Consumer complaint received 2023-01-04
Company: U.S. BANCORP
State: LA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Government benefit card
Issue: Problem with a purchase or transfer
Sub-issue: Card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase or transfer

Complaint:
THE MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF {$2000.00} FROM MY ACCOUNT During COVID-19, I experienced an unexpected layoff from my full-time regular job, which at the time, immediately caused a little fear to sink in when thinking about how I was going to get my bills paid. After reaching out to others and seeing on TV and Social media how bad this Pandemic was begging to pan out after all, I decided to follow through with the state 's recommendations being advertised : for anyone experiencing sudden job loss due to effects of the current Pandemic to visit the XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX to file an Unemployment Insurance Claim. I took the advice, applied for Unemployment compensation Benefits with the XXXX XXXX XXXX and was approved for benefits. The XXXX issued me a total amount of {$4000.00} in XXXX  Unemployment Compensation Benefits in XXXX. 
When I signed up for benefits on the official website, I was given 2 options to select how I would be issued my benefits, and the Debit Card option was highly suggested and recommended by the agency, so I chose it. The debit card was issued by U.S. Bank Reliacard and was mailed directly to me in the mail shortly after being approved. I called to activate the debit card as the mail notice instructed me, and registered my new account online to be able to track my funds. For awhile, I had no issues with the services, until... 
One day all of a sudden I was sitting at home relaxing, when my electricity was turned off at my house. To my girlfriend 's surprise, she went to pay our entergy bill on the morning of XX/XX/XXXX, and my account balance of {$2000.00} that should have been in my account ... .was suddenly GONE!! DISAPPEARED!! Account Balance = {$0.00}!!! 
( which caused our Entergy Bill payment to not go through )! 

I immediately called U.S. ReliBank 's Customer Service Phone # provided on the back of my issued Debit Card, and was told by an Agent that the Unemployment Office took my remaining account balance of {$2000.00} out of the U.S. Bank Reliacard Account. 
They did not provide me with any reason, and advised me to call their office. I immediately called the XXXX 's XXXX XXXX and spoke with an Agent that advised me that they had nothing to do with the money being removed from my account, and advised me to call U.S. Bank Reliacard back to speak with a Supervisor about this... which I did... again... and again ... and again ... for months on end. In fact, I called the U.S. Bank Reliacard Office that referred me back to the XXXX XXXX XXXX for months without anyone EVER providing me WITH ANY RELEVANT INFORMATION or anything to work with. I was constantly just left not knowing where my money in my account disappeared to or who removed it from my account!!!! After months of being put on hold with customer service and arguing with every Supervisor from U.S. Bank Reliacard, the Supervisor finally agreed that they would mail me a printed copy of the account 's transaction history... ( BECAUSE UP UNTIL THIS POINT..MY ACCOUNT ONLINE WAS BLOCKED!! ). I had no way of being able to see my online banking account history so that I could even try to figure out on my own just why my {$2000.00} DISAPPEARED FROM MY ACCOUNT ON XXXX  WITHOUT ANY PRIOR NOTICE ... WITHOUT HAVING AN ANSWER AS TO- WHO HAS MY MONEY AND WHERE DID IT GO?!? 
The printed banking statements that were eventually mailed to my address from U.S. Bank Reliacard, were selective-in that they only printed my transaction history from XX/XX/XXXX onward- showing some account history that had the account details provided, as follows : The activity from XXXX showing a total {$4000.00} was the total amount that XXXX  Unemployment Benefits Office awarded me for my Unemployment Benefit Filing Claims that were issued and given to me via the U.S. Bank Reliacard Debit Card Account . My account started out with the amount {$4000.00} total, which the Unemployment Office uploaded on the Debit Card. The next transaction on XXXX was activity that I participated in, when I transferred {$2000.00} from U.S. Reliacard Debit Card Account to my other Personal Banking Account. After I made this transfer, my U.S. Bank Reliacard Debit Card Account should have had my remaining balance of {$2000.00} left in my account to spend, but it DISAPPEARED on XXXX at XXXX and my account balance was left to be {$0.00}, with no explanation from the bank besides I should call the Unemployment Office because they took it from my account. The Unemployment Office Agent Reps told me time and time again ( because I called both companies on a minimum bi-monthly basis to no oblige! ) that once the Unemployment Benefit Fund Amounts are issued out to me, that U.S. Bank Reliacard gets the money and they have nothing to do with it again. They explained to me that the Unemployment Office system shows no back refund of any money they ever issued me and advised that my account would show any type of transaction being made ( on their system administrator end and my personal online user customer account end of the system 's interface ) and it would be logged for me to see and them to see. XXXX XXXX has became very frustrated with my attempts at trying to call them to help locate my Unemployment Claim money from my U.S. Bank Reliacard account because they advised apparently that the bank has made this claim too many times recently with all the Unemployment Claims that were filed and they couldn't help me because they issued the Bank the money for my claim, so I'd have to deal with the U.S. Bank Reliacard. 


XX/XX/XXXX & XX/XX/XXXX Posted Account Activity : Date : Time : Amount : Account Detail Activity : $ Fees XXXX XXXX am + {$4000.00} U.S. Bank : ACH from Known Remitter. {$0.00} XXXX XXXX XXXX  ( - {$2000.00} ) XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX. {$0.00} XXXX XXXX XXXX  ( - {$2000.00} ) XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) Debit. {$0.00} Ultimately, I am struggling financially, since this crazy disappearance of my Unemployment Benefit Funds of {$2000.00} was removed without ANY WARNING OR ANY KNOWLEDGE AS TO ITS WHEREABOUTS SINCE IT TOOK PLACE BACK ON XXXX. I applied for the benefits in the first place because I desperately needed the financial assistance, and this event has set so many other catastrophic events off in my financial life because of my money going missing from my account, and has caused a downward spiral type domino effect for the worse unfortunately. I'd like my Unemployment Benefit Funds, that totaled {$2000.00}, and were in my account, to please be given back to me. I've waited too long, and haven't been able to gather any information from the U.S. Bank Reliacard Agents or Supervisors or XXXX  Workforce Commission Office 's as to the whereabouts of my money, but I believe the Bank illegally took them from my account. I'm desperate and didn't know where else to go to get help to try and get my money back... and help trying to locate who took it from my account and help locating it to be able to utilize in my current financial struggle and hardships I'm enduring due to its disappearance.

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