BMO — Local services in San Francisco

Right now, I have been on the phone with Bank of the West customer service for almost an hour! I am on hold again. That is what prompted me to write this review. I have all day to write it while I wait, and wait...

I was unable to change my primary Zelle contact online, so I called. The rep is difficult to understand. (She didn't want to give me her name.) She is struggling with her English. I can put up with that, but she doesn't seem to be trained. She keeps putting me on hold, and doesn't seem to have a clue on how to make this change. This should have taken just a few minutes.

She is trying hard to figure it out, and I can tell that she is nervous. But she has stayed on the phone with me. Poor thing. I don't blame her. I blame Bank of the West. They need to do much better.

After 45 minutes or so, I finally asked for a supervisor. I am still waiting on hold! This is ridiculous.

Now she is telling me that the info I am seeing on my screen is wrong, and that she is seeing something different. I am now running very late and my frustration level is maxed out.

Now she is saying that she spoke to "a lead," and that I need to add another contact. What? That makes no sense. There are already three on there!

This was a waste of time and inexcusably unsatisfactory. I am going to have to call again and get this resolved, after all of that! I can't even believe this.

I am increasingly concerned about doing business with Bank of the West. The staff at the local branch is very pleasant, but they have closed their doors and drive-through during business hours, sometimes for days at a time, due to staffing...

Used them to purchase an RV from a private party- they had the best rates I could find. Got an almost instant pre approval for the purchase amount. The loan process was rough. It would have been ok if they would have laid out the timeline after the initial approval so I and the seller would have understood what to expect. I called in daily to them to find out next steps and what was going on. The loan processor I dealt with (Ricky) was nice but obviously very busy. In all, the loan took about 10 business days from approval until I got the check, and I am pretty sure that is standard for them. Luckily I had a very nice seller.

My biggest complaint was that following the loan close they were supposed to transfer the title and send out a new tag. I was told I would have it in under 30 days. After 25 I called them to find out a status update and was told no one had done anything with the paperwork. The apologized and “put a rush” on the transfer. I was told that would take 10 days. On day 10 I called again. Still no tag, still no one could figure out what was going on. I have now called about 5 times. Each call taking a minimum of 30 minutes of my time, 8 weeks after purchase still no tag, and the best answer I have gotten is that the title work paper was complete last week and I should have the plate “soon.” So I have an RV parked that I cant use legally and no one at Bank of...

Bank of the West on Bush Street was next to my place of work and a logical choice to open an account when I arrived in San Francisco to start a new job in 1996. From the very start, I had difficulty with this bank accepting checks and depositing them into my account. We aren't talking about sketchy out of country checks from foreign governments, no, they had difficulty with checks from major institutions and other banks just down the street. They would hold them for as long as possible and give every sort of reason for not clearing them for as long as possible.

Case in point, today I was told my account was locked because of suspicious activity. What suspicious activity you might ask? I deposited a check from my tax return, from the state of California. Clearly suspicious!

How do I find out my account was locked? When I was trying to buy Christmas presents for my family. Over an hour and a half on the phone and four phone calls later I was put in touch with Victor at my home branch on Bush Street. He could not have been more rude and obnoxious. He even said he could fix the problem, but for the fact that I was so angry!

Three days Half-past and still no money in my account from this check, because it looks like a “security risk”.

Do yourself a favor, find a bank that isn't on its way out of business. I’m moving my...