Consumer complaint received 2017-11-13
Company: U.S. BANCORP
State: NM
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Other banking product or service
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Funds not handled or disbursed as instructed

Complaint:
After years of being issued checks as payment of child support, first, from my ( our ) issuing county and, then, the Colorado Family Support Registry, around the middle of XX/XX/XXXX, I ( we ) received a notice in the mail from the county Child Support Enforcement saying that checks for child support would no longer be issued and that a debit card would be issued for receipt of all future child support payments. An option to either continue receiving checks or utilize the card that was being sent was not given, as the notice distinctly said that checks were to no longer be issued. Therefore, upon receipt of the card at the end of XX/XX/XXXX, I had no other recourse than to utilize the card that I was sent by the Colorado Family Support Registry, a prepaid ReliaCard, issued by U.S. Bank. 
Due to child custody issues, in XXXX of XXXX, I was told by a caseworker that I would no longer be receiving child support payments, arrears or otherwise, since my children had been temporarily removed from my custody. Therefore, due to that reason, from that time on and for the next 10 years I didnt even bother checking the U.S. Bank ReliaCard. Then, in XX/XX/XXXX an issue regarding child support with the state of Colorado came about, so I requested my child support payments, disbursement, and distribution records. I received those documents from the state of Colorado the end of XX/XX/XXXX, which consisted of the Colorado Division of Child Support complete payment record, and the Colorado Families Support Registry Automated Child Support Services System, complete ACSES disbursement record. It was at that time I found out that numerous child support payment HAD, in actuality, been direct deposited onto my ReliaCard, by the Colorado Family Support Registry during the years that I had not accessed the card. When I found this out, I immediately got my ReliaCard to check to see if the money was there, but it was expired. It had expired in XX/XX/XXXX, so I had to go through the process of being issued another ReliaCard. When I finally got the new card, I found that there was only a balance of {$100.00} when there had been thousands of dollars direct deposited to the card by the Colorado Family Support Registry and State of Colorado. Upon finding this, I called immediately called U.S. Bank card holder services to ask where the funds were. Upon telling them the dates that the money had been deposited, I was told that they dont keep records that go back that far. To which I replied, since a direct deposit had been made on XX/XX/XXXX, the account was obviously still active and as a financial institution that they should still have those records. I was asked to stay on a brief hold, and was subsequently disconnected. I called the card holder services again, and received a different customer representative, and explained the whole situation again ; however, this time was told that they were not handling child support from the XXXX of Colorado in XX/XX/XXXX, and that they had only started to handle Colorado child support three or four years ago. I told her, That is impossible because I had to get a new card, due to the fact that my other one had expired XX/XX/XXXX. She, too, asked to put me on a brief hold, and, once again, I was disconnected. At that point I knew I was getting the runaround, so in my frustration I waited a few days and called again. Once again, I was told something completely different. This time, their reasons for not having the money is that due to account inactivity the funds were sent back to the Family Support Registry, and that is where the money would be. So, I said, OK, and called the Family Support Registry and asked them if my child support payments had been returned by U.S. Bank ReliaCard, they looked in their records and told me that no money had been returned to them and that the only time money had been there was when they received my actual child support payments, after which, they direct deposited them onto my ReliaCard. U.S. Bank had never returned of the child support they had previously direct deposited. They confirmed that the money would have to be returned to them first, so this is an issue that I would have to take up with US Bank because once the money is direct deposited they no longer have access to the account, that all they do is deposit the funds and the only access they have to child support is for direct deposit purposes unless it is returned to Family Support Registry. She said reiterated that no money had been returned to the Colorado Family Support Registry at any time, however, if any had been returned, upon its receipt, they would have sent it to the Colorado Division of Child Support Services. I told her what was going on with U.S. Bank, so she suggested that I cover all of my bases and get a hold of the Colorado Division of Child Support Services and she gave me the number to reach them. By the time we hung up, it was too late to call so I called the following day. Upon speaking to them, I was told that they had not received any returned child support for me from either the Family Support Registry or U.S. Bank, but when they do receive money it registers at XXXX, and, although, they had not received any returned child support it wouldnt be there, but it wouldnt hurt to check. I wanted to make sure I was on the right track, as I did not want to accuse U.S. Bank of any wrongdoing so I checked, and it just as I had been told would be the case, it was not there.

At that point, I had thoroughly investigated U.S. Banks claim that they had returned the monies to the Family Support Registry and found that they had not been forthcoming at all so called ReliaCard card holder services to inform them of my findings and, again, I was given the almighty runaround. I then demanded to talk to someone in accounting and was told that they would be transferring my call at that time ; however, my call was never transferred, it was, instead, once again disconnected. I became so frustrated, as right after that, whenever I would call, I would immediately be disconnected. However, I continued trying to find out what happened to my funds with periodic calls throughout the year, but I still could not get through. Since my phone number is registered with my account, at each time I called it would tell me that the phone number was not associated with any account, and I would get disconnected. Before that time, when I would call and the automated service would say that the number I was calling from is registered with a ReliaCard account and then all of a sudden, it would say that it was no longer registered and it would disconnect me. 

I went through this for months and it kept doing the same thing, so I looked for other numbers to call on the brochure that came with the new ReliaCard and the account statement I had received after obtaining the {$100.00} that had been direct deposited on XX/XX/XXXX, but each number I called took me directly back to card holder services and I would, thus, end up being disconnected again. Finally, after a year of trying, on XX/XX/XXXX, I was able to maneuver through the menu where it allowed me to enter my card number, and this time automated services asked me if I would like to register my phone number with my account, so I selected the option for yes and re-registered my phone number. I was then sent to a card services representative, to whom I explained the situation. Her response was that she could not access records that far back and that they could only pull records on their screens for the previous 4 years. She said that she would have to submit a request for those records to be sent directly to me. It was at that point that I requested that she connect me to U.S. Banks accounting department, to give me a phone number to call so that I could reach them directly, or to let me speak to her supervisor about this issue. However, she told that they can not do that, that they have to handle these issues themselves and that they could not connect me to anyone else. I then asked that she give me a number to U.S. Banks corporate office and was, again, denied my request, to which she stated, I cant do that. Through the shock of her response, I emphatically told her, Yes you can, I am a consumer, and I am entitled to that information she then proceeded to tell me that the main office was in XXXX, Texas, and that they could not be reached due to the hurricane flooding. I thought that a bit odd, since I had not heard anything about flooding in those areas, she then said that she was going to finish the request for my records, and would be putting me on a brief hold, and would be back shortly ; but, lo and behold, I was disconnected. Due to my anger, I took a moment to catch my breath, and  when I called back, although I had JUST re-registered my telephone number with my account, automated services said that the phone number I was calling from was not registered with an account. Luckily I was able to maneuver through the menu again and reached a representative. Since one never speaks to the same person twice, it was a different representative to whom I had to explain the whole situation again. She said that she would submit a request for my account records and would be putting me on a brief hold. My first thought was that I would be disconnected again, but she came back and, at that point, I thought I was getting some cooperation, but upon her return she said that the floor manager told her that the money may not have even been deposited by Family Support Registry because, had it been deposited, due to inactivity on the account, the money would have been sent to back to the state and there would be a flag on the account showing that the money had been sent back. However, there is no flag on the account ; therefore, it was probably not even deposited at all. Stressing that due to the record of inactivity on the account there is no flag and since there is no flag, there was no deposit. That is when I told her, Wait that is wrong, I have the Family Support Registry record of direct deposit right in front of me. I went on to explain that the money had without question been deposited, and that the record I had in my possession came directly from the Colorado Family Support Registry and that it was the Family Support Registry Automated Child Support Enforcement Services System Complete ACSES Disbursement Record. At that time, the representative told me again that, she would be putting me on a brief hold so that she could request the records I had asked for, but this time when she came back, she told me that the floor manager had told her to tell me that I was not authorized to request those records and that the only ones that had the authority submit a request for that information was the Colorado Family Support Registry. I immediately replied that I did not appreciate being given the runaround and that the statement made by her floor manager was absolutely false and that the account is registered in my name, it is my child support, it is meant to come to me for my children, and I have the authority to request any documentation or record that I deem necessary concerning that account. That Family Support Registry is basically a 3rd party that distributes the funds, and has no authority over the account. Thats when I said I was tired of this, this has been going on for over a year, and all of the arrows show that the money is there, the money was never returned to Family Support Registry, it was never returned to the state of Colorado, nor is it at the XXXX website, which, along with no flag on the account, proves that it was never sent back due to inactivity and that the last known record of the money is when the Colorado Family Support Registry direct deposited the funds to my U.S. Bank ReliaCard account and I have that record of proof right in front of me. 

I am therefore attaching a copy of the aforementioned proof ; and, as can be ascertained from said proof which is in the form of the Colorado Family Support Registry Disbursement Records, the funds in question were without question direct deposited to my U.S. Bank ReliaCard debit card by the Colorado Family Support Registry on the dates and in the amounts shown on therein, but was either never credited to my account or the funds were removed by someone other than myself.

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