Consumer complaint received 2019-09-26
Company: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: WA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX I did click on an email from USAA that did state : " You can save on interest when you transfer high-rate balances to your USAA Visa credit card account. 
Get a promotional rate of 0 % XXXX until XX/XX/XXXX on balance transfers. '' The email went on to state the requirement that I can receive this offer if the balance transfer transaction posted to my account between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, yet the way the email displayed without loading entirely and this being found lower in the material, I could not see it. Because one date, XX/XX/XXXX had been stated already, I erroneously presumed I had " until XX/XX/XXXX '' to agree to this offer like it said, and clicked on it. I then agreed to what I believed was a 0 % balance transfer offer. USAA 's site processed the transaction as if I had received a 0 % balance transfer, making no mention of the 10.99 APR I was covertly and implicitly agreeing to by responding later than XX/XX/XXXX. I ended up transfering {$28000.00} to USAA baited by the 0 % rate, which was then switched to a 10.99 % rate WITHOUT ANY NOTICE OF ANY KIND about the new rate. I did receive confirmation emails from USAA, which stated only that the balance transfer had completed, and DID NOT DISCLOSE THE APR AT WHICH THE TRANSFER OCCURRED AT. Repeat, the annual percentage rate was not information included in the confirmation email, disclosures or any documentation or correspondence. It was only by following up by phone on XX/XX/XXXX that I was able to determine that I did not receive a 0 % rate. I am offended at USAA for TRICKING ME with DECEITFULLY formatted adverts designed to take advantage of customers with deceptive timeline subscriptions, and then SWITCHING APRs without DIVULGING THE NEW APR RATE when they try to accept their offers! None of the disclosures agreed to during the balance transfer were for 10.99 %. They were for the 0 % offer my email linked to on USAA. The online process I underwent for the balance transfer was describing the 0 % offer, including the terms and conditions to which I pressed agree. I then learned after the fact that USAA doesn't modify or cancel balance transfers despite that not being in their terms and conditions. When I requested customer service where that could be found in the universal terms and conditions, it could not be found at all. Indeed, the only reference to this supposed fact is on the " Status '' disposition on the balance transfer history, which states " Status Completed - The balance transfer has processed and can not be modified or canceled. '' I call out USAA that this remark is bogus, and I feel they are being deceitful here for making up rules that are not actually in their terms and conditions, but by which they benefit in terms of increased interest tenfold. I call out USAA for not being responsive to the loyal customer who reported the APR mistake in a timely fashion on XX/XX/XXXX, and offering me no recourse at all to correct the error, such as reversing the transaction or fees or applying the rate of interest from the advertisement I responded to. The only thing that could make this right would be the fees and interest I paid for the balance transfer being refunded to me, because I am offended at being tricked, being refused any help and the intended offer of 0 % for {$28000.00} was accepted by me but not honored by USAA without any notice of the rate being switched to 10.99 %. They processed the loan of {$28000.00} at 10.99 % when I responded to a 0 % balance transfer ad without notifying me at all of what actual rate I would receive in the terms and conditions and confirmation email. It was reasonable to infer that I should expect 0 % acting on this offer, nothing in the terms and conditions indicated otherwise, and since then I have seen no notice in their universal terms and conditions about balance transfers being unchangeable and unable to be modified as they claim in a status notation. I feel overall cheated, that this is pretty close to being fraudulent, or whatever bait and switch is categorized as - deceitful. I was baited and switched. I was charged a rate I did not agree to during my acceptance of the offer. They later claimed I had agreed to the whole thing and I had not. I called to get them to reverse the error and they would not, they benefit from the higher interest rate.

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