Consumer complaint received 2023-05-20
Company: GOLDMAN SACHS BANK USA
State: WA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Other problem

Complaint:
I have a longstanding monthly installment plan with Apple Card ( {$530.00} ) that is paid automatically from my XXXX XXXX checking account. At the very end of XXXX, XXXX, I learned that fraud was being committed on the XXXX XXXX checking account, so I closed the account. Knowing that Apple Card would not get its regularly scheduled payment on XX/XX/XXXX, I called them and told them about the fraud and gave Apple Card the information to " pull '' payment from a different bank account of mine for the XXXX payment and for all subsequent payments. Apple Card was appreciative the notice, and they successfully obtained a timely {$530.00} payment from XXXX XXXX. I thought all was well until I looked at my XX/XX/XXXX statement. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, Apple Card made a " balance adjustment '' to my Apple Card balance and charged me {$530.00}. The consequence of this charge would be that they were going to charge me a double payment at the end of XXXX ( {$1000.00} ) plus interest. I was alarmed by this and called Apple Card immediately. 

The Apple Card specialists were as mystified by the " balance adjustment '' as I was. They could see that my XXXXXXXX XXXX payment was cancelled. They could see that my XXXXXXXX XXXX picked up payments timely, so they were not able to explain to me why they had made the {$530.00} " balance adjustment. '' I disputed the charge and they said they would try to fix it. They extra large payment was deferred temporarily. 

Two weeks later I received an email claiming that the " balance adjustment '' was correct. This is what the Apple Card email said : " Your Inquiry has been investigated. You contacted us on XX/XX/XXXX regarding a payment to your Apple Card account. Goldman Sachs Bank USA has investigated your Inquiry and determined that no error occurred. Your payment of {$530.00} was refunded to your bank account ending in XXXX as requested on XX/XX/XXXX. Your bank then returned the payment on XX/XX/XXXX, which increased your outstanding balance by {$530.00}. You can view your payment history, monthly balance, minimum payment due, and payment due date in Wallet by tapping on your Apple Card or by accessing your most recent statement. '' This email is deranged and inexplicable. So I again called Apple Card. After several more phone calls, I learned the following : 1. When I told Apple Card that they would not receive the regularly scheduled payment from my cancelled checking account, Apple Card WITHOUT MY ADVICE, AUTHORIZATION OR CONSENT sent {$530.00} to XXXXXXXX XXXX! They call this the " refund cycle '' and it is an automated event that they claim they can not control. ( They explained that ordinarily when these " late '' payment cancelations occur, the money still comes in from the paying bank because it can not be stopped in time, so they refund the money back as a customer service. ) Of course, in my case, NO MONEY WAS EVER SENT from XXXXXXXX XXXX to Apple Card, because I had locked down that account due to fraud and then subsequently closed it entirely. 

2. Because Apple Card was now {$530.00} poorer, by their voluntarily sending {$530.00} off to a closed XXXX XXXX Checking account, they decided to make themselves whole by taking the money from me ( the " balance adjustment '' ). 

3. I have never received the {$530.00} erroneously send by Apple Card to my defunct and closed XXXX XXXX  checking account. 

4. Apple Card says now that they were " expecting '' that XXXX XXXX would just " send the money back '' on their own, but since XXXXXXXX XXXX did not, Apple Card stole ( defrauded, embezzled ) the funds from me via a unilateral " balance adjustment. '' 5. Losing {$530.00} by Apple Card programming error is bad enough, but then Apple Card unilaterally recovering the lost funds from their customer is even worse. Indeed, it is a crime in my home state of Washington. 

6. Insult on injury, Apple Card has assessed me interest charges on the {$530.00} ; {$8.00} on XX/XX/XXXX and growing. 

Before I complain to the Washington State Attorney General that Apple Card is stealing from me, I thought I might let you ( CFPB ) see if you can get Apple Card to reverse the unauthorized " balance adjustment. '' They won't even reverse it TEMPORARILY while they try to find the " lost '' money they sent off into wild, so I expect them to extract {$1000.00} from my XXXX XXXX at the end of this month. ( I should not have to say how burdensome it is to pay an additional {$530.00}. ) My last communication ( the sixth ) with Apple Card was XX/XX/XXXX for nearly an hour. And while the Apple Card Supervisors are all professional and apologetic, they are also completely powerless to help me. And they tell me there is no one " higher '' that I can complain to at Apple Card or get assistance from. Well, there certainly is : you. 

I have suffered the indignity of multiple hours of lost time ( I am on vacation in XXXX BTW, so this is eating up my vacation fun ) to try and " stop the steal '' : ) Can you help me?

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief