Consumer complaint received 2019-01-24
Company: FIFTH THIRD FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: OK
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: CD (Certificate of Deposit)
Issue: Closing an account
Sub-issue: Funds not received from closed account

Complaint:
XX/XX/XXXX My father opened a CD for his first great grand child. It was at 5/3 Bank in a XXXX   County, Illinois, branch office. I was the custodian. Every few years the bank would send a letter saying there was no activity so it was going to be closed and sent to the state. I remember talking to XXXX, at XXXX XXXX, the first time it happened. 
This past summer I got the letter again. I called like always. The woman I spoke to said that banking laws required the closure after so many auto renewals. That made sense and was the first time I heard that. I decided that I was really tired of the bank and I needed to close it when it matured. I told her that. 
That started another hassle. Every call I made to see if I could get the CD closed on maturity was met with different answers. I asked that it be closed and the check sent to me. I was told that I needed to be at a branch to close it. I live in Oklahoma while the CD resided in Illinois. We do not have 5/3 here. After many calls I reached someone who said there was a closure form. About a month or so later the form came. By itself in an envelope. No letter. No address of where to return it to. I didnt feel bad about it since it didnt mature until XX/XX/XXXX. I had time to call and get an address. 
I got the letter of account activity XX/XX/XXXX saying interest was added on XX/XX/XXXX. I checked over the auto phone line and the account was closed. I waited a few days and started calling to see where the check was. People I spoke with during that time were XXXX, XXXX ( who sent me to a phone that never answered ), someone I never could understand their name, once I never got through to anyone, and XXXX  who was very nice. All these I got via XXXX. I was getting disgusted. I waited for the check. 
XX/XX/XXXX I tried a different tactic and called a branch in XXXX at XXXX XXXX XXXX, got XXXX at XXXX. 
XX/XX/XXXX I spoke to XXXX at the same number. The story went that the check had been sent. It never arrived here. They then said they would put a stop payment on it and send another ( that also never arrived ). 
XX/XX/XXXX XXXX got busy with a medical issue. I didn't make any calls. 
XX/XX/XXXX I called XXXX XXXX and got info that included another department, and that XXXX XXXX closed the cd ( off of a list provided to him from another department ) and sent the money to either Illinois or Oklahoma. That day I spoke with XXXX and XXXX. I was told that XXXX was the person correcting the problem. XXXX at XXXX XXXX XXXX could not help so I called XXXX and got XXXX XXXX. I tried both Illinois and Oklahoma unclaimed funds but found nothing. I even spoke to XXXX at the Oklahoma office for the unclaimed funds. She said that nothing sho wed the XXXX or XXXX name on it. 
XXXX XXXX said he would track it down. I told him I needed this resolved in 30 days since I had started in the summer and since XXXX the CD was closed and we didnt have the money. 
XX/XX/XXXX It was 30 day so I called back and XXXX still didn't have an answer. I called for XXXX XXXX ( since he was the last person to see the money and should understand his process ) at XXXX and got XXXX who tried to tell me that I needed " to understand ''. Nope. That popped the last nerve. She got cursed. XXXX and I spoke and he told me that his branch manager sent it to the President 's office  resolution team and to call back Tuesday unless they call me. I have never gotten a call from XXXX XXXX, the branch manager for XXXX XXXX, even though I left a request at XXXX. 
XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX called from XXXX and said the check went to Oklahoma unclaimed property. I had looked there since XXXX ( also looked at Illinois ) and it had not been there. Oklahoma can't find it today. Previously I spoke to a person at the unclaimed fund in Oklahoma who said they show nothing in our name. XXXX and I played back and forth while I called XXXX at the OK Treasurer 's Office. XXXX in Oklahoma said they need the report that came with the money that included the date the money was sent, the name, and dollar amount. XXXX kept saying that she can not give me a copy of the check they sent to Oklahoma. ( She tells me that XXXX XXXX spoke to me. She also says XXXX spoke to me. I have never heard from either of those people. ) XXXX finally said that Oklahoma cashed the check on XX/XX/XXXX. I was told today with XXXX XXXX will call me tomorrow. ( To this day I never have heard from that person. ) XX/XX/XXXX A great thing happened when I spoke to XXXX at the Oklahoma Treasurers Office. She told me that the 5/3 Bank uses a third party clearing house for unclaimed funds so there is no individual item sent from 5/3 to Oklahoma. It goes through a third party named XXXX ( sic ). Oklahoma shows nothing identified as XXXX or XXXX, and Oklahoma has NOT received anything from 5/3 in over one year. 
I gave that info to XXXX who says XXXX will call me. I left XXXX XXXX a message of the trail for the money. 
XX/XX/XXXX I got a call from XXXX at the Oklahoma Treasurers Office. The money is in the unidentified ownership fund in Oklahoma. I believe that Oklahoma was able to find it by the amount. I called XXXX to let her know. 
XX/XX/XXXX I got a call from XXXX on the line that may be recorded and she told me that they resolved the issue. I told her that the entire issue was caused by them, compounded by them, and resolved by Oklahoma. She kept talking about how they sent the money to Oklahoma while I tried to educate her on the clearing house idea. She kept saying that she didnt know about a third party so I told her that if the bank wants to take credit for screwing this all up I was fine with that. I asked how they were going to prevent this from happening in the future to other people and she had nothing other than my issue was resolved. 
XX/XX/XXXX I sent off the papers to the Oklahoma Unclaimed Property fund. Still no call from XXXX. 
All along this process I was told that I had to understand or I was misinformed of what happened. I was told that I didnt do what the letters told me to do even though I did. No one was able to pass me on to a place that could help. Even after I got escalated to this presidents problem group I saw that one hand doesnt know what the other is doing. I am almost afraid to total up my phone time on this but I probably will just to see what it turns out to be. 
I am hopeful that after 4 months my grand daughter will get the money her great grand father put in the CD for her.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation