Expert: Paul Henneman - 2/11/2004

Question
Hello Paul,
How are you?  Well, I have been giving your suggestion with regards to the possibility of doing business with NetBank.com A LOT of thought.  I did contact the Better Business Bureau in Georgia. and they actually have had customers file complaints against them.  This is the first time I've ever seen this kind of complaint record against any business.  

Have you actually done business with this bank?  Have you ever had any problems with them?  It seems like in some instances the customer was left unsatisfied: "Company made good faith effort to
        Resolve"

And of course these numbers reflect only those customers who actually complained. Most people don't complain.

What is your personal experience with them if any?  Thank you very much.  Have a nice day!!!!  And I appreciate all of your suggestions.
BBB Reliability Report



NetBank
11475 Great Oaks Way Suite 100
Alpharetta, GA 30022


General Information

Original Business Start Date: October 1996
Principal : Mr. Douglas K. Freeman CEO
Phone Number: (770) 343-6006
Fax Number: (770) 343-6464
Type-of-Business Classification: Banks

The information in this report has either been provided by the company, or has been compiled by the Bureau from other sources.


Customer Experience

In this case, our complaint history for this company shows the business has responded to any customer complaints brought to its attention by the Bureau,
   When evaluating complaint information, please consider the company's size and volume of business. The number of complaints filed against the company may not be as important as the type of complaints and how the company handled them.

Closed Complaints
  Number of complaints processed by the BBB in last 36 Months: 186
  Number of complaints processed by the BBB in last 12 months: 41


Complaints Concerned
  Advertising Issues: 2
     Outcome of all complaints -
        Resolved: 1; Company made good faith effort to Resolve:
        1

  Delivery Issues: 1
     Outcome of the complaint -
        Resolved: 1

  Product Quality Issues: 1
     Outcome of the complaint -
        Company made good faith effort to Resolve: 1

  Refund or Exchange Issues: 23
     Outcome of all complaints -
        Resolved: 16; Company made good faith effort to
        Resolve: 7

  Contract Issues: 5
     Outcome of all complaints -
        Resolved: 5

  Customer Service Issues: 76
     Outcome of all complaints -
        Resolved: 49; Company made good faith effort to
        Resolve: 27

  Credit or Billing Issues: 78
     Outcome of all complaints -
        Resolved: 38; Company made good faith effort to
        Resolve: 40  

Answer
Mary,
  Thanks for the follow up! That better business bureau record is scary, I agree. Honestly, I have used NetBank for several years and have never had any problems. But, do not go there if you are at all uncomfortable! There should be other banks out there that offer high money market interest rates. Even a local bank with half the return would be a fine place to begin creating an investment account, once enough funds are accumulated to invest into mutual funds. The main purpose is to find a safe place to put investments aside regularly, kind of a 'holding' account. Money markets are good because they return at least some interest. But for each thousand dollars invested, you are only talking about $10 to $20 a year! Sot it is not vital to seek the absolute highest return available, particularly if you are not comfortable with the institution.
I hope this helps, go with your gut feeling! It is most important to get a good sleep at night and not worry about your money.

Best,
Paul Henneman
President
ValuEngine, Inc.
www.ValuEngine.com