BancorpSouth Bancorp South The Incompetence is Pervasive Gulfport, Mississippi

As I've dealt more and more with other banks - especially the big nationwide chains - I've found that the opposite is actually true. BancorpSouth is every bit as rapacious in their business practices as any of the big banks, and beyond that they're not as competent. 

Here are some specific complaints:

1) They closed my credit card account for no good reason. This was 2004 (well before the supposed credit crunch). I was employed and my account was current. I did charge a large amount of money fairly quickly (related mostly to business travel) which apparently alarmed them. This by itself is no big deal... EXCEPT THAT

2) I was no longer able to use their online payment system after the account was closed (why this is the case completely escapes me... it doesn't assist them in their quest to separate me from my money). Again, this by itself was no big problem... UNTIL

3) They suddenly started forgetting to send me statements. The first time it happened, I noticed when I was paying bills, and gave them a friendly call to make payment and to clarify the fact that I still needed a paper statement. I didn't protest the late fee, since one thing I've found out about this company is that they will steal your TIME if they can't get your MONEY. The second time I didn't get a statement, they got a somewhat ugly letter, after which they did send me at least one valid statement. (I'm still waiting on the next one, though... I think someone / something in their IT department has decided that I've elected to receive paperless statements.)

4) Finally, even if you can stomach their incompetent billing department, their nauseatingly phony "down home" sales approach, their easily spooked risk management systems, etc., you'll probably be perturbed by the agonizingly slow pace at which BancorpSouth closes transactions. I learned this fact long before I gave up on their ability to do simple tasks like service my checking account. If you're trying to close a loan with BancorpSouth, I would suggest you use one of those auto-signature machines like the President has to sign all papers. The slightest variation in one's signature will prompt them to put a fraud alert on your papers, and it's not easy or quick to resolve. And you'd better be sure to be consistent in your use of middle initial versus middle name (which ought not to matter, if they've got your SSN... but it does).

I went back and forth in this fashion with BancorpSouth for months while trying to get a student loan, until I finally realized it was time to graduate and I just paid off my tuition with a credit card! I hated paying 15% interest but my time is sufficiently valuable that this ended up being the more economical option. 

I've dealt with banks of all sorts and all sizes and I can confidently say BancorpSouth is the worse. I'm even including my dealings with subprime lenders in this comparison... believe me, paying 29.99% interest is a SMALL price to pay in comparison with the agony of dealing with this organization.