Webster Bank
Reviews and Complaints

Any time of the day from 8am on you will be on hold for an unacceptable length of time. A message says

"Due to extremely high call volume your wait time to speak to a representative is in excess of 30 minutes" that's bad enough but when you reach the 30 minute mark you get the same message that you have to still wait more than 30 minutes again! if you continue to hold and the call reaches the 60 minute mark, at that moment that you reach 60 mins their phone system hangs up on you. This has happened to me many times since Webster took over Sterling. They offer you a call back so when you type your phone number in, it repeats it back to you but no one ever calls you back that day or any other day, It's very very frustrating to say the least! I was able to get through the other day after 52 mins on hold and when I spoke to the rep they weren't able to answer my question so they said "hold on for a supervisor" after being on hold another 8 mins at the 60 min mark exactly their phone hung up on me and I got nowhere. So I called my local branch that same day during regular business hours and I know they have several people working at that time and guess what? I got an answering machine that said to leave a message? absolutely outrageous! I started with This bank in 1962 when it was Greater NY savings bank when I was 5 yrs old. After many years it was taken over by Astoria federal and everything was fine for years and the Sterling took over and I thought that was bad but I have to say that Webster by far has the worst customer service in the history of banking! I am moving my assets to another banking institution that answers the phone within 5 minutes or less every time you call. The big executives up in Waterbury Ct are completely out of touch with what is happening. By the time they fix this situation it will be too little too late and people will have pulled millions out of Webster bank and they will start cutting jobs starting at the top hopefully. Get your act together! 60 year customer Albert B

i have paid almost 1000 in overdraft fees at Webster bank they will not even take money out your saving account. If you deposit money they will steal it. This is illegal and they not care. they will overdraft your account be rearranging your transaction to create them. This bank sucks and no one should ever do business with them. Their customer service will not help you and you are always wrong, They steal from everyone and get away with it.

This has been going on for the past two years and been getting steadily worse ever since. I am getting charged overdraft fees from Webster bank even though I don't actually overdraft my account. I own a business and I am forced to have a business account to clear checks. They seem to take advantage of my multi-six figure cash flow and use it to fund themselves. Eight fees yesterday and two more today, the pattern has been like this for two years now. Obviously not everyday but i have racked up $3, 000 in fess this year so far. I call for answers and they have none, except that business accounts are not federally protect and if this was a personal account they wouldn't be able to do this kind of activity. They are stealing from me. I have tried to go elsewhere but the Chex system as just as much corruption. I don't owe any banks money but I seem to be black listed. Webster bank needs another class action lawsuit and I want my money back!

I opened a bank account 3 weeks ago at Webster. I made the initial $50 deposit and used the arm card once on a little purchase. Today I go and try to make a deposit of $1850 in cash and was told my account was frozen. I have sent my rent check out already and now I am not able to deposit the money in my account. I called the 800 number they gave me at the bank and the lady was rude and said there is nothing she can do my account is scheduled to close. Wtf do you mean scheduled to close? I just opened it. Couldn't give me any explanation except that my account is scheduled to close and it can't be reversed. Stay away from his bank. Not only is it horrible customer service but they I guess have the right to pick and chose who's account they will close whenever they want. Horrible bank I would stay far away as possible.

This is one of the worst banks I have ever had an account with. Their system is not in real time and they slam customers with fees without providing the proper communication of insufficient funds. Each fee is $37 and there is no grace period to bring the account into good standing or forgiveness of fees. In between switching banks I deposited a check through a picture on my phone instead of at the ATM. I was slammed with late fees and when I called because the online statement did not accurately reflect that I had any insufficient funds they told me that if I had deposited the check at the ATM $100 would immediately clear, but that is not the case if you deposit a check using your phone or within the bank. None of it makes any sense. It is an antiquated bank that survives on the money it makes from charging customers exorbitant fees. I give it less than ten years before Webster Bank becomes obsolete. This bank runs on the fees it takes from people, and it's just bad business. Everyone I know has switched to Chase or Bank of America due to their better technology, customer service and communication.

I just came from the southington Webster bank branch an it was the worst experience I have ever had. The branch manager was really rude and she shut the door in my face when I when to her to resolve an issue. Then I kept standing nex te to her office only to hear that she was on the phone talking about a personal issue about a hospital bill. The manager Jeanne Martin kept talking for up to 10min did not even acknowledge the fact that I was outside her door. She was the most unprofessional person I have ever met at a bank especially Webster bank where I have been a customer for all my life. This customer conduct was disgusting and I wish nobody ever goes through this experience.

So I found a motorcycle I wanted to buy and went to Webster Bank to take a loan out for it. My credit is perfect, only have $1500 on one credit card, just finished paying off a $15, 000 car loan oevr 5 years. I have never missed a payment in my life. I go to the branch to fill out the application. The lady looks over it and tells me to put that I pay 350 bucks a month for rent, which I don't, I pay nothing, I live at my parents. She said it will "look better" so I do... I didn't have my latest check stub yet so I give her one that was 2 weeks old. She says it's fine they don't need the latest one, so I go off on my way. Next day, a different lady calls me and says "When are you going to get your latest pay stub here, we need it" so I explain what the lady told me, she said it was wrong... She says "You were conditionally approved, we just need your most recent pay stub." I say "so I got approved?" she says "yes". So I give the pay stub to them she says "I will call you when we are ready to close the deal." 5 days later, I call them and ask what was going on. The lady looks it up and says "Your loan was denied." REALLY? So you just weren't going to tell me this? 5 days I wait where I could have went to another bank that actually has money to loan? The loan was for $3400, and I have perfect credit.. If I can't get a loan, who can? I am taking my money out of Webster Bank, they are very shady people. Be warned, because if they don't have $3500 to loan someone with perfect credit, they must be at the end of their barrel of money. My money is coming out before they use mine to pay their debts, just a warning.

i called the 1 800 number and spoke with some idiot that could not understand i deposited cash sunday and webster did not make that money available until tuesday thus cause me $108 dollars in fees, any other bank such as bank of america does not need 24 hours to verify cash, it is still king and it is not that i do not know how to balance, i do if transactions all come in on the same day, like real ### heads they do the debits first then the credits (by the way their is a class action law suit because of their exuberant fee structures) then i speak with some idiot by the name of Julian who informs me that he has not boss and answers to no one, hmm how much can i charge him for fraudulent info or misinformation then i speak to chris rosado his supervisor that miraculously appeared and refused to remove two of the 3 fees of 36 bucks that they charged, then he comes on the line (now i have been on the phone for over 25 minutes) and tells me his name is chris hughes, then he proceeds to tell me oh no i am the same chris, i said, chris rosado then he said yes, then he said ok i will give you back 2 of the 3 fees but i am making a note on your account that no more fees should be waived, i told him, great cause as of tommorrow i am going in to close this account and deal with a bank that respects its customers, i really have had nothing but good attention at bank of america. My mortgage with webster was sold to chase withing 30 days but i notice many anglosaxons mortgages are still held at webster, seems to me that they do not need business from latinos. They have lost this one!

This banks motto is they take your banking personally- and boy do they mean it! They will reel you in with "totally free checking" and withdraw money from your account each month! This bank drained my account and refused to refund money that is legally mine! My entire account was drained- while they sent bank statements to the wrong address- EVEN AFTER I had CHANGED MY ADDRESS TO THE CORRECT ADDRESS-3 TIMES! This bank is just a scam to get your money for their profits- AVOID THIS BANK AT ALL COST!

the banks are the real thieves of our country...deceptive with debit purchases...and robbing money the second direct deposit hits the account...they have a game with dates..but when you log into your account at 11pm..and see you have 99 dollars and when you look back at 2am and see 5 transactions going through ...and will be charged overdraft fees...and you hear their cocky attitude that you should keep a check registry..when transactions from the 22nd go through before the 21st and the reason for the fees...and you have your paycheck that you work for...hand to mouth...they robbed 210 dollars from my kids mouth...

I deposited a check on Monday the 10th of May, 2010. I had my deposit slip. I expected $100.00 of that check to be cleared the next day, and the remainder cleared for Wednesday. I have banked with Webster since 2002, so I do believe I am familiar with their practices on deposits, and funds availability.
I checked my account online the next morning about 6am, and about died! The deposit I made did not show as being made! And of course you can't call anyone to correct it at that time, so all sorts of wild things run through your head until you can speak to someone.
I contacted the online tech support at 8am, they checked and verified that they see I made the deposit, who the teller was and where it was made, but it wasn't appearing in my account. They tell me that they put a report in for the problem, and I should see something by the end of the day.
I am on disability, I had to wait a long time to get the check I got, and now they are telling me I have to wait longer to even see it's in my account, and then what? I have to wait even longer for the funds to be available?
I called the Old Saybrook Branch that I made the deposit at, and asked to speak to someone regarding my deposit, and what happened to it? The woman asks for my phone number and tells me they will call me back, I wait, all this time stressing out. I called them back after an hour and a half went by, I spoke to David, he tells me that they know I made the deposit, that they were trying to "FIND it!" what the hell is that supposed to mean? When I make that deposit, they run it through their little machine, and it should show in my account right then and there as money deposited in. He tells me they are looking through all the bags for my check. That as soon as they find it they will call me. I asked him, gee when you find it, is it going to be cleared as it should have been? He said, "Oh I don't know?" I said, "It should be, I made the deposit on Monday, I should have $100.00 available today, and the whole thing cleared by Wednesday." This was at 11:30 am Tuesday. At 12:30 pm Tuesday, I checked online and saw my money in my account, and it showed as ALL the money available! I figured for the trouble I had to go through they cleared it. So I transferred some of it to both of my savings accounts I have with them.
Well, I am extremely aggravated now! I just checked my account, and they made it so the funds were NOT all available, and charged me a $5.00 transfer fee, took the amount out of one savings account, and transferred it back to my checking, but still had it at a -$400.00 balance! Now I am freaking, I paid two bills, believing I had the amount available. Now I am thinking because of THEIR mess up, and the crap they put me through, they are going to have a field day on me with over draft fee's!

I want to know why my deposit did not go in as it should, I made it in person. Was the teller stealing, and or trying to steal? What? They mess up, and I have to pay for it? Great customer service!

If you're looking for a bank to screw you royally look no futher. These Ladies and Gentlemen (both terms used loosely) are the best. Case in point. Ran a "promo" promising a $ 100 credit if you opened an account. When the time came to issue the credit they just played damm (or maybe they were not playing it).
Had to contact BBB to get them to do.
KEEP clear

Webster Bank has come up with a new way to steal money from our accounts! I paid a bill through their online payment center with a delivery date of today, October 6th. This is what they said would be the earliest DELIVERY date. It was cashed yesterday and overdrew my account. I called today to ask how they could have cashed a check that wasn't supposed to arrive until today and they said that the US Postal Service is getting faster and there is nothing they can do about it and I should have planned better. Even the check they made is dated for today! If you tell me that you are going to DELIVER it today, how much better can my planning be? They can see that I make a cash deposit every Tuesday and if it got delivered today, even if cashed at the same bank, it would clear without any problems!

Where have all the small community banks gone that used to be fair and not steal from their customers? Probably taken over by these thieves that stole from them too!

When will an attorney sue this bank next for their unfair practices? I'm starting to think that the mattress is a better place and I'll take my chances with a robber breaking it. Probably safer!

I have been a customer of Webster Bank since I first opened an account in 2003. I left People's Bank due to their mysterious fees that kept popping up occasionally, causing my account go to overdraft. Out of the frying pan and into the fire it would seem. I've had my share of problems with Webster over the years, usually due to their aberrant and random clearing of posted payments which basically seems to be whenever they feel like it, but ever since January it's gotten worse. I paid my veterinary with a check, which cleared in November. January rolls around and I see my account is -$600. I noticed this on a Sunday and panicked because my car payment had yet to clear and I didn't get paid until the next Friday. Then I noticed that Webster Bank allowed the vet's bank to take the check out again. The first thing I did in the morning was go down there, WITH PROOF of this being taken out in November and the same check (which by the way wasn't the actual check that cleared in November, it was a copy sent over by the other bank, but Webster allowed it to be taken out). The bank manager thought I was full of crap (but she actually was nice about it once she realized I was right). The problem was fixed, but ever since then it seems that whenever they see fit, the rearrange transactions on my account, take items out early, and charge at least 3-4 $37 fees a month due to this. Out of a paycheck of $700 that was direct deposited on Friday, I'm down to $-100, mostly due to overdraft fees and items being rearranged that I now have NO proof of because I don't make it a habit of printing out my transaction history hour by hour! STAY AWAY FROM THESE THIEVES!

Here is how Webster Bank allows a simple "mistake" to snowball into a seriously large amount of overdraft charges.
On Monday, April 20’th, I had $557.76 in my checking account, more than enough to cover the various transactions I’d made over the days prior to that with my debit card. Everything was figured into that balance. On Monday, I received the lump sum payment from a 401K that I cashed out to get myself out of debt, a check for $4045.97. Elated to have this money, I immediately divvied it up and planned what bills to pay with it. I deposited in the bank through the ATM Monday afternoon.

Here’s where things take a turn for the worse. I went home after depositing the 401K and on Webster’s online banking website (where I do most of my bill payments); I set up a payment to CL&P for $50 and a payment to GE Financing for $654 to pay off a charge card balance. As long as I have been using online banking, the processing time for payments set up online has been 1-2 days for EFT payments, and up to 5 for check payments. Well, not on this day. Webster Bank IMMEDIATELY seized the payment amounts I had set up and this caused my account to enter a default status, with all of the funds from the 401K check unavailable. I know and understand the policy regarding holds on checks; however it seemed a bit odd that on this particular day the bills I had lined up came out instantly, even though the online banking system evidently knew I had a hold on my funds. I was not attempting to withdraw cash that was unavailable, nor was I out using my debit card with unavailable funds. I was simply setting up a few bills to be paid online.

This alone would have been understandable, albeit frustrating. But what happened over the next few hours was unbearable. All of the other transactions that I had made sure I had money to cover went through on my account. One by one, for a total of 7, they posted against an unavailable balance. With dread, I knew that each one would incur a $37 charge as soon as they finally released my funds.

Knowing this, I attempted to reason with the Contact Center over their 1-800 number. After a discussion with someone whom it seemed was trained to be condescending and
apathetic, I could tell that the call was going nowhere. He did make clear however the website’s policy regarding bill payments, stating that funds must be available 24 hours BEFORE even setting up a bill payment. What is not clear to me is where it says this on the website, and why that is not how it was ever done for me in the past. Finally, he noted that there was nothing anyone could do anyways until the fees actually hit my account.

At this point, I decided that the only way I would find a person who actually might take an unbiased, honest look at my account and treat me like a human being was to talk to a bank employee face to face. What a relief I felt when I went to the Bristol Plaza office and sat down with ****. With patience and a caring, helpful demeanor, the Customer Service agent looked over the whole situation and I got the feeling she agreed that this was not fair what was happening. She even expressed surprise when she saw that they had taken the funds out online that very same afternoon that I posted them. *** didn’t however, have the authority to remove any of the charges. Mind you, at this point, my fees for paying a bill with a check on hold were now up to $259. She told me that she would show a printout to the Branch Manager and discuss what happened with her the next day.

That next day was today, April 23, 2009. Shirley left me a message on my phone telling me that the Manager had decided to remove 3 of the fees, for a refund of $111. This was a so-so relief, as I felt that if anything, I should have had all but two removed; the two for the payments I made online not realizing that the money had to be readily available. I was happy though that at least the Manager had taken the time to look everything over and relieve some of the excessive fees.

Then I came home and went online. Two MORE $37 fees had been charged to my account! This was not a mistake. I called customer service right away, and they explained that those fees must have posted yesterday and the ones that the Manager rebated will appear tomorrow.

How in the world did two more transactions post to a “non-available” balance yesterday when the check MUST have cleared because funds were available to take their 7- $37 overdraft fees?

I am absolutely outraged. This practice is excessive, and it is predatory. With these additional fees, minus the two that were credited my account has been charged a total of $333! I’m being penalized $333 for trying to pay some bills with money sitting right in the account? I don’t know about the rest of Webster Bank customers, but I do not have $333 to throw away. Because of this, I do not know how I’m going to stay on track with new bills that will be coming in.

I have had Webster Bank for 3 months and have had nothing but questions about their NSF (Non Sufficient Fees) practices. I have direct deposit and alot of my transactions only post the day before direct deposit. Also the transactions also post in an order that would cause me to have multiple NSF fees instead of just one fee. Bank Of America and other banks are currently being brought to court over these practices...
BEWARE stay AWAYYYY from WEBSTER BANK.
I have since changed over to a Federal Credit Union Bank.

I am horrified and appauld that I recently found out from a bank employee at the Thomaston Branch that a theft occurred in 2007 and it was paid off and never reported to the police. This is a federal crime how can the bank overlook this. Apparently two people stold from the ATM by filling out blank deposit envelopes and submitting into one account and then taking the $100.00 that is allowed. This was done on a weekend and over $800.00 was stolen in less than 3 days from the ATM. When the bank called the father of this adult, he wanted to save her and went and paid it off and it was never reported. This should of never been questioned. Police should of been brought in and thi should of gone through the courts. I will be contacting newspapers and anyone that will listen because thisis what the bank I use does when someone steals. If it was okay to steal, then we would all be doing it and no one would have money issues. WAKE UP. I don't care who pays you off, you don't take the bribe and that was a scam if all scams taking money to pay off. This is on camera as a crime done over and over 8 times deliberately and premeditated. They were aware of what they were doing and I don't believe there is a statue of limitations on bank crimes? Is there? SOMEONE SHOULD BE MAD LIKE I AM.

I am so glad I found this site! I have never been so angry and frustrated about a banking situation. It appears I am not the only individual being charged sleazy $35.00 debit card fees. This bank has taken over $1, 000.00 in debit card fees from me since June 2008. In EVERY CASE, there had been a deposit which cleared the next day, but I made many debit card payments which they then paid and charged me $35.00 every time. Since I use the debit card for everything, I charge even very small amounts. For example, one day I had charged less than $50.00 and they charged me $245.00. The manager at the Ridgefield, CT bank was not very helpful as she only removed one of the fees. I have found that if you call the 800 number, the agents will remove 2 of the fees. Once when I called the representative I spoke to looked at my account and what the bank had done and she said it made her want to cry. She kindly removed 3 of the fees but told me she will probably get in trouble for it.
I have not written letters to anyone in corporate at the bank about this practice, but now that the CEO is answering questions on video on the company website I am going to start writing until I get some answers.
I SUGGEST that EVERYONE that has this complaint WRITE TO THE CEO for his video questions...I will also include in my correspondence that I am going to change banks and tell everyone I know about Webster Bank's unscrupulous banking practices.

I agree with each one of these people on here. I have the same situation only mine has been ongoing for three weeks. I have called I have wrote letters I have gone to the bank. Two months ago they screwed up and changed the direction of my monies going thru the acct ok...charge me a OD and then tell me they are giving me a exception.. I have the receipts in front of me at the bank and they wouldnt even look at them. I am currently dealing with them on some major things they are doing to me. As many of us..im not rich and each dollar counts I can barely get to work this week from their OD charges im waiting to have reversed..basically they took my money!