Consumer complaint received 2023-12-15
Company: FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF OMAHA
State: NC
Product: Credit card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Card was charged for something you did not purchase with the card

Complaint:
XX/XX/XXXX Details of Complaint submitted to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Complaint Against : First National Bank of Omaha ( FNBO ) and XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, NE XXXX XXXX, NE XXXX Phone - ( XXXX ) XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX Dear CFPB : I have been a XXXX credit card holder many years clear back when it was XXXX, the XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX prior to the XXXX purchase in XXXX. At some point it became a XXXX card and in XXXX the card issuer was changed from XXXX to First National Bank of Omaha ( FNBO ), see attached pdf XXXX XXXX - FNBO - XX/XX/XXXX. Note the XXXX off per gallon on fuel at XXXX. 

We decided to drive to XXXX MO to visit our son. As planned, we left XXXX NC on XX/XX/XXXX, spent one night in XXXX TN and arrived in XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. The incident occurred near XXXX NC which is over 200 miles from XXXX, see pdf XXXX, North Carolina to XXXX, NC. We drove my wifes XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX which has a fuel tank capacity of 14.5 gallons, see pdf XXXX XXXX XXXX Owner 's Manual. The distance from XXXX  to XXXX and the XXXX fuel capacity are important facts in this complaint. 

Additional facts are to provide my normal spending pattern including dates, merchant locations, amounts ( gallons ) purchased and totals paid. These pdfs are attached : XXXX XXXX Billing Stmt XXXX XXXX XXXX Billing Stmt XXXX XXXX XXXX Receipts XXXX - XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX You may note on the XXXX pdf that when the XXXX card switched from XXXX to FNBO several late fees were charged. I was used to a prominent green and yellow XXXX logo on the billing envelope such as the final XXXX bill of XX/XX/XXXX. The FNBO bills had no logo and the first one for XX/XX/XXXX was likely tossed out as junk mail see pdf XXXX XXXX Bill Delivery Envelopes. FNBO imposed late fees that I called and complained about and they credited them back. 

On trips, I usually stop and fill the tank when the fuel gauge goes below and we used that method for the trip. When we left the freeway to buy gas I would check for a XXXX station and if the XXXX cent off per gallon was the best price, I would pull in to fill the tank. The incident occurred on XX/XX/XXXX. We were about XXXX miles from XXXX and pulled into what looked like a XXXX station see pdf XXXX 's # XXXX. It had the XXXX name and logo on the building, gas pumps, etc. When I put my XXXX card in the pump it did not drop all the prices by XXXX cents as it should. I thought the pump read the card wrong, so I canceled the purchase and tried again. Still no discount. I canceled again and went inside to get some help. The guy at the cash register had no clue about the XXXX XXXX cent discount. I asked more questions and he told me the station was not owned by XXXX, but some other company. I got back in the car and scribbled some notes on the back of a scrap of paper to perhaps complain to XXXX. The station owners name was unusual but most likely was XXXX. We drove on and did fill up at a XXXX in XXXX NC which is XXXX miles from XXXX see pdf XXXX, North Carolina to XXXX, NC. 

We returned as planned to XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. When I opened the XXXX XXXX Billing Stmt XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, to avoid interest and fee charges I paid the full amount due of {$250.00}, including {$90.00} for the XXXX XXXX charge dated XXXX. The charge stuck out since it was the highest since XX/XX/XXXX see XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and was allegedly made at that XXXX place. I immediately called FNBO and disputed the charge. They mailed a confirmation of the dispute, see pdf FNBO Letter XXXX. I expected that FNBO would quickly reimburse my account for the bogus {$90.00} and life would go on. 

FNBO sent another letter, see pdf FNBO Letter XXXX that said We have no recovery rights for card present, outside gas pumps, you will need to work directly with the merchant for resolution. If applicable. fees and finance charges that are refunded as a result of the dispute will appear on your monthly statement as well as your payment amount and due date. I have had credit cards for over 40 years and the issuing bank would not only handle such a dispute but would have notified me of a bogus charge and if the card was compromised they would cancel it, create a new account and send new cards. 

Rather than correct the bogus charge they sent another letter, FNBO Letter XXXX. It alleges We have completed our investigation and at this time find the transactions to be valid. It was determined that your card was physically present at the time of these transactions and the chip on your card was read. These transactions are part of your normal spending pattern, took place in your home area. I dispute that entire statement. I did some research and on XX/XX/XXXX called the NC Dept. of Justice. They referred me to the FTC at XXXX who referred me to you at XXXX. I spoke with your service rep., XXXX who recommended that I file this complaint. 

1. The transactions are not valid. On XXXX I did not make any purchase, gasoline or other items at the XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX near XXXX, NC. 
2. The card was in my possession the entire time while I was at the XXXX # XXXX gas station. I did not let any one else even look at the card. It seems that someone was able to hack my card information, assume my identity and charge {$90.00} to my account. 
3. FNBO never provided any receipt for the {$90.00} charge so if it was a fuel purchase at the average NC price of {$3.00} per gallon, it would have been for 25.7 gallons. It would have been impossible to pump that much into a 14.5 gallon XXXX tank. Even if my car was totally empty then the price per gallon would have been {$6.00}. The highest price for regular unleaded in North Carolina history was {$4.00} on XX/XX/XXXX. The highest price for Diesel fuel was {$4.00} on XX/XX/XXXX. 
4. My normal spending pattern for this XXXX/FNBO credit card is presented in the attached pdf XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. Excluding the XXXX XXXX groceries of XX/XX/XXXX and the bogus XXXX charge of {$90.00} on XX/XX/XXXX the charges on my XXXX/FNBO card have been for XXXX gasoline and have ranged from {$30.00} to {$42.00}. The {$90.00} charge is over twice the maximum ( {$42.00} ) in that range. 
5. The bogus charge of {$90.00} at the XXXX # XXXX occurred over 200 miles from my home. If I drive even 60 miles from XXXX I consider myself to be out of my home area. 
6. On XX/XX/XXXX after leaving XXXX XXXX  XXXX I had to pull off for gas and went to the XXXX in XXXX NC where I pumped XXXX gallons to fill the tank, see XXXX XXXX Receipts XXXX - XXXX. It is 51.9 miles from XXXX to XXXX per XXXX, North Carolina to XXXX, NC XXXX maps. Our XXXX gets over 30 mpg, why would it only get 4.28 mpg from XXXX to XXXX? 
7. The XXXX XXXX card is frozen to prevent additional hack charges.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation