Mechanics Bank on Shattuck Avenue is where I first set up my Mechanics Bank account(s) in 2015. It was a hot day and I had decided on using Mechanics Bank while I lived in California. The person who helped me through the process was helpful and made the forms and other procedural items painless. I returned to this location for general deposits as well as depositing my physical monthly paychecks I picked up and signed for on campus during my first year in the area (2015 to 2016). In the summer of 2016 I moved to Albany, and I continued to use this location for general deposits. I used the location off and on all the way up to quitting my job and school in 2019 and moving back to Washington State. After I moved, I called Mechanics Bank to figure out if I needed to close my accounts because I was no longer living in California and it turned out I could keep my account, so I did. I remain a Mechanics Bank patron to this day, Friday 19 May 2023, over 7 years (consecutive, no pauses nor hesitations) after I opened my account(s) here. read more

Came into the bank today, July 13 with a simple question. I was the only customer in the bank, and two tellers were talking, and when I inquired about my question they were shockingly curt and rude. I was considering this place for my Bank, but no more. read more

Today I visited the Mechanics Bank branch on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley, where I have banked for approximately 20 years. Before describing my experience, I want to acknowledge Roberto, who has consistently provided exceptional customer service over the years. He is professional, knowledgeable, respectful, and one of the primary reasons I remained a customer of this branch for so long. Unfortunately, my experience today with Jamie Howell completely changed my opinion of Mechanics Bank. I arrived at approximately 1:52 p.m. and was not helped until about 2:44 p.m. When I finally reached the counter, I presented a four-figure check from a well-known trust company for deposit. My regular teller was not present, so I was assisted by Jamie Howell. After reviewing my account, Jamie informed me that I was considered "high risk" and that a hold would be placed on my check. I was shocked by this statement. In 20 years of banking with Mechanics Bank, I have never been told I was a high-risk customer, nor have I experienced issues depositing checks. While I understand that banks have policies regarding check holds and fraud prevention, I was not provided with a satisfactory explanation as to why I was being labeled "high risk." My issue is not with the hold itself, but with the way I was treated. After two decades as a loyal customer, being told I was "high risk" without a clear explanation felt disrespectful, insulting, and unprofessional. As a result of this experience, I will be closing my accounts with Mechanics Bank and moving my banking elsewhere. It is unfortunate because employees like Roberto represent the level of service customers should expect. Had my interaction reflected the professionalism and respect I have received from him over the years, I would likely have remained a customer. read more

I had a savings account at Mechanics Bank in Pinole, CA. I had the account for several years. I had close to $1200 in the account this year. I had over $1100 the last few years. Their statements showed I was receiving a penny a month in interest! That would be 12 cents per year interest. I don't know what the percentage is - maybe 1/1000%? Is that legal? I saved my statements since I think no one will believe this. I cancelled the savings account a few months ago. The person on line in front of me was also cancelling their account. read more

Shocking abusive experience. I am a blind person who opened an account, and was treated kindly at opening. A month later they demanded I close my account, because as a blind woman I have to have an assistant help me with the push for banking online. There is no way for me to see the screen. Many elderly people need assistance with computer stuff in general. The bank demanded I pick up a check within 24 hours because I refused to sign my assistant as a joint account holder (Any of her debts could take my money. An absurd suggestion.), or I had to give her the banks version of full power of attorney. Insane!!! I suggested a limited financial power of attorney. They said no, only their form granting full financial power of attorney. They were upset she has my SS#. So does every employee of EBMUD, PGE, Xfinity, TMobile, Any Bank, etc, Everywhere. These numbers are no longer treated with any protection. They would not even accept my adult son as a financial power of attorney. Mechanics Bank care only about dumping fraud liability on the customer. They said, because I'm blind, I'm too much risk to have as a customer. Ryan was extremely aggitated, though he had been kind when openning the accounts. He harassed me the next morning with a call every hour, (4X) to come and pick up my check to close my accounts. I was a high deposit customer. They had frozen my funds, so I could not take an Uber. I felt so pressured, I walked there exhausted after worrying all night where I could find a bank that would take a blind person. I could have tripped and broken a hip or cracked my head. These people care nothing about their customers. What a disgusting lack of Decency or any humanity. Stay away from any branch of this bank, especially if you are elderly, and may someday need assistance!!! read more

This is quite literally the best bank I have ever had the pleasure of storing my money with. They actually called me to tell me that if I transferred a little money around, I could avoid an overdraft fee. What bank does that? I use all of the local branches and they are all good. Sorry that they closed the one on Hearst I liked that one. Grant, the manager has taken the time to help me with some important things and I just can't say enough about how great I think this bank is. read more

I have been with Mechanics Bank for 30 years, business and personal accounts. Customer service has always been great. The one star reviews here sadden me. I have dealt with a huge number of tellers in various branches and they have always been friendly, professional and knowledgeable. When I go into Mechanics Bank I feel like I am dealing with real people not a monolithic corporation. So kudos to them. read more

1. "Hello, I'd like to make a wire transfer" - What's the process? "Oh, let me ask my manager" - "My manager is busy - Can they call you back?" 2. Call back 3 times, will call me back. Never call me back. 3. "Oh, you can't make a wire transfer remotely, there's risk of fraud. You could try to Zelle the escrow company? The obviously stoned person answering the phone asking me to Zelle an escrow company 205k is probably the most ridiculous shit I've ever hard. "Okay, can I ACH it to another bank then?" "You can only ACH 5k a day?" "what? That doesn't make sense. I just transferred in 150k??" "Oh well it should work then" "Do you not know how and if and what I can do with my money at your bank? I don't get it" "you can do that online" "The online access isn't working" "You can call support" "OKay" "Call Support" "Call failed" Seems all their systems are down. Mechanics bank is ridiculous. After charging me overdrafts when I have 15k in my account from being incapable of transacting money and branch managers that don't call you back and stoned tellers - you really should be wary of where you put your money. When you need it, suddenly it's impossible to access. Roberto and his team of stoners are the most ridiculous people I've ever talked to read more

I would highly recommend going to a different branch for the time being. Roberto the manager is a nice guy and wishes to be helpful but does not have control over the branch. The staff seems to be incompetent to the point of actually being dangerous to peoples livelihood. The rare exception is Lani who is an Angel and I give a rating of five stars!!!!! read more

First off, I must admit at the beginning of my auto loan I wasn't the most punctual customer when it came to monthly payments. I corrected this issue by trying to set up an online autopay method. The only problem is in the last 4 months Mechanics bank repeatedly declined my autopayment but processed my one-time payments, my late payment if there is one, plus the late fees that incurred because of autopay not going through. The one-time payment always goes through with no problem. This is kinda suspicious because both payments (autopayment and one-time payments) are drawn off the same account which has more than enough money in it to actually pay off the car. I have tried to set an autopayment up twice. The first try was by myself which got kicked backed and the second try was with a rep on the phone guiding me through the online process. That one also got kicked back. This month will be my third try at this. In conclusion, after everything I have been through with this institution, I feel Mechanic's bank is looking to pad their pockets with fraudulent late fees from customers who are attempting to pay off their loans on time that may not have had a spotless pass but are taking proper steps to do the right thing. Customers beware. read more

I have been banking with "Robobank" for 22 yrs which is now known as "Mechanics Bank." Since Mechanics Bank took over I have had nothing but major problems! Example: I reordered checks and the checks had the wrong phone number and that number was updated 10 yrs. ago. I reordered after calling and clarifying phone number and the new checks came in AGAIN with the same wrong phone number! Recently, I post dated a check and Mechanics Bank put it through 3 wks EARLY. When I called and asked why they said it was due to "system failure" and the representative laughed. I will now be switching over to Tri Counties Bank because "Mechanics Bank" cannot get their *hit together! read more

] we had a wonderful community bank serving the central coast of Cal RABO BANK. That all changed when they were taken over by Mechanics bank. I can not get any kind of customer support over the phone. Online banking has been deleted. Or, I should add that it has been made so difficult to access that it is worthless. I have been waiting since July the 6th to receive a new ATM card since the card was compromised ... The Bank manager said the policy for a new card can take up to a month. ...bank manager tried to convince me that banks have always taken a month to give customers new ATM cards...(frankly B.S)..I've had enough of Mechanics bank bad treatment of customers.. will be moving onto another bank by the end of the month. If you are considering a new bank please don't consider doing business with Mechanics bank. read more

I have been a business and personal customer over 10 years. We had a deal. As on next month they reneg on the agreement. No more free checking. No more reimbursing ATM fees, In fact charging for out-of-network atm fees. Hiking almost all other fees by as much as 300%. I guess since they FINALLY got mobile deposit for business accounts they think they are one of the big boys. Or maybe they are just getting themselves aligned to be sold to a big bank. Anyway hasta la vista Mechanics. It's time for me to move on. You broke your agreement with me. I would've stayed. There are tons of free options out there for both business and personal accounts. I found one that pays interest, does not charge for use of other banks atms, and has no foreign transaction fee while I travel. Mechnics is a great choice if you want a small bank that treats you like they are a big bank. read more

Mechanics Bank deserves to be investigated. I closed my account in 1st week of July 2020 and they provided me with a check for the full value of my account. I was assured by the teller that it was closed by asking twice to which she confirmed the account was closed. Yesterday, I received a notice from Mechanics bank that they were applying a $15.00 fee to my account & adding a penalty of $5.00 a day until it gets paid. All because after I "closed my account" they added 16 cents to it. I'm filing a formal complaint with CA Dept of Business Oversight at: www.dbo.ca.gov/file-a-complaint/ Toll Free 1-866-275-2677 And the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (Federal) at: www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/ read more

I used to really like my bank. Mechanics provided good professional service and did not extract unnecessary fees. That has been changing as they grow, and now that they have acquired Rabobank they have changed my account to one with higher minimums and fees. I had them change it to a version of their checking that more closely mirrors my pre-Rabobank merger account, but they are charging me a fee t send a statement. Sending a customer a statement is a basic business function and should not be subject to fees. EVER! In visiting the branches lately the quality and professionalism of the service has dropped. There's one person who I interacted with four times by chance and if I ever have to talk with them again it will be too soon. It is time for me to find a community bank again as Mechanics has become a corporate bank. read more

Hurdle after Hurdle - Poor Technology Business Online Banking requires a Digital Token PLUS a 4 digit PIN entered in succession (12 digits) - 10 year old technology. Ever heard of two step authorization? Mobile Deposits fail 50% of the time requiring retakes. Annoying - faster to drive to a branch if you have 10 checks to deposit. Website needs upgrading. These guys are way behind the tech curve. read more

Raquel (manager) @ Fresno branch location is unprofessional and always so rude to us especially to a senior elder. I really hope Mechanics Bank hires a professional manager with high quality customer service standards very soon in Fresno Ca! read more

This is an old but very understanding business that has integrity and concern for the clients

They are always courteous and helpful. They go out of their way to assist senior citizens such as myself.

Hard to get through, phone redirects and customer service agents don't seem to care. As long as they get their money I guess. Will be switching as soon as I can read more

Honestly the worst mechanics bank location by far in the whole Bay Area. I have gave them chance after chance and every time I leave this place infuriated. Both times the person depositing my paycheck has put it in the wrong account! (As in a strangers account) and when confronted about it they are very mean, nasty, and not apologetic at all and they act like it's such a bother to fix a mistake THEY made. They truly don't care about you, or your money. I do not trust this people to even count $5 for me. Horrible. I don't often write reviews but this place deserves one. I now drive an extra 15 minutes to go to the kengsinton branch, they're great over there. read more

I'll keep driving and giving my money to Palm Desert. Not impressed. They need to work on their customer service skills read more

UPDATE 2/21/08: After contacting several bank representatives at my local Mech Bank branch I got an immediate email back from Raudel Wilson , Vice President & Area Manager asking that I contact him. As soon as the bank openned I called and my problem was IMMEDIATELY resolved with apologies! I was very happy because not only were my deposits removed from hold but the branch manager recognized that I am a long time customer and I should have been served better than that. I feel more confident now that Mechanics Bank is interested in doing business with local small businesses. Written 2/20/08: I have been banking at Mechanics Bank for 16 years. I have been happy enough with their business banking, but as my business grows I find I am having problems similar to others commenting here. Recent experiences include trying to deposit checks from other local businesses and my deposit is "held" even though I have been depositing monthly checks for similar amounts from these companies for years. Suddenly there is something suspicious about them. A check from the City of San Francisco is "held" too. Why??...gosh maybe they think I am depositing a fraudulent check (after 20+ years in business in Berkeley,16 years banking with Mechanics Bank, and three accounts with them) or maybe they are worried that the City of San Francisco's check will bounce. read more

It takes them two months to process my checks so the person who writes me the check understandably cancels the check, then mechanics charges me for the check being canceled. You can't take more than 2 months to preocess checks. Its just not right or fair read more

This is a rating for customer service for the non tellers that were sitting on desks. Super rude, no smile, one takes their job WAY too serious to where you feel like you're getting in trouble. One guy was nice when I first came in and greeted me, but the ones sitting at the desk were unapproachable and one in particular seriously needs to get some action because this person seemed miserable. read more

This is about Mechanics' on-site currency exchange. Warning - call ahead, they're not prepared. I came here on a Wednesday morning about an hour after opening, looking to exchange $400US for Euros. After 15 minutes of looking around, talking to herself, and *just* opening and counting her bank, the teller told me they only had $25 Euros on hand. The only currency exchange in Berkeley had $25 Euros on hand. And I had to wait and watch for 15 minutes for her to make that determination. (I was the only customer.) Sad. read more

Hi Very well run people that work there Are amazing and so helpful Especially carol. It's the people that make it so spectacular Alexandra b there read more

Great local bank with good customer service and parking!

Since Mechanics Bank took over our very excellent Rabobank and slashed interest rates in half, added new charges and took customer services from the bank locations, I plan to take my business elsewhere. I did not receive one of my statements and the former bank officer could not even advise me as to whether an automatic deposit on that account had been received. I had to spent more than half-an-hour on hold to Mechanics Bank 800-number for that information. The ONLY good thing I can say is that "most" of the people I have an established rapport with are still working there but I imagine that they will be moving on, too. read more

Mechanics Bank refused multiple written requests to close my account. Instead, they charged me $12.99 per month--for years--until the account was depleted. Surely that's illegal. It's certainly the opposite of what anyone wants in a bank. This was a normal checking account, with nothing strange going on. There was no reason to not be able to close it. I was not able to go to the bank in person, and I suspect that's the reason they would not close the account. But multiple written requests should be good enough. I am furious: it was a literal theft of several hundred dollars. read more

Customer service rep was incredibly rude, she should have a position that does not require customer contact. Just switched to USAA. I will not be treated like because she's having a bad day. read more

Mechanics has been my bank for 15 years. Good: * great small town feel, like the people a lot * know you, take calls from you, pay back ATM fees when you use other bank's ATMs * easy for personal stuff Bad: * liked them personally so opened biz account.. disaster * deposited $150k check for biz, 1 month hold, literally from SF Bank and Trust. ridiculous. moved to a bank that can handle business transactions. * got a personal check from Canada. they could not do a deposit slip (in other words, I had no record of it), because it was "foreign," charged $92 "fee" for this, because they use some sort of foreign broker that takes 10% of check for doing the transaction, and spent a few weeks "holding" the cash "just in case" as they told me while we were all "waiting" Learned: * for simple deposits and checks, very nice * for anything more than $5k, or foreign (Canada for God sakes!!), or at all not small and simple, they are totally out of their depths. * use paypal for foreign stuff -- which is processed in minutes and unless you use credit cards, only kites your money for 4 days and charges no fees for money going from checking to checking accounts Lovely for personal small stuff. Take the rest (anything complicated) to a big professional bank. read more

Switched to this bank because I thought it was a small bank so they would have small bank perks. The woman who signed me up for my checking account said we would get 10 reimbursed ATM fees a month. Surprise! It's actually only ONE. There are also fees for transferring money. Switching to another bank after horrible experiences & only 1 month. read more

Mechanics bank kinda sucks. It's a fine place to store money. But they've literally stopped my card every time I travel abroad despite putting notifications on it. Their email system is outdated and untrustworthy (no one reads them or does anything when you send a secure message, it seems). Every time I'm abroad I have to get on the phone with them to tell them to turn my card back on despite calling them ahead of time to tell them. They don't do mortgages and don't have any incentives to store money with them. They savings interest rates are shit, and their accounts don't offer much other than atm fees, which is less attractive as no one uses cash anymore. All in all. Fine bank if you have less than 5k and use cash. If you have any money or do any travel you should just go somewhere that can actually handle your logistics and needs. read more

This isn't for any particular branch, since it's a bank thing not a branch thing. I switched from Chase which is the most horrible evil bank on planet earth. I had a business account, a personal account and a joint account. All yanked out of that hell hole. My criticism with Mechanics has to do with little things you take for granted at the larger banks. Some of them very easy to fix. 1) Calculators at the deposit slip table. 2) ATMs that don't require envelopes or deposit slips. I do deposits for my wife's account that is at Wells Fargo (another evil bank), and to make a deposit there, you just stick the checks in. No envelopes, no adding or deposit slips. 3) The main reason I decided to vent here. Just went online to pay bills. Account maintenance from 9:30PM to 1:30AM. Four frickin hours! 9:30PM?!? I mean I just can't believe this. I wouldn't have written this review at all if it were down from 3:00AM to 3:30AM. But 9:30PM? I'm just so pissed right now. 4) Speaking of online, the system they use sucks and blows. For the business account, I can look at all my transactions easily, and they recently upgraded it (6+ months ago?) to where it's got some real functionality. But, if you want to use Billpay, you have to log off and log in to a different place. Their billpay also sucks. One time I set up a billpay to my accountant, and about a week letter I got a message saying that I'm not allowed to use billpay for taxes. The payee was deleted along with the payment info. Can you believe that? I've never had problems like this with any other bank. 5) How about a little technology? I have a savings account with Alliant Credit Union (fantastic!), and I can scan a check and deposit it. So simple. I never had to mail in the check or go to an ATM. It was wonderful. So I'll give it a few stars for the tellers and the general accessibility, but having known what I know now, I definitely would not have started my business account with Mechanics. read more

I recently read the Hoffington Post's article on moving your money to a smaller institution and I took their advise and did so. I chose Mechanics bank because they pay your ATM fees and my husband is always pulling out money. The manager opened our account and she was so patient and informative. My kids who are two and one were distracting to say the least because they are so full of energy. I appreciate it when people are understanding of parents who have to bring the kids. My ATM cards and check book arrived within a week and the manager personally called me to make sure I was happy. I would never get personalized service like that from my big bank. read more

Mechanics Bank has been my bank for a little more than 10 years. First, I use them for personal banking, and they have generally been very good as a checking account provider. They refund your ATM fees from other banks, which usually amount to the Checking fee charged monthly. So that's very nice. Also, they are good with their policies, hours, etc although as Andrea M. noted, recently they've gotten kind of stupid with putting holds on deposits that are from solid businesses I've deposited from for years, that have never had a problem (I've never had a check bounce to me in more than 10 years, so I can't see why they've started doing this on local, very reputable checks of amounts less than $5k). The reason I give them three stars? Their online banking system is really screwy. Yes, recently they did combine the two logins they used to require to get into your online account, and then to pay bills, into one login. But they were basically 10 years late to that party. My old bank, 10 years ago, managed to get that one right, back then. Here's the kicker: the bank statements online all have *one* name. So if you download this month, it's Pbi1961.asp. And if you get last months, it's the same. You have to go to a lot of work to keep everything straight. If they just wrote a script, they could name each statement for the month covered. But they don't. And what do you do with a .asp file? I can't get them open to save my life, and after about an hour trying every program I have (their online help system says acrobat will open it, but the program opens jibberish), I called their 888 number. Was put through to the helpdesk. Spent 90 minutes on hold and hung up. Upshot: Mechanics is still living in the industrial era and hasn't yet entered the digital age. I don't anticipate being able to get an electronic statement from them until maybe 2018 when they finally decided to use some open source software to create the statements, coupled with a script that can properly name my statement files. Until then, it's all paper. read more

Changing to Mechanics Bank was the best move I've made with both personal and business accounts! They define customer service and do a stellar job of taking care of my accounts. I love having my own personal banker. I know that if there is any question or issue that I have, I can call him and Chris finds the answers I need in short order. I can't say enough good things about my experience with Mechanics Bank and highly recommend them for your banking needs. read more

#1 reason I love my bank? I call them at 8pm, because my card was declined. After 2 rings, a HUMAN answered. No phone tree. No weird overly apologetic yet completely unhelpful overseas customer service rep....but a real live HELPFUL person who diagnosed and fixed the problem in 30 seconds. I've had the same service at 10pm on a Saturday night a few months back. So glad I ditched BofA for them! Oh yeah, and they reimburse ATM fees too. read more

Paid my car payment a day early but I guess I had turned on autopay and they tried to take another payment the following day. Payment was returned and got a 20.00 fee. Called customer care and they said couldn't help me and that they would have taken two payments. So I'll be refinancing loan with a different lender. read more