Date Received: 2019-03-26
Issue: Problem caused by your funds being low
Subissue: Non-sufficient funds and associated fees
Consumer Complaint: Sun Trust Bank. I deposited multiple checks from an employer. One check XXXX {$17.00} was accepted, then a few days later returned due to : Closed Account I was charged a {$12.00} overdraft fee for funds being insufficient. Have had multiple fees at {$36.00} tacked on since. Totaling my account to - {$190.00} Ive spoken on the phone ( multiple times ) with customer service. They have reassured me that the fees would be reversed and my account would be taken back to the positives. But it has yet to happen WEEKS LATER. Today I called and spoke with a manager who refused to offer up a solution.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: TN
Zip: 37122
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-03-26
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-03-26
Issue: Managing an account
Subissue: Deposits and withdrawals
Consumer Complaint: This complaint is with the XXXX Maryland branch of SunTrust bank regarding an altered check that the bank paid on our account. The copy of the forged check is attachment Item 1. All emails referenced below are in attachment Item2. On or about XX/XX/XXXX two envelopes containing checks were apparently stolen from our mailbox. One was made out to XXXX for {$25.00}. The other was made out to our insurance company for a little over {$100.00}. The one for XXXX was altered to {$6000.00} made payable to XXXX XXXX. This check was paid from our account on XX/XX/XXXX. We discovered the theft on Friday, XX/XX/XXXX, when we went to the ATM to withdraw some money. We went to the lobby of the bank and the teller ran a tally of the previous several month 's transactions on our checking account. The {$6000.00} stuck out like a sore thumb. The teller brought up the image of the check and immediately said that is a write-over. We immediately filed a fraud report ( XXXX ) with XXXX XXXX ( Item 1 ). The notes on Item 1 were written by XXXX XXXX.We were told that we could expect our money to be refunded within 15 calendar days unless we were contacted by their fraud department to request further information. We were not asked to fill out an affidavit. That same day we reported the theft to the county sheriff 's department and was assigned case number XXXX. The following Monday, XX/XX/XXXX, we checked with our insurance company and found out that they never received the second check. We went to the bank to order a stop payment of that stolen check and were charged {$36.00}. ( It would have been nice if the bank had waived that charge since a second washed check would have cost them more than {$36.00}. ) On Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX, we reported the theft to the United States Postal Inspector Service at XXXX and were given case number XXXX. On Thursday, XX/XX/XXXX, thirteen days into the 15 day window I went to the bank and talked to the manager, XXXX XXXX. We had not been contacted by the fraud department, and I wanted some status on the investigation. He called the fraud department and they verified that the investigation is open and that they had not yet made an effort to contact us. They asked XXXX questions for me that I would have expected a fraud person to ask if we had been contacted, like when was the check stolen? how much was it made out for? who was it made out to?, etc. They told XXXX that it could take up to 30 days. I asked XXXX what is the worst case scenario, do we wait 30 days and still not get our money?. He said that he has never known of anyone not getting their money back. He said the bank might have to take the loss. He said that these things are often resolved in 10 days. He mentioned that we reported the theft promptly. On Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX, got a call from XXXX XXXX at the bank. She asked if we had heard anything regarding our stolen money. Told her we have heard nothing from the fraud department. She said it may speed things up if we call the fraud department. She suggested I come in next Tuesday. I said I could come in right now. She said the roads were bad. We made an appointment for me to come in the next day at XXXX. The next day, Thursday XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX called at XXXX to tell me that I did not have to come in to call the fraud department with her. She said that she had some time this morning and called the fraud department to put a 48 hour escalation on the investigation. I asked if that meant we would get our money on 48 hours. She was vague when I asked her what the significance of the 48 hour escalation was. In our conversation XXXX mentioned that the check was clearly forged. She suggested I call the fraud department to put some more heat on them and I could file a customer complaint. I called the SunTrust fraud department at XXXX and talked to a XXXX. I verified they had a correct phone number for us. She said the investigation was escalated yesterday by my branch ( not today like XXXX told me ) and there should be an update in 48 hours so I could call tomorrow to get an update. She said that they would contact me only if they need more information. She said that no update had been made to the investigation. I filed a customer complaint that she said would go to a higher level. On that same day, XX/XX/XXXX I sent an email to XXXX XXXX to report my conversation with the fraud department. Monday, XX/XX/XXXX, called the fraud department and was on hold for 20 minutes. Was told the escalation was requested XX/XX/XXXX and there should be an update or a resolution in 3 to 6 business days. Was told to call back tomorrow. She said that there has been no update at all from the investigator. I sent an email that same day to XXXX XXXX to report my conversation with the fraud department. On Tuesday XX/XX/XXXX I received a two word email from XXXX XXXX : Any news?. I replied that my two calls to the fraud department were a waste of time and my time would be better spent talking to my lawyer friends. On Monday, XX/XX/XXXX, one month after we filed the fraud report I sent an email to the Maryland Attorney General with a cc to XXXX XXXX asking what timeframe if any is specified for restoring stolen funds from forged checks. No comment from XXXX. On Friday, XX/XX/XXXX, sent an email to XXXX with cc to XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX stating that different bank experts I have talked to stated that it is normal to ask the customer of a forged check to sign an affidavit stating they did not write the forged check. I reminded him that neither his branch nor the fraud department had requested an affidavit. No response from XXXX. On Monday, XX/XX/XXXX, I sent an email to XXXX XXXX with cc to XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX reminding him that it has been two months since we filed a fraud report and have heard nothing at all from the fraud department. Asked four questions : 1 ) Status 2 ) The significance of us never being contacted by the fraud department 3 ) Is anyone in his branch working the problem 4 ) If not, why? His email reply was : The claim has been filled with the Fraud department and a fraud investigator was assigned to your case. I have escalated this claim with the fraud department. Also what is a good phone number for the fraud department to reach you. I sent an email in reply stating I had verified the fraud department had the correct phone number for me when I first called the fraud department on XX/XX/XXXX and again asked the questions he did not answer in his last email. He called me back and said he had called the fraud department and had the names of some people. He asked if I had been given the name of an investigator. ( Since the fraud department never contacted me, I obviously was never given the name of an investigator ). He said he would give them a few days and if he did not hear from them he would call them. He said he would get back to me on Friday. I said an email would work too. This call was on Monday XX/XX/XXXX. As of Monday XX/XX/XXXX I have yet to hear back from XXXX. To summarize : SunTrust on XX/XX/XXXX paid a thief using a forged check {$6000.00} from our account. We discovered the error 11 days later on XX/XX/XXXX and filed a fraud report within an hour. It has been over two months and their fraud department has yet to contact us. None of the SunTrust estimates of when we can expect our money ( first 15 calendar days, then 30 days, then 15days again ) have been met. Phone calls to the fraud department on XX/XX/XXXX and on XX/XX/XXXX resulted in being told there is no status to report, it could take a few more days, call back tomorrow. Apparently the SunTrust branches are either helpless or not interested in making an effort to get any action from their fraud department on behalf of their customers, and the fraud department hides behind 800 operators who can only look up the account and report there have been no updates to report and to call back tomorrow. The bank should not have paid a non-payable check leaving us without benefit of {$6000.00}. The bank should pay us interest for the period starting XX/XX/XXXX, the stop payment fee for the other stolen check and all maintenance fees that we would never have incurred if the fraudulent check had not been processed.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: MD
Zip: 217XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-03-26
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-03-26
Issue: Managing an account
Subissue: Funds not handled or disbursed as instructed
Consumer Complaint: On XX/XX/XXXX I noticed a major ACH withdrawal from my SunTrust Checking Acct in the amount of {$7500.00}. I immediately contacted SunTrust and told them this was fraudulent and to stop payment. SunTrust was able to inform me the name of the person to whom the ACH was issued ( XXXX on behalf of XXXX XXXX (? ) ), and I again disputed this transaction as authorized. They issued Claim # XXXX, opened a new checking account, and transferred the remaining funds from the original account. Approximately 1 hour later I noticed a large ACH withdrawal from my SunTrust Savings Acct in the in the amount of {$2100.00}. I immediately contacted SunTrust and told them that this was fraudulent, it just occurred, and to stop payment. This payment was to XXXX XXXX via ACH. SunTrust issued Claim # XXXX. At this time I am being told that this is all under investigation and it will take approximately 7-10 business days to be resolved. SunTrust did not choose to credit my account back with these funds during their investigation. I believe that SunTrust has been compromised for the following reasons : SunTrust gave me the standard statement about protecting cards, online access, changing passwords, etc. This could not have occurred in this situation though. 1 ) I only access this account through my phone, which means that any compromise means that both my XXXX and the SunTrust site were compromised ( and no other bank account at other Banks have been compromised ). 2 ) I only deposit funds into these accounts ( except for 2 auto payments debited from the savings account with 1 of the debits by SunTrust ), and therefore there is not a possibility that my account number ( s ) are out there in the world to be compromised. 3 ) I have not cards, checks, etc. for these accounts in use. I expressed my concern that anybody in the world can enter in any account number in a payment portal, and there is no safeguard to prevent unauthorized ACH withdrawals. I personally only use Credit Cards for all purchases due to the protections associated with a credit card ( and hence why I don't use checks, debit cards, etc. for any of my bank accounts ). Additionally, SunTrust has no automatic feature to verify a large transaction as with Credit Cards ( i.e., the notifications I receive asking me to confirm a transaction ). Had there been this safeguard I could have declined the transaction before it was allowed to process. In this instance I feel that SunTrust has been compromised, and it is me that is suffering. I am out approximately {$10000.00} with no real assurance this will be resolved timely or in my favor. I feel that we will hear on the news 6 months after SunTrust and XXXX XXXX XXXX merge that " they were hacked '', but that shouldn't be my problem. I believe that SunTrust should provisionally credit my accounts while they conduct their investigation and get their money back. They know where the money went, and we issued Stop Payments on the ACH payments while they were still " pending ''. Why it takes 10 days for the Consumer to get his/her money makes no sense.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: GA
Zip: 30310
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-03-26
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-03-26
Issue: Managing an account
Subissue: Problem using a debit or ATM card
Consumer Complaint: I began noticing tech schemes with internet access which carried over to the banking account by transfer managers of micro-management February 4th-5th, 2019 concerning e-billing. It's happen before in 2018, so I got very suspicious of the act because it involved a banker releasing private information. I was notified that I was possibly affected once before by the Suntrust Bank Team, but never compensated for it and they just covered it up. This time they authorized a payment I didn't authorize and it was in dispute with a the corporation. Provided that terrorism, corruption cases, money making schemes, environmental health & safety could be at risk I asked Suntrust not to get involved with the payment process. Suntrust fraud team member XXXX agreed it was not to processed, I should not concern myself about it as long as I didn't authorize the transaction. They paid the over charges from the account causing the account to overdraft and now they expect me to cover the cost of something they did without my permission before inquiring of the bill. That's not how e-bill suppose to operate. I'm currently in the process of stopping the payment they caused, and it's in XXXX going on XXXX. Which will cause over drafting for the following month.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: NC
Zip: 27406
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-03-26
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-03-24
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Subissue: Account status incorrect
Consumer Complaint: With the assistance of CFPB, we recently resolved CFPB complaint XXXX involving SunTrust Bank, XXXX, XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX our mortgage banker for a new property acquisition informed us that one of the credit reporting agencies, XXXX, has not updated the inaccurate report. Please see the attached documents that verify the resolution and assistance by XXXX XXXX XXXX who made the online payment on our behalf in a timely manner. To attempt to resolve the issue ourselves, at least ten phone calls were made to SunTrust Bank and XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. Each of these phone calls resulted in contradictory advice about how to resolve this issue. In summary, each entity : SunTrust Bank ( creditor ) and XXXX ( reporter ) stated that the other entity was responsible for this error and would need to contact the other to resolve it. At one point, XXXX suggested that a conference call with SunTrust Bank would help take care of this issue. When SunTrust Bank was contacted, they were unwilling to have a conference call and no supervisor was willing to provide an employee identification # concerning this denial of service. [ Please note : it was suggested to us that we request a United States supervisor of SunTrust Bank. This indicates that they are using an offshore customer service provider. While this is standard practice, it is the best explanation for SunTrust Banks refusal to address the issue we are attempting to address. We were not successful at reaching a United States supervisor who was willing or able to assist us re : this matter. ] As this dispute directly relates to the closed Consumer Finance Protection Bureau [ CFPB ] complaint listed above, we request CFPB intervene again on our behalf. There is apparently a phone number, not available to the consumer, that needs to called to directly address the correction according to XXXX, yet SunTrust is unwilling to, or their customer service is unable to, access this confidential phone number. XXXX assures us that they have this number as one of their account creditors. We are now involved in a time-sensitive issue ; we are attempting to close on a new property acquisition and our contractual agreement is off by {$25000.00} due to this reporting error on our XXXX Credit Report. This was communicated to us on Thursday, XX/XX/XXXX, when we were informed by our pending new mortgage lender that the XXXX report has not been corrected to reflect the resolution supported by the attached documentation. We may have to begin the loan process over or lose the opportunity altogether, which may lead to accelerated liability if we are denied this transaction because of a lack of compliance and reporting accuracy on the part of SunTrust Bank and XXXX respectively. Please help us fully expedite this dispute resolution. [ Please note : there is an additional minor dispute already filed with XXXX at this time. During one of the many calls to XXXX, my wife learned that her last name is spelled incorrectly and her birth date is incorrect as well. Do not confuse this current XXXX dispute with the complaint we are addressing here. ] Finally, once this is resolved, may we also be assured that any and all references to disputes of our credit reports involving all three reporting agencies are removed from our credit reports? We do not wish to have them listing an existing dispute. This may lead to inferences made that we are attempting to manipulate the system in the process of correcting the error SunTrust Bank originated back in XXXX of XXXX. We made every payment to SunTrust Mortgage as agreed or paid more than was due on the monthly installment over the entire loan agreement. And we wish to thank [ CFPB ] for your support to correct this problem.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: CA
Zip: 92649
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-03-24
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-03-23
Issue: Problem caused by your funds being low
Subissue: Non-sufficient funds and associated fees
Consumer Complaint: Fraudulently charging a maintenance fee every month after 6-7 months of account opening - signature advantage. I still meet the criteria as listed online - https : //www.suntrust.com/personal-banking/checking/suntrust-advantage-checking. Have Direct deposits of more than {$3000.00} per month and have a mortgage account linked to avoid the maintenance fee = {$20.00}. But without informing me they changed the agreement on backend saying that minimum balance needed to avoid maintenance fee = {$25000.00} Dates when reached out to SunTrust - XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX - email exchanges. XX/XX/2019 - call to customer care. So, they promote some other criteria online to avoid maintenance fee and they change the criteria behind the scenes. Also, the maintenance online = {$20.00} vs what they are charging = {$25.00}
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: VA
Zip: 20148
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-03-23
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-03-22
Issue: Managing an account
Subissue: Banking errors
Consumer Complaint: XXXX : I mailed my car note at the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and found out a month later that my check never arrived. XXXX : I called the bank 's automated number and found out that check number XXXX had cleared for {$1500.00}. After talking to a customer service rep who transferred me to a fraud unit and being put on hold so long that my phone battery died, I drove to my branch office along with my dad. We met with a Personal Banker, who gave me a copy of my check which showed that the check had been changed to someone else 's name and for XXXX. We were all very surprised to see that the check did not show my signature and was not dated and the Personal Banker said that the check should never have been cashed. He called the fraud unit and they assigned it to case number : XXXX and said I should hear something within 15 days. XXXX : I had not heard anything so we went back to the bank and the same Personal Banker again called the fraud unit who said that were now in day 16 and they would escalate the service for 72 hours. XXXX : Still had not heard anything and we went back to the bank and the same Personal Banker was very frustrated that the money still had not been put back on my account. He once again called the fraud unit who agreed to what the Personal Banker had said was obvious that the check had been washed and should have never been cashed since it was not signed and dated. We were again told that they would escalate the investigation to 72 hours. The Personal Banker said that since he was already vested in this, he would call the fraud unit back in 72 hours on Monday XXXX, and keep me updated. XXXX : I went to the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and told them what had happened and they said that during the first week of XXXX some mail had been fished from the outside box and they have had several complaints. I gave them a copy of my check which they had requested so they could pass it on to the postal inspector. XXXX : I still had not heard anything from the bank, including the Personal Banker who promised to keep me updated, and my {$1500.00} still had not been put on my account so I submitted a complaint to the Federal Reserve. XXXX : I received an email from the Federal Reserve explaining that they had forwarded my complaint to the CFPB for appropriate attention. XXXX : A month has now gone by and since I still have not heard anything from the bank or from CFPB, I called the CFPB to check on the status of my complaint but was told that there was no record of my complaint and no indication that it had been forwarded to them by the Federal Reserve. The CFPB rep was very nice helpful and suggested that I send a fresh complaint to CFPB.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: TN
Zip: 37013
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-03-22
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-03-22
Issue: Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem
Subissue: Investigation took more than 30 days
Consumer Complaint: I was a victim of identity theft in XX/XX/2017 in which someone stole person information, filed my taxes and began opening and attempting to open several fraudulent accounts in my name. I have been working with local law enforcement, the three credit reporting agencies and the account lenders. In sending in copies of police reports, federal trade commission reports, proof of my ID as the rightful owner and other supporting documents, over the past two years I have obtained little to no success in trying to successfully remove these accounts from my credit report. I have in writing, on several occasions asked that the lenders send me proof of whatever SIGNED documents that have confirming that these accounts were opened by " me '' and they have not responded or sent me copies of these documents per my request. When I speak with the credit reporting agencies, they simply state that the debts were verified by the lenders but CAN NOT either provide me with the requested documents to corroborate their investigations. I have been denied job opportunities, other loans, and even bank accounts due to these accounts and at this point I want results. I want in writing whatever documents they have that were alleged signed by me and want these fraudulent accounts removed from my credit reports.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: GA
Zip: 30045
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-03-22
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-03-21
Issue: Problem caused by your funds being low
Subissue: Overdrafts and overdraft fees
Consumer Complaint: On XX/XX/2019 I was made aware that my account was overdrawn due to an item that came through for {$100.00}. The only problem is, there was a positive balance still left in the account when the overdraft took place. I called SunTrust Bank on XX/XX/2019 to get a better understanding as to why the overdraft fee was assessed to the account being that there was still a positive balance in the account when the overdraft was assessed to the account.. The operator, whom I could barely understand, stated that the account was overdrafted even when it had a positive balance to the best of my understanding is what she said and she couldn't explain to me why. Because it doesn't make sense to me that you can overdraft when you have a positive balance in your account. So according to this operator It's pretty much like the banks at their discretion can go back and find any low point during your transactions history and use that point at which to charge an overdraft to your account and hoping that it sticks.. So in other words, banks are so desperate now to steal money out of consumers accounts that they overdraft you even though you have a positive balance in the account no matter how little the positive balance is, its still a positive balance none the less.. I've taken screenshots of the withdrawals as they happened. And it clearly shows that on XX/XX/XXXX of 2019 after the {$100.00} was taken out of the account there was still a positive balance of {$5.00} in the account. So again I ask, why was the overdraft fee assessed? There's absolutely no explanation for that other than just the bank wanted to overdraft the account. I guess it was just my turn to be ripped off with that frivolous fee labeled as an overdraft fee. I personally am so sick and tired of banks manipulating consumer bank accounts so that they can work it in their favor to charge overdraft fees and other frivolous fees to consumers accounts to make money. It is so sad and so pathetic the state of our nation where every financial institution is looking for ways of increasing profit at the expense of consumers. I remember reading stories about old men many years ago warning people about Banks. And I see now that it is an absolute fact that a consumer has no chance of making it financially when they depend on the banks because the banks job is not too make sure your bills are paid on time, A bank 's job is to make sure they increase their profits every year. It's called shareholder fiduciary ... I'm at the point now that I will no longer put my paycheck or more money in a bank account than I need in there to cover a bill. I will only put in the bank the monthly service fee and what I need to pay a particular bill. It will save me tons of money and stress long term over dealing with banks that are only looking to take the little I have and even worse, they'll even manipulate a person 's account to make it look legitimate.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: FL
Zip: XXXXX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-03-21
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2019-03-21
Issue: Trouble during payment process
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: Suntrust Mortgage Company has accessed my account twice between my regularly scheduled billing cycles and has withdrawn an additional monthly payment from my personal checking account. I have a direct payment sent to Suntrust at the beginning of each month, however, they have been collecting an additional payment for {$2000.00} on the fifteenth of each month in addition to my regular payment. After a number of calls last month, they did return this amount to my checking account. Apparently though, they didnt correct the problem and withdrew the same amount this month. I have attempted to call them and have not been offered any easy solution to have them refund this payment. Needless to say, this is causing a hardship on me and my family.
Company Response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
State: MN
Zip: 559XX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2019-03-21
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A