Consumer complaint received 2021-10-16
Company: U.S. BANCORP
State: WA
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Confusing or missing disclosures

Complaint:
The exact issue I have with U.S. Bank is around the misleading and inaccurate information they provided. Due to their information, I took actions which ended up incurring financial damages to myself and my family, which could have been avoided had their practices been honest and straightforward. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I had received a check which I deposited into my account. The amount was for {$3900.00}, but ended up being a scam. 

I had been talking with " XXXX XXXX '' ( who ended up being a scam ), for a little over a week. The nature of the conversation was due to a roommate transfer. When the check came in, things started to seem odd. I began to question the validity of the transaction. I deposited the check via the " Mobile Deposit '' feature on the bank app. The message that comes up says, " you will be given a loan of {$220.00} until the check clears, at which time you will receive the remainder of the amount. '' I have deposited enough checks to know the process. So, I deposited the check and told " XXXX '' that no money was going to transfer until the check cleared. 

The next day, when I checked on my account, the money had gone in, and when I checked the status of the check, it had said cleared on it. After that, I concluded that the check was good and it was simply a strange situation. I proceeded with a money transfer with " XXXX '' at which time she sent another check for a different amount. 

Later that day, on XX/XX/XXXX, I checked the status of my account and saw that I had gone almost {$800.00} in the negative. It turns out the check was flagged for being a fraudulent check, and the {$3900.00} loan was pulled from my account. I immediately called my branch, and talked with them about the situation, which we stopped the second check from moving forward. She filed a fraud claim, and I had filed a report as well as claim with XXXX. When I checked the online portal, the check remained saying " cleared '' for 24 hours even after my checking account had the amount rescinded. 

I diligently checked the status of the fraud claim until it came back as " declined '' because I had willingly given the money. XXXX has yet to contact me at all, while U.S. Bank has simply told me that " this just happens '' or " yeah, I've seen this a lot. '' After getting the fraud case declined, I proceeded to try 3 different times ( twice calling, and once in the branch ) talking with U.S. Bank about a resolution to the misleading information and how I felt I was a victim of their poor practice. They said that the check was up to review for at least 5 days, and that U.S. Bank makes it a practice to give " good faith loans '' of the check amount. I had said that their information on the mobile app did not reflect that information, and that if I had known the specifics of bank to bank communications, I could have waited until the check was definitively cleared or declined. Instead, they said they would remove the {$19.00} bounced check fee because I had alerted them early enough. After being with them for well over 10 years, this feels like a slap to the face ; the least they could do is take responsibility for their verbiage instead of pushing blame. 

I am willing to accept that I had deposited a bad check and that I made a mistake. But when U.S. Bank gives specific information about the status of money - even to the point that XXXX is able to transfer money ( keep in mind, XXXX won't transfer an amount that is not in your checking account, which includes pending transactions )- I feel like U.S. Bank needs to update their practices and make right their misinformation. I do not understand how I am expected to trust a financial organization with these practices in an economy that is so digital and fast-paced.

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