Consumer complaint received 2020-11-18
Company: FIFTH THIRD FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: NJ
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
Fifth Third Bank XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, OH XXXX XX/XX/XXXX Re : Account # XXXX To whom it may concern : I am writing to you with regards to the above-mentioned account. As per the attached documents I am seeking your assistance in resolving these late payments that are being reported to the 3 credit bureaus. Prior to this horrific and tragic incident I was and have always been a great customer with on time payments and no blemishes on my credit report. In order to keep and maintain this excellent payment history I make sure that all my credit responsibilities are setup on automatic payments. 

In XX/XX/XXXX, my world and credit came to a screeching halt due to theft of my checking account information, ( please see police report attached ) whereby fraudulent and phony checks were printed out with my checking account information and used to obtain funds from my bank account. Once I became aware of the matter I immediately went to XXXX XXXX  and notified them of the situation. I also told them that I had automatic payments coming out of the account as well and didnt want them to bounce while they investigate the theft and open a new account for me. I was assured that any automatic payments that came in on my account would be honored and paid although that account was closed while I transition to the new account and get all my creditors setup for automatic payment with my new account. 

In addition, I contacted your bank and explained the situation as well and was told that I had to wait for forms to be sent to me via USPS mail, and that they could not be sent to me via electronic means. I was also told that you would still continue to automatically debit my account for the mortgage payments so that they would be no lapse in payments while I await the new enrollment forms for autopay to be received and filled out with my new banking information. I should have known something was not right as I was immediately sent to the collections Dept of your bank whom said they understood my situation and promised to work with me and not charge me any late fees or tarnish my perfect credit. So, from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX, Ive tried to setup my autopay with your bank to no satisfaction, it was always not received. In the meantime, you have continued to direct debit my bank account for my monthly mortgage payments without lack of consistency of dates and payment amounts. 

One XX/XX/XXXX, my account was debited by your bank and then returned the same day which makes no sense as ( you will see attached ) there were plenty of funds in my account to cover the transaction ( please see bank statements attached ). One XX/XX/2020 another payment was debited and then again, another one on the XX/XX/2020 as well. XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/2020 more payments were removed and as I mentioned previously no consistency. I called to discuss this issue as XXXX XXXX had no explanations as to why the payments were random and inconsistent. The XX/XX/XXXX which Im assuming should have been the next debit did not occur. I called and was told that I had an extra payment posted so no payment was due at the time, hence the lack of debit in XXXX, during the call I was told that they had finally receive my auto pay documents and that it should be reinstated for my XX/XX/XXXX premiums. Yet with me being told that I had no payment due in XXXX I am being reported to the XXXX bureaus as being 30 days late. 

In XX/XX/XXXX, I made a phone payment, with the payment deducted on XXXX, then another automatic debit was removed on XX/XX/XXXX, plus your collections department setup another payment on XX/XX/XXXX, which my bank flagged as fraud and did stop that one. So, with all these debits being removed from my account I am still being reported as delinquent when I have done my best to make a bad situation palatable. This has caused an extreme hardship on my life and credit. 

So, in conclusion I just had another call this afternoon with your service representative and confirmed that I was indeed setup multiple times with BillPay and it was closed with no lead time of notice to allow me the opportunity to reinvestigate why this was continuously happening, also with no explanation of why the bill pays were being cancelled. In XXXX, payments were deducted from both accounts although I contacted you about my theft situation and provided the banking information for the new account, this happened again in XXXX and again a couple of times after this. So, let this letter show that I am not at fault here and I took the correct steps to remedy this situation and rectify it without my life and credit taking a severe hit as it has. I am aware that human errors occur but as a huge establishment I think your priority should be customer service and support rather than ruining ones lives to your benefit. I have documented and chronicled the whole situation as you will see attached. My concern is that no one in your establishment can ever provide me the reasons why this has happened or why my auto bill payments were cancelled several times and then multiple payments taken out automatically then stopped and then no communication stating that had occurred. 

As you will see attached XXXX XXXX  has included a letter of explanation as well so that we can get this situation resolved amicably. I have been an excellent customer and would hate to have a ruin relationship and move to another lender due to a mishap. 

I cherish my relationships with my creditors and I cherish my perfect credit score even more. It takes hard work and diligence to maintain a perfect score. My request is for you to review my file and update the late ( s ) that are being reported on my accounts as well as to the bureaus. I feel that I was setup to fail and that I was sabotaged deliberately or nondeliberate.

I look forward to your positive reply and moving forward with our creditor/debtor relationship.

Regards

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation