Consumer complaint received 2019-08-29
Company: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: DC
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Deposits and withdrawals

Complaint:
We are long-time members of USAA with multiple banking and credit accounts with this bank. We were recently victims of a financial scam involving our USAA accounts which we believe was the direct result of negligence by a USAA representative whom we contacted with concerns about a suspicious check. As a result, {$2300.00} was stolen from our accounts. Below we share the sequence of events that occurred : XX/XX/2019 :  We posted our used car for sale on XXXX, with an asking price of {$5500.00}. 

XX/XX/2019 : We received a certified check for {$7800.00} from a buyer with an explanation that the overpayment of {$2300.00} was intended to cover the cost of shipping the car. 

XX/XX/2019 : We were skeptical about the check. Because we do not live near the sole USAA financial services center in XXXX XXXX, TX, we called USAA customer service to seek input and guidance. We explained the situation to the USAA front line representative outlining our concerns about the legitimacy of the check. After using the mobile deposit feature on the USAA app, the representative informed us that the funds were credited to our account and were available for immediate use. At no point during our telephone call with USAA despite our voiced suspicions about the checks legitimacy and despite sharing details about the context and provenience of the check did the bank representative inform us that the bank could not confirm the legitimacy of the check without further processing. To the contrary, the involvement of and feedback from USAAs front line representative gave us confidence that this was a legitimate check that the funds had already been credited to our account and that we could proceed with arranging to ship the car for the buyer. 

XX/XX/2019 : The buyer asked us to transfer money to the car mover and even suggested that we should use USAAs in-app instant transfer feature called XXXX. Our conversation with the USAA front line representative had given us the confidence to move forward with this part of the transaction even though we had never used XXXX. We adhered to the {$1000.00} daily limit for USAAs XXXX feature and transferred {$1000.00} on XX/XX/XXXX, {$1000.00} on XX/XX/XXXX, and {$390.00} on XX/XX/XXXX. We believed we had done our due diligence by asking the bank about the legitimacy of the certified check that the buyer had provided, we didnt feel entitled to keep more than {$5500.00} for the car, and so we were not concerned about transferring the {$2300.00} overpayment that we had received to the car mover. 

XX/XX/2019 : As we continued to communicate with the buyer to arrange the date/time to meet the car mover, we were informed that the original certified check whose legitimacy we had discussed with the USAA front line representative bounced. We immediately requested that a fraud claim be opened and we cooperated fully with USAAs investigation. We were told that we would receive a phone call from the bank within 7 days regarding findings from their investigation but instead received a simple email stating that no error had occurred with the XXXX transfers - which was never our contestation. 

We have since made repeated attempts to encourage USAA to undertake a more thorough investigation into this crime. We were victimized by a thief posing as a car buyer who capitalized on the negligence of USAAs front line representative. We sought guidance from our bank when we needed it most and the feedback we received from USAA is what gave us the confidence to move forward with the fraudulent transaction. As a result of our repeated inquiries to USAA customer service about the status of our complaint, we received a call from the Office of the CEO at USAA on Tuesday XX/XX/2019 ( first name XXXX, last name not given ). She informed us of USAAs findings following their thorough investigation : 1. The Office of the CEO determined that a crime was committed. 
2. The Office of the CEO recommended coaching for the front line representative who spoke to us about the questionable certified check on XX/XX/2019 ( based on a review of our recorded call ). 
3. The Office of the CEO recommended rolling out a new process to all front line analysts which addresses a process gap that they identified as a result of their investigation into our case. 

We believe that these findings indicate that USAA recognizes that both individual employee behavior as well as broad business practices played a role in allowing a criminal to steal {$2300.00} from us. And yet USAA refuses to reimburse us for the money that was stolen from us because we voluntarily participated in the crime. When we called USAA on XX/XX/2019, all we needed was for the USAA front line  representative to tell us that it was not possible to verify the legitimacy of the certified check that we received. That statement alone likely would have spared us. Instead, the USAA front line representative told us the funds were already in our account a statement which gave us the confidence to move forward. 

We have come to learn that what happened to us is sadly not uncommon. But what is shocking is how the bank led us to this lions den. Front line bank representatives represent the consumers best line of defense and through this experience we have found the USAA representatives to be woefully lacking in industry knowledge. If there is a delay between the time when a check is deposited and when the legitimacy of the funds can be assured, then that should be expressed by the bank representatives especially when a customer contacts the bank expressly to verify the legitimacy of a check. Additionally, banks are now marketing XXXX as a safe and easy way to send funds. In reality, these instant transfer apps provide a convenient way for criminals to perpetrate serious, untraceable financial crimes and banks are likely profiting while exposing their customers to these unacceptable risks. 

We chose to become USAA members, believing USAA would act in our best interest. We are not giving up on this and we expect USAA to reimburse us for the {$2300.00} that was stolen from our account with the assistance of and under the watchful eyes of this large financial institution. 

Thank you for looking into this matter.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation