Consumer complaint received 2019-09-06
Company: BANK OF THE WEST
State: CA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Problem caused by your funds being low
Sub-issue: Overdrafts and overdraft fees

Complaint:
On XXXX XXXX I submitted a mobile deposit from my bosses personal checking account for XXXX $ the comments on my deposit stated it would take up to 3 business days to see or have the funds available. On XXXX XXXX my account had {$300.00} in it and I took out XXXX $ the bank charges me a XXXX $ overdraft fee which started the avalanche of fees in my account WITHOUT OVERDRAFT PROTECTION FOR AT LEAST THE LAST 4 years. 
On XX/XX/XXXX the bank started charging me overdraft fees when my account including my Mobil deposit above available on XX/XX/XXXX. The bank extended their hold on all the BERIFIED FUNDS. From the check deposited XX/XX/XXXX. By XX/XX/XXXX the bank had taken at least {$280.00} in paid and unpaid overdraft fees. 
Prior to this I had only two overdraft fees for the year XXXX debited from my account and I have no idea why. I need to look into those as well. 
From XXXX XXXX to XXXX XXXX this continued to snowball regardless of my payroll direct deposits and in that period the bank charged me {$340.00} more in overdraft fees. 
It continued to escalate and from XXXX XXXX to XXXX XXXX they charged me an additional {$860.00} in overdraft and excessive overdraft fees. From XX/XX/XXXX Through XX/XX/XXXX I was debited a total of {$1400.00} in overdraft fees because of how the untimely funding of my mibile deposit of VERIFIED funds on XX/XX/XXXX for {$600.00}. 
I have called the bank and they say I added overdraft protection in XX/XX/XXXX Which I know for a fact around the opening of my account in XX/XX/XXXX I confirmed NO OVERDRAFT PROTECTION because I switched from XXXX XXXX bank for that exact reason! 
They offered to credit Only XXXX $ back into my account which is not acceptable. 
My account was not overdrawn nor did I have overdraft protection for them to pay or allow debit card charges to go through. 
The told me in XX/XX/XXXX after going into the branch in XXXX XXXX ca to withdraw my IRA and deposit in checking to cover and bring me positive balance. To date I have not received and of my IRA disbursement I requested with a banker and filled out the forms he was going to process with their IRA department. 

I have to use an online checking account I had open for some time because they took all my money in my account making my mortgage, car payment and multiple other bills to go past due and XXXX XXXX even CLISED. My credit card because of my inability to pay a XXXX $ payment past due from XXXX when this started. My credit is impacted and my score dropped from XXXX to currently XXXX. 
I am struggling to catch up as a single mother and maintain my home and car for commuting the 130 miles round trip a day to work. 
This is unfair and they will not even discuss it and said after its negative 45 days they will close the account. Notify the credit bureaus and send to collections. 
Please help me recover these unjustified fees. 
This is the same situation I had with them in XXXX in our family business checking account and since then the staff and management in XXXX XXXX ca branch will not provide me with any assistance regardless of the fact I opened my account at that branch I am looking at XX/XX/XXXX through today and there is an additional {$100.00} in fees added to the {$1400.00} for a total of {$1900.00} that I can calculate.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief