Consumer complaint received 2023-04-05
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: CA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Problem using a debit or ATM card

Complaint:
On XXXX  I opened my Kabbage Business Checking account. I made my first three deposits on XX/XX/XXXX ( {$100.00} ), XX/XX/XXXX ( {$5000.00} ), and XX/XX/XXXX ( {$5000.00} ). I made these deposits online before receiving my checking debit card from Kabbage. 

According to USPS, my Kabbage debit card was delivered in the mail around XX/XX/XXXX. I did not have a chance to activate my card before it was stolen. On XX/XX/XXXX, at XXXX XXXX, I received an email from Kabbage confirming a recent request to set or change my Kabbage debit card PIN. Since I had not yet tried to activate my card or set a PIN, I was confused and unsure if the email was sent by mistake or not. The email prompted me to take action to contact Kabbage right away. At XXXX XXXX, I sent an email to the instructed Kabbage email address clearly stating that this PIN set/change request was not made by me. 

From XXXX, unbeknownst to me, there was a series of fraudulent transactions on my card, which I had not yet activated. Whoever stole the card was able to activate the card and set a PIN pretending to be me. All of the fraudulent transactions took place in the cities of XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, and XXXX, CA, which are about XXXX miles east of where I live ( XXXX XXXX, CA ). I have personally never traveled to any of the cities where the fraudulent transactions took place. 

On Tuesday XX/XX/XXXX, I logged into my Kabbage account to find my account completely drained of my initial deposits and the interest they had accumulated - {$10000.00} to be exact ( leaving behind only {$0.00} ). I immediately checked my home and belongings for the card and saw that it was nowhere to be found. I called Kabbage to report the fraud, but it was outside of their customer service phone hours. At XXXX XXXX, I sent an email to Kabbage notifying them of the fraud. I then went to my local police station and waited in line to file a police report at XXXX XXXX. 

I did not hear back from Kabbage, so I called their customer service line the following morning on XX/XX/XXXX and filed a dispute case. I received two letters from Kabbage dated XX/XX/XXXX - one that granted {$310.00} of the dispute case ( non-PIN-based transactions ), and another that denied the remaining {$9700.00} of the dispute case ( PIN-based transactions ). I refiled the denied dispute case on XX/XX/XXXX and mailed Kabbage supplemental information regarding my case. I also requested supplemental documentation that Kabbage used in making their denial decision. 

In a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, Kabbage sent me documentation that included a series of false claims in their " rationale of decision, '' including that I had failed to contact customer service and report a fraud scenario, and that my account was funded by a small business loan neither of which is true. Their " rationale of decision '' also included several claims relating to the PIN and card activation, though I had made abundantly clear that I did not activate the card nor set a PIN prior to it being stolen. 

Based on the rationale information they gave me, I refiled the dispute case on XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX, each time submitting supporting documentation. I received denials from Kabbage each subsequent time. 

I would also like to note that Kabbage has made conflicting reports on my case status along the way. For example, on XX/XX/XXXX, I spoke to a customer service representative in the dispute department who told me that my dispute case had been granted, citing a letter they saw on their end dated XX/XX/XXXX claiming such, and that Kabbage would be crediting my account for {$9800.00} within 30 days. However, I later received a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX in the mail from Kabbage, again denying to grant my dispute case. 

To this date, Kabbage has refused to grant my dispute case for the remaining {$9700.00} of the initial {$10000.00} that was stolen from my account, which I reported within 10 days of the fraudulent transactions occurring. 

As for a witness to this series of events, you may contact XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX. 

Thank you, XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation