Consumer complaint received 2022-03-30
Company: MUFG AMERICAS HOLDINGS CORPORATION
State: CA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Problem with a lender or other company charging your account
Sub-issue: Transaction was not authorized

Complaint:
My name is XXXX XXXX. My email address is XXXX. My phone number is XXXX. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, my wife and I had lunch at a local Mexican restaurant in XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX.The lunch bill was {$77.00}, paid with my debit card ( see photo ). My bank, Union Bank in XXXX XXXX, or XXXX its debit card partner, then allowed the restaurant to withdraw {$11000.00} out of my account. There was no signed receipt or contract that could have been presented to allow that withdrawal to take place. The bank records indicate it went to the restaurant ( see photo ). I have tried to get help but the bank has not been responsive, saying that because I have a business account and this was an electronic funds transfer they can not help me. They also say the merchant made the mistake - not them ( see letter ) which does not make sense because nothing couldve been presented to the bank or its business partner XXXX to allow this withdraw from my account. They say I might be successful in getting my money back through XXXX ( see letter ) but its a slow process and theres no guarantee of success. I also went to the bank and confirmed that the POS transaction limit on my card was supposed to be {$2500.00}. The bank did not call to confirm that this was a legitimate transaction of {$11000.00}, and a fraud by someone shouldve been limited to no more than {$2500.00} without a phone call to confirm the legitimacy of the transaction, as they had done in the past. To me this seems like an act of negligence by my bank, and they have not been very helpful or seem overly concerned about my predicament. I have requested documentation from the bank as allowed by Federal Regulation E showing what investigation they conducted with XXXX, where the money was transferred to, and my records show it was transferred to the restaurant. I have received no response from the bank to my emailed request. I feel am powerless in this matter, and do not get a sense that the bank is concerned at all about my loss. I have documented this transaction, and forwarded a request to the California Attorney Generals office for help but I have not gotten a notification of receipt or acknowledgment that an investigation will be undertaken by them. I imagine they have a lot of cases to investigate and I am not a priority, but I am concerned time is passing ( with all the investigation time involved ) and I dont seem to be able to get any help in this matter. It is also important for business owners, using debit cards, to not assume that their transactions are secure, or that the bank is willing to make extra effort to help them when something like this occurs. In theory one could buy a pair of sneakers with a debit card, and have the shoe store withdraw thousands of dollars from your account without seemingly presenting any type of signed authorization.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief