Consumer complaint received 2017-10-19
Company: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: NH
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Savings account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Problem accessing account

Complaint:
I recently purchased a home and shopped around for home insurance quotes. I eventually spoke to USAA and had a long conversation with a representative that quoted me a great price on home owners insurance if i bundled other products together. After a very lengthy conversation, I agreed to sign up for home owners insurance, auto insurance, a small personal value insurance and finally a savings account. While setting up the account, i expressed concerns about the lack of " brick and mortar '' establishments and I was told that i could do everything online or over the phone. I accepted and agreed to them creating the account. At no point whatsoever was there any discussion about identity verification. This occurred approximately XXXX XXXX. 

About a month after opening the account, USAA solicited me for a credit card account via email. Up to this point, I was happy with their product so I applied. After applying, I received an email asking for a front and back copy of my SSN ( social security number ) card. I called and explained that I was uncomfortable with this as i have had ID theft issues in the past. I was told they could not extend the credit without it and I was fine with that. The letter had a 10 day deadline so I asked what would happen then and was told they would close the application. 

Roughly 2 weeks after the above contact, I tried to login to my online banking and was locked out. I called USAA and was automatically transferred to the security department. I attempted to get my account unlocked and was told they would not do so unless I gave them a copy of my SSN card. They stated that they were required to do so by the US Government due to the patriot act. I asked where in the patriot act this was addressed and they refused to answer. I explained that locking access to my account not only blocked my ability to use my savings, but also all of my other products. I also advised them that they were accepting money from me for my auto insurance and my home insurance was prepaid for a year, yet i could not use them. I was repeatedly told it was due to the privacy act and no matter how many times i asked, I was not allowed to speak to another department. After countless hours, I gave up. 

Shortly after the above contact, I need to rent a trailer to transport a large purchase home. While my wife and kids were waiting in the car, I started the paperwork and was asked for my insurance information. I could not get it online, so I called USAA. I was again routed to the same department and they refused to give me any information until I supplied them my SSN card. I advised that I already paid for the service and they effectively were holding me XXXX. After [ literally ] hours on the phone I gave up and called back to establish new insurance. I spoke to a new gentlemen whom ; after hearing about my circumstance, placed me on hold. After another lengthy hold, he came back and gave me my member number and said thats all he could get. I asked if this was my insurance number and he said close enough. At this point, my children were very upset and i had reached what I thought was my maximum frustration level. 

I called back at a later date to talk to USAA and once again my call was directly intercepted and passed to the security team. I explained to a representative the circumstances and they promised to try to help. unfortunately, I had a call that I had to take and asked for a call back number to finish our conversation. I was supplied a direct number and told that this typically does not occur. I called the number back at a later time that day and discovered that it was not a direct number, but a local number to their call center. The person that called asked if it was an emergency after I asked to speak to the representative and I explained that it was a business call. I was placed on hold and the line disconnected. I called back and another person answered and was very rude. She advised me that i was not allowed to call this number and that she could refer the call to the police. I advised her that I would have no problem with that as I would love a written police report detailing as such and she backed off of her threat. I was finally transferred to the original representative and explained that I was very upset at how that call progressed. She apologized and told me that even though she should n't she would unlock my account. I thought this was the end of this. 

For months, I was able to use my account and I had not issues. Randomly, about 1.5 months ago my account accessed was once again locked out. I also got a letter that stated that my auto insurance was delinquent and that I had to make a payment immediately or it would be cancelled. I was confused as this account was setup for auto billing and there was plenty of money in my account. I called to try and figure this out and was again transferred to the security team. Once again, I was told that I was required to supply my SSN card or I could not access my account or even speak to the insurance department due to the patriot act. I told them my concerns as well as the fact that I read the patriot act and there was no reference to insurance providers. I explained that I was taking a road with my wife and children and wanted to insure that I was covered. I was told to supply the SSN or nothing would occur. This was one of many conversations that I devoted hours towards. I was never able to confirm if I had insurance and had to go on a road trip with my wife ( and young children ) with this uncertainty hanging over me. 

Upon return from my trip, I again started to reach a resolution with USAA. I called and was finally given a number to the " office of the president/CEO '' and was told they could help. I called over there and spoke to someone that stated they needed to transfer me. I asked that they did not transfer me as I keep reaching the same department and they wont help. I was transferred anyway and sent back to the security team. the security team transferred me to another department. These calls and transfers occurred over a 30 minute period. After my final transfer, I asked if the call was being recorded and was told yes. i advised that i lived in NH and this was a dual party consent state and that this was an issue. There was no response to this complaint either. Over the next week, I probably invested over 10 hours into this issue. 

I continued to call back and escalated a call to a supervisor named XXXX. I explained the situation and XXXX kept referring to policies and refused to answer. He kept being coy with his answers and refused to try and assist. He would repeat himself over and over even if the response had nothing to do with my question. I repeatedly asked him to stop and he refused. This was the most abusive call i have ever had to deal with in a professional capacity. I asked for his manager and he told me his job was to take the call and not pass it no matter what. He also told me that no one higher than him would speak to me but deferred to other departments when i explained my issue. I told him that if i was given information up front about this false and deceptive policy, I would never have moved my account over. I also told him this issue never occurred until i responded to an unsolicited email asking for a credit card application and that this is not due to policy as my wife is on the account and has not been locked out. Finally after about three hours I advised him that i was recording the call and that I was going to file a compliant. His attitude changed [ slightly ] and he said he would escalate this for a call back from a manager and that I should hear from them in a week. That call never occurred. 

I also think that USAA/XXXX decided to retaliate for my complaint calls as the lone thing that actually worked on my account was my ATM card. I took my kids to the fair and attempted to withdrawal money only to be met with an " ineligible account '' error. This caused me to have to use another account ( multiple times due to the small ATM limit ) that does not have ATM fee forgiveness. So after all of the above, they also caused me to incur undue fees. The reason that I say this is retaliatory, is that my wife 's account ( that i established at her request and who has never supplied ID documents ) account is still active. 

I also plan to file this same compliant for each individual product as this is not isolated to just my savings account.

Company public response: Company believes complaint is the result of an isolated error
Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief