Consumer complaint received 2019-07-03
Company: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: WA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Deposits and withdrawals

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2019 I was contacted over the phone by a man who impersonated an agent from the IRS saying that accounts under my name were used to launder money and move money outside of the United States for XXXX trafficking. In addition, he told me that a rental car in my name had been found near the XXXX XXXX of Texas containing XXXX and XXXX stains. The man led me to believe that because it was my name on the accounts and the rental car was in my name I was the only suspect in the investigation and if it wasnt me it was in my best interest to help the investigation. The way that I could help the investigation was to show which accounts where mine. He told me that all accounts in my name will be frozen and the money will be confiscated as part of the investigation. If I wanted to prove which accounts were mine and to stop my money from being confiscated I should buy gift cards in specific numbers and dollar amounts. The man that contacted me told me that he would arrange a taxi for me to go make the purchases and told me to take specific amounts out of my checking using ATMs to pay for them. I did this in distress as I was feeling sick and scared. I fell for the scam and paid out {$10000.00} from my checking account and {$4000.00} on my credit card between XX/XX/XXXX and XXXX. It is my fault I fell for the scam and my fault I gave that money, however it appears that USAA may have violated standard banking procedure and their own policies. On XX/XX/XXXX, I called USAA to raise the limit on my debit card so I was able to purchase gift cards with a value of {$6900.00}. I made the call as the first attempt to make the purchase was declined by USAA and the man on the phone told me to call in and ask for the increase. I was told by the USAA agent that I had 48 hours to make that purchase of {$6900.00} at that XXXX   location in XXXX, WA in two purchases. Later I withdrew {$200.00} from an ATM to use on taxi, using the same card. On XX/XX/XXXX I purchased additional gift cards in the amount of {$3500.00} at the XXXX XXXX, WA XXXX on the same debit card as the day before, also I withdrew another {$100.00} from an ATM using that card again to pay for taxi, and made a {$4000.00} purchase of gift cards at the XXXX, WA XXXX XXXX on my credit card. All of this was under the instruction of the scam artist. 
After realizing I was scammed I called USAA on XX/XX/XXXX to see what I could do to potentially recover the lost money and to see what protection I have from USAA. During this phone call I asked to dispute both credit card and debit card charges. I was told that I could not dispute the credit card charges until they were posted. I then called XXXX   and XXXX XXXX gift card phone numbers to check the balances, which I found out were XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXXXXXX my parents came for a family visit and I told them what had happened. My Dad told me to contact the gift card companies and check to see if they had any kind of protection. I made the call and they said they do not but to contact the police immediately and that they would work with law enforcement and USAA. We then contacted the XXXX, WA police department and filed a complaint with them and XXXX XXXX, WA. We then contacted USAA to again see if they could or would do anything to help out, and to see what their policy on the debit card was. We talked to two different agents the first agent told us that I got a limit increase to {$6000.00} and one day to use it. I asked how did {$6900.00} then leave the account at that time and a total of {$10000.00}. We were then put up to an agent name XXXX who said she worked in the Fraud Dept. XXXX then proceed to tell us that it was a {$7000.00} limit and we had 48 hours to use it for the purchase at the first XXXX Store. We again asked how than did {$10000.00} leave my checking account in under 18 hours. We also informed XXXX that we filed a complaint with the Cities of XXXX and XXXX XXXX, WA and gave her the file numbers along with the police department phone numbers. We were also told by XXXX that I had only asked to dispute the credit card charges to which we could not dispute at this time, so we told XXXX that I did ask to dispute the debit card charges on XX/XX/XXXX and again asked them to do so now. XXXX stated that I was over 18 years of age and that it was my doing and there for my own problem. We again asked the same questions to which we did not receive an answer and that no one was there who could help us as to the late time. We called USAA back on the morning of XX/XX/XXXX and the first agent we talked to after telling the story told us that I had the one time credit limit increase to {$7000.00} on the XXXX and {$3000.00} on the XXXX to cover the {$10000.00}. We then informed her that {$10000.00} came out and that was over the limit that she stated. We asked where we could find this information on the website to see these limit changes and/or policy to which she could not explain where to find them on the main web page or mobile web page. We were then moved up to an Executive Resolution Team Member named XXXX who after again telling the story then told us that I did have the increase to {$7000.00} for 48 hours and that the limit reset to {$7000.00} at midnight so that USAA did nothing wrong but what I asked of them and that it was my fault. We then asked if there was anyone higher we could talk to who could make a decision as XXXX said he could not and we just had to wait out the dispute process. We then asked if we wanted to file a complaint again USAA Bank who do we as consumers could go to. XXXX told us that USAA Bank fell under the Federal Reserve. We then asked if the information that we gave to XXXX was in the system XXXX informed us that it was not so again we gave USAA the information about the police filings. On XX/XX/XXXX in the morning we again called in and asked to speak with an Executive Resolution Team Member to which the man, did not get name, told us that he can handle this and proceeded to tell us that my limit was increased to {$7000.00} for 72 hours and that it reset daily at midnight. We said enough please put us up to the next level to which we were hung up on with no call back and went right to their survey. We called in again and talked to a XXXX told the story and was moved up to a XXXX who told us that USAA watches for unusual purchases out of the ordinary, larger than normal, and at places never been before. We said that this hits all things that she said and why did USAA not catch this she said she had no idea but that it should have been stopped. At that point she put us up to XXXX an Executive Resolution Team Member whereby this time we started to ask more questions about the policy due to the fact that everyone we talked to had a different policy. We were cut off by a callback from USAA that we had request because XXXX said unless we ask for one we  would not get one. XXXX, the one that called in was an analyst for USAA Bank looking into the debit card dispute told us that when she worked in the Executive Resolution Team a long time ago the policy was that when you ask for a limit increase for a one time purchase that when that purchase was met that the limit immediately goes back to {$3000.00}. XXXX moved us to XXXX who we went through the whole thing again, but she did add the credit card dispute and moved us up to Executive Resolution Team Member XXXX. XXXX being the eleventh person we talked to over a four day period telling her all the different policies we were told by all the different agents that if Dad being XXXX years old could not find it or get the information from USAA how was I at XXXX  years of age to do it. We told XXXX that we checked with our family bank back home a small town bank that there policy matched with what XXXX told us and that when we asked our small town bank if that was a policy of the bank, banking law, or standard business practice our town bank said it was a standard business practice. XXXX was appologic for the treatment we had received from USAA to this point. XXXX again stated that we had to wait for the dispute process to take it course which we asked is there anyone higher up who could make a decision today we could talk to and again no. I told XXXX that we felt that a fair resolution was that I should lose {$7000.00} because it was my mistake but that anything over that amount and the {$4000.00} on the credit card should be forgiven because there was no clear policy given at the time of the limit increase request other than I was okayed for that one time purchase, according to some of the USAA agents that it should have been stopped, and there was no fraud protection on these accounts. XXXX again said it would be up to the dispute team but could not tell us who that was and that we could not talk to them. In summary we never got any real help from USAA, as in a standard limit increase policy, not even a suggestion to make a police report. In asking USAA to do things on my behalf, as in to dispute charges and put information in my record as in police reports it took multiple requests to accomplish each of these things. In frustration we did call the Federal Reserve to get information about USAA policy only to find out that USAA is not regulated by them but the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, CFPB. We called the CFPB and found out that USAA should have a CFO or a compliance officer by law which we understood that we should have been able to talk to. USAA told us there was no one higher to talk to, changed policy by the person, and did not even do the monitoring on the bank and credit card accounts they say they monitor. Please help.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation