Consumer complaint received 2021-12-17
Company: PNC Bank N.A.
State: CA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Problem caused by your funds being low
Sub-issue: Overdrafts and overdraft fees

Complaint:
Dear Ma'am or Sir : I had an account with XXXX XXXX for years. It worked great. Earlier this year XXXX XXXX was sold to BBVA bank, who's software wasn't as good, but was at least functional and professional looking. Then BBVA was sold to PNC. Their software -- my primary interface with their app -- looks unprofessional and scammy. It even shows me advertising. 

Not only that, but PNC 's software does not work. Their customer service does not respond to phone calls. Over the course of this year my banking experience has gone from pleasant to predatory. 

I am XXXX and suffer from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. I have had a brutal 3 years, where I have been struggling with my health, career and finances. 

There is not a local PNC bank in XXXX XXXX. There is not an ATM that will accept a PNC deposit in my city. This wasn't a problem at XXXX XXXX, nor at BBVA -- their apps accepted checks. 

On XX/XX/2021 I recieved my California Stimulus check for {$600.00}. This money was needed -- I had bills to pay, including my health insurance. I went to deposit the check. The check deposit function on the app was far more difficult to use than previously, but I finally got through the photograph stage and then received the notice in the app " Mobile Deposits are not available at this time. Try again later ''. I tried again on Saturday and Sunday. The next week I reached out to tech support through their ( very hard to find in their scammy app ) chat functionality. On XXXX evening I was finally told to contact their technical support and given a number. I tried calling the number to find they were closed for the day. Thursday was XXXX. On Friday I asked for a callback from the company. The company called me, said I was next in queue and then the phone rang for 45 minutes before I gave up. 

By now I was getting desperate. It was the end of the month and I had bills. On Monday morning I called first thing. I was told that PNC did not accept California State Stimulus checks because of fraud concerns. I asked to speak to a manager, and I was put on hold for 15 minutes and then hung up on. I called again and finally talked to a manager, who told me the same thing. I could mail my check to them, and they would deposit it in a few weeks. 

I filled out my first complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. I got a call back from a higher up manager who said that PNC 's policy was to accept California  stimulus checks, that only money orders and hand written personal checks were were restricted from depositing over the mobile app. 

I had turned overdraft protection off in the app. Despite this, PNC allowed 3 transactions to go through, one for {$23.00}, one for {$1.00} and another for {$5.00}, and charged me a total of {$100.00} in overdraft fees. 

{$100.00} is a lot of money to me right now. I still haven't paid my insurance premium, which is keeping me alive. 

I have no compunctions describing PNC 's behavior as predatory. PNC bank has endangered my health, has severely disrupted my life, has caused real harm to me. 

I started this year with a bank that had worked for me for years, and I've ended it trapped with a predatory institution. They are kicking me when I am down. 

This bank is predatory, and should never have been allowed to buy BBVA nor XXXX XXXX. Why are you letting this bank buy everyone and get bigger and bigger?

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief