My father passed away in 2017. It was hard. He was a customer of this bank (Billerica, MA branch). As part of our probate process, and as a trustee of his "estate", I created a new trust account here. This was a mistake.
One of the few real elements in my father's "estate" were savings bonds; some as old as 30 years. These were in his name and sometimes, also included my mother's name (also deceased). The attorney for the probate process required me to go to the bank and cash these bonds in. The US gov't is pretty clear on the instructions for how to do this; they assume that any sensible bank would honor them. From the US Treasury website, "Go to a financial institution that pays savings bonds and show adequate identification and any supporting documents that may be required. Before going, it might be helpful to call the financial institution to find out what adequate identification and supporting documents will be needed for your situation."
I did exactly this by visiting this branch...three times. Each time I went, a different set of rules were applied. At times, during these visits, some (but not all) of the bonds were permitted to be cashed. I eventually negotiated to be able to cash all of them on my next visit. When I returned, I had the distinct displeasure of having to interact with managers Sergio and Cheryl. The summary ask was that I needed to come back with a new piece of information - this time my Mother's death certificate. Understandably, I felt as though the pieces were moving across the board in arbitrary patterns and asked if they could provide a clear list in writing of what was needed in order to finally close on this task. The answer, "No. we can't provide every bank policy in writing. we are too busy for that." My question back, "I understand that it's not standard practice, but given that each time I return, there are new people and new rules, would you be kind enough to summarize these in writing as you will honor them?" Cheryl's reply, "No. I told you verbally and that's all I'm going to do." It wasn't just the words; it was the smirk, the seeming pleasure in making this difficult and kafka-esque that really caught my attention.
I will, of course, be removing every dime I can from this bank once the probate is fully settled for my Dad. But, I want to forewarn anyone that might consider doing business here that the people that work there whom I've encountered are the types of people a rationale person actively seeks to avoid, and this seems to be driven from the management level down into all who work there. Customer service is poor here. Be forewarned. read more
