY DO NOT? NOW i AM SUPER CONFUSED

          • pete says:

            they only run credit checks on checking accounts— just ask them. not to be utterly definsive for this bank (as i have only been with them a few months), but do you know online banking rules and regulations? do you also know all utah banking laws, because they say they are chartered out of utah….

      • Eric from Cal. says:

        Actually Rick from Conn. your credit score is not an indication of your character. It is an indication of how much you enjoy being in debt. The higher the score, the more you utilize and maintain a revolving debt balance. Good for you, you ALWAYS owe somebody money.

    • Kevin Becker says:

      Yes they do. You can see it right on the site. i saw it when I signed up.

  • Ayowale Akin- UPDate says:

    I finally got to speak to Ally’s fraud department/Nicole Patterson after leaving four Days, three more voicemails and calling customer service . She explained that she called me but I never picked up on friday (lie)… then she proceeded to tell me that she was not in the office during the weekend..
    On behalf of Ally, she blocked my account preventing me from using my password or viewing the contents of my account. She stated that my account seemed to be engaged in ” fraudulent activities” due to the nature of the transfer. Twice my friend sent the money and twice Ally returned the funds not before charging “fees” to return these fraudulent funds.
    And now I am stuck in the US unable to go to my father’s funeral this weekend.
    Thank you Ally 🙁
    Bottomline:
    1. Ally is no better than a piggy bank that pays measly interest.
    2. You may have an ally account but Ally can block, prevent, hold your funds indefinately and return it anyway they see fit without contacting you.
    3. You cannot transfer any money from another country into your- Ally account
    unless the external account bears your name?
    4. Watch as the customer service turns real nasty once your account gets flagged.
    5.Ally can monitor and flag down your transactions anytime they want – idefinately.
    Please consider if you want to do your banking here

  • B. Anderson says:

    Last week after finding out about Ally on bankrate.com, reading the info on their website, and reading reviews on may different sites (like this one), I decided to call customer service and ask some ligering questions. The customer service representative was very helpful and offered to help me open the account by phone. I decided later that day to open an account online. During the initial set up, the system would not accept my password, even though it met the criteria. I called customer service and was connected to a representative immediately who helped me set up my password and stayed on the phone with me until I completed the entire set up process. I even logged in later on that same day and it took me about 5 minutes (or less) to open another savings account (joint).

    I like that I can call 24/7 and speak to a person and there was no wait time 2 times that I called so far. The online security features and the fact that it’s FDIC insured gives me comfort.

    • gd says:

      what number did you call.??????.i have been trying to reach a ” real person” since july…except for last month when ally bANKING DID NOT RECOGNIZE MY ONLINE PAYMENT..AND CALLED MY PLACE OF BUSINESS TO HARASS ME..WHICH I RECIEVED REPRIMAND FROM MY SUPERVISOR…THIS ACTIVITY IS ILLEGAL.

      • sue says:

        ally BANK is 8772472559….ALLY BANK is also not a company that bills so maybe you should try to contact the right company like Ally FINANCIAL or GMAC MORTGAGE

      • Kevin Becker says:

        Right on their site they have live chat and I was helped with my questions fast. I was in and out. That is one way. I never set up an account so fast and they asked if I needed anything else. Then 5 minutes later when most chats would close I asked 1 more question and he got right to me.

  • KendraG says:

    Yes I would like to hear your experience as well, I mean on one hand they’re trying to be secure, but at the same time, its a huge pain in the rear for the actual owner of the account, so I would like to hear how this gets handled. Thanks for your post.

  • Fo Sirundo says:

    Wow, that sounds bad. Thanks for posting your experience. Please post if, when and how Ally follows up.

  • Ayowale Akin says:

    I recently opened an account a fews weeks ago with ally. God forbid that you make a mistake entering your password and you will be locked out immediately. You have to call customer service to reset the password. Made the mistake twice and now my account is completely locked. Customer service will not help me or discuss the amount in my account. They want me to call a Nicole Patterson at a 215#.
    Why ? A family friend sent me $5000 for as part of my father’s funeral. The amount is removed from his account. Ally won’t discuss the exact amount in my account. The representative I was was told to contact has not returned several call I left for her. And to think that i was considering leaving my bank?

    • nancy says:

      its not after one mistry you get locked out—its 3…..also if you have to contact someone and they wont tell you specific info—-you prob did something to trigger a fraud flag….

      • Ayowale says:

        Yeah money was sent to me for travel to my father’s funeral. They locked my account for four days. They sent the money back and I was not able to attend. All I am getting back is appologies from ally. Shows you how much you know Nancy…..

        • Ayowale- Update says:

          I finally got to speak to Ally’s fraud department/Nicole Patterson after leaving four Days, three more voicemails and calling customer service . She explained that she called me but I never picked up on friday (lie)… then she proceeded to tell me that she was not in the office during the weekend..
          On behalf of Ally, she blocked my account preventing me from using my password or viewing the contents of my account. She stated that my account seemed to be engaged in ” fraudulent activities” due to the nature of the transfer. Twice my friend sent the money and twice Ally returned the funds not before charging “fees” to return these fraudulent funds.
          And now I am stuck in the US unable to go to my father’s funeral this weekend.
          Thank you Ally 🙁
          Bottomline:
          1. Ally is no better than a piggy bank that pays measly interest.
          2. You may have an ally account but Ally can block, prevent, hold your funds indefinately and return it anyway they see fit without contacting you.
          3. You cannot transfer any money from another country into your- Ally account
          unless the external account bears your name?
          4. Watch as the customer service turns real nasty once your account gets flagged.
          5.Ally can monitor and flag down your transactions anytime they want – idefinately.
          Please consider if you want to do your banking here

          • Lucio says:

            I am so glad you wrote about your experience. Thank you so much. Usually it has been my experience to not trust any bank lately. I know I would never do business with this one. Thanks again for posting your unfortunate experience.

          • EC says:

            I believe as bad as your experience may have been you are giving people the wrong impression of Ally. There are laws sent in place that institutions must follow specially with Money Laundering and Fraud. You simply met the criteria set by the law for a fraud review and now have a negative view on an institution complying with the law, yes it is unfortunate however by law they HAVE to report this and I can almost asure you were told this however like many of us when angry did not wish to listen because you felt violated or wronged.
            Ally is a great institution overall and someone’s negative experience will never mean yours will be the same. I have had nothing but exceptional service and will recommend this bank to anyone.

          • windshield repair kits says:

            thanks for sharing your story. now i know better.

          • Stephanie says:

            I was looking into opening an account with ally, but after reading your experience, you have saved me time, money, and the anger it would have taken on me… Thanks for sharing. Sorry for your loss.

          • haha says:

            Yeah international wires are an arduous process. A simple wire transfer from overseas isn’t simple at all. So I’m not surprised you had a hold on your account from the transfer.

    • Gregory Cunningham says:

      I also had the experience of needing to call in order to reset my password, however I had a wonderful experience with customer service and was into my account in moments. I do have to say that some foreign countries have a track history of moving fraudulent funds and until that stops ex patriots should expect resistance to the free flow of what could be illegal activities. I am empathetic to your plight, but as with the new scanners and searches in the airport, It is not as bad as falling out of the sky or stopping drug or terrorist money from moving unchecked. My prayers and sympathy regarding your Father. peace..

      • Jeff Mitchell says:

        I wonder if anyone actually reads these…
        Did you know that Ally is not inside the U.S. It’s in the Phillipines. They have a U S Post Office box in MD or MN……but that is ALL. Customer service….right. If you want help then YOU, The Cuistomer, will have to provide it yourself. I am a detective and have my own issues with them. That is how I know this.

        • suzy says:

          jeff— ally BANK is all in the US…..if you got someone in another country that is ally FINANCIAL which is for auto loans….i know that i wouldnt hire you as a detective since you are whining about ally FINANCIAL on an ally BANK review, and passing along wrong information….ally BANKs centers are all in the UNITED STATES and one in CANADA, they are chartered out of UTAH and all headquarters/addresses are in PENNSYLVANIA…..you whining about ally financial on an ally bank website would be like complaining about best buys customer service to HSBC since they hold the credit card accounts…..

        • courtney says:

          ally bank is in america i work there and i live in the united states

        • Bryan says:

          THANKS FOR WARNING US. IN THE PHILLIPINES???? Never..
          No thanks. I have dealt with Pill a pine os in this country and never care to deal with their business practices again… They go on and on about a subject, will not shut up and I can not understand what they say. I just want to slam the phone down on them. They are very cunning people, who are nice to your face and stab you in the back. I will never bank at Ally now that I know this.

      • Unknown says:

        Dude I work for Ally. They are not in the Philippiens. The only foreign location is a call center in Canada. This kind of rash incorrect information is what causes confusion in the first place. Listen folks.. Do everyone a favor and don’t speak what you don’t know.

      • Prankster457 says:

        Yo Jeff – You’re an idiot. That’s all I have today. Buh-bye.

    • tammie & robert says:

      OMG thats what happened to us. we opened TWO account with them today…and it was so hard to uderstand why we would be kicked off of their site even after we got a “WELCOME EMAIL YOUR ACCOUNT IS NOW OPEN” BUTTTTTTTTTTT,, when we tried to sign in to our account, we never got AN USER ID just a passs word ro which we both spent almost 2 hours just trying to get our darn user ID and we had the password and ONE nice onlibe help person gave us our routing # account number but the next perosn we spoke with said NO thats not your accoutn number and u must call customer servive to get that…that scares me becaue NO other bank has ever made US call THEM for our own darn account number,,,,,does any one KNOW that this is a real and safe bank, becuase we are about to have a direct deoist in a very large sum from my husbands pension plan,,,and we are in dire need of this money…can anyone tell us anything about this bank becuse as I have stated I hsve NEVER IN ALMOST 50 YEARS HAD TO CALL A BANK FOR A USERSID AND WHWEN YOUR ARE DEPOSITING A VERY LARAGE AMOUNT??

      • pete says:

        most chat people can not give out information about your account if you are not logged in online. i know that is true with my cable company and credit union, it is a security issue. so if you didnt have log in information that may be why. you should probably call and get that set up

      • Jeff Mitchell says:

        Did you know that Ally is not inside the U.S. It’s in the Phillipines. They have a U S Post Office box in MD or MN……but that is ALL. Customer service….right. If you want help then YOU, The Cuistomer, will have to provide it yourself. I am a detective and have my own issues with them. That is how I know this.

    • Jeff Mitchell says:

      Did you know that Ally is not inside the U.S. It’s in the Phillipines. They have a U S Post Office box in MD or MN……but that is ALL. Customer service….right. If you want help then YOU, The Cuistomer, will have to provide it yourself. As an American, I am astonished to see that we are no longer owned by Americans, but Foreigner’s instead. I suspect every credit card we have is owned by a bank outside the U S. We need to wake up America.

      • suzy says:

        since you posted the same thing (with hoooorrrible spelling) like 5 times—jeff— ally BANK is all in the US…..if you got someone in another country that is ally FINANCIAL which is for auto loans….i know that i wouldnt hire you as a detective since you are whining about ally FINANCIAL on an ally BANK review, and passing along wrong information….ally BANKs centers are all in the UNITED STATES and one in CANADA, they are chartered out of UTAH and all headquarters/addresses are in PENNSYLVANIA…..you whining about ally financial on an ally bank website would be like complaining about best buys customer service to HSBC since they hold the credit card accounts…..

      • EX says:

        @ Jeff:
        It is our good old fashion capitalistic greed that originally made this country great but is now destroying it. Capitalism is a gift and a curse because everything is for sale to the highest bidder. We have only ourselves to blame for the state of affairs. If it’s too good to be true- it prob is.

      • Shelley says:

        Ooh, conspiracy theories. That’ll make you sound sane.

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