Consumer complaint received 2023-03-12
Company: U.S. BANCORP
State: MD
Product: Credit card or prepaid 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:
I most recently had to dispute a credit card charge back in XXXX of XXXX with Fulton Bank/Elan Financial from a company called XXXXXXXX XXXX for an amount of approximately {$450.00} because I had cancelled the order with the merchant and the merchant accidentally sent the item out in error. After contacting the merchant they instructed me to simply refuse the package and have it returned to them via the same carrier. I did exactly as instructed. Elan Financial who handles disputed charges as well as fraud charges were the ones to handle this case. I just got in the mail a letter stating that they were taking away the temporary credit from my account and re-charging me for the purchase. Informing me that the merchant had responded to the charge dispute and that they could no longer help me. I immediately called my bank which is Fulton who transferred me over to Elan 's dispute/fraud department and a gentleman by the name of XXXX took my call. He was nothing more than abusive and rude. He refused to answer my questions about trying to get my dispute case reopened and was dismissive when I tried to explain that their dispute case worker did not follow the proper Visa/Mastercard rules and regulations giving me the opportunity to respond to the merchant documents and photographs in a written rebuttal form so that the case could continue. He became increasingly erratic in his behavior causing me increasing frustration. He then started yelling into the phone over talking me like a XXXX year old child so I had no alternative but to hang up on him. I asked him to transfer me to his supervisor/manager for assistance and he basically said sorry the buck stops here buddy and there's noone to transfer you to. Out of frustration I had no alternative because of his rude and abusive behavior but to hang up. I then phoned back hoping against all hope someone with a brain cell in their head would answer and I could continue the conversation rationally unfortunately this did not come to fruition. When I called back the person in customer service explained that there had been a block placed on my account and at that point was shocked and confused and was quickly transferred into a que which I guess may have been their security que because XXXX the gentleman from the previous phone call had placed a security/fraud block on the account because from what I was able to ascertain he arbitrarily without merit blocked the account due to the fact that he thought I was not the cardholder????? I was so upset and confused at this point. I was put through a litany of questions like what is your sister 's name and on and on and on before the representative said she could remove the block. It appears that this gentleman by the name of XXXX just placed this block on my account out of spite and it had nothing to do with identifying myself because this was done through the banks automated system and then for a second time through customer service before the call was even transferred to him at the beginning of this conversation. From that point forward it just got more bizarre from customer service representatives to the dispute/fraud department it seemed like every time I would call someone XXXX would slap a fraud block on the account claiming they didn't think I was the card holder which was absolute XXXX XXXX. Once in a while I would get someone who seemingly wanted to listen to me but nothing constructive ever came out of the conversation. It always ended up where the representative in the dispute/fraud department would say you will have to speak to the case worker directly and they won't be able to contact you for 24 to 72 hours. In my opinion this was absolutely ridiculous and unacceptable. When someone finally got around to calling me early on Thursday morning of the XXXX of XX/XX/XXXX they had to catch me at the grocery store and I didn't want to have to discuss my credit card dispute issues in front of the grocery store bagger/clerk so the woman left a message for me to call back. It's unclear whether she was the actual case worker or someone calling on their behalf but she said that I needed to call back to provide more information about the dispute for their department to continue their investigation so when I got home from the store I called Fulton who transferred me to the dispute/fraud department and they said that the message the woman left on my account was nothing like the message she left on my voice mail. They informed me that the dispute case was closed and that there was nothing they could do. I asked to speak to the woman who left the message and when she was messaged by the department they came back and said to me " she can't talk to you now '' We will have to request another call back which will take an additional 24 to 72 hours for her to return your call. After numerous calls and feeling so emotionally and physically drained from all of the aggravation I was left feeling humiliated that the Elan representatives continually played cruel games by blocking my account without merit and then not providing me with any reasonable or acceptable form of customer service to assist me with my dispute resolution. An absolute MESS!!!!! I telephoned my brother who is an attorney the situation with Fulton/Elan Financial and he was absolutely horrified as to how I was being treated and demanded I close the account and that if need be he would intervene from a legal standpoint. I called Fulton and requested they close the account on Thursday night XX/XX/XXXX around XXXX. I spoke to a woman by the name of XXXX XXXX or XXXX XXXX I'm not sure exactly of her name and then her direct supervisor XXXX who confirmed the account closure and that it would appear on my credit report as account closed by account holder. Today which is the XXXX of XX/XX/XXXX I made the decision that I would take the issue to my local Fulton Branch and sit down with one of their branch managers and see what kind of magic they could perform in getting the representatives over at Elan to move on this disputed charge problem and actually get something done. I hate to report that the call was just as much of a mess as all the ones I made myself from my cell phone at home. The branch manager called them and explained to them that her name was XXXX and what branch she was calling from and her position and a synopsis of the situation to the representative and the first thing they said to her was to ask me if a woman had been calling in to Fulton on my account and I said no and evidently there was still some block on my account. I explained that yes I had a high voice but no woman was trying to access my account that I was the only one calling them and had verified the account up and down over the last few days. They had no reason not to believe I wasn't who I said I was. The branch manager had my drivers license as well as my credit card and I would of been happy to provide her whatever information she needed but Fulton/Elan Financial didn't seem to care why the branch was calling and the only information the branch manager was able to get out of the dispute charge/fraud department was that I would simply have to wait for the dispute case worker to call me with the 24 to 72 hour time frame that there was absolutely nothing anyone could do. The branch manager got absolutely nowhere and I am absolutely disgusted with this financial institution. When you can't even get any kind of help or assistance with your credit card and people constantly doubting who you are after you've verified everything but the kitchen sink is absolutely rediculous and absurd. Imagine just for a moment how absolutely degrading it is for a cardholder to keep hearing that the financial institution in which you've had a relationship with for the last 6 years keeps telling you that you're not who you actually are even after you verify and verify and verify. Fulton/Elan have worn down my spirit and have made or have attempted to make me feel absolutely worthless. I'm glad I closed the account they are disgusting, rude and abusive individuals and I needed to separate myself out from them because I simply couldn't deal with the aggravation any longer. The experience was making me physically sick. At this point I'm still waiting for that call from the case worker about the chargeback dispute and how I can move forward because I don't like the feeling of having to pay for something I don't have. Lastly I would like to make a comment about the photographs the merchant in which this dispute is against which is XXXX XXXX is that they are simply fraud plain and simple as is their statement to Visa in response to this dispute. They state the box is not their box that was " refused '' and shipped back to them but the photo clearly shows the XXXX label attached to the box so clearly the box is theirs as is the label because all tracking documents and numbers from XXXX XXXX XXXX match. It's their box but they claim it's not. They are liars. They said that they don't use that kind of packing tape but the tape on the box is security tape with a security feature that if the box is opened that it would clearly show that the box was opened and tampered. The merchant never claims the tape was tampered with or the box was opened and if it was XXXX would have caught it and refused to ship it back because the seal would have been broken and would not have shipped it back to the company. They are liars in this regard. It's their packing tape. As for the 3rd photo showing some foreign substance in a bag which they claim was in the box is clearly fabricated. If the box was never opened and the security tape breached noone could have inserted something else in the box and state that the item which was a doll was missing from the box. None of it made any sense to me and the merchant is trying to commit fraud by submitting photos which simply don't hold water. Maybe the chargeback case worker was duped into believing it but you can clearly see and I would clearly be able to refute the merchant 's response and I shouldn't have to pay for something I don't have but the dispute department seems to have dug their heels in and they don't want to give me the opportunity to respond and saying it's my problem and that they can't do anything to help me. A complete joke of a department if you ask me. I though someone initially told me that a gentleman by the name of XXXX was handling the dispute case and a while back I remember talking to him and remember how he would go on and on over the phone bragging to me how he was so proud of the success rate he had with his chargeback dispute cases and that he rarely looses well in this case if the department 's case worker won't even give the cardholder a chance to respond and rebut or refute the merchant 's fraudulent evidence then how do I stand a chance to win my money back over an item I don't even have?. I expect quick and expeditious action on the part of Fulton/Elan Financial services executive offices/CEO to reach out in kindness and apologize for all the XXXX XXXX and XXXX who have clearly chosen to make my life a living XXXX over the last week and make sure the dispute/fraud department reopens my dispute case so I can send a written rebuttal to the case and have the case continue to work its way through the Visa card system because as I stated earlier I'm not paying for something I don't have. Lastly I'm just so disappointed in this financial institution. Noone deserves to be treated like I've been treated. It's a wonder this bank working along side their 3rd party Elan Financial has any patrons at all and I gather from all the online complaints I'm not the only one having problems with Elan Financial Services. Thank your time and consideration in this matter and I look forward to hearing from you quickly as this is most like a time sensitive matter. 

CC : FULTON BANK

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