Consumer complaint received 2018-09-28
Company: PNC Bank N.A.
State: FL
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Confusing or missing disclosures

Complaint:
PNC Investments This is a story of specific incidents I experienced with PNC Investments and the culture of investment banking post the XXXX economic crisis and end of the Glass-Steagall Act. 

I am the beneficiary of, XXXX for and have powers of attorney for my mother. She is the account holder in question and I have been entrusted with advisory status since PNC bank first solicited her bank account for investment in XXXX XXXX Treasury Bonds during the quantitative easing of toxic debts due to speculative and fraudulent trading on the part of the investment community in XXXX. 

She is XXXX years old has XXXX, is XXXX XXXX XXXX, does not balance her check book, barely uses her cell phone ; I manage her financial affairs and have taken on further XXXX XXXX since my reduction in force in XXXX from the ( ) due to dire economic circumstances. In XXXX of XXXX in accordance with planning for her estate, a trust in her name was established. Thenceforth I undertook the process of 'entitling ' her assets into that trust. 

It took three months and repeated visits and phone calls for PNC Bank to find and process the paperwork, once submitted, that would transfer/entitle her bank account into the Trust. The bank representative was so rude and dismissive I made a complaint and filled in the usual customer service survey with an apologetic follow up phone call. 

PNC Bank is an affiliate of PNC Investments and at the time that an investment account was established there was an investment representative at the bank itself. PNC Investments lists PNC branch numbers on its brokerage application. Once assets for the bank account were entitled into the trust, I was told there was a separate application process for PNC Investments. I called the local representative for PNC Investments in XX/XX/XXXX and told him that funds for the individual brokerage account needed to be transferred into a trust. He stated a trust account needed to be established first. Papers were sent and the trust account established. I assumed that my intent as to the purpose was clear that funds would be transferred. They were not. Another letter of authorization needed to be filed as well as a POA for that account. Getting my mom to the bank in prior years would not have been a problem, she and myself would have walked, but the distance by this time was too much. The brokerage account, letter of authorization and POA were signed and my signature notarized on XX/XX/XXXX. I XXXX XXXX XXXX   the papers a week later because I wanted to make copies but my printer and I believe the banks printer were out of ink or not functioning. I wanted this paper chase to be over, I sent the return envelope without a record of the tracking number. In XXXX PNC online bank statement I noticed that monies were not transferred into the trust account which still held a balance of {$0.00}. I called the PNC Investments 800 number and was told the Trust needed a written letter from her authorizing the transfer of funds. The letter was faxed in XXXX. In XX/XX/XXXX I noticed on the online bank statement the funds had still not been transferred. 

It has been my experience, that when some issue is at fault and that fault is that of the brokerage, insurance or banking institution, the stonewalling, verification do you have power of attorney fax us the paperwork before we can speak to you defensive posture occurs. I had conducted other banking transactions without this vetting process and it is usually when asked to whom I am speaking. By giving the account number and verifying the name on the account, I was able to learn that the XXXX XXXX  and letter of authorization were either not received or not in their computer as received. After I was accused of misrepresenting myself, I explained that I was performing a secretarial function not a fiduciary one, and that my POA was sent to them in XXXX. I then put my mother on the phone so that the customer service representative who never identified herself, could ask my mother if she gave me permission to speak to her regarding the status of the account. The conversation ended with a promise to email the documents after giving her an email address that was already on file and attached to the account. I never received the emailed documents. I then called the local representative and he said he would re-send the application. Needless to say I was/am furious. Repeating the six signatures and a notary stamp, when there must have been a XXXX XXXX record and tracking number, I explained to the local representative XXXX XXXX XXXX, and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. It is safe to say Mr. XXXX no longer responds to my messages and does not pick up his phone where I am concerned. 

The is not my first experience of bad faith and a lack of due diligence on the part of a financial institution. XXXX XXXX XXXX/XXXX XXXX also failed to process/electronically transfer funds as requested, while advertising {$600.00} incentives to establish brokerage accounts with their new affiliate XXXX XXXX. They did admit wrongdoing, after it was confirmed that I had power of attorney over the account, but by this time they had proved themselves unworthy of further investment of either time or money. Had the money been invested as instructed the account would have earned {$100.00} in 3 months ; a princely sum in the age of two hundredth percent interest rates on savings and checking accounts. 

When financial institutions collapsed the economy in XXXX due to fraud, greed and untrustworthy speculative financial instruments, they seven financial institutions and officials of the Federal Reserve, those officials signed two ( 2 ) sheets of paper and were quantitatively eased out of their pain with taxpayer dollars. They went on to grant themselves bonuses and carry on business as usual when they should have been looking at jail time. When an institution is not held accountable for its actions, it creates a false environment and engenders an arrogance conducive to making the same mistakes twice. These mendacious architects of fraud, now turn the table and project a presumption of fraud upon their customers and burden the customer with arbitrary verification, identification, authorization, witnessing administrative practices they do not hold themselves to. Further though the information technology exists to prevent this stonewalling, indeed these financial institutions regularly trade on the potential of these technologies to meet supply and demand. Yet these very same financial institution do not employ the very technologies they presume to manage the equity positions of. 

There is an attitude of unless you hold a million plus of these positions they will hardly pay you any attention. When they need your money they are in the bank, when flush with trillion dollar market valuations your mere {$50000.00} plus gets hardly a notice. There used to be Savings and Loan banks. There used to be commercial banks for commercial loans to manufacturers when this country actually made goods as opposed to imaginary services. We had to adapt to the financial circumstances we found ourselves in. Politics still subscribes to this narrative a world that no longer exists and we no longer have a narrative that comprehends the ways we are being transformed by third and fourth industrial revolutions. 

We do live with the social chaos of technology, we do seek out ways to preserve capital, when economic insecurity is the norm. Basic needs of food, shelter and clothing are ignored, or when given at all burdened with work requirements in an economy where wages are stagnant. It makes the investment institution attractive, since they are flush with cash. I have since XXXX XXXX XXXX a new letter of authorization. I do not trust PNC Bank or PNC Investments. If CFPB would monitor the administrative practices surrounding estate planning of the customers, I would appreciate it.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation