Consumer complaint received 2019-09-21
Company: TD BANK US HOLDING COMPANY
State: MA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Savings account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Banking errors

Complaint:
My complaint concerns TD Bank. I have been a customer in the XXXX area since XXXX, with checking, savings and credit card products. In XXXX of XXXX, I went in to my branch to update my Savings account to one with the best interest rate ( from their 'High Yield Savings Account ' to their 'TD Select Savings Account ' ). The savings account I chose had tiered interest rates based on the account balance, and a 'rate bump ' ( a higher band of interest rates at every tier for having additional linked accounts, like their Visa credit card ). I fulfilled all the requirements for their best interest rate, and left satisfied with the product I had signed up for. Since XXXX of XXXX, I have periodically monitored the interest rates by going to the TD Bank web site, and was pleased to see that they remained reasonably competitive. However, when I recently did the math based on interest credited to my account, I discovered that I was getting far less than the posted rate. This led to numerous phone calls and a trip to my local branch to try and get the issue addressed. No one at the bank or on the phone was able to accurately explain or resolve my problem, but I managed to piece together the following scenario ... 

In XXXX of XXXX, mere weeks after I opened my 'TD Select Savings Account ', they grandfathered ( retired ) this account  product and did not notify me. It was 'replaced ' with a product called the 'TD Preferred Savings Account ' with essentially identical features to the 'TD Select Savings Account ' ( including the tiered interest rates and rate bump features ). To my best understanding, the only thing that changed for this product is the name. When TD grandfathered my 'TD Select Savings Account ', they essentially froze the interest rate at the XX/XX/XXXX level, but the 'TD Preferred Savings ' rates ( advertised prominently on their website ) rose steadily as competition in the savings account market increased over the past couple years. Even worse, it is impossible to find information on the current rates and tiers for my 'TD Select Savings Account ' without making a special request - so this is  clearly an active suppression of information. I can not view this as anything other than a 'bait and switch ' scheme. Without telling their customers, they changed their product used to advertise their savings account rates and replaced it with something identical in all but name, but with lower interest rates. Not even their customer service representatives were able to easily spot the difference! In my case, this was mere weeks after I opened the account. Given that I keep all my emergency funds in this savings account, it has resulted in a significant loss of interest income over the past 2 years. I have talked to the store manager at my local branch, and multiple banking representatives at the branch and through their 24/7 phone support, and no one is willing to acknowledge wrongdoing or correct the issue in any way.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation