Consumer complaint received 2018-04-01
Company: PNC Bank N.A.
State: FL
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest
Sub-issue: Problem with fees

Complaint:
I have been a PNC customer for 15 years. I am really disappointed with the service and charges on the Bank Credit card. 
I set up a paperless account to save you money and also kept alerts on my account so I could be notified by text and/or email. 
I received a letter in XX/XX/XXXX saying that my account passed the limit credit so I paid off the remaining balance. 
I made sure it was paid in full and that no future interest was posted on the card. I set the card aside because I didnt want to use it unless it was absolutely necessary. 
A couple months later I contacted the bank to inform them that I was going to be outside of the U.S. and that I may be using the card. The automatic voice message said that my account was delinquent. 
I immediately tried to contact the bank from the cruise ship. They kept me on hold forever so eventually I hung up. 

I was so upset that I sent a message to PNC through the Fraud contact email confirming that I was outside of the Country I had no idea what was going on with my card because I had not used it at all. I said to put everything on hold until I return to the United States. 

When I returned I called the bank and I was informed that a charge was made on my account, and the bank was charging me {$38.00} late fee, every month that they did not receive the payment. 
THE BANK NEVER INFORMED ABOUT THE CHARGE IN MY ACCOUNT SO I COULD TAKE CARE OF IT. I have always paid at least the minimum due ( by phone ) every month. After paying it off, doesnt the bank realize that if a charge is put on my account ( after PAYING IT OFF ) the bank does not realize that they should notify the customer if the charge is not paid? Isnt it obvious that if the customer paid off the card and a new charge comes in ( and the customer who always paid on time ) and the customer doesnt pay anything, shouldnt the bank communicate to the customer? Then to make it worse, the bank continues to charge late fees to my account. Shouldnt the bank realize that when the customer has paid off their card and a new charge hits the account and is not paid on the due date.obviously the customer does not know about the new charge? 
What kind of relationship and respect is that? The bank doesnt inform the client and continues billing late fees WITHOUT NOTIFYING THE CUSTOMER EVER? If the bank had notified me of the charge I could have paid it and then contacted the company regarding the charge. Does it make any sense to pay more in late fees than the charge itself? Of course not. 
I have contacted multiple people at your bank who just pass the buck and will not take ownership of the issue. They have all been worthless with the exception of one employee. 
One of your supervisors actually said to me ( sarcastically ) Its not our fault if you dont check your statement! Why would I if I had paid it off and the card was being used at all? 
XXXX claimed that the bank did not send me any letter because I signed up for paperless ( to save the bank money ) but I DID ASK THE BANK TO NOTIFY ME BY EMAIL or TEXT MESSAGES. Besides, the bank DID SEND ME A LETTER in XX/XX/XXXX saying my account was over my limit. ( before I paid off the card ) Interesting that you can inform your customer ( by letter ) stating that my account is over the limit by {$29.00} but you CAN NOT inform the customer THAT THERE IS AN UNPAID CHARGE on an account THAT HAS BEEN PAID OFF? So the bank will only communicate when its in their interest? ... and not in the customers interest? 
Instead of protecting the customers assets, you use this as an opportunity to take advantage of the customers assets. 
So your bank lets the client be considered delinquent because they want to take advantage of the situation by charging late fees? This is unacceptable. 

I have communicated with several representatives of PNC Bank ( including XXXX  at Executive Relations ) and XXXX XXXX ( Executive Claim Relations ). I have spoken to XXXX several times and all she says is that she is not going to refund what the bank charged me ( because OF THEIR OWN MISTAKE ) and she said that I need to prove that the bank informed me that the minimum payment due was {$35.00} and that the manager agreed with me on the phone. 

I have always paid by phone and I have a CLEAR RECORDED MESSAGE stating that my MINIMUM DUE IS {$35.00}. I have a credit limit of {$2000.00} and the bank has ALWAYS ACCEPTED the minimum payment due. 
I just didnt pay the total amount ( {$70.00} ) because I was expecting the bank to refund all of the wrong charges and fees. The manager on the phone agreed with me that I should just pay the minimum ( until the bank fixed the situation ). 
Even though I PAID FOUR DAYS PRIOR to the due date PNC still CHARGED ME A LATE FEE! 

Because I havent received any call back from XXXX, I went in person to the XXXX XXXX, Florida Branch. I spoke with the Manager and XXXX. Then XXXX informed me that I had another late fee in the account and he said he didnt know why? Because according to the computer I had paid four days before the due date. He could not explain that. He said he would help me with the case escalating it to someone else. I asked who? ... XXXX department? Forget itshe is worthless! And he assured me that he would send it to a department above her. 

I have been a loyal customer. The bank never informed me about the charge after I PAID THE CARD OFF. The Bank should have let me know about the new charges on my account ( it was a renewal that I didnt know they would charge on my card ). 
I dont have a crystal ball and I thought I was dealing with a renowned financial institution. I guess not. 

XXXX was the only person that was respectful and gave me good customer service. He worried about the banks reputation when nobody else did. He told me that people will call me but they have not. Instead, I get a call from worthless XXXX stating that the bank is not going to refund anything. 
I need this fixed. It is not fair for the bank to charge me for these fees. The bank does not honor one word on the phone and they refuse to provide an email where we can state things in writing. 
Obviously, the bank does not want to take ownership of their fraudulent charges and honor what they say to the customer. 
The bank should apologize for all the inconveniences they have caused me instead of blaming me and taking more money from my account. 
Because the bank refuses to do what is right I have filed a complaint against the bank. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I had to pay the balance in my account ( NOT THE MINIMUM PAYMENT which is CLEARLY STATED ON THE RECORDING ) PLUS I have to pay these disrespectful LATE FEES to prevent the bank from taking even more money from my account. 
By the way, XXXX also said that I need to CLOSE the credit card account. Really? It will affect my credit score plus I want the money the bank unjustly took from me credited back to my card. 
This is the worst customer service/management I have ever seen in my entire life. 

So now, after paying the balance I am exposed to UNKNOWN CHARGES on my account. To avoid this I am using this letter to notify PNC Bank that I DO NOT WANT ANY MORE CHARGES on my credit card. 
I want my card to be blocked from any future charges unless I send a signed certified letter stating otherwise. 

With all the fraud going on out there, how can I trust the bank? I cant. The bank has done nothing to protect me, their customer. On the contrary, the bank took advantage of the situation by taking even more money from me. This is not about the dollar amount that was taken from me. Its about the principal of the matter. 

There are many customers complaining about your bank about similar situations. 
Why does the banks recorded message tell you to pay a different amount then what is stated online? 
As I mentioned, I have PNC Banks recording before the bank tried to change it. 



So, to avoid the bank from stealing even more late fees from me, I will go online and pay whatever it states there. Because it contradicts your own phone message. 

I am not sure what your managers are doing there, but all they did was to give me wrong information and treat me disrespectfully and careless. 

By the way ( when I went to your XXXX XXXX, Florida branch ) I asked XXXX to just sign a copy of a letter asking to block the card from any future charges, but his manager said they can not do that. 

What? Not even sign the copy of my letter stating they received it? This is unacceptable. I understand XXXX situation. His boss doesnt want to take responsibility for it. I was just trying to make sure they would send it to the right department so the bank CAN NOT CLAIM THAT THEY WERE NOT INFORMED about my request. 

Its pretty clear that your bank can not be trusted. So again I want you to use this letter as my authorization to block any future charges on my PNC credit card. 

As I mentioned to the various managers ( and representatives of PNC Bank ) I will be filing a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau against PNC Bank. 

I want to prevent others from the financial abuse that your bank projects on its customers. 
Its my responsibility to do so. 

In conclusion, 1. I am waiting for the bank to do what is right and refund all of the fees ( incl. interest ) 2. Block my card from any future charges unless the bank receives a certified letter from me. 
3. I am not closing my account because it will negatively affect my XXXXredit score. 
4. I do not want the account to be used for ANY PURCHASES or charges of ANY KIND.

5. The card is going to be set aside and will not be used by me.

6. The bank will be responsible for allowing ANY charges on my account.

I have recorded message I can send you if you need it.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation