WOW, I too have been a long customer since 2003, and my family for several decades longer as well before that, in all over 30-years of "us" being customers of Exchange Bank. But, how to say this: I just spent 2 years with their Techs and more, trying to get to root of problem WHY my cell phone would NOT sign-up with their TXT MESSAGE SERVICE.
Tonight at 7:19-pm PST, I did the "ridiculous" (as others have noted too!) procedure just to LOGIN from my MacBook Pro, which needs a "Call-Back with CODE to my Phone" before I can actually login. I was trying EVERY one of 7 Phone numbers and EVERY "Option" to TRY to reach SOMEONE, as there was an ATM Charge of ~ $120.- from my DEBIT M/C, which I did not do... How in the $%@#&@ can a person REACH a HUMAN if there is suspected FRAUD on my account? I HAD been told, that the FRAUD Dept was AVAILABLE 24/7, by using the Phone Number on back of the Debit Card, but it is just the same "WE ARE CLOSED AT 6-pm MESSAGE"... HOW can a real BANK not have any way to reach a human if their account has had money stripped from it via an ATM Charge one does not recognize making? HORRID.
I wish to ALSO note, as others have, that I too was happy in the early days with them, but now, if I go "Outside my normal service area", ANY M/C use will be flagged with a call, to verify I actually made the charge: So I asked, "What do you consider OUT OF NORMAL SERVICE AREA?", to which the agent said, "Anywhere out of the County of Sonoma, possibly even within if not a place you have charged before". So, I asked, "What if I went to buy a Ticket to the San Francisco Opera, but there was no Cell Phone Coverage in the building where I purchased the Ticket, so I could not HEAR you calling me to see if it was ME using the card?" and was told, "In that case, you need to call us before you make the purchase". Well, I thought this was extreme, but to just make sure, I asked: "OK, you say to CALL YOU FIRST, but I was in San Francisco for dinner & Opera (down from Santa Rosa for the night on the town) BUT, as you have verified, your CLOSED after 6-pm for ALL Customer Service, so HOW in the WORLD do you expect me to CALL YOU?"... The agent then stated, "In that case, you SHOULD HAVE CALLED BEFORE YOU LEFT, TO INFORM US OF THE EXACT CHARGES YOU WILL BE MAKING". This amazed me, I have had perhaps $200,000.- in "Charge Card Credit Lines" with NEVER any such hardships, so I tried to make sense of what she was telling me, by asking this last question: "I hear you say, I should CALL YOU FIRST, I understand you need to make sure "Out of Area" (25-miles Radius!) charges are really ME, but imagine please, that YOU went out on the town to the City of San Francisco, and had NO IDEA what the EXACT "restaurant" bill would be, nor the Opera, so how the bloody heck do you expect me to CALL YOU with the EXACT CHARGES (she had said "EXACT CHARGES") for a restaurant ESPECIALLY if we will finish dinner AFTER 6-pm when YOU ARE CLOSED?". She said to this, we can still CALL YOU when you make the CHARGES, but you must make sure that the phone you have on-file with us is ON and able to RECEIVE CALLS, or the Charges will be DECLINED". This I thought about, and realized something WRONG with this procedure, besides being RIDICULOUS in the FIRST PLACE: So I asked her, "So, I pull out my card at the restaurant to pay for dinner, but as I am OUTSIDE MY SERVICE AREA, you will DECLINE the charges UNLESS I HAVE CALLED FIRST, is that correct?", and the agent said "YES, we will DECLINE the charge FIRST, UNLESS you have contacted us FIRST, with the EXACT CHARGES you will be making, but, after we DECLINE the CHARGE, just CONTACT us by giving us a call RIGHT AFTER the charge was DECLINED, tell us how much the bill is for IN FULL INCLUDING TIP and TAXES, so we can then allow the card to be charged AGAIN for that amount". I was pretty "beyond amazed" by all this stupidity, but with my thinking cap on, I thought about it some more, then an "AH HA MOMENT" came, so I asked ONE LAST question to all this HORRID PROCEDURE this agent from Exchange Bank was telling me... So I asked her, "I hear you, you need EXACT CHARGES first or any charge will be declined, so then to call you back, HOW if AFTER 6-pm as you are CLOSED, with those EXACT CHARGE $$ numbers, but I'm curious, JUST HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR YOUR SYSTEM TO REGISTER THIS CHARGE INFO I PROVIDED YOU"... A "PAUSE", She thought about it, then said "Right away, no, well, it could take up to an hour or two, it depends". So, the outcome of this convoluted method to even use your M/C at all just ~ 25 miles from home, was this: DO NOT PLAN ON USING YOUR EXCHANGE BANK M/C UNLESS YOU CAN CONTACT THEM BEFORE 6-pm FIRST, WITH EXACT CHARGES, OR YOU WILL BE LEFT HIGH AND DRY.
--- The "upshot" to all this: Exchange Bank does not really "OFFER" us a realistic method to use PLASTIC to charge for services or products, if we're outside out EXTREMELY SMALL "Service Area" AND if you are doing those charges AFTER 6-pm. read more