Consumer complaint received 2022-11-12
Company: FIFTH THIRD FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: MI
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Fee problem

Complaint:
XX/XX/XXXX I filed a complaint with CFPB and the Office of the comptroller stating the following : On XX/XX/XXXX I attempted to open a checking account that offered a {$300.00} bonus with a direct depo sit within 60 days. In XXXX of XXXX i received a letter for 5/3 bank that stated that they were u nable to open a new account until i personally visited a branch with documents to prove my ide ntity. I completed this request and was able to open an account on XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX a qu alified direct deposit was received by the bank to complete the offer for the {$300.00} bonus as adver tised. The bank refuses to honor this advertised offer stating that the offer had expired because a direct deposit was not received within the first 60 days. This is a false statement because i was not able to open an account until XX/XX/XXXX. However their records only show me opening an acco unt in XXXX. This is false as they refused to open an account until I verified my Identity. Th e bank is refusing to honor the terms of the agreement and issue me the {$300.00} bonus credit dispit e the fact that i fully met all requirements for the offer On XX/XX/XXXX Fifth Third bank responded in writing stating : " Dear XXXX XXXX XXXX : We received a copy of the complaint you filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) regarding your checking account. We appreciate the time you have taken to document your thoughts and concerns. 
On behalf of the Bank, please accept my sincere apologies for any frustration this matter may have caused you. It was certainly not our intention to cause you any hardship. We strive to provide an exceptional experience to our customers, and I am sorry we did not meet these expectations. 
When you opened your XXXX XXXX  Checking account ending in XXXX, the Bank offered a promotional campaign for customers opening a new checking account. The new checking account had to be opened by XX/XX/XXXX, and meet certain activity criteria in order to receive the bonus payout. Specifically, the account had to have direct deposits totaling {$500.00} or more within sixty ( 60 ) calendar days of account opening to receive {$300.00} of the bonus. 
Please be assured that we have researched this issue fully and found that this account did not qualify for this promotion due to the direct deposit not being established within the sixty ( 60 ) calendar days of the account being opened. However, a subsequent review was conducted, and while your direct deposit was established outside the promotional timeframe, the Bank determined unforeseen delays with Social Security direct deposits was outside your control. In the interest of customer service your account was credited with the {$300.00} in promotional funds on XX/XX/XXXX. I hope this meets with your satisfaction. Thank you for your patience while we researched this matter for you. If I could be of further assistance to you, please contact me directly at XXXX, or toll free at XXXX, Monday through Friday, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX. '' However as a direct result from fifth third banks initial failure to honor this {$300.00} promotion as advertised caused additional damages of {$290.00} including 4 {$37.00} overdraft fees as well as 6 {$25.00} Extended overdraft fees totaling {$290.00} in fees I had to pay that I would of not had to pay if they had honored the original promotion at the time i met the requirements for the promotion.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation