[pyotr]

hi I'm new here and wanted to post my frustrations and ask for other's experiences.

I currently have a bit over 40k with ING direct which is my emergency savings. After the early Oct news of the 0.6% spread between ING and Emigrant, I thought long and hard and finally decided that based on Emigrant's interest rate track record over the past year, I would be ahead $20 or more each month with Emigrant. So I carefully filled out Emigrant's online application and carefully wrote down my login and passwords. I received my small deposits into my Wachovia money market account in 3 days and I went to the linked Emigrant url to complete my activation, this is where the troubles started.

I could not log on using my logins and passwords though I tried all reasonable permutations. So I called customer service in NY - I held for 30 minutes before reaching a polite young lady who told me she would send my info to admin who will e-mail me a new password. I waited 3 days. I got my email - I tried my new password - still no luck getting on. I called back - I held for 45minutes before getting another lady who tried to brush me off, then told me to hold - I held for another 15minutes, then was hung up on. I called back, waited over 30minutes, then got a different young lady - I re-explained my situation. She told me there was no record of my previous discussions but saw that an admin had sent me a new password. She kept insisting that I was not entering my login correctly - "check that you don't have your CAPS on" etc. I was eventually told I will get my login reset again and told me try again after another admin email. I waited 1 week, no response. I e-mailed back. I waited another week. No response. I called back again - I waited 50 minutes and finally got a lady who tried to be helpful but told me she saw no records of my situation. I thought about re-applying and tried it - the website tells me I'm already in the system! I can't re-apply and I can't get a new login/password from them!

AFter this experience I've decided that despite the potential gains of up to $40 by 12/31/05, I would not trust Emigrant Direct with my 40k. Their customer service is not great. It seems to me I had a relatively simple problem which an admin should have corrected quickly. If I'm treated so as a potential new customer, how would I be treated once they have my money? ING's customer service is much better and I like ING's website much much better. I do not like ING's compounding method and I do not like how they don't want to compete in the upper echelons of interest rates, but after this experience with a supposedly reliable and old smaller bank, I'll stick it out.