Consumer complaint received 2022-03-22
Company: CADENCE BANK
State: FL
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
I was scammed XX/XX/22 & am STILL trying to understand how this came about & esp. the very disturbing lack of ANY support, whatsoever, from both my bank, BancorpSouth ( now Cadence ) & XXXX ( XXXX XXXX XXXX-this name is exactly what they are NOT ). In trying to purchase a software program relating to my industry, I contacted a company of whom I had done business with in the past & was very comfortable with them. I called & sure enough, they had the data I was in search of. She ( XXXX XXXX was having some sort of problems with processing credit cards at the time, so asked if I could use XXXX. What is XXXX, I asked. I DID recall its XXXX  posted directly on to our BancorpSouth accounts, & had wondered what it was. I looked it up, &, after reading that it was SAFE, with XXXX, fast, easy, etc., I felt there would be no harm in doing so. So, on XX/XX/22, I placed the order, recd confirmation, tracking number for XX/XX/22 delivery, and felt all was fine-that is until XX/XX/22 came & went with no shipment, tracking showing it was sitting in the state next door. Then, an email appears from this supposed shipper, XXXX ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ) ; a XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, along with shipping company XXXX XXXX listed below it at # XXXXXXXX XXXX  site states they partner with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX XXXX is listed as having site : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  Phone : XXXX in XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. This email explains that they can not deliver my shipment, because insurance needs to be paid in the amount of XXXX {$500.00} upon delivery, of which I will receive back a certain %. My heart sunk & I could not understand for the life of me, HOW I could have been duped like this. I immediately called this vendor, who I then couldnt reach-only received texts such as, Its not us, its the Shipper, & Theres nothing we can do at our end, although my shipment INCLUDED insurance/100 % money-back guarantee, etc., for a total price of {$490.00}. I also called BancorpSouth, to no avail, as they had already closed for the day. This was a XXXX. On XXXX I had to leave the house early & didnt return until late afternoon, then checked emails where there was one from BancorpSouth ( where you have to log in to their encrypted emails ). This email said, Did you change the name of the XXXX on XXXX? If yes, disregard, if no, notify me immediately at XXXX. I can help you. This was their fraud dept. I called at once, able to reach NO ONE! They closed EARLY on XXXX, closed XXXX I reached out to anyone imaginable. I did get a hold of XXXX, only to learn their site had been hacked, they never received payment, so it must have gone to this CRIMINAL, who was somehow able to change the name on XXXX to XXXX XXXX at XXXX. The amount was ALSO changed to reflect {$690.00}, not the {$490.00} I agreed to pay. On XXXX, XX/XX/22, I called BancorpSouth/Cadences fraud dept. first thing & got XXXX, a Supervisor, explained all. He told me that they would investigate & get back to me within 2 wks. With their decision. Meanwhile, this XXXX site had since been altered, with XXXX and her contact information changed, & my software program nonexistent. I then continued to call & text this IMPOSTER/CRIMINAL & finally received a response from someone claiming to be from the Real company, apologizing over & over, that they had a mix-up, but that if I called # XXXX, this dept. would straighten it out. I responded, No, Im done with you, Scammer. I refuse to involve myself further in your SCAM. It is not for me to fix, & of course never heard from the CRIMINAL again. I also noticed another name on the XXXX site ( which had an attachment ), with the name XXXX XXXX, XXXX. 

On XXXX, XX/XX/22, TWO days after filing my complaint with XXXX, I received a letter in the mail from this office in XXXXXXXX XXXX. It said, We have completed our investigation of your dispute dated XX/XX/22 of the transaction ( s ) listed below : Transaction Date : XX/XX/22 / Amount : {$690.00}. Based upon our INVESTIGATION, the results have concluded : *We are unable to continue with the dispute process. *Documentation determines you participated in authorizing the transaction ( s ), & *The dispute case file has been closed. This was dated XXXXsame day I gave all of the info to XXXX! Not at all relieved, or convinced in any way that they actually INVESTIGATED, I called again for a higher-up, with more experience & was given the name XXXX XXXX XXXX She was supposed to return my call, but never did. I spoke to Managers at our local branch, who, try as they may, also came out empty-handed, embarrassed & apologetic for their companys pathetic response. They were all STUNNED that BancorpSouth would not work with me, but they could do nothing here at the local level. They actually knew little to nothing about XXXX themselves. 

After writing certified letters to BancorpSouth/Cadence XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX explaining all-NO RESPONSE. I attempted to reach BancorpSouths XXXX, XXXX XXXX ( spoke to his assistant, XXXX, who said he would return the call ), of course never hearing from him or anyone else. We have been XXXX customers with this bank for XXXX years, both with personal & business accounts, own stock in both banks ( until they merged to Cadence ) & threatened to shut all down. No response. I reiterated their company bio, since obviously, they had forgotten it, We provide innovation that transforms financial experiences-innovation that transforms lives. More than XXXX companies rely on our INTELLIGENCE to open new accounts, GET IN FRONT OF FRAUD, and move to faster payments. They also, in writing, lie that One has to SIGN UP for ACTIVE SERVICE with XXXX-another lie. Again, this XXXX account was WIDE OPEN! I never even checked a check-box to accept some disclosures. XXXX management also blew me off with their formatted, get lost letter. 

I was not about to quit, and still refuse to. Its not so much about the money as it is about feeling violated by not only the CRIMINAL ( XXXX ), but also by BancorpSouth/Cadence & XXXX XXXX I explained to them that it seemed clear to me that their main focus was to service the CRIMINAL. FDIC-insured, EFTA, blah, blah, blah, & asked them why, if they such a TRUSTWORTHY, CLIENT-BASED operation, would they succumb to lowering themselves & cohering with an obviously dangerous & unstable group such as XXXX, who, owned by the XXXX XXXX ( too big to fail that we bailed out ), with their grandiose XXXX XXXXt about to launch? 

Bottom line is, obviously BancorpSouth/Cadences online Security/Fraud lady saw something odd, out of place come through when she sent the email to me. What is unforgivable is that, had she called or texted my CELL PHONE & not sent a lame bank-encrypted email, I could have shut this down immediately. Yes, they, too are at fault! Then she goes home, this bank is CLOSED the rest of XXXX & all day XXXX, so these CLIENTS THAT ARE SO NEAR & DEAR TO THEM have NO ONE to contact in the case of an emergency such as this. Even we, at our business, are available for customers XXXX. 

Since, I have been hearing & reading MULTIPLE complaints from victims of XXXX recklessness & refusal to assist, as well as the banks ; but they will brag that they are tied in with a bank, making one feel they are safe. This, to me, is a fraudulent, fake, & again, DANGEROUS LIE! I then received a rather snarky letter on XX/XX/22 from a XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX, again, adding salt to my wounds, blaming ME completely, as well as writing many untruths. This XXXX XXXX that was posted to our personal & business accounts, was wide open. Her explanation of how safe & secure it is, and how I had to go through all sorts of Verification Steps is an outright lie. IT WAS WIDE OPEN. We just thank God ALL of our accounts had not been hacked sooner due to their low-level security & unconscionable lack of concern for the very clients keeping them in business. 

I spoke to a XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/22, who yet again, told me a Manager would call me back. I actually DID receive a call from XXXX XXXX XXXX, Call Center Online Supervisor on XX/XX/22 to whom I explained the whole, disgusting story to once again. She was to call me back after seeing what she could do within a couple of days. Its now XX/XX/22. She, nor anyone else ever called back. I tried to reach her, to no avail, via phone & emails. This sad saga continues.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation