May 2019 by George G.
Do not trust this bank. A decade ago, I had just married and we opened a joint account with them. The staff in the Santa Barbara office were very friendly, and we felt encouraged to do all our banking business with them. Now I've learned that they lied. Do not trust this bank. Three years ago I opened an equity line, and worked with the assistant manager, Javier. Javier was friendly and said he would take care of everything. I had put my house in a trust many years ago to care for children when I'm gone, and my wife and I have our separate property in the trust but owned by just one person. Javier asked for copy of my trust, and had it reviewed so the bank would adhere to it. When it was time to sign the papers, he promised me that my ownership of my house would be unchanged, and I believed him and signed the documents. He lied. While he gave his word that no changes were made in my home ownership, he directly changed ownership of my house by the documents for this loan. While I still had a mortgage in my name, Javier had fraudulently transferred ownership of my house to both my wife and I. Javier did not inform me, and I learned of this fraud recently. Do not trust this bank. I learned of this fraud when my wife and I split up. Because Rabobank fraudulently changed title to my home, I am now unable to refinance, and I had to hire an attorney to help restore my home to my ownership. Do not trust this bank. I went into the bank and learned Javier was "no longer with the bank" and have spoken with others who also have been friendly and kind. When I asked them how to divide the loan into two, they said Rabobank has lots of loan options and they would ask to have something. A month later they told me Rabobank was unable to do anything. Do not trust this bank. I wrote to the Rabobank managers, explained the situation, and asked for them to stand by their agent (Javier) actions and make it right. Patricia Smith, who is the Director, Customer Experience for Rabobank, in Roseville, CA, wrote me a paper letter to confirm that everything I said was correct, and that the only documents they kept were legal, so despite the Rabobank manager lying to me to have me complete fraudulent forms, Rabobank was not going to honor their word. She felt that her answer was enough and I can call their 800.942.6222 number to talk to Customer Care. Do not trust this bank. I wrote Patricia Smith back and asked her and Rabobank to honor their promise. I asked only that the loan be made into two separate loans since the two of us are separated. Since the bank workers in Santa Barbara have told me that Rabobank can do this and has done it, I see no reason why Rabobank cannot have the decency to respect their own promise to a customer. Patricia Smith has not replied, despite having received my letter over 5 weeks ago. Do not trust this bank. If anyone in this bank tells you anything, do not trust it. When my issue came up, the Santa Barbara office, including the local manager and assistant manager, said there was nothing they could do once Patricia Smith was involved, so apparently Rabobank in this town has no authority to help their customers. Do not trust this bank.
