Transfer of Savings Account

Re “A Nest Egg Squashed,” Commentary, March 19: Was anyone surprised by S.J. Diamond’s account of Home Savings transferring her mother’s untouched savings to the state without notifying her? These days we pay more money than ever for less service.

Have you ever noticed that most branches of a bank list the same phone number in the phone book? It’s almost impossible to get through to your actual branch. And except for my credit union, I see not much encouragement out there in the banking community for those of us trying to save money but who don’t yet have much to save. How are people supposed to pull themselves up by their bootstraps when banks penalize people for having small savings accounts? The minimum purchase price for CDs seems to go up all the time. Don’t even get me started on ATM fees. Is anyone looking out for the little guy?

N. C. EDWARDS

Irvine

* I couldn’t agree more than I do with Diamond’s comments regarding the current state of our banking industry. Not only did Wells Fargo recently charge me--twice--for its failure to follow its own rules of deposit, but the customer service agent I talked to about the problem by phone (my branch consists of an ATM and contains no living human beings) actually called me both “argumentative” and “stupid.” I managed to keep my temper only by remembering that financial institutions don’t do business to serve customers--they do business to make money.

I feel so much better now that I’ve given up hope.

JOHN SHAFFER DIBELKA

Spring Valley