Bank of America Maplewood Village Branch officially closing?

As most know it's been closed for a while. Now I just received the strangest email from BOA. The title is Financial Center Closing. Then it goes on to say: "

For banking in person

Please note the nearby financial center you may have visited in the past or where you opened your account at 161 Maplewood Avenue, Maplewood, NJ will remain closed on 06/14/2022, as it has been for the last several months. Your account will stay the same, and we have specialists ready to provide you with the advice and guidance you need."

Notice it never says permanently and says will remain closed on 6/14/2022. I sent them a message on Facebook (phoning them is of course silly and I could not find a corporate email address) basically pointing out the absolute unclarity of the above.

Anyone else have some thoughts or better insight into this?

@jamie: please change the title to Branch not whatever typo I have there. Can't seem to change title. Thanks,

wendy said:
@jamie: please change the title to Branch not whatever typo I have there. Can't seem to change title. Thanks,

Fixed - in future there is an edit link on the discussions list for the user who started a discussion.  I'll try to make it stand out more.  It's funny how many people miss it.

What a waste of space!  May "on" is "until"? 

Thanks jamie. When I clicked Edit I only got the ability to edit the comment. I don't think on means until. I have a feeling they're permanently closing but check out this Facebook conversation I just had with them.

just received a confusing email about the closing of the Maplewood NJ branch. You give a date in the future - 6/22 - where you say it will be closed but say it has been closed for a while. So is this a permanent closing? You don't say that? And what is the reason? You don't say that either. Being a little more forthcoming would be helpful.Enter

Bank of America

Hi Wendy, your message is being routed to a BofA Facebook rep. We'll connect with you as quickly as we can.Enter

You sent

It would be nice if the answer were clear and not by a bot.Enter

10:19 AM

Bank of America

Hi Wendy, thanks for reaching out. We have more than one financial center in Maplewood, NJ. Hours in some financial centers have been adjusted on a case-by-case basis, based on many factors. Our website is updated real-time as locations reopen. Here is a link that can help you quickly find our locations and hours: https://locators.bankofamerica.com/. ^christianEnter

You sent

You have NOT answered my question. Is the center going to be PERMANTLY CLOSED? You email was UNCLEAR! I KNOW WHERE OTHER BRANCHES ARE.Enter

Bank of America

At this time the Financial Center has been temporarily closed. ^christian

I called a rep today, and got connected to someone in New Mexico.  There is a disconnect between the email we received, and the official B of A website.  The rep told me that the website still lists the branch as only being temporarily closed.  She put in a ticket about this to management, and agreed it was confusing.  She said that routing numbers and account numbers will remain the same, if the bank closes permanently.  Appointments can be made for anyone with a safe deposit, through Safebox@BofA.com.  

I received that email, and was similarly puzzled.

It seems to be an attempt to "announce" the closing without an immediate, large-scale reaction.

Clearly, they don't know who they're dealing with. 

My BFF christian  (see the messages I've copied above) then responded after I sent him a screenshot of the letter to wit: "Thank you for sharing the communication you received, along with your feedback. I would advise you to monitor our website using the link I provided, as it is updated real-time as locations reopen. If you have any account related questions or concerns in the future please let us know. ^christian"

Who the heck knows but I think nohero may be correct.

Oh and my feedback was something to the effect of shame on the bank for sending out such an unclear and poorly written announcement. So, yeah they don't know who they're dealing with. lol

Safe deposit users beware.

We have been customers at the Maplewood branch forever and have not received this e-mail notification, which seems odd, to say the least. Anyone get a notification in the US mail?

It'll be a great place for a nail salon.

tjohn said:

It'll be a great place for a nail salon.

Serious question:  Why does anyone still bank with them?  There are many better alternatives.

Put the Post Office in there!

max_weisenfeld said:

Serious question:  Why does anyone still bank with them?  There are many better alternatives.

I’ve been with them since 2005. I didn’t get the email either. But lately I’ve been thinking of switching banks. I also have chase. It’s tiring to be switching around banks. 

max_weisenfeld said:

Serious question:  Why does anyone still bank with them?  There are many better alternatives.

Yes, we do.  While I'm not a fan of big banks, I'm even less a fan of switching.  Setting up new bank accounts is a royal pain and I don't have any particular issues with how BoA has handled my personal account.  Also, there is NO way that I am aware of that you can "test drive" the online banking systems before obtaining an account at a new bank.  Whatever else I may dislike about Chase and BoA (the two "big banks" I deal with), they do have full-featured online banking that I have come to depend upon.  If I could be sure that a neighborhood bank would have the same, I might consider switching although the thought of going through all the hoops to set up a new bank account is daunting.  

And ... my account was not originally at BoA, but rather at a "local" bank.  So even if I do switch, how do I know that BoA or Chase or Wells Fargo won't swallow them up in a year or two?

What better alternatives?

I opened accounts when it was Maplewood Bank & Trust. that was bought by Summit Bank, which was bought by Fleet which was bought by Bank of America. The Drive-up window is very convenient. But about 2 years ago I opened new business accounts at Provident on SO Ave. So far their service has been excellent. 

We have been with Wells Fargo in town forever.  They are still open.  The online banking has been great. Haven’t needed to go there in a few years.  All deposits done with my phone.

ATMs for cash needs.

Silly question Max in this thread in my respectful opinion of most things you write here. And I think many gave you un-silly answers. I too have been with them for a long time Fleet/Summit, etc. Did you know that unlike Chase when I did banking for my aunt's finances there, BOA only withdraws money on the anticipated delivery date and not the request date.  I think that is the fairer way. Oh and most of my CDs are with Ally which pays the best rate. BOA is for checking alone for me.

But the point of the thread was the complete unclarity about its closing status. When it first closed we were told it was due to cleaning the place due to Covid or perhaps staff shortages due to same.

Retail banking is a commodity and customers are just beans.  There is barely any difference at all between banks.   B of A can be wonderful for some people and awfully crappy for others.  Same for Chase, Wells Fargo, Citi and you name it.   TD Bank has decent service but their products are somewhat lacking.   

Smaller banks generally have better service but are weaker when it comes to the depth of their capabilities because they don't have the scale to invest in their offerings.  

It's all a total crap shoot.   

P.S. Wendy, I got the same bizarre email.

sbenois said:

P.S. Wendy, I got the same bizarre email.

Me too.

Great!!!! Now we have a Blueberry!!

@Jaytee:   There won't be many folks who know what you're talking abut. 

sbenois said:

What better alternatives?

I'm an old fart so I don't know much about internet banks but I hear they're great. We have banked with both bcb and Provident locally and both have full and useful online banking and treat us well. Of course, if you have access to a credit union, the return on your money is much better. We bank with the cu from my little hometown upstate and they are so sweet.

Retail banking has changed a lot since the 90s when the big consolidations happened so the likelihood of bcb or Provident being bought by chase are much smaller now.

Silly thought for those who got the communication: could it be phish? Or some other scam?

joanne said:

Silly thought for those who got the communication: could it be phish? Or some other scam?

no.

wendy said:

no.

The bank branch has been closed for nearly two years.... start of Covid. Most of their offices have reopened. This one did not. This would be the second Maplewood branch they closed It was the site of an armed robbery a few years ago and they paid for a security guard to be on site after the robbery.

hope they keep the A.T.M.