Consumer complaint received 2023-04-24
Company: GLOBAL CREDIT UNION
State: CA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Savings account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Funds not handled or disbursed as instructed

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX I went to the branch located in XXXX XXXX, CA to close my secured credit card which was secured with {$1000.00} in my savings account. I instructed the teller to close my account and she said ok. I then asked how long after I close my account would I be able to pull my {$1000.00} collateral out of it ( ive had a XXXX balance on my secured card for months with no recent transactions ), she said " a few days. '' So I asked to clarify how many days does she know or is it just " a few days '' and she said yea its just a few days. So I said ok no problem. I then asked her when I take my {$1000.00} funds out of my savings account will there be a monthly fee for my checking or savings account for not having requirement such as Minimum Funds in the account. She replied and said " nope theres not fee or monthly charge.. '' I was kind of surprised so I asked again to make sure so there will be no monthly fee associated with my checking or savings account even when I remove most or all of the funds? And she said " well what im doing is im changing the type of account you have to another account where it will be free. '' I was very surprised that they would do that just change my account type without asking me. After a brief moment the teller said " ok we are done! '' So I then asked ok so do I get some kind of receipt or confirmation that I have closed my secured credit card and she said " nope we dont do that ''. Again I was very surprised and I said " so theres no email confirmation or anything about this transaction? '' and she said NO thats it. I was even surprised that she didnt have me surrender the credit card I pulled my credit card out of my wallet and showed it to her and asked so even though I closed my account you dont need this card back? And she said no I get to keep that! The next day on XX/XX/XXXX, I was not feeling comfortable with the transaction and not having received any type of confirmation or anything that I closed my account and when I logged into my online account it still showed my credit card was still open. So I called the phone number for customer service for the credit union. A representative answered me and I explained to her what happened. I asked her to check and see that my account was actually closed since I didnt recieve any confirmation. She said they are unable to see that on their end. And she went on to explain that sometimes what they do is they apply for us for the credit card to be unsecured to see if we qualify for an unsecured card instead of just closing the secured card. I told her thats not what I wanted to do that I instructed to close the account and asked again if she can confirm that and she said No because they are unable to see that on their system. Again I was very shocked and surprised about this! I told her I want to close this account and she said all she can do is submit a request to close it again but she was unable to confirm that a request was already sent. I instructed her to go ahead and submit the request and asked if there was anything else they needed and asked if they will send me some kind of email or anything confirming that I closed this account. And she said nope we dont do that and said we were done and that it would take " a few days '' for me to be able to get my {$1000.00} out of my savings account. I waited about 10 days and my funds still showed UNAVAILABLE so I called the customer service number again on XX/XX/2023 and spoke to a representative. She informed me that it can take 30 to 45 days for my funds to be released. I was surprised no one had told me this before and let her know its the first time anyone has told me that. She then responded by saying that she was not % XXXX sure. I asked her to please make sure because its the first time I've heard this. She put me on a hold to speak to presumably her manager. Then she got back on the line with me and told me to clarify that its 30 to 45 days after " my last transaction on the credit card ''. And I let her know I hadn't used the credit card in months and have a XXXX balance. And she said ok all you have to do is sign a form that she was going to email me called a Recission Letter. And she said that after I sign this form They can then process to release my funds faster. I didn't see the email right away but later I did find it and it was from XXXX, XXXX ( XXXX ). She also informed me that a member from that department ( presumably the credit card department ) would reach out to make sure everything was good. I waited 6 more days and never recieved a call. I logged into my online bank account portal and it was showing that my credit card was closed and no longer available however it has been showing that my {$1000.00} funds are still not available. I called again on XX/XX/2023 and spoke with XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) and she said that they had emailed me a form that I needed to sign and that I never sent it back. She said that If I dont sign that form it would take 30 days to release my funds. Then she sent me the form again but this time it has a Date of XX/XX/2023 and the actually XX/XX/2023 so I replied to the email asking if this is a mistake or why does it say " The undersigned Global Credit Union credit cardholder, hereby rescinds the agreement to their Secure Credit Card Account dated XX/XX/2023 and agrees that : '' I have not received a reply. 
As a consumer I feel that I am being " bullied '' by this credit union holding on to my money for so long and I also feel that I have been deceived by them multiple times. I don't have the power or financial resources to take on such an entity and nor do I have unlimited financial resources to just leave my {$1000.00} stuck in there with them for an unlimited amount of time. I feel that financial institutions should be held to stricter requirements and regulations and not be able to create accounts without my permission. They should also be more transparent what how they handle consumer funds. I am a busy man with work life and family life and at this point I feel like I have to keep pursuing them for my money which I don't have a lot of time to do and I need that money to be released ASAP.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief