Consumer complaint received 2021-01-29
Company: BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO
State: PR
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Problem using a debit or ATM card

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX I noticed ( 2 ) transactions on one of my Banco Popular de Puerto Rico ( BPPR ) accounts that were not authorized by me. I immediately called BPPR and reported the issue with Ms. XXXX XXXX from the Fraud Department. Ms. XXXX informed me that the first transaction was made XX/XX/XXXX for {$480.00} at an ATM inside XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX and on XX/XX/XXXX a second transaction was made in XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX for {$2100.00}. My account was left with XXXX cents. At the time I was speaking with Ms. XXXX the two transactions were still pending and Ms. XXXX told me that the money wasn't available to me but that the payment to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX been made yet. On that same day Ms. XXXX proceeded to send me an email with several items including an Unauthorized Use Declaration, al letter which stated, among other things that a provisional credit would be credited to my account while an investigation was conducted. It is important to note that the provisional credit never occurred. I filled up all documents solicited by Ms. XXXX and complied with all of BPPR requirements and was told that the investigation would take 30 days. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a letter from BPPR which basically stated that According to the Commercial Deposit Account Agreement I will be responsible for all debit transactions at automatic teller machine and for purchases using my ATM card and or XXXX XXXX XXXX card, until the time you have notify them the loss, theft of unauthorized use of the card. Please refer to section III.C. of the Commercial Deposit Accounts Agreement. 

I have several problems with this statement : The card that was used to make the unauthorized transactions wasnt mine, my card was hand delivered to BPPR XXXX XXXX, the very next day, as instructed in the documents sent by Ms. XXXX on the XX/XX/XXXX email. It is evident that the unauthorized transactions were made with a copy of my card, not with mine. 
Did it take 30 days to send me a letter? I respectfully ask myself this question. If possible, I would like to know what type of investigation was performed. What items were purchased? Do they have pictures of the person that made the unauthorized transactions? 
I would like to know what are BPPRs policies to protect the customers. What are the internal controls to protect the customer of this type of risk, which is a common occurrence in Puerto Rico and a red flag for regulatory agencies. 
After a customer is a victim of this type of fraud, which the customer has no control to guarantee that he would be 100 % protected, what are BPPRs requirements and/or protocols to validate that the card that was used in the unauthorized transactions belongs to the customer and that no copies where made, to protect the customers of this type of fraud. 
If XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX had asked for an identification to validate that the person making the purchase was the owner of the card, the fraud would have been avoided. 
I hope this information was useful and hope that BPPR reconsiders and credit my account with the total amount of the unauthorized transactions.

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