Consumer complaint received 2022-11-04
Company: EVERBANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: ID
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Savings account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Fee problem

Complaint:
We are asking for a full refund of predatory fees charged by TIAA on our XXXX XXXX money market account. 

We have been a VIP client with EverBank/TIAA since XXXX and, in XXXX, we put {$350000.00} worth of euros and British pounds into an EverBank money market account. 

When we logged into our account on XXXX XXXX, XXXX, we discovered that for the last two years the XXXX XXXX department has been withdrawing approximately {$850.00} every month from our money market account in fees. Over time, this has added up to {$20000.00}. 

We were not aware that there had been a change to our account so, as soon as we saw the charges, we called the XXXX XXXX department. When we asked for help reversing the fees or for the department work with me, we were transferred to XXXX XXXX, who flat out refused to help. He simply stated that the fees were a result of negative rates set by foreign banks. 

We were not satisfied with XXXX XXXX response, so over the period of three days, we called the department about five times and each time we were transferred to XXXX XXXX. Each time, he repeated the same thing. 

His argument was : the bank had notified us by sending one email to us two years ago ; the bank had posted something on the website two years ago ; and he said that we should have noticed the fee on our statement.

Let us address each of these arguments.

ONE EMAIL/A POST TO WEBSITE : Especially as a VIP client, it is unreasonable that one email, which most likely went to spam, was appropriate notice of the addition of a 3 % monthly charge to our account. The chances that we were going to find such an important email is close to zero. In addition, it is absurd to think that we are checking the banks website on any regular basis looking for a posting about this kind of change. 

Instead, at the bare minimum, we should have received a call, a letter, and several emails that were marked as urgent. 

FEE ON STATEMENT : As for noticing the fee on our statement, we put our money in the bank for safe keeping. And since we have been saving this currency for the future, we have not had any activity in the account. When we glanced at the statement every month, we simply thought the reduced value was because the euros and the British pounds value was dropping. It never crossed our minds that there could be an unknown fee added to our account, so therefore it didnt occur to us to look for it. 
Even more important than what we did or didnt notice and why we may not have noticed : It is the banks job to make us aware of new fees. If the bank is relying on us to decipher that there is a new fee on our account, then it is a deceptive, even fraudulent, fee. 

Simply put, it is the banks job to ensure their customers know about new fees, not the other way around. 

In addition, XXXX XXXX of TIAAs XXXX XXXX department is either ignorant of the banks fees or knowingly lied about the purpose of the fees. 

XXXX XXXX said that the bank was just covering costs and that the bank had not made any money from the fees. He claimed that they were only imposed to cover the banks costs due to negative interest rates from XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX. To check the validity of this, we spoke with the XXXXXXXX XXXX  in XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX and learned the following : From XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX, the rates were between -0.4 % and -0.5 % annually, which would have accumulated to approximately {$3000.00} in fees on our account. Instead, we were charged -3 % annually, which has added up to {$20000.00}. This is a very big discrepancy and is clearly more than covering costs. 

Additionally, as soon as we called XXXX XXXX on XXXX XXXX, XXXX, he told us that, as of this month, they stopped charging the fee. The timing of this sudden reversal is very suspicious. The last charge on our account was on XX/XX/XXXX, so the fee was still being charged as of earlier in the month. Additionally, had the fee been connected to the XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX negative interest rates, as XXXX XXXX claimed, then the fee should have stopped as of XX/XX/XXXX. 

As a result of these fees and XXXX XXXX lack of willingness to help, we were forced to liquidate our foreign currencies, withdrawing nearly {$310000.00} from the bank at a major personal loss. 

We need help addressing these alarming practices that prey on customers who simply trust that they put their money in a bank where it is safe and secureand we would like a full refund of the {$20000.00} worth of fees.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation