Consumer complaint received 2017-09-08
Company: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: TX
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:
This complaint concerns a USAA Credit Card. 

First attempt to pay off the card : XXXX, XXXX ( check never cashed ) Date payment returned with letter : XXXX XXXX, XXXX Date second payment was sent by title company : XXXX XXXX, XXXX ( check never cashed ) Date third payment was sent by title company : XXXX XXXX, XXXX ( check never cashed ) Date wire transfer was submitted : XXXX XXXX, XXXX The total amount of interest and late fees I have asked to be reimbursed based on their letter is {$560.00}. They denied my request on XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX, XXXX. 

In order to pay off the credit card, I refinanced a property. When I sent the check to USAA for the full balance, they returned it approximately 25 days later with a letter stating that they were unable to process my payment since the account number was not on the check and charged me late fees for the month of XXXX. The letter stated that if I re-submitted the check with the letter and first and last 4 digits of the account number, I would be credited with the date of the original payment and would not incur late fees or interest.
The title company sent another check, with the account number AND a stub from the paper statement. Approximately 30 days later, the account had still not been credited. I called USAA and they bounced me around to different people since the account had been closed by the other joint owner. After 30 minutes of speaking with different people and explaining the situation, they put me on hold for another 10 minutes after which I was disconnected. 
I called the title company again who stated that they often have problems with getting USAA to accept payments. They cancelled the second check, issued a third check, submitted it with the statement stub again, and included the appropriate account numbers. 
Another month passed, with interest accruing, and the account was still not credited with the payment. I called USAA again, and again, they claim they did not receive the payment, bounced me around to several people and departments, and eventually put me on hold and I was disconnected after 30 minutes on the phone.
I called USAA the next day to ask if could wire money to the account and they said I could n't. I also asked if their customer records showed I had been trying to pay off the card for almost five months and they said they only have records of me calling, but that was it- no content. I finally dug through their website and found the wiring instructions that supposedly did not exist for " that type of account '' and found them. The money was wired the next day and the account was paid off. I continued to make payments and was charged interest the entire time. Including late fees, which were incurred during the months the checks were sent to USAA but not cashed, the total was {$560.00}. 
I then contacted USAA twice more to obtain a refund for the interest and late fees incurred during the last 4 months but they refuse to reimburse me for them, despite their letter. My last contact was on XXXX XXXX, XXXX, where I spent 34 minutes on the phone with them, being bounced around to different departments. They refused to reimburse me the interest and late fees and finally put me on hold for 10 minutes and once again, I was disconnected.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief