Consumer complaint received 2022-06-14
Company: FIFTH THIRD FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: OH
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 XXXX : Unauthorized charge of {$99.00} appeared on credit card from XXXX XXXX. 
XXXX XXXX : Checked with XXXX to confirm the charge was not made on my account XXXX XXXX : Called 5/3 Corporate Dispute Dept. and filed a dispute. Was told not to make a payment on the account. I had a balance of just over {$50.00} of legitimate charges on this card. I clarified that I wasn't supposed to make a payment by calling back 5/3 Corporate Dispute Dept. to make sure that was accurate because this didn't sound right to me. They assured me that I did not need to make a payment, that fees would appear as a result of my non-payment but the fees would be credited back once the dispute was resolved. 
XXXX XXXX : Still receiving late charges. Went to 5/3 branch to make sure this wasn't damaging my credit score, and to see if any payment needed to be made. I spoke with a branch representative named XXXX, and she investigated the dispute with me by calling other corporate departments. After looking over my file she told me to take no action and to check in if you don't hear from us. 
XXXX XXXX : I was still getting late fees. Had not been called from dispute department regarding payment. Waiting to hear back. 
XX/XX/XXXX : Went back to branch to check in and spoke with same branch representative to make sure things were still on hold since I hadn't heard from 5/3 corporate. I was told that the account has been charged off because of non-payment. They then explained that I was liable to pay on the card throughout the entire process and labeled my account 'delinquent '. This is what I was trying to avoid by continuously calling and asking if I needed to take an action. 
XX/XX/XXXX : I phoned the corporate number again and was referred to several departments, none of which had the full information on what was going on with my account. Each call required me to describe the entire matter, and I was put on hold twice and warned not to not hang up ... and then I was disconnected. There is no way to talk to the same person. I was then told that it was in fact was reported to credit and that I was responsible for the balance, and then I was finally transferred to the Collections dept. I was told by Collections that it was labeled 'charged off ' as an internal way to prevent fees from being accrued to the account, and that the account was not delinquent and I was still not responsible to make a payment on the card. He told me a separate account would be opened once the dispute process was over and that would be the balance I owed less the disputed amount and fees. He also advised me not to speak to the branch because they aren't helpful. 
XX/XX/XXXX : I receive a call from Collections saying that I need to make a payment and that the account is delinquent and reporting to credit and that I can not pay to get this removed. XX/XX/XXXX : At this point I had been contradictory messages regarding what to do during the process, and I felt that I needed to get some answers person-to-person so I scheduled an appointment with the local branch manager to discuss everything that happened since XXXX. 
XX/XX/XXXX : The branch manager opened a ticket for the company to determine if the company 's charges against me were justified, When I told them I had been getting inconsistent messages, they were apologetic that their messages were contradictory but still determined that I was at fault for not making the payment. At this point I realized that they are now both the prosecutor and the judge and that the bank has no incentive to be objective in this matter. 
XX/XX/XXXX : I talked to the branch manager again to see how the case was going. He informed me that they had determined that I was at fault. He said that he would escalate the ticket to get his XXXX involved and I haven't heard back. 
XX/XX/XXXX : Received a phone call from 5/3 Corporate. The representative told me that the account is in collections in the amount of {$400.00}, so now my credit report is affected as well for 7 years. For a {$99.00} charge that I didn't make but now wished I had just paid it to avoid this nightmare with a bank that won't help me. 
Strangely, my online statements do not show a balance owed but rather a credit. 

If you can help me, it would be appreciated immensely.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation