Complaint Review: Union Bank Of California

The last lady who claimed Union Bank of California worked with her on a fees and that other banks don't is wrong. Most banks will reverse many of their fees. Only a few mean ones don't. One popular bank even advertises they will allow one free overdraft per year. And yes it is important to keep your account normally in good standing to get a fee reversed.

A friend of mine that banks (used to) with Union Bank. She said they allow a higher overdraft amount than other banks. She can overdraft up to $300 before the bank stops transactions from running through. Some other major banks only allow like $100 depending on how long an account has been open. In the last year alone she has paid a total of about $600.00 of fees.

Recently she had authorized an automatic debit for $50.00. When the transaction went through it was for $350.00. She filed a dispute maintained she only authorized a $50.00 debit. The Union Bank of California told her she had no dispute and refused to do anything for her. She told them she decided to open an account with another major bank. They told her they were happy to hear that.

Can you imagine that? Union Bank had profitted off of her for many years with their fees. Yet when she needed them to back her up for an unauthorized debit amount they told her she had no recourse. I am not suprised to see so many ripoff reports about them. From what I've read here, and word of mouth from others, from my friend, I would not ever consider a Union Bank of California account.

I understand your situation but also having worked in the banking industry for years I have seen it all. Unfortunatly, yes, the banks do make a small profit from this, and yes, it is to in a sense have you remember how much you paid for this overdraft and hopefully it won't happen again in the future.

I have found that there are benefits with every bank you just have to consider which one is best for you. You mention that there isn't a branch too close to you. Well, how bout direct deposit. That would be a good alternative for you since there are not many branches in your area. As for overdrafts the other post are right, if you write everything down you would not get overdrawn. For some people this is too time consuming, UBOC offers online banking which will show you the items that have cleared so you know if you have money, or if the money in there is being used to cover something still outstanding.
Also since there are not many branches in your area, as for getting cash out of your account when needed, most stores offer the option of getting cash back at the time of purchase. This is a good alternative and you would not get charged any surcharges for withdrawing cash, unless the store charges you, but most don't.
Then comes the final option, as I said before many banks are out there with a lot of different benefits. There is a few that offer direct deposit advance. So if you know you will be overdraen but you have a direct deposit coming in you can take an advance at a small charge. UBOC also offers several different overdraft protection plans, consider them. You are in California, there is a lot of banks out there, if your not happy with this one, find one you are happy with. I personally have looked around and I have stuck with UBOC because they are usually very nice over the phone, and in the branches. Most times if they see this is not a normal status for you (overdrawn) they will work with you with the fees, which most banks will not. But like I said shop around, bottom line it's your choice, but stay somewhere you are not happy, not a smart move!

I have worked in banking for over 10 years. A little suggestion would be to write every purchase and check you write in your checkbook as soon as you make it or everynight. That could help you avoid making a $5 mistake that cost you $60.

The reason why banks charge OD fees are because it DOES cost the bank money to process your item whether or not we pay it or reject it. Each branch is responsible for looking over a daily report of all of their OD accounts and determine which items they are going to pay or reject. This cost the bank wasted time. If customer would balance their checkbooks correctly we wouldn't have to worry about processing them.

YES OD fees are also a deterant. The $60 it cost you to pay a $5 OD is hard to forget so now you will remember next time to make sure you have money in your account before you go out and spend it to avoid the fee.

Another option you have is to get overdraft protection. If something comes into your account and the money is not available the bank can pull that money from the savings account or a cash reserve account if they offer it and that can save you LOTS of those OD fees. Hope this helps a little but don't get mad at the banks for your own error.

I have worked in banking for over 10 years. A little suggestion would be to write every purchase and check you write in your checkbook as soon as you make it or everynight. That could help you avoid making a $5 mistake that cost you $60.

The reason why banks charge OD fees are because it DOES cost the bank money to process your item whether or not we pay it or reject it. Each branch is responsible for looking over a daily report of all of their OD accounts and determine which items they are going to pay or reject. This cost the bank wasted time. If customer would balance their checkbooks correctly we wouldn't have to worry about processing them.

YES OD fees are also a deterant. The $60 it cost you to pay a $5 OD is hard to forget so now you will remember next time to make sure you have money in your account before you go out and spend it to avoid the fee.

Another option you have is to get overdraft protection. If something comes into your account and the money is not available the bank can pull that money from the savings account or a cash reserve account if they offer it and that can save you LOTS of those OD fees. Hope this helps a little but don't get mad at the banks for your own error.

CLOSE your account, and ONLY use cash for everything. Otherwise learn to balance your checkbook and it won't happen any more. I promise.