I lived in Germany for a few years and I have a Commerzbank account that I don’t use anymore. I want to close it but it’s… not straightforward. I followed every possible howto, but the online application from the home banking does not work for me. I know I can mail them a filled form, but I’ve heard that they might take many months to process your request.
So I decided to go in person to a Commerzbank branch across the border in the hope they can process the request faster. There is one in Zurich but only for institutional clients, so I really have to go to Germany one day for this. I don’t want to waste too much time, so I am asking you: do I risk of wasting the day? Is there one particular branch close to Zurich you would recommend? How about Singen? Anyone with experiences in regard?
I know registered mail is the standard way, but I am afraid they will take too long to comply, while I’ve been told that if you go to a branch they will do it more promptly. Of course they will try to make closing an account as complicated as possible.
Call the nearest branch, ask to speak to an advisor dealing with the closure of accounts, make an appointment to go and see him/her in person, ask what documents you need to bring.
If you’re in the mood for trolling…empty the account, self-report an address change to USA. Just wait for the bank notification of account being terminated.
Exactly what I thought, that sounds like the best approach. Problem: I cannot find the telephone number of the branch in Singen, there is only the customer service, which is only in German and they are very rude. If I ask “please pass me over the Singen branch” they will ask me “what for?” and when I say that I want to close an account they will basically tell me to F* off any idea on how to find the right phone number?
EDIT: oh wait, I just had an evil idea. I will call the customer service asking the phone number of the Singen branch to open an account, then when they connect me I will say “oh sorry, my bad German… I meant close an account”
First of all you need to close the account following the terms and conditions you signed up to. Have you checked what the conditions are to close the account?
Second the only people who can tell what can be done about your account if you present yourself at a branch is the bank, so talk to them before going there.
Are you paying for this account? If not I don’t understand why it matters if it takes a bit longer than what you hope for.
If yes, the amount has to be substantial to be worth your time and effort to close it “promptly”.
Why not just follow the procedure the bank has outlined for this process?
I would write first. What would be annoying is if you take a day to go in person and they tell you to write a letter. Sending a letter ASAP is the best course of action as it doesn’t stop you from doing anything else e.g. going in person and gets that underway ASAP.
Yes, I am paying for that, 10 EUR/month, not much but it annoys me.
Please notice that there is not “outlined procedure” for closing the account. In fact, a handwritten and signed letter in freeform is sufficient. The procedure described here does not work for me anyway, so the question is, what is fastest among all possible other options? From what I’ve heard, going in-person to a branch is best. But Commerzbank customer service is… well, don’t take my word for it, do a quick Google search for reviews. So, whatever I do, there is no guarantee it will work out “quickly”. YMMV.
Just to close on this, it worked better than expected. At the end I decided to just send them a recorded letter, and a few days ago they closed the account.
any idea on how to find the right phone number?