Consumer complaint received 2022-10-28
Company: PNC Bank N.A.
State: MA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Problem using a debit or ATM card

Complaint:
XX/XX/2022 At around XXXX XXXX, I went to a branch location for PNC Bank, where I have a checking account. That particular ATM has a video feature where you are connected to a human teller ( in a remote location ) who handles the transaction with the client. I was withdrawing money from my checking account : {$2300.00}. When the teller put the transaction through, nothing happened on my end. No money came out. I asked the teller what happened. The teller said the computer showed that the money had been withdrawn from my account but that she could see that the machine hadn't dispensed the cash. She stated that she didn't know why it hadn't dispensed and she could not do anything more. She apologized and said that a case would be opened to investigate the problem and that it would take three to 10 days to resolve. I told her that I couldn't wait that long because I needed to pay my XXXX rent. She again apologized and said there was nothing she could do about it. This was very distressing news to me because I don't have any back up accounts and have very limited income. I started to cry. In the bank itself, there were other bank employees at desks. I turned to them and said that the machine had not dispensed the money and that I needed to pay my rent and didn't know what to do. The employees said they did not have money in that location and could not help me. One of the employees mentioned that this had happened earlier in the day and that they had called someone about it and thought it had been fixed. I was quite upset because I needed to pay my rent. One of the bank employees told me that they could give me a " Courtesy Check '' to cover my rent ( made out to my landlord ) so I accepted that. 

A few days later, I checked my account and noticed that the total balance was back up. I assumed that this was related to the ATM mess up and that PNC had put that money back in the account, since it had never been dispensed. However, rather than the {$2300.00} I had originally tried to withdraw on the XXXX, they had deposited {$2300.00}. As I said, at that point, I thought this was the reversal of the ATM mistake. I did not catch the {$2.00} difference at that point. I thought all was well. 

XX/XX/2022 That evening I checked my bank account before I went to bed. Nothing had changed. 

XX/XX/2022 I checked it again in the morning and saw that PNC had withdrawn that same {$2300.00} from my account. It had been coded as a check transaction, not ATM. Now I was confused. 

PNC still had not returned my money from XX/XX/XXXX. I called PNC Customer Service and received terrible service. The first representative did not believe me and transferred me to someone else without even telling me she was doing so ; I sat on hold for 15 minutes with no clue as to what was happening. After about 15 minutes, a second representative came on the line and explained to me that the {$2300.00} had been returned to my account and that if my account was overdrawn it was due to my own spending. I was taken aback and tried to explain the history of the problem to her. She did not believe what I was telling her. She said, " If you don't believe what I am telling you, that the amount in your checking account is the correct amount, you can leave a message for a supervisor, but they aren't going to get back to you for 24 - 48 hours. '' Her lack of understanding and lack of concern for the seriousness of my situation felt pretty awful. 

XX/XX/2022 That same day, I returned to the location where it originally happened and it wasn't until I talked to someone in person that I realized how serious this issue was. The supervisor at the bank said that she remembered me from the day it happened ( XX/XX/XXXX ). She reassured me that she knew it was true, that she had been there as a witness herself, and that, further, there was a video record and three witnesses -- just in case the employees investigating this problem did not believe ME. I felt concerned because it had not occurred to me that someone would not have records of the conversation with the original remote teller to know that this was a legitimate complaint and problem to solve. 
That employee, the supervisor, tried herself to get in touch with someone in the ATM dispute department without success. The original dispute was made on XX/XX/XXXX ; by that date, XX/XX/XXXX, it still had not been opened or reviewed by the ATM dispute department. 

XX/XX/2022 I was at work and noticed that I had a call coming in from PNC but was not able to speak while at work. The female representative left a voicemail, and provided a phone number to call back ; she stated she would be there until XXXX XXXX. I left four voicemails between XXXXXXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX the next morning. She finally called me back the next day, XX/XX/2022, late morning. She was annoyed that I had 1 ) left her so many voicemails and 2 ) said that she " hates playing phone tag '' and 3 ) that she was " glad ( I ) had finally answered my phone. '' She expressed her annoyance that I hadn't answered the night before. I was explaining to her what happened. She stated that she did not have any new information for me. I mentioned that I was now at the place where I felt like the only solution was to hire an attorney ( not that I had any money for an attorney ). 

Later that same day, a second representative tried to contact me, but I was biking and in traffic and could not answer. She left a voicemail stating she was the new person assigned to the case and would be available until XXXXXXXX XXXX I called several times over the next few hours but she did not answer. That was a Friday. 


XX/XX/XXXX ( Tuesday ) I finally connected with that representative late that afternoon ( XXXX or so ). She explained the delay by telling me that she took Monday off. She stated that she could not do anything about the issue and that she needed to get in touch with the ATM department and they had already left at XXXX XXXX She said that she had emailed the ATM Dispute team but that she had not received any reply and mused that maybe they had a big caseload and were too buys. I stated that the original time table for the resolution of the problem was supposed to be three to 10 days but more than 20 days had already passed without any resolution, or indeed, any communication at all. 

XX/XX/2022 XXXX that day, about XXXXXXXX XXXX the original {$2300.00} was credited to my account. No communication was received from the bank about this transaction. No one called to follow up on this. 

XX/XX/2022 I had a call from the XXXX branch ( where the people were who had been speaking with me about this ). However, when I picked up the call, they hung up. No one has called since. 


PROBLEMS I was unable to make a loan payment on XX/XX/XXXX because my account was overdrawn by {$910.00}. This could be detrimental to my credit score, and not my fault. 

Friends had offered to XXXX me money to cover that loan payment, but if that money had gone into my account, it would have just been credited to the negative balance, The bank would not approve a provisional credit to me during this 3 week period of me having an overdrawn checking account because, according to the representatives with whom I spoke, ATM disputes do not qualify for provisional credit. 

The only person was was courteous and understanding and helpful was the supervisor of the local branch where this all began. All other PNC employees were dismissive and uncaring. 

This was a distressing experience that " cost '' me more than the original {$2300.00} the ATM did not disperse. I believe it's a serious enough problem that it should be brought under review and that a formal apology should be forthcoming from the bank. I may be one of many thousands of PNC customers, but without any of our money, the bank would not exist. This has made me rethink keeping an account with this bank.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation