Consumer complaint received 2023-08-28
Company: TRUIST FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: TN
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Savings account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Banking errors

Complaint:
Truist practices age and gender discrimination. XX/XX/XXXX, interest rate paid on my money market account went up. I was in poor health. I had an account I trusted my bank would not cheat and keep at 0.01 % when they raised it on all the money market accounts. In early XX/XX/XXXX, I was advised by a branch out of town, that it was imperative I speak with a XXXX XXXX  since my % was still at 0.01 %. I was then given a call the next week with an appointment scheduled. Once I had the appointment, I was advised that this XXXX XXXX was not in my area and I would have to be routed back to my original XXXX XXXX who then scheduled an appointment. By the time I got that appointment, we were into XXXX. My interest was then raised to what the bank was offering everyone with this amount in their account. As it should have been back in XXXX. I asked repeatedly why mine was not raised to match everyone else with this account. It should have been automatic. 
I was told by the XXXX XXXX  for my area it was up to him and he hadn't had time to get to everyone. I advised this had lost me money and I was told there was nothing that could be done about that. Several times I was chastised because it took me so long to catch their mismanagement of my account and the weeks it took for them to get me to the right person, who then just ignored me and said too bad. 
Fast forward, I have been advising my branch every time I went in I had lost that money. Again, nothing was offered, any resolution, or option of a complaint. I kept asking what was the bank offering in % starting back in XXXX. All I could get was that in XXXX it went up to 2 something % and kept going up until it was in the 3 's % in XXXX. 
Finally after complaining since XXXX I had lost money because my XXXX XXXX  decided who got an increase and skipped over me. By not increasing mine, he had lost me about {$2000.00}. Finally a banker, XXXX, at my branch filed a complaint on my behalf. It was not the first time I had complained about this incident to him. 
Every time since, I have been told someone will call or make an appointment for me I hear nothing. I was afraid the XXXX XXXX  would retaliate for the complaint. During the XXXX to XXXX period when the complaint was finally filed, I have asked twice for an increase since rates went up and I was told by my XXXX XXXX that is the only way I can get an increase. It will not be automatic. It is at his discretion and he will have to get it approved. I have to send emails with attachments proving there is a brick an mortar competitor offering the amount in % I am requesting. I now have to watch constantly and beg for an increase. When I ask I am treated as a problem for asking. ( first I was increased from 0.01 to 3.68 on XX/XX/XXXX when everyone was already receiving 2 to 3.68 % starting in XXXX ) I was then given an increase to 3.85 % then 4.35 %. On both occasions, once the statement came in, the APY was never what I requested and have in writing that I had gotten the amount I had requested. 
XXXX XXXX, health impaired, females are treated as a pain, made to beg for an increase, and told they are lucky if they get anything. I was also chastised for asking a 3rd time for an increase. 
After 3 to 4 of weeks of filing the complaint, I got a very abusive phone call out of the blue with a regional person in customer resolution. He told me that was the end of this and they could not do anything. Basically yelling. I advised that was not acceptable. I was then told I would be receiving a call from my local branch representative who would make an appointment for me to speak with a XXXX  vice president. I never got that call. 
I finally got in touch with that representative, XXXX, who had moved to another branch. It took me 2 weeks to get him. He advised that was impossible since that higher up VP is not even in this region. I had been promised something impossible. He would tell his new branch manager, XXXX and also advise someone on my complaint about the abusive phone call. I never received any call or response from anyone since this last phone call. The only thing I have ever received is a {$50.00} credit to my account which is change compared to what was lost. This was back when the XXXX  customer resolution representative called me and blasted me for the complaint. 
I am still being disregarded, discriminated against, and marginalized. Throughout this whole ordeal, I have been told by various branches and personnel, including the XXXX XXXX, that the XXXX XXXX  has a lot of clients and they can't get to everyone. It is up to the customer to ask ( beg ) for an increase. This makes zero sense. This was not an introductory rate to get new customers. It was the interest rate for all the money market accounts. They decided, not telling anyone, that they would leave it up to their XXXX XXXX  to decide which customers they would contact and raise their interest rates. There is nothing ethical about this process. When you then follow their secret handshake model of business, they then chastise you for asking, and lie and give a different APY that what you asked for and told you in writing you got. The amount lost is substantial. 
XX/XX/XXXX, I went in person to move most of my money to a bank that lists it's rates and rules on fees. I left enough in both my checking accounts to not incur any fees till this CFPB complaint is resolved. I had been told by XXXX that I have to keep XXXX $ in accounts to not incur fees. As I was taking that money out, the teller advised she thought it was more. Thank goodness she checked. By chance, the XXXX XXXX who has not spoken to me about this complaint other than to tell me too bad, was filling in at this branch. She went and spoke to him, XXXX XXXX. He told her one had to keep {$5000.00} in order to not incur any charges. I told her I was thankful she checked and it was interesting he didn't care he was losing most of my deposit. On XX/XX/XXXX I got a {$15.00} maintenance fee which is how his financial advise usually turns out. Costing customers he doesn't value money because he discriminates. They have waved it this month, but next month it will accrue. This is because it takes {$10000.00} which I could have left. With {$5000.00} you have to have an ach which I have never had. He knew this nor did he care the outcome be positive. He also did this in the past when I opened a credit card for moving {$2000.00} in a transfer balance to a XXXX percent card. Once it was already opened, I found out before it cost me, that he had opened one that would charge interest on balances transferred. They did have a card that would have offered XXXX on a balance transfer. I got a card with another bank and now have two more instead of the one I needed. I have been in the hospital and this man has exacerbated my poor health. He is deliberately discriminating against XXXX, XXXX, females because he doesn't like having to work on our accounts. He wants to work with more affluent business men. He has purposely cost me about {$2000.00} interest, and wants to misguide me so I incur fees and never even get the interest he says he gets approved on my account. He can do this because Truist does not take any action and has well oiled regional representatives to call you and verbally abuse you on the phone while making false promises you can have a meeting with a VP. How can any of this behavior be FDIC? How can banking customers not get the interest rate all customers get, because they are under the jurisdiction of a XXXX XXXX  who decides who will and won't get the rate??? There is no place to look up any of the account rules either. That also goes through the XXXX XXXX. It's all hearsay. It is the Bank of XXXX XXXX will. I've always had a bank with rules not innuendo 's and secret hand shakes.

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