Consumer complaint received 2023-12-06
Company: ALLY FINANCIAL INC.
State: TX
Product: Credit card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I filed a dispute with Ally Bank for a {$500.00} charge made with " XXXX XXXX XXXX '' ( oXXXX XXXX  ). The money was used to obtain and retain lawyer/legal representation from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX was supposed to help me get back money that I invested in a book writing company ( XXXX XXXX  ), nearly amounting to $ XXXX. XXXX said he could help me get ALL of my money back from the bank and/or XXXX XXXX because he was a lawyer and has helped people ( and a woman recently ) win similar cases. He mentioned his reputation was on the line and that he could represent me and ensure that we would win. The company XXXX worked for was also a book writing company- XXXX XXXX XXXX  ( who originally reached out to me to help me with this fiasco. I was told by XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX that XXXX XXXX  were going into bankruptcy and said they could help me with my situation. I think she mentioned they were like a sister bookwriting company to XXXX XXXX and they seemed to already be familiar with me or got my number from them now that I think about it ( which is scary ). XXXX spoke with me and warmly transferred me over to XXXX. I spoke with him and once I spoke with XXXX XXXX and confirmed that he was a lawyer ( with his CA bar license number he provided me and I was able to immediately look up ) and that he genuinely wanted to help me with this, I agreed to the original contract between him and me. Ally Bank received this contract on XXXX  and they later received an email conversation between me and XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  where she sent the original contract and I provided written consent/agreement to the contract that also outlined the " refund '' process. Ally Bank then finally granted me the {$500.00} ( after going back and forth with them on the phone and providing my evidence ) but sent me a letter to the effect that said they reserve the right to charge me this money back if they get " proof '' from the merchant ( XXXX XXXX XXXX  ), which they have NOT provided me by the way. I checked my account today and noticed that the {$500.00} was posted back to my account on XXXX unbeknownst to me, again with NO Proof of what the opposing party sent them to make the ruling in their favor. This is troublesome because this company XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX recently sent the proof to another bank of mine ( who sent me the proof in the mail ) that had NOTHING to do with this event, charge, or encounter! Ally Bank should check the dates and emails on the " proof '' that was sent to them from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  ) because if the email did NOT come from an email ending in ( XXXX  from XXXX or XXXX XXXX and if it was NOT sent after my initial contact with them on XX/XX/XXXX, then they are working in cahoots against me with the other book writing company and this evidence/proof has NOTHING to do with the contract I signed with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. Please see the contract details ( dated XXXX  ) that I signed for lawyer representation. Again, this encounter was for legal representation AGAINST XXXX XXXX so if the PROOF they received from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX entails info from XXXX XXXX again this is wrong information and an attempt to be used against me. 
It is unbelievable that Ally Bank would confuse and twist up the details of this matter, ruling in favor of XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  ), with the false details they provided. PLEASE CHECK THE PROOF that was recently sent from XXXX XXXX so that you can see that I am being framed. I attempted to explain this to Ally Bank today and pressed the buttons to get to the dispute department. I reached a lady and told her that possibly WRONG/ FALSE PROOF could have been sent to them and I wanted to know why they would rule AGAINST me at this point. She then proceeded to say that she needed to get me to the " dispute '' department ( where I thought I was already ), however, the hold times had no end in sight. I have dealt with Ally before ( on numerous occasions ) with unpredictable hold times, requests for supervisors to call me back, and even requests to speak to a supervisor by name- all to no avail or success. It has been a very negative experience with them. As with the hold times, I am NOT guaranteed to speak to a supervisor but they will make you wait and wait, and they do NOT EVER call me back and have NEVER asked to verify my number to even call me back! The proof provided by XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX  were potentially some emails and screenshots of conversations between XXXX XXXX and me, dated back in XXXX and XXXX of this year, from XXXX and XXXX. This is a red flag because XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  who reached out to help me with the conflict between XXXX XXXX and me ) are NOT the same company. How could Ally Bank miss this? They have " XXXX XXXX in their email address, not to mention the dates do not match or correlate with this case! The case that I disputed on XX/XX/XXXX with Ally Bank, was against XXXX XXXX, who was with XXXX XXXX XXXX Now although these companies more than likely knew each other, and maybe even worked together on some occasion ( I am unsure of this ), this appears to be one big plot from all of them, as it seems they are working together. Why would XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX send Ally Bank proof from XXXX XXXX XXXX  when XXXX and I signed a contract and have email correspondence for him to represent me to get my money back FROM this company and/or banks? Again, if you put the pieces together, it seemed they were all working together. And again, I have seen this proof from another bank, but ALLY BANK has NOT sent me the proof ( although they have ruled against me- likely with the SAME FALSE proof that has been recently sent to a separate bank I disputed with for this company ). But even a bigger question is why Ally Bank did not use its investigative skills to see that these emails, sent XXXX and XXXX of this year, are not any kind of evidence or proof for legal representation or services I obtained from XXXX XXXX, in regard to the case/charge that I filed/disputed on XX/XX/XXXX? I did not even meet XXXX XXXX XXXX company/XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX of this year, and this is a disappointment to learn that the bank could miss that. Again, this appears to all be a plot against me, but now it seems like a huge oversight on the bank 's end to NOT pick up this false information and reverse my ( provisional ) credit that I rightfully received, while allegedly investigating. It sounds like Ally Bank fell for the perpetrator 's foolish tactics and I just feel really bad now because this should have never been overturned with the irrelevant proof provided. I worked with a bad lawyer and he even mentioned " bribing '' the banks on one occasion which I should have taken more seriously. I filed a report against this lawyer due to actual and alleged misconduct. And I have expressed my disappointment and dissatisfaction with Ally Bank, time and time again but I am hoping that we can get it right now- once and for all.

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