Consumer complaint received 2023-01-27
Product: Checking or savings account — Other banking product or service
Issue: Problem with a lender or other company charging your account — Transaction was not authorized
Company: BANK OF THE WEST (CA)

On several occasions leading up to the 'date of discovery ', I attempted to access and change my on-line access to Bank of the West. On any of these attempts, I was never given any alerts that I had tried to sign in, or that my password had been changed. During the summer of XXXX, we were dealing with the hospice care of a parent, so non activity on the dormant account was normal. The bank had locked me out previously when there was no sign in activity for a few months. 
I have elevated the following details to XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX to no avail for an immediate resolution to refund all the funds via cashiers checks by XX/XX/XXXX. 
When I could no longer access during after hours, I decided I needed to update the account and went in to pay off my XXXX and could not get in. I called and explained the numerous attempts. After a long process, the employee tried to send me an email alert to no avail. This should have prompted her to hear my complaints about several times I would not get the email verification code. I had to give a new email for final access. That is when I discovered a pending {$40000.00} advance on my XXXX. I told her that was not my transaction. I had to insist that she transfer me to XXXX, who later was incompetent about the whole crisis. I asked them to lock the online account and then after an hour, the supervisor told me that she had locked the checking and savings but it was too late to transfer the call to the HELOC to lock it. They suggested I wait the holiday weekend and go to the branch for more support. Both my husband and I went to the branch at XXXX de XXXX and reported the fraudulent activities. We saw XXXX plus transactions from XX/XX/XXXX and filed a complaint and was told the account would remain locked for the erroneous XXXX XXXX transactions. The XXXX XXXX reviewed the transactions and said Bank XXXX XXXX would have to agree to allow Bank of the West to reverse the illegal transactions. I provided a police report which is under review with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX for XXXX XXXX. The Bank of the West continues to refuse to immediately refund the funds from my complaint of their lack of security, missed notifications of abnormal spending, and the negligence they have from the onset and since the freezing of the accounts. Upon the initial reporting I made on XX/XX/XXXX, there had been XXXX transactions - unknown and unseen - since the account had been compromised and I never received any alerts regarding access or possible change to the phone # s, emails, or erroneous transactions. Once I reported on XX/XX/XXXX ; the pending {$40000.00} was not blocked ; and an additional balance remaining on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX in the amount of {$45000.00} was also compromised even though I had reported the previously discovered hacked accounts access. The hacker was transferring funds from XXXX savings accounts, a XXXX XXXX checking and savings account, and XXXX other business ( DBA ) accounts. They transferred over {$130000.00} between these accounts into the account ending in XXXX where the XXXX purchases were allowed by the merchant via Bank XXXX XXXX.