Consumer complaint received 2022-06-04
Company: TRUIST FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: CA
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem
Sub-issue: Their investigation did not fix an error on your report

Complaint:
Actions I have taken : Successfully have had all Late Fees waived and reimbursed to my account Disputed with all three Credit Bureaus with no luck ( Still waiting on XXXX results ) Filing complaint with CFPB Filing complaint with FDIC I would like the Late payment on XX/XX/XXXX to be taken off my credit reports bringing my account back into excellent standing. Considering my payment history prior and everything thats happened in the last XXXX years, I do not think this occurrence accurately reflects my trustworthiness as a borrower. 

Due to Covid Hardships, having recently graduated masters and moving countries during a pandemic, Truists ( BB & T ) XXXX month delayed and defective autopay system and the insufficiency notifying its customers of most recent account standings- My first bank/checking account is with BB & T ( Now Truist ) -which opened in XXXX. 
I opened the " Flexible Spending Credit Card '' account with them on XX/XX/XXXX. 
This account was closed in XXXX, ( with current status and no missing payments ) reason being : Fraud. I moved to the XXXX XXXX in XXXX for a two-year XXXX  ' Program. Sometime after moving, I realized that the card was used a few times in NJ. Over the phone, I was told that I HAD to close the account as this was the best option. Not knowing much about how credit worked back then and thinking I could just reopen the exact same card once I was back in the states, I agreed to this option. Looking back I was ill-advised by the agent and my credit score suffered for it. 

Fast forward to the end of XX/XX/XXXX ( Pandemic ), I am now moving back to the states with no money, car, place to live, job, job opportunities ( in my field ), or job history for the past XXXX years. 
The first thing I did was try to reopen the BB & T " Flexible Spending Credit Card '' and was informed that it does not work that way and that I'd have to apply again for a whole new card. Great. 

Fortunately, my credit score was sitting around 760 and there was a 0 % promo offer for their new visa rewards card for the first 12 months. I applied and was approved for a {$15000.00} Credit Limit.

This was the perfect situation. The 0 % promo was a gift and the only relief I received during re-integrating my life back into the states. I would throw everything on this card, and pay the minimum while I worked to re-establish myself. 
I charged all my living expenses to this card : Groceries, XXXX, and XXXX flights to California ( all of this can be confirmed via my bank statements. Will send upon request ). 

The Truist ( BB & T ) Checking account had been killing me with the required minimum maintenance fees for years and even more so now. 
In order to combat that, I went shopping for a No-Minimum requirement fee checking account. Ended up opening one with XXXX. Not only did they have {$0.00} Minimum fee requirements, but offered % XXXX Cashback for Checking accounts! Of course, it was an easy no-brainer. 
In the month of XX/XX/XXXX, I switch over the autopay checking account from Truist ( BB & T ) to Discovers checking, so that payments would be taken from there and I planned to finally close the Truist checking account ( with the min fee requirement ). 


I move to California in XX/XX/XXXX ( Pandemic ), living in hostels and XXXX. I now have XXXX more additional 0 % XXXX added with various banks in order to offset some of the utilization and have more credit available until I start working and can pay it off. 

Mind you, not only am I moving countries during a pandemic but also moving from my home state ( NC ) to California and financing a car. All within 2-3months. No help other than these 0 % APR Promo cards. 

XX/XX/XXXX California, I am employed but between work-related Covid shutdowns, getting XXXX  myself, and flying back to NC to help a family member who was hospitalized due to XXXX, I could only afford my income going to Rent and continue using CCs with 0 % APR to survive otherwise. 

I arrive in NC, at the end of XX/XX/XXXX ( to help a covid-sick family member ), and my Visa Rewards with Truist ( BB & T ) , is DECLINED. In my mind, the only thing it could possibly be was a fraud issue because they had frozen this card a couple of times within the last months due to the different states/regions I had been in. I decided to wait until I got back home ( California ) to call Truist because I know from experience I will be on hold 1-1.5hr easy before I speak to someone. Sometimes, Ive waited over only to be hung up on before Im able to speak with the agent.

With having to take care of family members and kids at this time, the brutal phone process with Truist ( BB & T ) was not something I had the time nor mental space for, so I just used the other credit cards that I had recently opened with 0 % promo offers. 

I call XX/XX/XXXX to have my card unfrozen due to fraud, and Im informed that the reason for the card being declined was that no payments were made to the card for almost two whole months. Im shocked. Not only does my score drop 230+ points but my credit limits on two different credit cards decrease by a total of $ 7k! I had no idea how to respond - Ive never been late before and had no inkling that that was the reason. After fumbling around my words/thoughts on the phone with the Truist agent, I pay the bill in full. 

For the two months that my autopay was inactive, the only correspondence they sent was via snail mail to an address, I was no longer living at. No email, text, no phone call, or alerts via the app. 
On the phone call on XX/XX/XXXX, I make all the necessary payments to bring my account into good standing and I also have them set up my auto payment because I did not trust their system to do it via the mobile app or website. 

A few weeks later, XXXX made aware that that payment over the phone on XX/XX/XXXX did not actually complete resulting in yet another new late charge on XX/XX/XXXX. 
Again NO phone calls, or alerts! Even handling it over the phone with an agent still didnt afford to notify me right away when something went wrong! I think its reasonable to say throughout every phase of this situation with Truist, that none of this was on purpose and I clearly intended on paying my bills on time as I had done so for the last 10 years. 

On XX/XX/XXXX This call results in me now paying two-three months ' worth of pay plus the fee. 
Also, on XXXX report, it is reporting this XXXX late payment as 60 days late, not 30. XXXX didnt update this as a result of their investigation. 

In XX/XX/XXXX, once again the autopay system strikes again, this time on your end. My auto payment is canceled by your system and Im hit with another late payment. Truist did gracefully accept fault for this and reimbursed me the late fee, but sadly it still shows up in this year 's incurred late fees section on my bank statements.

Luckily, I had been keeping an eye on my account because the letter sent informing me of this system error, I received well over a month after my payment was due. I cite this incident to point out that mistakes can happen, even in near-perfect computer systems. The difference here is that I am human ( destined for mistakes ) with lasting consequences to my credit when honest mistakes do occur and no chance to rectify them before it's too late.

Please I ask having been a loyal Truist ( BB & T ) customer for over 13 years, opened my first checking account here - to show leniency. Help in striking the XXXX XXXX late payment from my credit reports. I will be forever grateful and promise to be diligent in making sure future payments arrive on time as I had done so thoroughly prior to this incident. 
In addition - I have paid down the FULL Truist Credit Card balance as of XX/XX/XXXX. I went from a balance of $ 10k and now its at {$0.00}. Which was no small feat as a recent Grad student returning home from a different Country during the pandemic. 

This late payments incident of fall XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX, snowballed from a rational attempt at switching my Autopay Payment account from a required minimum, fee-based checking account ( Truists ' ), to a no minimum Checking account ( XXXX ). I was not made aware of the unique time delay it would take Truists ' autopay to kick in. 
The over-the-phone transactions/autopay setup with Truist representatives ( XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX ) left me an assurance that everything was squared and in proper order. 
If a payment is reversed or an autopay fails, I strongly believe snail mail should not be the first course of action to deliver the notice. Not only the first course but the ONLY course. In regards to this specific, crucial time-sensitive, account activity that has a major impact on future financial decisions/opportunities, for years down the line- I had the expectation that it would be treated as such. Snail mail alerts provide no opportunity to rectify honest mistakes. Even more so since the delay of the US postal service caused by the pandemic. 

The thought that I will have XXXX years before it falls off my credit report is worrisome. Not to mention, the credit-dependent products ( House, Car, Credit Cards ) I do not qualify for in the meantime due to it being on my report and having an insufficient credit score. 

Considering my prior excellent payment history, the attempts at rectifying issues once made aware, and the pandemic thats happened in the last XXXX years, I do not think this accurately reflects my trustworthiness as a borrower, and I humbly ask for Truists ' help in rectifying this. 

Thank you to those at CFPB and Truist Bank who have taken the time to read my story and invest efforts on my behalf.

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