Consumer complaint received 2022-09-17
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Problem caused by your funds being low — Non-sufficient funds and associated fees
Company: EASTERN BANKSHARES INC (MA)

I am self employed as a sole proprietor and also as an Independent XXXX doing Temp work in finance and IT for Temp agencies. I worked briefly at XXXX during the pandemic and was injured, requiring reconstructive ankle XXXX. Due to the above injury I was unable to receive any unemployment during the pandemic and XXXX told me that they would refuse XXXX 's comp ( it was an injury on the clock at XXXX ). Instead I was refused medical assistance due to the fact that I was on unpaid leave for 2 years while trying to remain employed otherwise. My doctor finally evaluated me after I had to lie and say that I injured myself at home. 

I have been very actually using Eastern Bank for some substantial income over the years and they were always very understanding especially during the pandemic. 

Literally the day that the pandemic was formally lifted in Massachusetts, Eastern Bank suddenly stopped paying my bills in a reasonable amount of time. My credit score dropped XXXX points due to the fact ( based on feedback from my creditors ), both my Personal a business Checking accounts simply weren't clearing payments for weeks. Literally like clockwork, both accounts would be fully funded for my debits to creditors, but on the 9th business day all my payments through both Eastern Bank accounts would clear on the same day resulting in sometimes only a few dollars of overdraft, yet they would change NSF fees ( for the first time I ever ) and the fees easily put my account far negative, in essence ensuring that I would be charged a fee for ever single transaction all 3 times it was attempted, generally regardless of if I made enough deposits to cover the charges, my account would just be left with nothing being paid out and then suddenly the same situation would happen again. 

I watched my business checking account accrue almost a XXXXXXXX XXXX in NSF fees on a balance which the bank clearly knew that there was no money in the account due to straight fee after fee for months. Literally every single item in my business account that I have to repay is a fee. 

The customer service was as if the bank was bought out ( which it did change ownership ), but they denied on a recorded call that not one policy had changed on the day I started seeing NSF fees and every single item I presented being paid, then 9 days later again, another few XXXXXXXX XXXX in NSF fees were charged instead of overdraft fees. 

It was almost as if the moment either account had a positive balance, they would clear every pending transaction at once, and 9 days later process a couple XXXXXXXX XXXX in fees resulting in no funds to pay one single charge or bill. 

I contacted the bank over and over and they would add up every transaction several different ways and I noticed that they were lying on the phone, as the online balance and activity shown displayed plenty of funds available and the fees were being charged after the paid ( not pending ) transactions were complete for weeks... Then all returned at once due to the fees making the transactions unable to clear. Additionally, the NSF fees charged had no explanation of why and exactly what transaction was being referenced and returned until I asked over the phone. I do accounting as XXXX of my volunteering and workplace jobs/skills and it was obvious that they were just moving the numbers around and my personal calculations in my head gave me different balances with the same numbers they were reciting on the phone and I was hung up on when I asked why I was getting a positive balance over and over again when the representative pretended I was just lost in all the transactions and just continued using all the same transactions in different sequences trying to prove that all the fees had nothing to do with my overdrawn accounts. 

I was working 50-60 hours a week literally paying only bank fees for months and couldn't pay my bills as they would be paid, then reversed almost 2 weeks later that even my credit card was getting frustrated with the way my bank was processing my payments -- often over 2 billing cycles, which they tried to investigate.

I am 100 % certain that I am not the only customer with exactly the same issue with Eastern Bank. I no longer have access to a single statement from the bank, but the statements literally made no logical sense as even the payments and returned payments, then NSF fees would also bridge 2 monthly cycles. 

I have no idea what to do except try to speak with them rationally. 

Case and point : The collections department was very polite and told me that their bank can not do what they were doing while I was trying over and over to work with the customer service department and they were being rude and deceptive. They actually suggested that I switch banks and apologized ( the collections department!! ).