Consumer complaint received 2021-06-07
Company: BBVA FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: FL
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Closing an account
Sub-issue: Funds not received from closed account

Complaint:
This is a complaint against Simple Bank and BBVA, which have failed to return to us our account balance of approximately {$7500.00} after the closing of Simple Bank. I will often offer approximate dates for events. The we in this complaint is referring to my wife and I, which each had an individual account and both shared a joint account with Simple Bank. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, funds were withdrawn from mine and my wife 's shared checking account with Simple Bank. This was related to Simple Banks ' closing. Simple was an asset of BBVA, and after their agreement with XXXX, BBVA was closing Simple. 

We were told over and over that XX/XX/XXXX was the transition date, and we intended to transfer our money out before XX/XX/XXXX. But on XX/XX/XXXX, with no prior notice, all funds were withdrawn by the bank. We were told that a check would be disbursed for the total of our funds and sent via mail, within 10 business days. 

By the end of XXXX, we had still not received this check. I called Simple on XX/XX/XXXX to ask where our funds were. They said they did not update the address so we didn't receive our funds. We had made an interstate move, but this explanation is not sound, because we had forwarded our mail weeks before the check should have been sent, have been receiving all of our forwarded mail, and have been able to see photoscans of the envelopes we are due to receive from USPS through a service they offer. We never received any sign that our check was coming. 

On that same phone call, XX/XX/XXXX, the customer service representative I spoke with from Simple said they would now ask that the check be disbursed, and that it would be another 10 business days. 

We never received any check. After XX/XX/XXXX, we were no longer able to directly reach Simple Bank and were instructed to call BBVA, as that was the date of their planned transition. 

During the last week of XXXX, we called BBVA asking about our check. The BBVA customer service agent informed us that they would need to fill out a form. We werent informed about what this form was. They said we would receive a call back from the relevant department ( fraud prevention, if I remember correctly ). 

On approximately Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX, over a week later, a XXXXBVA customer service agent called back to tell us we need to speak with the fraud department. According to BBVA customer support, there was a hold on our account. The support agent said that their fraud department was investigating our account, and that we would need to speak with them. 

The agent then transferred us to fraud. Fraud said they had no information on our account, and suggested that we be transferred back to customer service. Customer service received our account of the conversation with the fraud department, and insisted they should transfer us back. 

We went back and forth between these departments several times. At one point, a customer service agent once again said they needed to fill out a form. We informed this person that we had ALREADY been told this, and thats how we ended up on the phone with them. Then they transferred us to fraud, again. On this instance, their fraud department agent ( XXXX XXXX accused us of refusing to give information to customer service. 

IN general, BBVA staff are either unwilling, totally unprepared, hostile with us, or all three. We have been disconnected and transferred between several departments with no answer. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, we made another call to BBVA asking for support. BBVA seems to never take down any records or notes about our phone calls, and their customer service agents continue to be ignorant of our needs. In this case, we were transferred to a new department, which told us that the account in question was under investigation, because of transactions that were red-flagged. We were also told that this was done by Simple Bank, and BBVA doesnt have any information about it. We were told that in BBVAs systems, our money DOESNT EXIST. So that they have few options in this department and they would have to transfer us back to customer service. 

After gaining that last piece of information, we have been unable to move further and customer service continues to cycle us through the same pointless process, wasting everyones time. 


BECAUSE SIMPLE BANK has been closed, we have no access or documentation of our bank account numbers and can not access our account records any longer.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation