Wachovia Bank This bank is victimizing many consumers Charlottesville Virginia

If you need to make or receive any type of money transfer then beware of dealing with Wachovia Bank (soon to be known as First Union Bank).

For international wire transfers, they will keep up to 5% of the total amount transferred. They take the current exchange rate, then they change it by up to 5% in their favor. Essentially, its a hidden bank fee on the transfer. In addition to that, they charge between $40 to $75 depending on the branch. Beware... I just transferred my life savings, $10,000. They took $475 from that amount as a total fee for the transfer. ($75 for the wire plus they took an additional $400 because they paid me a rate that was 4% less than the exchange rate at the time and day that the transfer was made. I've written to Wachovia's international wire transfer dept 2 months ago, no response and there looks like there is nothing I can do about it.

Essentially I trusted this bank and now I feel that Wachovia Bank has literally stolen some of my money in the form of ridiculously high fees.
I also called a few other banks in the area... none of them conduct this type of practice and all of them have significantly less transfer fees (on average all other banks fees are 50% of Wachovias).

If you are thinking of opening a business or personal bank account then my advice is definitely.... DON'T do any business with Wachovia Bank.

Ando
Charlottesville, Virginia
U.S.A.