Great Western Bank Service is Absolutely Horrid
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Yet another bank has pissed me off to the point of writing about it. Great Western Bank here in South Dakota is one of the worst I’ve encountered. It’s like I am living in a friggin’ third world country. Let me tell you why.
It started with the lack of envelopes at the ATM’s so that I can make a deposit. I often make deposits on Saturday or Sunday, I just don’t have time to go to the bank during the week. So when I need money in the bank, I count on envelopes so that I can put my checks in them so the ATM will take them. On 4 occasions in 3 months, there were no envelopes. Small problem, but ends up being big when you add in other things.
Second, many of their ATM’s at branch locations do not accept deposits. My main branch’s ATM was out of order one Saturday, so I drove all over looking for another branch. After trying 4, none of them accepted deposits. Unacceptable in this day and age when so many other banks never have this problem.
Third, their phone system is a clusterfuck. The phone options are unclear, and when you get through to somebody, they don’t ever transfer you to the right person. You end up talking to 3 or 4 different people and then in some cases, back to the same person again.
Fourth, they offer zero protection on their bank cards. A retailer recently overcharged my card with an online purchase. After contacting the retailer and getting the runaround, I figured my bank would help me. After all, any bank card I’ve ever owned allows me to challenge any charges either online or over the phone. Not with Great Western though. You have to drive to a bank, fill out a form and then hope it goes through. In my case I had to talk with 3 different people. Each of them calling me back for details I have already covered with the previous person. As of now, their crew is doubtful I can get any type of credit back. Oh and even if I do, I have to wait 90 days.
It’s wonderful, dealing with a bank from the year 1973. Guess I’m off to find another bank, one that at least provides service from the year 1995.
4 Comments
Martin Kruse
June 23rd, 2008
at 9:37pm
1) Direct Deposit
2) Use a Credit Card, using a bank card or debit card is just asking for it
Disgruntled Omahan
September 4th, 2008
at 2:59pm
GWB is a disgravce. And, it’s all Dan Brabec’s (CEO) fault.
We pulled our accounts at this bank.
1) Their tellers are untrained.
2) The employee turnover is very high - like every other week a new teller.
3) The good managers are underpaid and unpromoted - They then leave.
4) The bad tellers are promoted to branch managers.
5) The tellers repeatedly put $$ into the wrong accounts - they cannot even read a deposit slip!
6) Their bond brokerage w/Ameritas is a ripoff of liars and cheaters. Don’t trade with GWB. Check out the SEC complaints.
7) Brabec ignores customer complaints.
9) The Auusies bought a lemon!
Not Australian
September 20th, 2008
at 2:43pm
No, it’s not the old exec, it’s the new ones brought in by Australian National Bank, which bought Great Western the past year. The Omaha exec now is Colin Anderson. I found him to be arrogant and unwilling to admit to the bank’s mistakes.Great Western is more like Rape Western Bank!
Husker
September 25th, 2008
at 9:05am
We were concerned about a couple issues with GWB, like some large unsecured loans but the grass isn’t greener on the other bank lawns either. We haven’t found a bank recently that offers great service anywhere. At Wells Fargo, we spent almost 3 hours setting up a simple checking and savings account and they nickled and dimed us to death until we left. BB&T isn’t much better with their high fees and low customer service. Bank of Nebraska was bordering on criminal actions with their questionable banking practices. All in all, I could live with bringing my own envelop to the night deposit and using a regular credit card.