Consumer complaint received 2019-05-21
Company: BBVA FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: NM
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem when making payments
Sub-issue: Problem during payment process

Complaint:
I opened a personal single signer checking account and a savings account and wanted to get credit since I did not have it. The branch manager of XXXX told me I can do a secured card to build credit. She recommended a secured credit card because I had not had credit nor know to use credit in a long time ( 10+ years ). according to my credit report., which has only student loans. I had known about other banks secured credit cards that you can open with a XXXX line of credit and that you have to borrow against your own money or something like that. I was told the higher the limit the better on a credit card so I put my XXXX cash into some securitized savings account with interest, enclosed. I think I made XXXX cents in interest but they told me it was to protect the bank that they need to keep the funds there as a protection for issuing a secured credit card. My last payment that did not take the funds of the XXXX savings ( which I was surprised ) was due and they told me that the money in the savings is a cushion and not to pay the card 's minimum due. I payed about XXXX dollars or so on XX/XX/XXXX. The bank closed the card the day later. I am under a rehabilitation program to find a job and in training under the division of vocational rehabilitation and I am in XXXX XXXX where I used my secured card, being that I do not have access to my savings, I used it for gas and groceries and training school materials. I used the credit card and the last payment was in XX/XX/XXXX and they closed the card. I am under a rehabilitation program with the department of vocational rehabilitation and I am in XXXX XXXX and used my card for groceries and rent that I had planned to use my savings with in the first place. Later I learned that I had to pay with more cash for those expenses despite I had made my payment on XX/XX/XXXX forXXXX and the day later of my payment they froze the credit I could not charge my account anymore. I called internationally to them because I am a student under a XXXX/XXXX XXXX program and my only way to access funds for housing and food is through my cash at the bank or through my mother helping me through deposits into my bank so I can access the cash through the atm/credit card. So on XX/XX/XXXX my checking account ending in XXXX had XXXX and I withdrew tuition of about XXXX per my promisory note with my school ( under DVR ) XXXX until the State of NM send the check with tuition so that I would not be withdrawn from school and online access to learning while in school. I still had a positive balance in my checking account but no credit in my card because they cut off the credit and they told me that the access to use the card is cut and will never be reopen however they kept the account open ( the card ) because it is better for my credit and that I had to pay the full XXXX or XXXX balance then to be able to have access to the frozen CD of XXXX that I have with them. Then they will take the XXXX and deduct whatever they have to and give me the balance after that but only after it goes to collections. I explained that i was overseas and if I do not pay rent I will get evicted and I need to buy food. They told me that those are the rules of the product, that they can not use my savings money to pay my credit card and the fees and all the checking account but after 21 days after it is closed. That was 2 months ago. When I spoke to the manager at XXXX XXXX, who was very nice and tried to help ; he said that they have not closed my credit card ( that was a weak ago ) that they only closed my access to make purchases and charge. That the balance is still there and that iif I close the card I will ruin my credit and I explained that I have to have good credit for a job and to reinance the house, that that was the point of the higher interest card secured that they told me they will build my credit. I told him that my deposit made of XXXX is putting a disparate impact to people like me and that it is working as a negative amortization certificate of deposit. He told me that he can close my account to go to collections and I have to wait another 21 days to get access to my savings of XXXX because the bank has to protect itself and that money is for their protection. For some reason they oppened 2 checking accounts and the credit card was not linked for overdraft protection

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation