Consumer complaint received 2019-11-10
Company: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: IL
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Problem using a debit or ATM card

Complaint:
I am currently on a trip to Florida, hundreds of miles from my home near XXXX XXXX. When I landed it was late, past midnight, and I headed to check-in at a hotel with my debit card as my card for the room. When I arrived my debit card would not work and I soon found out that a fraud alert had been issued. I called USAA to clear the fraud alert and oddly, was not asked to confirm the transactions or anything like that, I was simply told that " my card is now unlocked and I can unlock it through the automated system '' .. I will come back to that later. I went to use my card, thinking there would be no problem, and yet again it was declined. I called back and spoke to I believe the same person, who this time sent a text to my phone to confirm my identity. 

My debit card 's expiration was next month, so USAA had issued me a new card in what they called a " mass issue ''. Somehow, that new card had become active and made my in-hand debit card useless. I had not received the new card. I spoke to four or five different people for hours. I was stuck at a hotel with nowhere to go and nowhere to stay. USAA placed me on hold time and again and I was told multiple things. I was told that the new debit card hadn't shipped yet. I was told it had shipped and that my wife must have activated the new card ( which was not only untrue, it was impossible because I had used my debit card successfully after she went to sleep and I was the one that got our mail that day before I went to the airport ). I was told that it could have been fraudulently activated, despite also being told it hadn't shipped. 

Coincidences aren't usually coincidences. It just so happened that my working card had a fraud alert and when I called to clear it my card couldn't ever work again? I don't think so. Something happened that caused this. What did the first representative unlock when I called since he reviewed no transactions on a fraud alert and did not verify my identity with a text? I don't know, but I was stuck, embarrassed, at a hotel with no way to get a room. They could not reactivate my card because somehow a new card had been activated. I honestly thought I would have to sleep on a bench at the airport until family could pick me up the next day. I demanded that USAA do something to make this right because I believed USAA had a problem that caused this. There was no possible resolution. I called the " Executive Support Team '' the next day and while they were apologetic, they offered no help in me being able to get through the weekend with no form of payment available. I had money in my account, but no way to access it. I asked if they could send me money via XXXX XXXX? No. No options. When I said I wanted a formal complaint launched and for USAA to figure out what happened, I was told a " verbal complaint '' would be logged.. but that is not a resolution. Basically, a member of 15 years was on his own to figure it out. Luckily, the lady at the hotel desk worked something out to get me a room or I would have been sleeping on that bench.

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