Consumer complaint received 2023-03-09
Company: TRUIST FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: VA
Product: Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan
Sub-product: Personal line of credit
Issue: Charged fees or interest you didn't expect

Complaint:
This complaint follows an earlier complaint filed with the CFPB on XX/XX/2023 ( XXXX ) relative to the same monies that Truist Bank assessed me. 
Since I have been unsuccessful in resolving this matter internally with Truist Bank, as well as, externally via outside sources, I am initiating this new complaint because it is clear that Truist Banks handling of this instant financial business transaction was intentional and potentially systemic. This financial transaction/practice resulted in Truist Bank being overtly, unwarrantedly and disproportionately compensated for a service that unfairly and deceitfully exploited me. I believe that such transactions, practices, and junk fees should be restricted and addressed through regulatory mandates. 

As such, I lodge this complaint ( among other reasons ) as an input statement to the CFPB in opposition to Truist Banks assessment of junk fees ( extra, unnecessary, unexpected, valueless, redundant, financially burdensome fees ). 

Specifically, Truist has charge me excessive monies/interest/junk fees by approximately XXXX XXXX dollars -- for one day of service with my equity line. Neither the excessive junk fees nor the bases for the excessive junk fees were disclosed prior to the assessment. Also, these excessive, unwarranted and totally unfair junk interest fees are not written in any document or online information that would have provided me ( the consumer ) the ability to evaluate the worth or value of the banks service prior to implementation. 

In reality this ordeal involves one day. Had the business transactions been deferred " one day '', I would not have been assessed concurrent payments of {$1000.00} ( under one account ) and {$1500.00} ( under another account ) at the same time. 

If the transaction had been established the day of the billing cycle ( closing one account at the end of the month and then establishing the new account at the beginning of the very next month ), the financial charges would have been approximately {$0.00} to {$35.00} versus approximately {$1000.00} on one of the accounts.

Or the financial transaction could have been implemented much earlier in the month when I requested the change-over which would not have resulted in such excessive financial interest fees. 

Above all, Truist personnel should have and could have advised me of its doubling-of-interest-assessment ramification practices vis -- vis its facially neutral billing cycle -- which would have provided me with the option to decline. 

None of this occurred. 

It is clear, that the timing of the financial transactions here was intentionally imposed so that Truist could assess and receive the maximum amount of fees/charges it could, regardless of the fact that the timing of the financial transaction -- not only -- provided absolutely no value to me ; but deceitfully resulted in my being assessed unexpected, disproportionate, unwarranted and burdensome junk fees. 

For the most part consumers understand the instability of our economy and the resulting impact that inflation, unemployment, interest rates and the like have on everybody and every institution. But, it is entirely wrong for a financial institution to assess an approximate 300 % profit in junk fees for one-day of service on the consumer. Truist did this to me and its ABSOLUTELY WRONG!!! 

I have been unfairly and deceptively robbed. I am a senior citizen in a retirement community and I have been robbed of a lot of money that took me many, many man-hours to earn. 

I was entirely misled. Moreover, during the period when I sought to get an explanation of the bases/rationale for the junk interest assessments, Truist never provided a clear clarification. As such, I initiated an internal dispute over the apparent ( to me ) fraudulent, duplicative fees, to no avail. Truist, nevertheless, while I was pursuing its Errors, Inquiries, and Disputed Policy, initiated delinquent actions against me ( contrary to its own internal written policy that allows for such disputed without delinquent action ). 

I have filed actions with the several credit bureaus to look at this injustice, without any successful outcome. I have called and written letter-after-letter up and down the Truists corporate structure. Again, there has been no successful outcome. After four-months of hitting brick walls ( after a host of harassing calls and harassing letters ), at the point that the matter had progressed to the 2nd level of Collections, a Collections Manager returned one of my calls. That Collections Manager took the time to explain Truists billing cycle practices which gives credence to my claim of Truists fraudulent and excessive junk fees practice. 

Under protest, I then paid the unwarranted junk fees.

Whether were talking about my being charged double interest or my being charged separate interest fees under two separate accounts, I have been victimized by Truist Bank. 

It should be against the law for Truist Bank or any other bank or financial institution to arbitrarily process financial business transactions in a manner ( or at a time ) that overtly and unwarrantedly compensates the financial institutions while at the same time disproportionately and deceitfully financially burdens and exploits the consumer. 

Having been a customer of this bank for over 4 decades and having utterly no prior issues, I am absolutely appalled, beyond words, by Truists flagrant misuse of its Dispute Policy, its unfair junk fee business practices, and intentional exploitation of its customers. I believe it is imperative that such transactions, practices, and junk fees be restricted and addressed through regulatory mandates.

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