Consumer complaint received 2020-11-18
Company: SANTANDER BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: PA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Problem using a debit or ATM card

Complaint:
On the date XX/XX/XXXX i logged in my banking account with the Santander bank and noticed an unauthorized atm transaction of the amount of XXXX  made on this exact date as XX/XX/XXXX, i went ahead and tried to contact the Santander bank over the phone to see why i was missing XXXX on my account that was made on atm and let them know I dont recognize this transaction so they went ahead to start up a new claim and report my card as lost/stolen at the same time the representative of the Santander bank said the claim couldnt be solved by phone and that i had to go to one of my local branches to submit the claim and i could do that on the following Monday or next day of that phone call, i did as i was told and went to submit the claim physically to the branch and i was asked questions like how i lost the card or when was the last time i seen the card and i responded I havent seen it since the same day i activated the card and I couldn't remember if I've lost it at home or my own car, they told me a new debit card was going to be mailed to me within 10 business days to my mailing address and that the claim was already submitted, on the same week i call to get a response of the claim already made that XXXX2020, and they told me over the phone no claim has been submitted which I responded i did submitted the claim physically at the branch as i was told over the phone, they proceed to start a new claim on that XXXX/20 and i was very upset because i been submitted the claim and they just didnt follow up as corresponded, so after several days after making multiple phone calls to the claim department of the Santander bank me asking about the already submitted claim for the unauthorized transaction of the total of XXXX I was told to wait until couple more days because the claim was being investigated and they didnt have an update yet, i did as i was told and after calling again not knowing when exactly i had to call again i was always told to wait and call again another day, so finally one day after all the calls for the update of the claim i was told my claim is denied for inconsistency and after reviewing the phone calls I've made to the bank, and i asked why is it being denied when all I've done is as they asked me and i responded every question to the top of my knowledge on what I remember and they responded the same so they made me fill up a new claim with more details which wasnt the case of the first claim and i was asked if i had the pin attached to the card which in reality i did but they never asked me that on the first claim and they said it was that persons fault for not asking me details as that, so again, after filling up the second claim and giving deep details and after being retaliated as a client and me saying all i know from this they was proceeding to make the claim for me, and they asked me details like which date I've lost the card and i said I didnt exactly know but for sure it was after i activated it on the mobile app as i was told on the branch before receiving the card, then they kept asking me questions like if i knew anyone that could have access to my car or house and i responded no, they asked me if i shared the pin of the card and i said no, and after multiple questions and so many things I barely remember that  they were asking  me I they submitted the second claim for me, so like the first claim i always tried to keep in touch with the bank to get updates of the claim status and after being on hold for several minutes and being transferred from one department to another they always said i had to wait a little more for the claim to be completed which is ok for me but at the same time frustrating because the fact of my money being stolen from my card had me suspicious of who couldve been or how and until this day i have no idea how it really happened and on the date XXXX/20 i get a letter on the mail saying my first claim was denied for inconsistency when the letter didnt say how i could dispute that or resolve my issued instead it said it was denied and they wont refund my money that was stolen from my account, so 2 days after that i call to get an update of my second claim already made and i wad told that my second claim was denied too because of no wrong pin being put and for inconsistency, at this point im al ready frustrated not knowing what to do because i did everything i was told by the bank as: submitting claims, making phone calls, giving specific details of the situation even though i don't know the day i activated the card that im more than sure that time was when I've last seen the card and lost it or misplaced it, and they kept asking me on the phone for an exact date of when I've lost it and i kept telling them i wasn't sure they would just say my claim is denied and they wont be refunding me the money to my account and there is nothing they can do and if i was to submit another claim or dispute it the results would be the same as denied, so i asked them what could i do as a client to resolve the issue and try to get my money back that was stolen from my card and its me saying this because as a 20 years old with not many funds, XXXX dollars could not be a lot for anyone but for me its a lot since its what i had as saved on that account and literally more than a week of hard working in a ware house putting in lots of late night time and consistent hard work, and after my money being stolen from my card or account and the bank not covering my back as a client is frustrating on top of them using tactics to get away from refunding me or covering me on the unauthorized transaction me not knowing what else i could do i fond out about how i could put a complaint by this way and try the hardest to try to get my money back so up to this date i just cant trust Santander bank anymore and i even told them im being pushed to close my account with them, and take the little funds i have in my account but not before trying every resource i could have to try to solve the situation in a proper manner so this was almost everything that happened in several days and there could be a lot more just that i cant think on top of my head of exact dates and times but even like that, after the Bank being clear that i wont get the situation solved and after being looked like a farsante in my opinion as a client it shouldnt be that way in no manner with nobody.

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