Bank of the West

Not helpful with situations concerning deposits. Been a loyal customer for many years. Was hoping my loyalty would once get me out of a jam. Spoke to a MANAGER and he couldn’t accommodate my needs, I don’t ever ask for much from this bank or any other bank but a time in need is time in need. Kept telling me the same thing over and over which DID NOT satisfy my needs. So why should I trust these people with my money if that can’t help me out this one time. I wasn’t asking for a million dollars, I wasn’t even asking for 2000 dollars. So I would not recommend do ANY banking at this branch cause there’re a bunch of losers and why would I leave my money with bunch of losers.

ATM still not accepting stack of check deposits! I had 6 checks and returned all back — had to do one by one deposits. VERY FRUSTRATING!
Not the easiest way to make deposits!
…should remove the sign; FALSE ADVERTISING!

I had a horrible experience at this branch. I was in a hurry, and informed the teller that I needed the deposit to be fast, because I had to be somewhere at 5pm. His response was we close at 5, instead of saying yes I will make sure we get this done quickly for you. Then he takes a long time doing the deposit and printing out the receipt. To top it off he takes a long time explaining the receipt to me. Every time I come to this branch there is a problem, or they make you feel like a criminal instead of being grateful for your business. The Tellers and Managers are slow, rude, and unwelcoming. I don’t recommend banking with Bank of the West, unless you live in Southern California, they have better customer service there.

Worst

Lazy and unwelcoming employees, nothing but attitude from the time I arrive to when I leave. They are horrible with appointments and are rarely on time. Just overall very unpleasant to deal with.

I spent about 20min for just 1 transaction with a bank teller. As a good costumer, I waited patiently. But then found out they were unable to print me a receipt. Instead, they want to give me a temporary hand written receipt (not even a signature was on it) for the deposit. One of the bank rep said to me
«Actual transaction receipt will be sent by mail «because they have only 1 machine working.

Last week I received a promotional letter from Bank of The West offering me $ 250 bonus if I open a Premier Checking account and maintain a balance of $ 5,000 and it comes with a free small safe box deposit or upgrade to a large one and pay $ 40. They mentioned they will be a monthly Service fee of $ 30 unless I have $ 15,000 in the bank. I decided to withdrew cash from my brokerage account at WFB and cash from other accounts at other banks to open this account thinking that it is better than getting interest on the money. I went to the branch in South San Francisco on 2699 Westborough Blvd and I noticed the door was locked during business hours then it was unlocked to allow me to enter. The moment I stepped in, female employee Taru (spelling?) welcomed me and I told her about the purpose of my visit. She said ok we can work on this and asked for my ID. Then it took her 20 minutes to enter my name and address into the computer. Then she said «you need to open a savings account as well to qualify for this $ 250 bonus.» I said it was not required in the material I received in the mail but I am happy to open one and I said I do not have $ 300 to deposit in this savings, only $ 100. She said you can add $ 200 tomorrow. Then she said your credit looks good! That raised a red flag to me because I never authorized her to run a credit check since I was not applying to a loan. In any case she asked, how you would like to fund the checking account and I said «Cash». I saw her face in a shock impression as if she never seen that much of money! Then she went to a man in the back to talk to him (later I found he was the VP of the branch) and then came back to me. She pointed me to a teller to give her the money and I had withdrawal receipts for that money that show the source where it came from.
I asked Taru about setting up online banking and she let me sit on her chair and use her computer to set the only line banking. After entering all my info, the computer came back with a message telling me the system was unavailable! I wanted to take care of the safe deposit box as well but because Taru was rushing me to get out, I forgot that. She even did not give me receipt of deposit of my cash money (i.e. no evidence they received my cash).
Same day I went to my other bank to withdrew $ 200 to deposit it into the new savings (which I never asked for) and came back to the BOTW SSF Westborough branch to do that. I mentioned to Taru that I am interested in the complementary small safe deposit box and she said it is not free and you need to pay $ 40 monthly for that! I asked but it says on the offer it is free unless I wanted to upgrade to a larger box. She said «not everything is written on the offer letter»! I became irritated because that was an insult to my intelligence and asked for her supervisor. The man in the back (VP) came and he said yes, small box is free but you need to come tomorrow to set it up! I said this highly unusal and I already made two trips and wasted two hours so far, I need to take care of that now. He said «we have too many questions about you. Someone brings us $ 15,000 in cash to open bank account is suspicious» I told him I am really offended by this and what questions do you have. He said why did you bring cash instead of cashier check. I replied” I have my money in many accounts and that was easier than getting multiple cashier checks” He then asked me why your mailing address is different than residence address. I asked is there something wrong with that? I wanted to receive my statement to the place of my choice, not in my open home mail box. Finally he said someone will help you with the safe deposit box. So I opened the safe deposit box.
Next day, I received a call at work from same woman, Taru, asking me for a utility bill with my name and address on it! I asked why? She said b/​c there was a discrepancy on your credit report! I said who authorized you to get my credit report? She said I did not get it, it is on the computer b/​c we are giving you a credit card and that’s part of the process! I said I never asked for a credit card and I never authorized you to get my credit report. I came only to open a checking account. She said I will void the application and ended the call. I do not know what’s going on in this bank, I went to deposit my money into a checking account and they wanted to invade my privacy and control my life!
I am having serious concerns about this bank, their credibility and the safety of my money. They seem to lack any training and do not know what they are doing including reading their own agreements. I hope someone from BotW senior management reads this and take some corrective actions to fix those issues.

For 20 years we have banked at BOTW, and like any bank they have had good and bad customer service folks at the various branches we have dealt with. Two years ago we moved, and this became our nearest branch. From the start we knew we had a problem. First of all, the ladies that work here are not familiar with BOTW’s policies– we think it’s because this location was previously owned by another bank. They become surly and nasty if you question them about any charges or procedures.
On one occasion a teller refused a deposit receipt when the computer was down-​they paper clipped my checks and the deposit slip and left it in a pile on one of the desks, assuring me it would be taken care of later! When I pressed her for a receipt, the woman got hostile, suggesting that I was accusing her of being dishonest. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I backed down and left, and called and checked the balance later. On another occasion I got into a long argument with a teller about fees for services that were supposed to be free (and had always been) with our account. This time I left and drove to another branch to do my banking.
For these reasons we began using the teller machine, trying to avoid entering the branch itself. If we absolutely need to enter the bank branch, we drive further to use another branch
This back fired this week– on wednesday we deposited my husbands check, same check that we drop off every 2 weeks at this nightmare branch. This week, for some reason, the branch decided to place a hold on the check. We found this out this evening, SATURDAY at 6pm, via mail.
So, to review.
We deposited our «regular» biweekly check.
From a major firm.
In a 20 year active account.
Did they call us and give us a heads up that there is a problem? NO.
They sent a letter, delivered on the weekend, with no reason for the hold stated. NO REASON. Just the info that there was a hold, and that we are liable for any fees this incurs because we used the teller machine to deposit the check.
Sounds like a great way for a bank to make some extra $$$$
Is this even legal???
Its a form letter, with a list of check box reasons that the hold was placed– NONE of the reasons apply to this check or our account, and in any case, no boxes were checked.
Just the notice that the funds are on hold for a week.
No explaination.
???
Just got off the phone with Telephone Banking– the letter said to contact them with any questions– here’s the great thing– THEY can’t figure out why the hold was placed either, and they have no power to remove it. We have to go into the branch on Monday. IN PERSON. Makes you wonder why we were given the # on this form letter.
So, I figure, since I’m taking the morning off to visit the rude staff at BOTW SSF, I’ll take a little MORE unpaid time and open an account at our local area bank. I suggest you give this branch a MAJOR miss.