First Niagara Bank Checking Accounts

I use paypal a lot and they pull the funds from my Bank.... Long story short there where 10 charges 1 for 500+ 1 for 200+ and 8 for under $50 each...There was 800 in the account...Could have put all in and charged me 1 overdraft fee for the 500 charge....Nope...they put in the 2 Big Charges then hit me for 7 overdraft fees....Got to love the way they manipulate the System....But reading the reviews here I see I am not the only one....I never seen more negative reviews on a business that still has their doors open. Doesnt anyone in corporate read these...Stay away from this Bank!!!
But if you enjoy paying overdraft fees then you will love this bank....

I have had an account with First Niagara for years. My parents used this local bank while I was growing up, so I didn't do much shopping around for a checking account. I gave 4 stars, because their mobile banking isn't nearly as good as most other banks. It's very slow, almost too secure, and their app isn't designed well at all. Other than that, I have had great experiences with them.

I just recently moved across the country, and because they are a local bank in Western NY, it was too inconvenient to stay with them. I was just using up the rest of my money in my account, when an auto payment I had set up, overdrew the account. I was charged $40, and was facing more fees. I called them, and seriously, within 5 minutes of dialing the phone, the fee had already been waved, and my account was closed. It was so easy, fast, and I didn't even have to put up a fight! They are a great company, and have excellent customer service.

First Niagra Bank is more of a criminal enterprise than bank. They use every trick imaginable in order to collect as many overdraft fees as possible. They hold deposits longer if you account is low. They always process large payments before the smaller ones so that if you do go negative, they get more fees. If you have a lot of money in your account, payments take forever to clear but if you only have a few dollars, they process immediately.

On a separate issue... I tried to set up a transfer. (We needed $220 to be routed from our First Niagra account to another bank automatically, every week.) I had to go in three different Saturdays over the course of two months and even then, IT WASN'T SET UP CORRECTLY! Every time we would get a mail, weeks after I went in saying they needed a different form. The third time I went I went to a different branch because I was convinced that the people at the Pittsburgh Street were intellectually impaired. Although the branch I went to wasn't dirty like Pittsburgh Street Branch always is, the woman working there said, and I quote, "We aren't trained to do this.". So, apparently the workers and managers are not trained to set up automatic transfers. (I bet they have extensive, college level, in-depth, week-long seminars on overdraft fee collection theory and practice.)

Needless to say, we closed this account. When I went in, I wasn't asked why I was closing it. I was expecting the manager to ask me why I was closing and try to see if he could salvage the relationship. Not only did that NOT happen, the woman who closed the account didn't bother to ask either. They got their final $109 dollars from me, that is all they cared about. So remember, at First Niagra - you are worth less than $109 dollars. If they can get that from you, they'll be happy to see you go.

In closing, I would like to warn anyone considering using this bank, especially senior citizens, people on fixed incomes, single moms and everyone who struggles from paycheck to paycheck to avoid this bank completely. They would slowly torture and kill a basket full of kittens and puppies for just one overdraft fee. They are truly evil, in every sense of the word. May God have mercy on their souls.

I been a long time member of First Niagara going back to the days when it was Lockport Saving Bank, and they've never been anything but helpful. I moved out of the Western New York area about 10 years ago (and far away from any branch), but I've always maintained my account. I still do business in New York, so it is handy to have a couple local accounts. They have always been always willing to help me out with any issue I have had involving transfer and bill payments. These types of problems can be tricky to deal with when I am on the opposite coast, but I can relax, knowing that someone at their customer service will always be willing to work with me to get the problem resolved.

The most serious problem I have occurred while using First Niagara Simple Checking Account is when I first opened it, I called before I did it to make sure it would be okay and clear normally, but I deposited a third party check for a friend and withdrew the funds out of the ATM for him. I had called and asked if this was okay and they told me it would clear in 2 business days like a regular check. Unfortunately that was not true, it took 5 business days because my account was still new but they failed to tell me than when I called so the money was not available until almost a full week later.

This bank would be a great bank if it were not for a very terrible customer service department when you call in on there 800 number.
Very unskilled and not at all knowledgeable representatives, that repeatedly ask for the same information, and then when you give it to them they ask for more before they will help you.
Then it seems like they are unwilling to solve your problems.
Also the web page is not up to par with other checking account web sites.It constanly asks for your zip code when trying to log in. That happens while you are trying to enter your user ID.
All in all this just gives me a bad feeling about a company when I cannot get treated with respect when I call in and they put little thought into their web design.

I've had First Niagara as my checking account for a few years. They are very easy to use. They let me know when my checking account goes below a designated amount and they don't require me to have a minimum amount in my account. I don't make any money on annual interest, which is disappointing. The website is decent to check your account, but I have been with banks who have better accounts. I find it frustrating that I cant see the pictures of the checks that I've written like other banks have on their website. Also, on the app, you can only see transactions for the last 30 days, which doesn't help me much when I'm searching for trends. Other banks also categorize your purchases and show you a pie chart of your expenses. There isnt a windows phone app for this, which was a problem when I had windows phone (the lack of an app for the checking forced me to switching my phone around, with was inconvenient.) They do allow you to take pictures of your checks and have them deposited electronically, which is helpful. They also have branches that you can go to on Sundays, which is good when you have a cash to deposit.

I think this is a pretty decent account. It has the benefit of returning the money lost from various atm fees. This is pretty important as I am a college student. There is also no minimum balance. This keeps me from losing money from not retaining enough money in my account. Overall I think it is a decent account. Your run of the mill checking account, with benefits for poor college students.

I first found about First Niagara by seeing a promo for a very large bonus offer which I took advantage off. They were very prompt with applying it to my account within the 10 days that was stated. Then I had to call customer service to get my account number since I applied on line and it was not furnished! No one would give me my account number. All I had was the last 4 numbers.So I could not do business with my new account!
Catch 22 became my situation. Compliments to my local branch 30 miles away since they gave me my number so I could us my account and link it to other accounts. There they admitted how terrible the 800 customer service is. So there you have it . A checking account with few fees and a decent on line web service yet zero customer service unless less you want to go to a local branch .
Two stars for this bank that is rude when you call them even as a new customer.
Also when I asked for my account number they told me it was in my email.
then I got an email stating they will never place account number in an email
wow.

One day I went into First Niagara Bank to cash my check. Usually, this went without a hitch. This time, however, I realized I left my identification at my house. Since I arrived at the bank 10 minutes before close, I knew this would be a problem. The teller understood my frustration and told me to go grab my ID. I went, and 30 minutes later, I returned with ID in hand. My teller unlocked the door to let me back in and finished my transaction. This really helped me out a bunch, and just showed how above & beyond this teller went to make sure I got what I came for. Customer service like this is rare now and days!