Bank of the West

RAJ /​JAY who is a banker at this Bank Of the West is probably one of the worst.
I used to be a banker for CHASE and WELLS FARGO so I know what it’s like to work in a bank. I came in to give him a free sale of the day. Walk-​in customer to open an account is probably the best thing any bankers could have asked for. RAJ/​JAY linked my DEBIT CARD to my saving account. I got $ 100+ fees on the acct and had another manager named Maria from the San Mateo branch call him to request a fee reverse. Instead of admitting to his error, RAJ /​JAY lied and denied it was his fault. He meant it as I WANTED to link my debit card to the saving. Haha. Mountain View branch’s manager POLLY did eventually reverse the fee.
Part of being an adult is admitting to your mistake, apologize and move on with grace. RAJ called me on my cell phone and never once said SORRY.
«I AM GOING TO HELP YOUR REVERSE THE FEE» I am not going to escalate further since I know this is NOT a career for this guy. My cousin is the branch manager in San Ramon. My brother in law is an auditor for Bank of the West. I chose RAJ to give him my free SALE and he screwed it up. YOU HAVE 1 JOB haha ONE SIMPLE JOB.

Like many others, I found this bank to have no idea what customer service means. I came in with a check made out to me by a Bank of the West customer at this very branch with this branch’s location on the check. They would not even honor the check unless I paid them $ 7.50 to cash the check. So if you go in with a $ 15 check made out to you by a customer of that branch they want to take half of it for cashing their own check. I objected, but Polly, the branch manager, said there was nothing she could do about it. She called the person who wrote the check, all this going on while the line behind me got longer and longer just so the bank could get its lousy $ 7.50, and she came back and said Bank of the West was going to cash the check for me but was going to charge the person who wrote the check $ 7.50 instead of me. I went home and contacted Polly’s boss and was told Polly could have waived the fee under the circumstances as a special one time only concession. My request for the Bank to not charge my friend who had written the check to me fell on deaf ears. It would seem that these people are just out to get as much money as they can from whomever they can any way they can.

I closed my business account with bank of the west and a deposit was sent to the closed account. I called to TRY and resolve the issue and spoke to Marsala who hung up on me. I called back and was then connected to Alicia Delacruz who referred to herself as the area manager and would not allow me to explain the situation and said she would not tolerate her employees being threatened and was calling the cops and then hung up on me as well. When I called back to get a phone number for anyone who could help in resolving the issue I was advised to stop calling or they would have me charged with harassment. I was then contacted by police asking if I threatened to shoot Marsala. I asked to have the recorded conversation pulled to verify the credibility of the agent, at which point the investigation was dropped.
The entire situation was ludicrous. Marsala was not threatened in anyway. Alicia Delacruz, the area manager, has absolutely no problem-​solving skills and has no problem hanging up on a customer. I was unsuccessful in resolving the original dispute and could not get phone numbers to an individual that would help me resolve it. The agent Marsala and management at the Rancho Cucamonga Branch treat customers very poorly. I have advised all family, friends, and business partners to not continue banking with this institution and advise all reading this to NOT BANK HERE

First, I went to the cashier, who was in a crapy mood, to cash my comdata, she said I couldn’t cash it; however in the past in other branches they’ve let me cash it out. Before she could deposit my comdata she had to call the hotline to get a code. She punched in the wrong check number and I was stranded for 10 days without the money in my account. I had to pay my bills which did not happen right away. I had to burrow money and put in the acct. just because of the incorrect check number that she punched in the wrong check number. I had to go to another representative to resolve my issues. I don’t recommend this branch because if you are not good with punching numbers, don’t be a cashier and leave your problems outside of work.

I walked in the bank today at 10AM to ask information about bank accounts and potentially open an account. Madu came to me, took me to a desk and asked me to sit. Then she disappeared for a couple of minutes. I turned around to see what she was doing. She was talking to a colleague first and then she was near a printer. She eventually came back, started to give me information about accounts and, all of a sudden, a colleague with a black suit appeared, interrupted the conversation as if it was totally normal, put something on Madu’s desk and dropped a pen as well (literally). The conversation went on again as if nothing happened. Within no more than two minutes Madu talked behind me to one of her colleagues. Then another colleague interrupted our conversation. This time it was a blond Asian gal. At that point I snapped because I could not take it anymore so I asked the two ladies in front of me if doing their business was more important than opening a new bank account. The two were speechless, probably because they were surprised of my totally legitimate reaction. My opinion is that they should have seen it coming. Madu eventually apologized. The colleague also did when I looked at her. Madu then went on to say something that sounded like «we are understaffed». I then asked if waiting for 5 minutes would have been an option but it didn’t sound like it was because the Asian lady never walked away from the desk. I am a firm believer that business attitude is the first thing a person should consider when dealing with money. Madu and her colleagues have the wrong attitude so I rate this location with 1 star for the horrible way they do business. If that is how they deal with customers when they open accounts I wonder what they do when you have an account with them. Now I know why this location has 2.5 stars. I was close to ask to talk to the manager on site but I preferred to get out because I have better stuff to do today than deal with unprofessional people. I just hope Madu’s manager reads this review.

I’ve been banking here for over thirty years, and I wouldn’t think of going anywhere else. They’ve always been helpful in guiding me to the least expensive financial services.

Use anyone but them. They like to close accounts and take the money. My account was closed without notice. I am now trying to get my money back, which is odd. I have to jump through hoops to get MY OWN MONEY FROM THE BANK.

Bank of the West is the worst banking institution. The Mtn View branch manager Polly and her regional boss, JP Vesoza were extremely rude and should be reprimanded. They should not be in the customer service industry at all.

Bank of the West provides really good and friendly service. They don’t have the latest and greatest, and their branches are clean but «tired.» However, I give all the employees there top rating. They always try to find ways to be of excellent service. Connie at the Mountain View branch gives great service: efficient, friendly, and has a ‘can do’ attitude. I do wire transfers as well, and once I lost my records, the branch did leg work to find their copy of the paper work for me. Definitely recommend!

I went in to cash a check, at the Castro St, Mountain View branch. It was not a huge amount, especially if you‘re in the banking business.
I was totally surprised that the teller would not cash my check, because «they did not have enough money». How can a bank not have money? I have been a long time client of that bank, but now I feel I should move my accounts to a bank that can cash my check.

This place needs makeover. I feel like I’m in the middle of nowhere, California or get held up whenever I step inside the building. BotW, please fix this place up. The customer service wasn’t so bad though. The lady must’ve repeated to me the ways to avoid paying the monthly fees.

I am writing this review to prevent anyone from opening an account with this bank. I have never had so many problems with a bank in my life! It took me nearly 3 weeks to get internet banking setup (their telephone hotline is ABSOLUTELY useless). Every time I have tried to cash a check there it has been a nightmare. Finally, I gave up and tried to close my account about a month ago. They gave me all my case, had me sign a bunch of paperwork, and told me all was well. A month later I received an overdraft notice. They had charged me a $ 10 fee for having a low balance — on an account I closed. When I called to explain the situation, the service person was super rude and she basically told me that she couldn’t help me because I have an overdraft (which they charged me)! AHHH! BTW I opened a new account with US Bank and they have been really awesome!

BotWest… oh, BotWest. We went with you when we moved to Oakland because you were right around the corner, and slightly lower to the ground than Citibank & Bank of America. Your tellers were slow but friendly. Your savings account rates sucked, but so did the rates everywhere else.
Then you lost a check we deposited, and debited the amount from our account without calling. You just sent a form letter with no signature, saying that you’d overcredited our account and corrected the error. In fact, your teller had misfiled the check, but the way we discovered that was by spending a long time on the phone with the branch, being grilled by the manager, because you folks weren’t willing to go back thorugh all the checks deposited that day to find the mistake. When it was finally fixed, you apologized, but that was it. No offer to recompense us for the time or trouble, which frankly, since it was your mistake and we spent hours helping you fix it, should have been baseline customer service.
THEN we had debit card fraud, and oh man, did you ever bungle that. You took forever to process the claims, your customer service reps were slack and stupid (sorry, but come on, I’ve worked in retail and I know you have to work *with* people in stressful situations, not just tell them the party line and turn your back.) You put us on the slow track to getting our money back, even though we called you before the fraud happened to put a flag on our account – so basically, it shouldn’t have happened at all. You told us to submit the affidavit *through the MAIL.* to NEBRASKA. Basically, we were out hundreds of dollars and you wanted us to sit tight and wait three or more weeks to see any of our money back. We speeded up the process through the miracles of fax technology, but not because you suggested it.
Then, you never provided us with a clear statement of how you had addressed each of our claims. We got a bizarre letter in the mail telling us you’d credited us a small provisional amount, nowhere near the full amount we were due. When we called to find out what was going on, your customer service rep was snippy and way too cool for school. When we pressed for more information, he fell silent. SILENT. Basically, we were punished for wanting answers about where our money had gone.
Not to mention the time that I called the bank to get my checking account number, all prepared with my SSN, mother’s maiden name, etc. etc. etc. to confirm my identity, and the teller immediately flatlined that I’d have to come in to get that information. Yes, I’d have to physically come into the branch to get you to remind me of my account number, because if I weren’t standing across the counter from you reciting all the same information, you couldn’t be sure it was me. (She almost immediately changed her mind about that, actually. But then she got mean about giving me the *routing* number of the branch.)
BotWest, you sell yourself on your local, friendly service. I’ve experienced that service, and I have to say, it stinks. I’m looking for reviews of good credit unions in the Bay area – ones that actually recognize that the money in the account is *mine*, and they’re just being paid to mind it.

After nightmares with BOFA, Citibank and other f’d finiancial institutions, I’ve found my branch. People are super friendly and helpful and they just don’t push the red tape you see at other places. Maybe it’s just pure luck but hey when you find something that works, stick with it.

So, I resorted to reviewing a bank to get a first review. So! BotW has been the butt of many jokes, namely involving the following lines:
«Can we stop by my bank?»
«Sure, which one?»
«Bank of the West.»
«What? What the hell is that?»
«It’s been around for over 130 years.»
«It’s sucked for 130 years, too.»
Thanks guys. This branch is OK. ATM is always nice to me, never gives me attitude. Inside, hit and miss with the customer service. Getting berated with greeting/​inquisitions when trying to talk to someone about getting a loan, not so fun. Not so priceless.