Consumer complaint received 2018-09-15
Company: SUNTRUST BANKS, INC.
State: MD
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Other banking product or service
Issue: Problem with a lender or other company charging your account
Sub-issue: Transaction was not authorized

Complaint:
I refinanced my house in XX/XX/XXXX. When we did, our mortgage broker used SunTrust Mortgage. The mortgage, which was a traditional 30-year fixed rate mortgage, did not allow us to get traditional coupons or monthly statements, and instead required an online payment. We visited a SunTrust to set up the process so that we could make payments to the mortgage electronically when we wanted because we did not want to transfer all of our existing banking to SunTrust bank. The XXXX, MD branch of SunTrust helped us, and apparently - although now we have come to understand they did not providing us all the information - set up an account to permit that XXXX XXXX XXXX banking ). I have come to learn in the past few weeks that the account requires a balance of {$10000.00} to avoid fees, or a mortgage with auto pay. Since we had the latter it was set up. It was not explained that how the account worked because the bank was focused on the mortgage and the refinance, not the bank account. All online accounts were via the mortgage account. There was never any communication from SunTrust about this bank account because it was simply to pay the mortgage. We checked mortgage information and such through the online portal. There was no link to the checking account that we knew about. There was always a buffer of several hundred dollars in the account. When we sold the house and moved in XXXX, we opened a mortgage with another bank. Suntrust, without any warning, email, phone calls, or any follow ups began charging $ XXXX. They continue to do so to this day, saying they gave notice in the account materials to open the online accounts. The internal regulations and procedures mean that we are liable for the deducted $ XXXX fees. They have been unwilling to refund them, though the branch I visited to get this appeal process within the bank started called the process shameless and gave me as much as they could. I filed an appeal. I was given {$34.00}. The branch ( which was the branch that gave me all the documents on the now grandfathered account type XXXX had refunded {$68.00}. The total charged was {$660.00}. I would like to get all the fees back, but the bank has been unapologetic for their approach, even though the mortgage portal and banking portal were not the same website. I have never worked with any bank - large or small- that simply does not follow up in any way when those types of circumstances change. I closed the mortgage, I still have a credit card ( though not for long ). In any event, the bank was clearly deceptive in how in how it approached the situation. It could have followed up. But they say they never follow up unless there is fraud. I highly doubt that - my other bank ( which is a similar commercial bank ) does. I do not know if the problem was in the branch or the corporate - but I should not be the one who bears the cost of their incompetence.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation