Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/11/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Poppy Bank has continued to try to fraud me with charging me fees with no notification or communication. I have called in several times asking for assistance only to be told by a representative named ****** that the Digital Banking team refuses to talk to me or get me to a manager. I have requested several times that a manager contact me with no success. The company has not emailed nor called me. When I call them, I am turned down for service. I am requesting Poppy Bank immediately refund the $25 insufficient funds fee. I no longer wish to do business with Poppy Bank after this horrific customer service experience.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/16/2024

  We comply with banking regulations and internal policy when assessing NSF fees.  During your communications with our team, we explained the purpose of the fee based on activity in your account and multiple cases of leniency granted to you in the past.  Our manager attempted to contact you in accordance with your request, but you did not return the call.  Please feel free to contact us at ************, and we will escalate your call to our manager right away.  Thank you

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/16/2024

   
  Complaint: 22672679
  
  I am rejecting this response because: no one from Poppy Bank has contacted me ever. Not one phone call. I have called several times and requested an escalation; however, Poppy Bank has ignored my concerns. I did not receive any notice of an issue with a transaction until over a week later through a letter in the mail. I did not receive a text message, phone call nor any notification on the Poppy Bank app that there was an issue with a withdrawal. Poppy Bank continues to delay any withdrawal and any deposit which caused the transaction error. Poppy Bank is trying to scam me out of money for no reason and refuses to assist me. I am requesting the $25 charged fee be refunded immediately.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** *****

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/24/2024

  I would like to add additional information to this complaint. ******, who claims to be the Senior VP of Digital Banking, contacted me today refusing to have her manager contact me. I already spoke with ****** before, and she was very rude, very unprofessional and unwilling to assist. She was making false claims and trying everything to deny responsibility. She refused to give me her manager's name and refused to have her manager contact me. Poppy Bank continues to be rude, disrespectful, unwilling to assist and continues to make false claims about my account. I want the $25 NSF fee refunded IMMEDIATELY and my account to be closed with Poppy Bank. I NEVER wish to do business with this disrespectful bank ever again. **** new employees to run your business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/30/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  A valid durable power of attorney was presented to poppy bank by their account holder by financial agent. 5 weeks later and the bank will still not provide written valid reasons why the **** has not been recognized. Because poppy bank refuses to respond, their account holder cannot receive the benefit of the financial or longterm medical care planning that is needed on her behalf.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/16/2024

  Dear Ms ********
  
  We are extremely sorry for any inconvenience you may have experienced as a result of the bank's review of the Power of Attorney submitted on behalf of ***** ******.  Poppy Bank employees were following bank procedures that are established to comply with CA Probate Law as well as protect our customers by confirming the validity of the *** which is required by CA Probate Code.  In this case, the branch was attempting to confirm the request with Ms. ****** but was obviously unable to do.  One of the expectations is to determine if the principal is incapacitated and if they are, when that occurred to ensure that the *** was appropriately executed.  This falls within requesting reasonably necessary information (Probate Code Section 4302) in order to do so which contributed to the delay in approving the ***
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/17/2024

   
  Complaint: 22357167
  
  I am rejecting this response because this bank is NOT able to delay determination for more than 2.5 months on a valid POA!!!!!!  We supplied the doctor's letters they requested.  My mother is in a rehab, Pleasant Hill Post Acute in *************, ***  They knew that from the beginning.  They are stalling and refusing to accept a valid POA.  They do not need to determine if my mother lacks capacity.  They asked for a letter stating my mother was not capable of going to the bank in person months ago.  They received those letters twice.  I fear for my mother's funds in this bank.  ********* is attempting to stall and illegally keep my mother's bank funds from being payed to her longterm care facility which will be more than $9K a month.  They have basically stolen her bank accounts.  ********************* accepted the valid POA immediately.  ********* must accept the valid POA as stated in the Probate Code OR FILE A SUSPICION OF FRAUD REPORT.  I have reported them to the FDIC.  They are keeping my mother from her funds.  She will need longterm care within two weeks when her rehab ends.  To pay for her care, access is needed to her accounts through a valid POA.  They are waiting for us to sue them and although Probate code says they would be responsible for attorney fees and court costs, it could drag out.  ********* is not honoring the requested wishes of their account holder who put a POA into place for any future needs of financial care by an agent.  She now needs that financial care but Poppy bank plays games with her physical and mental needs.  We asked Poppy bank to reply to numerous emails.  We asked them to state why they refuse to recognize a valid POA.  They failed to do so.  This is the first time they are stating they tried to contact my mother and couldn't.  They are now engaging in criminal behavior.  They have stolen my mother's bank accounts.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ****** ********* Care Agent ********* ********

  Business Response

  Date: 10/24/2024

  Dear Ms. ******************* are writing in response to the complaint you recently submitted regarding ****** Perrys attempt to present a power of attorney (POA) to gain signing access to ***** Trouses deposit accounts held at **********************. We require our employees follow certain procedures to verify the validity of a POA. These policies and procedures are important to protecting the Bank and its customers. We are unable to discuss any details for privacy reasons, since you are not an owner or signer on the accounts in question.
  
  Poppy Bank
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/24/2024

   
  Complaint: 22357167
  
  I am rejecting this response because Poppy bank is a sketchy organization.  There is lawsuit in ************* regarding labor law violations (allegedly).  I fear for my mother's financial well being.  As her health care POA I need to make health decisions on her behalf.  She needs longterm care and the funds in her Poppy bank accounts to access them.  ********* retaliated against me and filed a fraud report for adult protective services against me and my niece who is the financial POA.  The investigation is pending.  There is no fraud involved.  ********* has known where my mother is located at ************* Post Acute for over 8 weeks.  They say they tried to call her but there is no evidence of that.  Under the law they must accept a valid power of attorney or reject it in a timely manner.  They have no care or concern for my mother whatsoever.  If they did they would have filed fraud charges against us immediately and not waited 2 months.  This is a ploy to look like they are doing their job to determine if a POA is valid.  They may now refuse to communicate with me or my niece as another ploy to keep their hands on my mother's money forcing us to sue them and wasting my mother's financial resources.  I was told that once the investigation concludes, and no fraud is found they must accept the POA.  Unfortunately my mother's rehab will be ending soon and we have not have the financial resources to secure longterm care we would have wanted.  ********* has no regard for their client ***** ******.  None whatsoever.  I am hoping the Ombusman for ************************* can help us.  It's important to report fraud if it is truly suspected but it is a waste of taxpayer dollars to send APS out on wild goose chases.  ********* has always known where my mother is.  She fell badly in August hitting her head and lay undiscovered for 3 or 4 days.  She will be 90 in January.  Needless to say she is not the same person as before the fall and needs family help.  Poppy bank is terrifying in how they have handled all stages receiving the POA.  They simply don't respond but time is of the essence and apparently a lawsuit is the only option going forward.  They will lose and can pay fees and court costs and hopefull pain and suffering this has caused all of us.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ****** ********* Care Agent ********* ********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/19/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  First my account was rejected on 9/4, then I get a call saying it was approved 9/5. I am in the process of moving my money over from another account, and I just found out they closed my account. This is time and money wasted on poor communication and operations.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/27/2024

  Dear Mr. ************** are deeply sorry to hear about your negative experience. Our records indicate that the bank received two applications from you for the on-line savings account. Your original application on 8/27/2024 was approved and opened the same day.  You should have received an email notifying you of the account opening. Our records also indicate that the account opening funding for this account was not completed, resulting in the account closure on 9/12/2024. A second application was submitted on 8/29/2024. However, it was incomplete and was subsequently denied on 9/4/2024 after going through an internal review. Its possible that the second application was inadvertently submitted hence why it did not contain all of the required information, and the timing of the rejection for that account created confusion. Per your request we are reviewing your request to remove your data per CCPA. Please note that some data can be subject to a GLBA exemption.  If this request takes more than 45 days from your original request date of 9/19/2024, we will notify you of that delay. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/27/2024

   
  Complaint: 22311098
  
  I am rejecting this response because: **** from ********* @************ called me on 9/5/24 to CONFIRM my account. I called support @ ************ that I was having issues getting into the account. They AGAIN, confirmed my account was approved. I am attaching the DEPOSIT request form that was mailed to me on 9/10/24. If what they report is true, how was I able to handle this transaction? Again, they need to get their stuff together and not waste people's time and money. Not acceptable. Thank you for looking more into the matter.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ****

  Business Response

  Date: 10/05/2024

  Dear Mr ************** referenced in the first response to your initial complaint, your original application with Poppy Bank resulted in an account that was opened on August 27, 2024. I have attached a file called CS_Screenshot_DChan which reflects this information. You attempted to fund this account on September 11, 2024 via an external transfer. The document you provided is notifying you of Poppy Banks hold for this transfer per its Funds Availability Policy.  That transfer was returned by the originating bank on September 12, 2024 which resulted in the closure of that account by ********************** shortly thereafter.  Please note that this account was never funded due to your bank's ACH rejection of your transfer request.

  There was a second application on September 29th which was incomplete and was declined on September 4th due to that it was incomplete.  An email was sent on that date notifying you of the second applications rejection.  A screenshot of that timeline is provided in the same attached document.  Your first account, however, remained opened until the funding attempt was rejected by the originating bank on September 12th. 

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/07/2024

   
  Complaint: 22311098
  
  I am rejecting this response because: It is obvious that they are wasting people's time and money. I took out $20,000 out of my savings, and moved it into my checkings account for this transaction. They both accepted and rejected. I am attaching my call records of when they accepted and helped me get into my account. They need to stop giving excuses and apologize for their apparently poor business processes. This caused loss of time and money for me, and that needs to be acknowledged.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ****

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/08/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  It has been several weeks since my brother *************************, submitted his resignation as trustee of the ******** Family Trust that was set up by our parents in 2017. Since the beginning of February, I have provided Poppy Bank with my brother's notarized resignation letter, a second copy of the trust stating that I am the successor trustee if my brother resigns (which Poppy Bank already had a copy of), and proof that the *** on the Poppy Bank accounts were assigned to the Trust. I have had numerous phone calls to both the Roseville and the Oakmont branches of Poppy Bank, as well as an in-person visit to the Roseville branch; however, my authority over the trust accounts has continued to be denied with no legal or logical explanation. Calls that were supposed to be returned by both branches were never returned. I was also informed that the delay was caused, in part, because Poppy Bank could not locate the original account information due to some sort of software update that occurred a few months ago. Currently, the reason being provided to me is that the documentation is still being reviewed by Poppy Bank's legal department.I have never experienced a more egregious lapse of customer service and fiduciary responsibilities as I have experienced from my dealings with Poppy Bank. My brother, who resides in Cloverdale, resigned as trustee due to being declared legally blind and losing his driver's license at the end of January. Under these circumstances, he cannot simply pop into the Oakmont branch and withdraw money to pay bills. It would require a four-hour round-trip bus ride for him to do so. Additionally, he is understandably not comfortable writing checks from a trust account that he resigned his legal authority over on January 29, 2024. Therefore, these funds continue to sit in limbo, and practically speaking, the trust has no access to its own funds.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/19/2024

  We are extremely sorry for the delays and inconvenience experienced by the Trust and newly appointed successor trustee. However, the delays were not due to Poppy Banks lack of response by either the branches or its branch operations department, nor was it a delay tactic to prevent the trustee from withdrawing the funds.  The delay was due to documents initially provided by the successor trustee not being notarized as required by the banks internal procedure to ensure the bank protects the clients assets by performing adequate due diligence as well as to comply with CA probate laws. Both parties agree that initial conversations took place in early February. However, while the trustees resignation was signed on January 29, 2024, it was not notarized until February 28, 2024. This was also true of the Affidavit of Change in Trustee, which was signed on February 29,2024 and filed with the county of Sonoma on March 5, 2024.  It was after the documents were notarized and resubmitted on March 8, 2024 (afterhours), that the bank could move forward with accepting the changes requested by the complainant.  On March 13, 2024, the bank closed the account and issued the funds via check as requested. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/01/2024

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I am going to need help getting funds out of this account as I will need the bank to lift the transfer limit for my savings account so I can get the same exact dollar amount out of this account as I got into this savings account so your assistance will be much appreciated...

  Business Response

  Date: 02/07/2024

  Please see attached business response. 
  

  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/07/2024

   
  Complaint: 21082507
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I just want to express how much I appreciate Poppy Bank by far this is the best bank I have ever been with as

  I have run into no problems or issues to date so I am most impressed with this bank compared to Banks I have been with in previous years. 
  
  Sincerely, *******************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/09/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Poppy Bank charged us a pre-payment penalty on a loan we attempted to pay off before the prepayment penalty free period lapsed, they charged us for early payment and did not perform to the terms of our agreement in good faith claiming staffing shortages due to covid they could not get all of their paperwork cleared which extended our refinance past the 5 year promissory note date which incurred the pre-payment penalty in addition to our pay-off amount. They did not give us any reprieve of the delay in loan processing for the refinance also due to covid delays but most importantly they sent an erroneous first payoff amount including a 1% penalty even though there was none during the time period as the promissory note states causing more delays in fixing the payoff demand statement. They used the obscured language in the promissory note to deflect responsibility even though the language allowed them the option to waive the fees and did not agree to waive the fee or adjust it down from 5% even after I was told other customers were given a reprieve. They denied us knowing we would not want to keep an adjustable rate loan and even with our 100% on time payment and loan in good standing and good credit score, they would not refinance our loan to a fixed rate. They pigeon holed us with VERY bad loan terms. If we did not pay off the loan we faced a balloon payment in 5 years and an adjustable rate loan for another 5 years. This is a very unsavory predatory lending practice that is well known in the industry and they should be audited. Their business practices are very shady and consumers should know that they perform in bad faith. We are requesting a refund of our erroneous prepayment penalty. We want consumers to note that on the end of year tax documentation they showed our prepayment penalty as "interest paid" to avoid showing on legal documentation that they charged the fee, presumably to avoid audit detection. This is also very shady. Loan Number: 001 ****** 05

  Business Response

  Date: 09/22/2022

  Please find attached Poppy Banks response to the above-referenced complaint from **********************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/22/2022

   
  Complaint: 18005546
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/02/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I inquired with my loan officer to refinance my adjustable rate loan with Poppy Bank, I was told they did not have a loan option for me to fix my mortgage rate. I opted to refinance with another lender during the only 6 month penalty free window I had to refinance in the height of the first year of corvid in 2020. The lender drug their feet claiming "staffing shortages due to Covid-19" when processing a final check signature so that I could close out the loan, pushing me just days over the prepayment penalty period. The fee I incurred was over ****** dollars for their negligence. When the new lender requested the payoff they provided an incorrect amount on the first payoff showing a 1% penalty when there was no penalty at that time based on my promissory note documented and filed upon initiation of my loan. When Poppy Bank failed to perform their legal responsibilities both for payoff and for the final transaction which was to sign off on a check for an insurance claim so that I could end the relationship and refinance the loan, they were slow to reply dragging the loan processing over the 6 month penalty free window and then sent a revised payoff with the 5% penalty. The prepayment fee window was a sliding scale, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 then the last 6 months there was no penalty to refinance and this was a 2 cycle process for the first two 5 year terms. I followed all the protocols, waited the 4.5 years then began the process and it took over 6 months due to delays in processing because of the pandemic, which I cited and requested from the board of directors at Poppy Bank to waive the fee and they refused to waive ANY Of the 30+K fee even though one if their associates told me they had waived the fee for another customer and encouraged me to ask. They then lied and said that the incident of waiving never happened. This bank acts in very bad faith, has erroneous financial practices and I would like my penalty fee refunded as it was not their money to take from me.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/14/2022

  Please see the attached response to the above-referenced complaint received Tuesday, July 12

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/14/2022

   
  Complaint: 17514953
  
  I am rejecting this response because: the accuracy of the accounting on the part of Poppy Bank is erroneously in their favor and a full audit should be performed.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************************

  Business Response

  Date: 07/27/2022

  Please see attached final response.