Consumer complaint received 2023-05-17
Company: Credit Karma, LLC
State: MI
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/2023, I purchased a program called XXXX XXXX XXXX  by XXXX XXXX for {$2400.00}. This system was advertised as a " Done For You '' program, where XXXX promised that he and his team would help regular people ( with no trading experience ) gain access to {$200000.00} in funds from XXXX XXXX, in order to make trades and gain dividend payouts. He promised that, through his program, we would make a guaranteed payout of $ XXXX {$6000.00} per month, without having to do anything, as it would all be managed by his team. 

The cost for the program was the initial {$2400.00} plus additional monthly payments, as well as other miscellaneous fees. Unfortunately, I quickly found out that this was a scam, and no one was making any money from this program. Additionally, after paying for a program that was advertised as " Done For You, '' it turned out to be a " Do It Yourself '' program instead. I had purchased the program because I have neither the time nor the financial expertise to run trades at this level. That is why I was counting on his promises of having his " team '' run the trades for me, using their A.I. bots. However, XXXX switched everything up. I tried reaching out to his customer support for a refund, and they just ignored me. I then reached out to my bank ( Credit Karma, through XXXX XXXX  ) to file a dispute, as I have plenty of evidence to prove that this was a scam. ( See attachment - My XXXX Dispute ) On XX/XX/2023, after trying unsuccessfully to secure a refund from XXXX 's customer support team, I filed a dispute ( # XXXX ) with Credit Karma/XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX to have them investigate the issue. On their dispute form, they had no way for me to even submit or upload any evidence, so I wrote out my complaint instead, and also let them know that I do have evidence to submit if they need to see it. No one from Credit Karma ever contacted me throughout their entire investigation to see my evidence. How are they able to fairly investigate a dispute without the full facts and without seeing evidence from me? What are they even investigating with NO evidence? 

On XX/XX/2023, I was given a {$2400.00} provisional credit with a letter, stating that they are required to provisionally credit my account for the amount in question within 10 business days of acknowledging the dispute. They said that the final resolution would be no more than 90 calendar days from the date of the claim. ( Their letter is included as an attachment here. See attachment - Provisional Credit Notification ). 

In the meantime, I spoke with several other people who had also purchased this program, and they had submitted evidence of the scam to their banks or XXXX ( whichever they had used ), and ALL of them had received refunds from XXXX or their banks and within a MUCH faster time frame than 90 days. ( I have included an attachment that shows 5 different people in a group Im a part of, who all received refunds from their financial institutions for their disputes against XXXX XXXX. See attachment - Received Refunds ) During the course of this investigation, I reached out to Credit Karma MULTIPLE times, both through phone and email, about why I had still not been allowed to submit evidence. They simply told me, In case that is necessary, the specialized department is going to be contacting you to request the information. ( I have also included the email here where they said this. See attachment - Credit Karma Email XXXX ). But once again, NO ONE ever contacted me. Every time I reached out to Credit Karma about this, I was told that the dispute team would reach out to me, but no one ever did. 

Then, on XX/XX/2023, the {$2400.00} provisional credit was snatched back out of my account, with a note saying that my dispute was unsuccessful. There was not even a letter sent to me with any kind of explanation simply a note attached to the dispute that said Unsuccessful. ( See attachment - Dispute Unsuccessful ) I have asked several times to see an explanation of the findings or results of their investigation and why they found in favor of XXXX XXXX over me. I am owed an explanation. After snatching {$2400.00} out of my account, they did not even have the decency to provide me with any explanation of why they had come to this decision. It was bad enough that I was scammed, but now they have added salt to the wound by siding with the scammer, without even bothering to let me know WHY. 

After this, I reached out to Credit Karma several times through email, chat, and phone, and they still refuse to tell me why they have reached this decision. They did not even give me an opportunity to appeal the decision, which I thought was required after a bank reaches a decision in a dispute. 

On XX/XX/2023, I spoke to a Credit Karma chat representative named XXXX, who was very rude. I told her that I wanted to know the explanation and details of the investigation, as well as why I was not provided with an opportunity to appeal the decision. Instead, she decided that she no longer wanted to chat with me about it and ended the chat. ( See chat attachment - Credit Karma Chat XXXX ) Later the same day ( XX/XX/2023 ), I spoke with Credit Karma support through email. I explained the same situation to them and was told that they would escalate my case to a team of specialists who are more equipped to help me. ( See attachment - Credit Karma Email XXXX ) They then told me that I could attach any evidence to the email. I responded and attached a document, which included evidence. Once again, no one ever got back with me about this. 

I reached out AGAIN on XX/XX/2023 and AGAIN included my document with all of my evidence. They said AGAIN that it seems like this case would be better handled by our specialized team, so they promised they would escalate it and that I would receive the assistance that I need. ( See attachment - Credit Karma Email XXXX ). However, unsurprisingly by now, no one ever contacted me after that. 

By now, I am fed up. Every single time I reach out to their support team, I am told that my issue will be escalated to a specialized team, yet I never, ever hear back after they say that. No one from any specialized team or dispute team ever gets back to me, and there is no way for me to contact this so-called team. It seems to me that this is just a way to pacify me. They have still not explained what led them to reach their decision in my dispute and why they allowed XXXX XXXX to keep my {$2400.00}. They have also not allowed me to appeal this decision. 

It does not appear that anyone has bothered to even review my evidence. This is an EXTREMELY unprofessional way to operate a bank. They have dropped the ball numerous times in this case. This is nearly {$2500.00}. I dont have that kind of money to waste. It seems to me like they could care less, and they didnt even bother to review any evidence from me without deciding in the merchants favor. That is not fair to me, as a client. At the very least, I deserve a fair judgment in this dispute. You can not judge a dispute fairly without reviewing the evidence. They continue to ignore me and pacify me, because its not important to them. But its important to ME. This is MY money, and they have supported a scammer getting away with it.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation