I opened a "free" checking account, I was charged a $12.00 sign up fee. a few days later I received in the mail a printed paper stating that they are discontinuing their free checking accounts. So I went to close my account and get my $12.00 sign up fee back, I was told it was non refundable. I should have been told at the time I signed up for the "free" account that they were discontinuing them, I believe that this discontinuation of the free accounts was known by bank employees at the time. and this was just a way to cheat me out of $12.00 I filed complaints with the BBB, and the California Department Of Financial Institutions. A few days later I received a phone call from Altura stating that my sign-up fee was returned to my account, I went straight to my local branch and closed the account, I will make it a point in the future to stop by occasionally and ask questions about opening a new account and waste as much of their time as possible, but will never do business with them again.