Consumer complaint received 2022-07-14
Company: FIFTH THIRD FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: OH
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Savings account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Problem accessing account

Complaint:
I am a longtime customer of Fifth Third Bank, where I manage my checking and two savings accounts almost exclusively via my desktop computer. In the many years Ive been a customer, Ive not experienced any problems accessing my account online until XXXX of this year, when I could not log in from my desktop computer for an extended period. 

I first discussed the issue with my local branch on XX/XX/22. The rep had me try to log in using different browsers, changing browser settings, etc., to no avail. He stated that hed contact the banks IT department, who would work with me to fix the issue. I never heard from IT, and so contacted my local branch again. This time, I was told they couldnt resolve my account access issue and advised me to seek help from corporate customer service, which I immediately did. The rep in that department researched the matter and reported that there was a known, ongoing issue of browser compatibility. She informed me that IT was working on a fix but she could not estimate when the problem would be resolved. She suggested that I simply keep trying to log in each day. 

Eventually, I was able to log in to my account, but it wasnt long before I was locked out for the second time. In fact, the problem is recurrent. To date, there have been at least four instances in which I was denied access to my accounts for multiple consecutive days : XXXX XXXX ( 10 days ) ; XXXX XXXX ( 8 days ) ; XXXX XXXX ( 3 days ) ; XXXX XXXX ( >15 days ). 

After escalating the matter, I communicated with two representatives of the Office of the President, who, over the course of many weeks, attempted to mediate a solution with the banks IT department. A permanent fix still has not been made. I did learn that the recurring lockout is an unintended consequence of new security software and is triggered when my login credentials are used after the IP address of my desktop computer has updated. Because most personal desktop computers use a dynamic IP address, its occasional reassignment should not trigger a security lockout. Indeed, Ive never experienced this issue with any of the other financial institutions with which I do business. Apparently, the lockout imposed by Fifth Thirds security software is relieved automatically after an unspecified period of time. It can be lengthy, as evidenced by the current episode, which has lasted 15 days and is ongoing. 

Fifth Third Bank has been aware of this software bug for many months, but obviously has not devoted sufficient resources to resolving it. Many customers besides myself have been impacted. The webpage XXXX ( XXXX XXXX XXXX  ) exhibits multiple pages of complaints registered over the past several months ( 154 in XXXX alone ) by Fifth Third 's customers experiencing account lockouts exhibiting similar characteristics : desktop computer couldnt login but mobile device could ; lockout period lasting many days before automatically resolving spontaneously ; OOPs error message received. Consequently, many of Fifth Third 's customers have not only been inconvenienced, but undoubtedly incurred fees arising from their inability to expeditiously manage their accounts.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation