Consumer complaint received 2021-01-26
Company: U.S. BANCORP
State: KY
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Closing an account
Sub-issue: Funds not received from closed account

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX I received a request to fill in a XXXX questionnaire from Customer Due Diligence Operation Center of the US Bank located at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, NC XXXX. 

I filled in the questionnaire and sent it back. In a week 's time I received a response that I successfully completed the assessment. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I tried to login to my bank account, but my online banking was disabled. After speaking to a customer service, it became clear that my account was in a process of being closed. 

Two weeks later I received a letter from the US bank confirming my account closure. It was clearly stating that if the account has a positive balance, a Cashier 's check will be mailed to me within 15 business days once all previously deposited items have been verified. This letter was dated XX/XX/XXXX. I attached the letter to this email as proof. 

I was waiting for the Cashier 's check for a month, but it did not come. So I contacted my bank manager XXXX XXXX of the US Bank branch located in XXXX XXXX, KY who confirmed my check was mailed. 

Another two weeks went by and there was still no check. So I contacted my bank manager again, but he wasn't sure about why Cashier 's check was not mailed. As it appeared later, I was supposed to verify last five deposits that came to my account before it was closed, but nobody told me about that. So for six weeks I was waiting for the check which wasn't even supposed to come. When I complained to XXXX XXXX about the fact that nobody informed me about it, he had two excuses : first, COVID - a very convenient excuse for everything these days! And second excuse was that he was on holiday for two weeks. 

Anyway, XXXX XXXX sent me an email containing a list of deposits that were supposed to be verified. Two of those deposits were refunds from a fashion outlet. The other three were deposits from my close acquaintances. I diligently verified all five deposits and supported them by detailed explanation and documents. 

The bank manager submitted them to the relevant department and informed me that my money - {$4800.00} - was moved to a recovery account and will be sitting there for the next 90-120 days as a safety measure to any possible fraud claims from the payors that may arise during the next 120 days. 

All this took place in the middle of XX/XX/XXXX. My last communication with the XXXX XXXX was on XX/XX/XXXX. 

Since then and until XX/XX/XXXX there was no news about my {$4800.00}. I attached to the email my last bank statement that was mailed when my account was already closed. 

So on Monday XX/XX/XXXX I contacted XXXX XXXX again and was told that he would contact his back office to get an update. 

On Monday XX/XX/XXXX I received an email from him where he says the following " As of Friday, funds still have not been verified. Checking with operations to see if they have any suggestions today. '' I would like to bring to your attention that I fully understand that a bank has a right to close my account with or without a reason. It's clearly stated in the Deposit Account Agreement & General Terms & Conditions that I accepted when I opened my bank account at the US Bank. But in the same agreement there is nothing that states the bank has a right to withhold my money, especially for such a long time. Nevertheless, I accepted this unwritten condition and was patiently waiting. 

Also, back in XX/XX/XXXX when I was hoping to receive my Cashier 's check, I was in touch with Customer Due Diligence Operation Center a few times : it was them who initiated the XXXX assessment, so I felt they were responsible for the decision to close my account and tried to find out the future of my withheld funds. I spoke to a guy called XXXX ( please note, this could be an incorrect spelling of his name, but it sounded like XXXX ). Each time I spoke to XXXX, he confirmed I successfully completed their assessment, I had a right to have a bank account with the US Bank and he had no clue why my account was closed. 

Moreover, I called to XXXX on Monday XX/XX/XXXX again and again he confirmed all the above information about my assessment and eligibility for a bank account. 

Regardless, my {$4800.00} still remain in a possession of the US Bank although 120 days have already passed. 

Conclusion : I suspect that the reason for the held up in releasing of my funds is the fact that XXXX XXXX, the manager of the US Bank branch located in XXXX XXXX, KY simply did not submit my deposit verification to the relevant department back in XX/XX/XXXX. So, it's a case of PROFESSIONAL NEGLIGENCE.

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 monetary relief