Consumer complaint received 2019-03-05
Company: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: SD
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:
XXXX : I noticed a cash-advance for {$500.00} on my secured Visa ( dated XXXX. ) This was not my transaction. I didn't request a cash advance. I definitely did not receive {$500.00} in cash electronically or by ATM. That card has a credit limit of {$500.00} and I already had a balance of {$490.00}. I wasnt using that card because there was no room on it.

I called to report fraudulent activity. I do not know the name of the female I spoke to because at that time I had faith in the system even though I had doubts about the knowledge of the CSR. She did say it would take a while to resolve the matter. Fine. I asked how it was possible for someone to get {$500.00} off of a card that is maxed out. She said she didnt know. 

XXXX : I called back just to make sure that the claim was in process because the female who submitted the claim was clearly new. She was reading from a script. The rep assured me it was submitted correctly and advised again that it will take some time. Again I asked how it was possible for someone to get {$500.00} off of a card that is maxed out. She said it was probably a glitch. A glitch? Thats what I want to hear from my banking institution. 

XXXX : I pay off the balance of the credit card that is legitimately mine because USAA was reporting to the credit bureaus that I had a balance of {$950.00} ; {$450.00} over the credit limit, which as you know, isn't great for the credit score. Fortunately I had received a retroactive XXXX-retirement payment from XXXX. 

XXXX : I called the bank and spoke with XXXX, a customer service rep. She informed me the complaint was not submitted correctly. She notified me the bank determined it was not fraud. There were no other notes. She resubmitted the claim for me because she could see that even though it was a cash-advance, there was no deposit into any of my accounts. She said it should be resolved in 3-5 days. She was also unsure of how there was a transaction on a card that was already at capacity. 

XXXX : I called and spoke with XXXX this time. Lovely girl. She said the first fraud complaint was denied and but the second one was still pending. She invited me to call back in 3-5 business days. 

XXXX : I called and spoke with XXXX. Same story, different day. Please call back in 3-5 business days. Please note that on XXXX my credit card payment was due, for a cash advance that isnt mine. I refuse to pay because it isnt mine to pay. USAA had different ideas, of course, and so the phone calls about the late payment on the account began. I called a couple of times to ask them to not call since the matter was currently being investigated and the debt wasnt mine. They kept calling. Nothing like a daily reminder of unresolved fraudulent activity on your account to keep you cheery. 

XXXX : I called. This time I spoke with XXXX. He reviewed all of the notes. He really took his time and checked with his manager a couple of times. He said this should have been resolved within 10 days of the original complaint. He will submit it again with the notes that it should have been resolved or credited within 10 days. Sorry for the inconvenience. Please call back in 3-5 days. I asked to speak to his manager. He said he would transfer me. I changed my mind and decided to give his efforts an opportunity to fix the problem because he seemed confident. 

XXXX : I called. AGAIN. I spoke to XXXX. Again those daily calls saying I owe money are a constant reminder of the ongoing problem and induce a certain level of frustration and anxiety that I would REALLY like to get resolved. 

XXXX : I spoke with XXXX. She advised me to talk to credit card servicing instead of fraud. Uhm. I thought I was? She said she could tell the work items I had submitted were read but there was no response and they werent closed. She transferred me to credit card servicing and spoke with XXXX. He looked at everything and also concluded the matter should have been resolved. He suggested that if it isnt resolved in 3-5 business days from XXXX to go higher and speak with a senior rep and file a complaint. 

XXXX : I call back because, surprise, surprise, surprise ... it still isnt resolved. This time I get XXXX. Hes very helpful even though he has the flu and its his first day back from being sick. He reads the notes and reviews the work orders that have been submitted. He said all of the work orders have been completed but there are no notes. He advised me to make a minimum payment because the account is now in default. This card is secured by a CD. Ive received a letter stating that my CD will be cashed in to pay for the outstanding balance. ( All of which is stemming from the {$500.00} cash advance that I didnt take, interest on the {$500.00} cash advance that I didnt take, late charge because I didnt feel like I should make a payment on the {$500.00} cash advance that I didnt take for fear that they would say that payment constitutes acknowledgment of and responsibility for the {$500.00} cash advance that I did not take, etc. ) Again I ask how it is possible for there to be a cash advance on a card that is already maxed out. Excellent question is his reply. Perhaps the system just didnt have time to update before the transaction went through he muses. Except the last time I used that card was probably XXXX or XXXX when I bought my house. He does some digging and comes back to say that there is no transaction history for this transaction. There is no ID for a specific ATM and clearly the money is not in my account. He recommends I elevate my claim. 

Now Im speaking with XXXX, a senior specialist on the Executive Resolution Team. She tells me there is a note from credit card servicing that states the charges should be reversed. The credit was supposed to be done within 1-2 business of XXXX. We are passed that date but she explains that the back office is probably just trying to finalize it and to give it another couple of days. 

XXXX : XXXX calls me back to let me know she had determined the source of the cash advance. Apparently while doing an audit, someone noticed that I had taken a cash advance back in XXXX of XXXX but wasnt charged for it on my VISA. Which is true, my VISA wasnt charged. But my XXXX XXXX was, as that is the card I used to request the advance. Finally we at least have the reason why there is a cash advance charge. There was an auditing error by the bank. 

That should be easy enough to fix, I thought. I was wrong. 

On XXXX I call in because the issue has not been resolved. 

XXXX Still unresolved. 

Points of Interest : The bank feels like there is an error so they charge my account {$500.00} without any letter of explanation or even an email. No heads up. Nothing. They just take the money. There arent even any notes in the system so the regular customer service rep can tell me why there is a cash advance of {$500.00}. Meanwhile, every time I call there is the undertone that they think I am just trying to cheat the system. It will be credited back to you if it is determined to be fraud. 

Their error has cost me over six hours of my life ; just in the time Ive spent on the phone trying to resolve the issue. This doesnt count the hours Ive spent worrying over it and stressing about it, thinking that someone had access to my accounts. Or the phone calls about my account being late. Or the letter threatening to close my card and CD. 

Their rep told me it was their error and still it hasnt been fixed. What does it take exactly? There are notations on my account of all of the times I've called. At least there were. There are probably even recorded calls.

Company public response: Company believes complaint is the result of an isolated error
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation