Consumer complaint received 2020-05-04
Company: PNC Bank N.A.
State: IL
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
I was searching for an apartment and the " owner '' of the home reached out to me regarding the home. He told me he moved to Florida and was working with a realtor who inflated the prices of the home so he decided to place the ad on XXXX. He told me due to Covid-19 that he was not allowing showings but we could drive by and see the place and check out the neighborhood. He sent me an application that I filled out which I completed. He told me if I am approved, he will mail me the keys since he was in Florida. I completed the application, he sent me a lease once I was approved, and I sent him the money for the security deposit and first month 's rent. Prior to sending him the money, I reached out to PNC on XX/XX/XXXX and asked them what would happen if I send money through the bank and I do not get any keys. The rep told me I can do a dispute to get the money back. At first, I tried to do the transaction through XXXX. I was unable to do so and called the bank again for assistance. I was transferred to another department. After a while, I sent the money through XXXX with the assurance from the rep that if anything fell through, I would be covered through the bank. I sent {$850.00} on XX/XX/XXXX and XXXX. Once the money was sent I was under the impression, the keys will be mailed out to me. He told me will mail me the keys and that is when I realized it was a scam/fraud. After he received the money, he asked for more money. I told him I was not sending him any more money and wanted my money back. He refused to give me my money back and proceeded he will send me the keys and I have not heard back from this person. Afterwards, I reached out to PNC and explained to the rep what happened ( XX/XX/XXXX ). She started the claim and told me to reach out to the XXXX dispute team to try and stop the second payment. The next day, I reached out to the XXXX dispute team and she marked the email address as fraud to prevent this from happening again to someone else. The following Tuesday XX/XX/XXXX, I called back to file a claim for the second {$850.00}. About 10 business days later, I received a letter that the dispute was declined based on findings. Under normal circumstances, I would not have sent money via XXXX. But since we are in a pandemic and people do not want to meet face to face, I was optimistic about the situation. I did not gain anything from this transaction except a loss of {$1700.00} and the service/agreement was not fulfilled. The bank has all of this verbiage on their website about reaching out to them if we fall victim and here is a victim and is unable to get a resolution. I attempted to do my due diligence by calling prior to sending the money and explaining my situation. The expert ( PNC ) didnt suggest that this may be a bad idea or sounded like a scam but instead attempted to help me ; on more than one occasion ; to assist me in sending the money so I can get this home. IF the calls are recorded, you can pull the recordings to see that I did reach out and explained what was going on.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation