Consumer complaint received 2022-11-17
Company: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: CA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Closing an account
Sub-issue: Company closed your account

Complaint:
On Friday, XX/XX/2022, my husband and I were out to dinner and tried to pay our bill. We were informed that our card was declined. Upon calling the bank, my husband was told that the representative needed to speak with me. Once going through the verification process, I was informed that all of my accounts were being closed because USAA was exercising its right to no longer do business with me. I told them that we had several XXXX XXXX  in the bank and that I didnt understand what the issue was. I explained that my husband had been doing business with them for 30+ years and that I had been doing so for about 6. The representative told me, Your husband is not the issue, you are. I asked to speak to a manager and was told there was no one I could speak to and that the account closure was already in process and that there was nothing I could do. I was further told that all of our accounts including the shared accounts with my husband were being closed and that the funds ( XXXX  XXXX ) in our account would be mailed to us 60 days after the account closures were finalized. I told the representative that he needed to speak with my husband, who was told the same thing and that there wasnt anyone else available to speak with us. We were forced to call a family member to bring us money to pay our bill, not only adding to the embarrassment of being the last ones at the restaurant and not being able to pay our bill, but now we had to involve a family member. USAA did not contact me to ask questions, to try to resolve the issue or even communicate with me. I reviewed my account later that evening and found that they had sent a message to my inbox that day but did not try to communicate with me before closing all of my accounts. 

On Saturday, my husband and I spent several hours on the phone with USAA trying to get resolution. I was told over and over again that the accounts were being closed because USAA was choosing to no longer do business with me. Each time I was transferred, I was told the same thing with no explanation. After asking to speak with supervisors, and being told several times that no one could help us further, I was finally transferred to a senior customer relations manager. I was told that the reason they were exercising this right was due to fraudulent activity on my account and referred to checks that were deposited into my account that did not clear, beginning in XXXX. 

In XXXX and in XXXX, I was contracted to work for 3 different businesses from which I received a cashiers check, an electronic check and a physical check. I deposited these checks but had some suspicions that something was wrong based on the communication that I was receiving from the employers and that they were asking me to forward money to other individuals even though the checks had not cleared. Immediately upon feeling concern, I called USAA and communicated this concern with them. 

The first situation I was been told by the employer that I needed to buy gift cards and that I needed to give them the information for them and that the remaining balance would be my pay. While purchasing the gift cards at XXXX, I was told that this was a scam and that I needed to contact my bank, which I immediately did. The USAA representative told me to hang onto the gift cards because I was going to need to mail them to USAA and that someone from USAA would call me in a few days to see what happens with the cashiers check and to see what further could be done. I received no communication from USAA until after the check had bounced and my account became negative for the {$200.00} in purchased gift cards. At that time I was told that I needed to bring my account back to a XXXX balance so that my account would not be closed, at which time I transferred money from another account to bring it to good standing. The account was closed anyway. I asked to speak with the complaint department about how I had been treated, that I had communicated the issue right away and that I had been waiting for further communication from USAA and had not received any. The complaints department apologized and I thought that was the end of the situation. 

The next check, I was hired by a company for remote work and was given a contract and an electronic check to deposit to pay for equipment. Once deposited, they informed me that I would need to transfer {$2000.00} by XXXX to an email address to pay for shipping of equipment. I told them that I did not feel comfortable transferring any funds out until the check cleared completely in my bank. The job offer was rescinded after an hour of harassment. I immediately called USAA and explained the situation. The representative told me I had done the right thing and that I was correct in being concerned about transferring money and that it also seemed like a scam. I was told to leave the check there to see if it cleared and not to move any funds. I inquired about whether I should try to reverse the funds back to the employer and I was told to just wait. I waited for several days and called to check again to see if the check had cleared or if it had bounced, but it had not finished processing. A few days later the check bounced. 

In the meantime, another company hired me. Again, with a contract and what seemed to be legitimate employment. I was mailed a physical check that I deposited into my account. I was told that the check was for my weekly pay and that the remaining balance would be for shipping goods. I became suspicious and did not proceed and waited to see if the check would clear. It was held up in my account for over a week. Upon deposit I was told that I needed to wait 5 business days for funds to be available, which was unusual given that most of the time, funds were made available immediately. Wither way, I waited and even called USAA to check on it. I was told at one point that it seemed like there was an IT issue and that was what was holding up the funds, only to find out that the check bounced because the account on the other end had been closed. Again, I did not withdraw funds based on this check. 

In speaking with USAA on Saturday, I was finally able to talk with a supervisor in the customer relations department. She told me that the account would be reviewed and that she would attach notes to everything. She said it should take 3 business days. I waited 3 business days and called today, only to find that the same statement is being told to me and that the funds are still being held. I have bills that are supposed to be withdrawn from these accounts. There is money being held in our accounts and frozen that can not be used for bills or for our expenses. I keep being told that the funds will be released after 60 days and that a check will be mailed at that time once the accounts are closed. 

I am being treated like a criminal. I wasnt the person writing bad checks. I accepted employment from people that wrote bad checks to me. I was and am the victim in these cases and I am being treated as if I am the criminal. I have been embarrassed and humiliated over and over again. I have been degraded by the bank. Im having issues with my husband now, and our bills and accounts are all messed up. This is insult on injury over and over again and every day since last Friday, I am constantly reminded as more bills pile up or are not paid. This is affecting my livelihood, my marriage and now my credit. Something needs to be done and resolved. I need my funds immediately, I need an apology, and I need some sort of restitution for the suffering they have caused.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation