Consumer complaint received 2023-12-19
Company: PENTAGON FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
State: KS
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Problem making or receiving payments

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX I took an advance for {$3700.00} from my HELOC account with PenFed to my XXXX XXXX checking account, also with PenFed. I then set up the payee and a payment, a single payment, for that same {$3700.00} to pay off my XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX The card is managed by XXXX XXXX for XXXX XXXX. When I set up the payee the default name was " XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX '', clearly very generic so I changed it to " XXXX XXXX XXXX ''. I have email confirmations of each of those events. 

The payment date was supposed to be the XXXX of XX/XX/2023. On the XXXX of XXXX I received an email stating the payment has been refused by the bank as the funding account was closed. The email also stated that " as a courtesy '' the payment was covered. This was not the case, obviously, so I called PenFed to find out what was going on and the lady I spoke with confirmed the account was open and funded with enough funds to cover the payment. She then recommended I give it a few days to let what was obviously a system hiccup sort out. I then received another email stating that since they were unable to complete an electronic withdrawal from my funding account the bill pay funding account was blocked. I re-established the bill pay on the XXXX of XXXX and withing seconds got another email stating the account had been deleted. 

When calling to get information and to have this sorted out I found that TWO payments of {$3700.00} were made to my credit card company, even though I only scheduled one, so now my account was in the negative, - {$2900.00} to be exact. I spoke with very nice people on the phone and had repeated emails with an ineffective condescending XXXX named XXXX XXXX XXXX full last name not provided ) under Case # XXXX. I tried to explain that I only scheduled one payment and that it was to payoff the card balance so it would make NO sense for me to schedule two payments. I repeated frequently that this was a PenFed mix-up and asked for them to provide system logs to prove their assumption that this was my mistake. What XXXX did provide ( attached ) was an image easily falsifiable in XXXX  or XXXX that was incorrect as it shows a scheduled payment to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX created on XX/XX/XXXX, not to XXXX XXXX XXXX as I did. But they do show creation of a payment to XXXX XXXX XXXX on the XXXX, the day the payment was supposed to be made! Further I gave the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX default name a nickname the day I set them up as a payee. And I wasn't even in the system on the XXXX to schedule a payment. So they made a fraudulent payment ( one not set up or authorized by me ) and further one that should have been refused to begin with if it took my accounts into the negative. They have deleted the checking account and the debit card tied to it, blocking my access to it and the bill pay functionality which prevents me from having access to any account information to prove my case. They further will not provide any proof in the form of system logs or call recordings that demonstrate, contrary to my assertions, that I did in fact schedule/request two payments. 

So after a week of nonsense from PenFed refusing to correct the mistake they made I called XXXX XXXX credit card customer service and requested a refund of the negative balance ( credit amount ) back to the account that created this credit amount. I am including a picture of my credit card account page showing the duplicate payments and negative balance. They said it could take up to XXXX business days. I then called PenFed, I believe XX/XX/XXXX, and told them I fixed their screw-up and that the refund could take up to 17 days. Not 100 % sure about the date as I've had a LOT of calls to and from PenFed the past couple weeks. 

Fast forward to XX/XX/XXXX and I receive a letter in the mail stating that if I didn't bring the account positive in 10 days they would close my accounts, my credit card, my home loan and HELOC because they have made multiple attempts to contact me. Oh, and they were graciously not going to access a fee for my account going negative. Yes and I very clearly had already called to let them know what was going on so they clearly don't read account notes. 

So they should be investigated for performing fraudulent account activity with end user accounts that were not initiated nor authorized by the account holder. It XXXX to be in this position and feel betrayed by a XXXX XXXX that purports to be supportive of XXXX XXXX like me ( veteran ) and their families. If they just owned up to the fact that it was their mistake it would feel less skeezy on their part.

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