UNION BANK OF CALIFORNIA ripoff the business that doesn't give a dam LOS ANGELES California

Agree with this report. I had atrocious experience with Union bank. They do not have a rule book they can read rules, reps make up rules as they go along, one says this the other that.

They s****.>

Thanks John for your response. It's great to meet yet another perfect american bank customer who has never seen an emergency. Perhaps you have family that will lend you money in an emergency and don't need overdraft protection. Perhaps you are old and have plenty of money or just old and not enough reasons in life to ever overdraft your account. Perhaps you just felt like talking s**t with no real purpose. Either way, Thanks!

When did I say I shouldn't have to pay fees or penalties? Perhaps you overlooked the fact that the bank has used our money on plenty of occasions to make more money and didn't share those profits with us. So why is it wrong for them to use those profits when we overdraft without fees or penalties? So it's wrong to expect them to give us a little leeway or protection when we need it? If credit is an idiot idea... then you must also have a theory on how we should restructure the federal minimum wage ehh? Or perhaps the fact that you are in Georgia and not in a state where $6.75 an hour is supposed to pay for rent, food, clothing, medical emergencies and checking account fees... Oh and even if your minimum wage is lower... try living in California.

Oh... and please save the banter next time you make an idiot comment like "Not every dollar on deposit can be invested like you claim". Obviously... it was never said as such. Read again.

Overdraft protection was created by the banks to help their customers avoid costly fees for overdraft. Fees lead to unsatisfied customers which leads to less customers. James didn't ask for something unheard of. But then again, I guess it's more people like you who the banks are looking for. You should apply for an executive position with UBoC. They can use more brains like yours...

After posting my comment previously I spent an hour on UBoC's website, on the phone and even went into my branch to ask for information on what the bank does with our money... It's to bad the bank didn't have that information in their office. It's to bad that the information is not available to the public on their website. It's to bad that the banker told me that I would have to be customer with an interest checking account in order for me to obtain that information. It's to bad I didn't have a camera with me when I told him I was... Such great customer service... and with a smile too!

Thanks UBoC! And thank you John for your insight!

You deliberately overdraft your account. The bank now has to use some of its profits to cover their investments because "YOU" now have "THEIR" money. In addition, you want the free loan to use the money and not to charge you fees for carrying a negative balance. What kind of an idiot idea is that. All banks are in the business to make money, not give it to idiots like you that can't maintain a balance themselves and overdraw. Not every dollar on deposit can be invested like you claim. There has to be money on hand because they can't say to you that we will have your withdrawal available after we sell some stocks can they?

Grow up and if you are still paying a fee for checking it probably means that you aren't credit worthy so thry charge you a fee. There are all kinds of banks out there that offer free checking if you want to get off your lazy a*s and look.

So what are we Californian's supposed to do when our bank doesn't want to help us get back on our feet, yet we help them make millions everyday?

Who is to say James is not "Creditworthy" You? Union Bank of California? He was "good enough" to be allowed to open a bank account with UBoC. Perhaps they knew James would default his account and realized it would profit the bank to have a customer who cannot keep a steady balance. After all, $5 a day can add up. How many James are there out there? Does that make them not worthy? Perhaps James is trying to "re-establish" his credit worthiness and heard that UBoC was a good bank to work with. What ever happened to treating your customers with the respect you wish to receive?

Banks make money with your money, yet they don't share it with you. Instead, they charge you for taking out more then you have no matter what the reason. Emergency, out of work, medical reasons, family death, etc. You think they care about your personal reasons for needing to be protected? It's your money and it's not like James wasn't going to pay them back, he just wanted a little security from the people who use his money everyday to trade, buy and sell. Perhaps we should have the option to tell the banks they cannot use our money to trade, buy and sell. How would UBoC like it if all of their customers told them to not use a red cent of their hard earned income for the banks benefit. Wow. That would change the way banks work. No more free checking. No more free online banking. Fees and charges for withdrawing money from your account and still no overdraft protection.

Is it fair that it's almost impossible to find information on what the bank does with your money online or even in a branch? Is it fair that they use your money everyday to make more money and they charge you $11 a month to have the account unless you maintain a high balance in the thousands in order to yield a higher interest on your account? How high? Who knows, they won't share that with you on their website.

But why should the bank take a chance on you? Well, an eye for an eye is the way the west was won! You trust them and allow them to make money with your money. Why shouldn't they help you when you are in need? Why should they? It seems like you get more respect as a customer if you only do your transactions via the atm machine and online. The key is to never step foot inside the bank that holds your money and they will respect you.

I too have a checking account with UBoC. I was forced to take care of my father for a month while he recovered from 2 major surgeries. I made the mistake of taking out $20 from my bank when I only had a balance of $15 due to being out of work for a month. As if the NSF fee wasn't enough, they started charging me $5 a day until my balance was taken care of. Well. If you are self employed and rely on your clients paying you on time and only when you invoice then you know that it takes a while to take care of balance you have no control over. I am sure you can imagine my final balance before I took care of it. Hundreds of dollars later... the bank wins again.

Paying back is not the issue. If customers were given the overdraft protection they would only have to pay back what they took out. Instead, they charge you fees, interest and penalties for overdraft. Yet they don't share the profits with you when you do have money in your account and they trade, buy and sell. Why not? It would be nice to get a call or a letter telling me that I have earned an extra $100 today due to the profits of trading my money. Right?

I could picture it going something like this.

Dear George, Thank you for having an account with us. Earlier today we used $500 of your account, along with $500 from 30,000 other customer accounts, to trade, buy and sell stocks and make private investments. It was a successful day. Thanks to you and the other 30,000 customers we put in jeopardy without notifying, we were able to profit over a million dollars from the stock market and private investments. We have included a check for $100 for being a good sport. Take the Mrs. out for a nice dinner or treat yourself to a new pair of shoes. It's what we do for those who do for us. Regards, President and CEO. Everyday you make it possible for me to feed my kids!

Yeah... dreams do come true.

What is protection? One thing it's not is for the poor or mediocre. Only those with good credit, plenty of money and multiple accounts get protected. What's to protect? Not the customer. It's pretty obvious that customer doesn't need the protection James needed. Then again, what are they protecting? The amount of money they make from trading that money, or the customer? I can guarantee you that they will use your money for trading more often then you will need overdraft protection. Bank 2, Consumer -2.

It's so obvious yet so many people trust these banks. As consumers, we should realize that nothing in this world is free. Even more so in the great US of A. Free checking, free online bill pay, unlimited transactions, overdraft protection, interest accounts, free free free. So how do they make money? Fees, penalties, trading, investments, etc. Who's money are they using if everything is free? Riddle me that. Where is the Union?

"Yo, I've been to certain places where the term "green" don't mean s**t' Cause money's blue and that's what it takes to pay rent. It's trade money ya'll" - Evidence - Dilated Peoples.

Sorry UBoC. You should stop being shady with our money. Truth be told. Union Crooks of California.

Say Word!

I have been a customer of UBOC for about 10 years now, and found them to be very accomodating. In fact, they sent me an unsolicited application for a line of credit like you are talking about.

For whatever reason, they decided that you weren't "creditworthy" and denied your request. Still, you bounced checks (more ammunition for you not being "creditworthy"), and you complain that they charged you their standard fees for bounced checks. Should they not have charged you just because you asked for the line of credit? Should they have given you credit just because you asked for it?

I have been a customer of UBOC for about 10 years now, and found them to be very accomodating. In fact, they sent me an unsolicited application for a line of credit like you are talking about.

For whatever reason, they decided that you weren't "creditworthy" and denied your request. Still, you bounced checks (more ammunition for you not being "creditworthy"), and you complain that they charged you their standard fees for bounced checks. Should they not have charged you just because you asked for the line of credit? Should they have given you credit just because you asked for it?

I have been a customer of UBOC for about 10 years now, and found them to be very accomodating. In fact, they sent me an unsolicited application for a line of credit like you are talking about.

For whatever reason, they decided that you weren't "creditworthy" and denied your request. Still, you bounced checks (more ammunition for you not being "creditworthy"), and you complain that they charged you their standard fees for bounced checks. Should they not have charged you just because you asked for the line of credit? Should they have given you credit just because you asked for it?

I have been a customer of UBOC for about 10 years now, and found them to be very accomodating. In fact, they sent me an unsolicited application for a line of credit like you are talking about.

For whatever reason, they decided that you weren't "creditworthy" and denied your request. Still, you bounced checks (more ammunition for you not being "creditworthy"), and you complain that they charged you their standard fees for bounced checks. Should they not have charged you just because you asked for the line of credit? Should they have given you credit just because you asked for it?