NEW YORK – Consumers who unexpectedly changed banks in the last week or so are now wondering what the changes mean for their accounts and the fees they pay.

Washington Mutual customers are in a holding pattern, wondering how the takeover of their Seattle-based bank by JPMorgan Chase & Co. will play out.

Seattle resident Karawynn Long said she was happy enough to stay with WaMu for 10 years. She will likely wait for the two banks to combine their systems before deciding whether to look for a new bank.

“I’m just going to wait and see how it all shakes out and what they change,” she said, but added that she’s somewhat skeptical. “It’s always possible things get better, but it’s much more likely it’s going to get worse for the consumer. We’ll see.”

Those who bank at WaMu aren’t alone in their concern and confusion these days.

Shannon Burdette has been a Wachovia customer for five years, but feels like she’s been settling for less customer-friendly banking than she wants. She’s not optimistic things will change, now that her Wachovia bank accounts have been sold to Citigroup.

“My husband and I have a credit card through Citi, and we like that,” she said. “They’ve always been really good, but I don’t have great expectations for the personal banking side.”

Before Citi bought Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia’s retail banking and other subsidiaries, Burdette had shopped around for another bank, but had no luck.

“I found the other choices were either just as bad or worse,” said the graphic designer, who lives in Sykesville, Md. “I found that with all the major banks, the customer service is really lacking.”

All she wants to find is a bank that has low fees, convenient branch locations and hours, and accessible staff that can answer questions.

“If I have a problem, I’m going to call and I want to work it out,” she said. “I don’t want to be told ‘There’s nothing that I can do about that.’

“I’m looking for banking Utopia and I don’t think I’m ever going to find it,” she lamented.

Dan Danckaert also shopped around the Washington, D.C., area in the past – and rejected Citibank in favor of opening accounts with Wachovia.

“They seemed fee-rich,” the information technologies specialist said of Citibank. “If, when this merger goes through, Citi’s terms become less favorable, I’ll drop them like a bad habit.”

Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, said accounts at the banks that are taken over will be converted into new accounts at the parent.

“And most of the time the new account has higher fees and fewer features,” he said.

It’s also important for consumers to keep track of online banking, direct deposits and other electronic transactions, because there have been cases where two banks had difficulty merging their computer systems, Mierzwinski said.