Consumer complaint received 2025-07-11 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Foreign currency exchange
Issue: Confusing or misleading advertising or marketing — 
Company: COLUMBIA BANKING SYSTEM, INC.
State: OR

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/XXXX I went to Umpqua bank to exchange my dollars for pesos. On their website, it states the fee for this transaction is just {$15.00}. When I went to the bank, I asked the cashier " Is this truly only {$15.00} I will be out, or do you also give a lesser than national exchange rate average to profit off this as well? '' She replied, " It is truly only {$15.00}. '' So between their website and cashier, I was confirmed twuce I would be out {$15.00}. I was given a sheet that stated how many pesos I would receive. The sheet is purposely misleading and unclear, and does not say how many pesos you will receive per dollar so an American dollar user can understand. Instead, it says what rate you will receive per peso, which only someone with pesos would understand. It say XXXX per peso. There are XXXX nickels in a dollar, so to the untrained eye this would appear they are giving about XXXX pesos per dollar, and with the national average being XXXX pesos per dollar that seems accurate. So I signed and awaited my payment. 
The following day I was called to collect my pesos. I asked if I could count my pesos before signing, and was told no, I had to sign first. So I signed, collected my pesos and went to the car. As I counted them, I realized that it didnt seem to be accurate, so I pulled out my calculator. It said I should have received around XXXX pesos more than I did. Confused, I called their customer service. The customer service agent looked on XXXX at XXXX XXXX rates as she said thats what she had access to, and she agreed with me I was quite short. She advised there was likely a mistake and to return to the bank. 
Upon return to the bank they told me this was accurate. I showed them multiple website that were all within fractions of a cent, saying the average was XXXX cents. They said, that they use a private company to set XXXX XXXX rate, and thats why it was lower. I asked what company, was told, and when I googled it realized as customers we have no access to see that companies exchange rate. So they intentionally use a company we can not verify. I reminded the bank teller that I blatantly asked her if they used a lesser rate to profit off and said told me no, it was truly {$15.00}, and the bank XXXX stepped in and stated " she was right there yesterday, and that never happened, they wouldn't say that. '' I said you absolutely did, and it's unethical to lie. 
At that point I had the pesos only minutes, so I said if they were going to steal more money than they said this transaction would be, that I wanted to return it and get my money back and be done. The bank XXXX told me it would be another {$15.00} to return it, I said thats fine, i'd rather be out {$30.00} than {$85.00}! When she input the money to return, she told me if I wanted to return it " due to XXXX XXXX rate difference in the last XXXX hours '' she would now be keeping {$200.00} of my money, so I should leave quietly only being out {$85.00}. I was astounded. I had this money minutes, and was being told I couldnt give it back. I told her that according to multiple online sources XXXX XXXX rate only changed 3 % from the previous day, so the math was not equaling an additional $ XXXX! Again, she states thats what " her private company says and thats what she follows. '' I asked them to review the cameras of the previous day to see the employee told me that it was truly only {$15.00} and they did NOT use a special exchange rate to profit, and she said no they would not do that, and that even if she did it wouldn't matter they couldnt refund me even IF the teller lied. 
I later realized this is an XXXX  fraudulent bait and switch scheme this company does. On the bottom of the sheet you sign when dropping off your money, in summary it says their exchange rate XXXX be different than others in the world and that if it differs they can pocket the difference. So they KNOW they are scamming people. They know they use a drastically reduced private exchange rate that a consumer cant find online, and then put a physical fee online for this service of ONLY {$15.00}. 
They use confusing tactics so people won't understand, by putting the rate per peso and by omitting how many pesos per dollar, which people would understand they were being shorted on, instead. 
They then XXXX to take XXXX the amount, if you want to return the money, so that you leave accepting the 8 % more they stole to begin with. 
This is fraudulent, bait and switch, and deceptive business practice. I saved change for an entire XXXX  for this. It was all the money we had to feed our kids on our trip, and they stole it. I was blatantly lied to, told I was correct by their own phone representative, and then called a XXXX  by their bank XXXX. They will not review the video and make this right. It is not okay to put online this service is only {$15.00}, and then charge more than that, ESPECIALLY when blatently asked if they use a lesser exchange rate than the national average and an employee XXXX  to the customer. This is my attempt at rectifying this situation with Umpqua bank, before we move to the next step. We will be following through with this situation to the fullest extent.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation