Consumer complaint received 2022-09-29
Company: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: OH
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Deposits and withdrawals

Complaint:
Complaint USAA has deemed me to have made a fraudulent deposit and claimed I am not a veteran. They have locked my account and have ignored offers for documents to prove that I am not a fraud, the deposit made was legitimate and I am a veteran ( XXXX ). I have attempted to work through this issue talking to customer service with allowing the XX/XX/XXXX day review and a re-review. 

I have offered to provide documentation of proof, I have been told that people would call me back with no one calling, and I have called several times to resolve the claims made against me. I feel that USAA does not want to find out the truth about me and this deposit, and shows no effort in restoring my account access or returning the funds that have already cleared without issue. 

Events about this complaint ON XX/XX/XXXX I sold my house in XXXX  and purchased a house in XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. The monies I made from the sell of my home in XXXX was wired to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX to process the down payment on the home bought in XXXX. They issued a check on XX/XX/XXXX of the overage of funds that was wired to them. I received XXXX for the sell of the XXXX home that was wired to XXXX XXXX. Closing costs for the purchase of my home in XXXX was {$120000.00}, for down payment and closing costs. The remainder is the total of the check ( {$210000.00} ) discussed below. 
XX/XX/XXXX Opened Checking account with {$25.00} wire transfer from my XXXX XXXX account. Changed address while talking to agent on the phone, due to moving from XXXX XXXX XXXX Original USAA online account had my XXXX address listed. So when I opened the checking account I changed it while talking to the customer service rep on the phone. 
Talked to Customer Service Agent about depositing check ( {$210000.00} ) They said I would have to mail it in because the mobile limit could not be raised to allow for deposit that way. I elected to wait and check some other alternatives for banks to deposit check. 
XX/XX/XXXX Decided to mail to USAA, called to get mailing address. 
XX/XX/XXXX mailed the check using XXXX overnight ( cost {$88.00} ). 
XXXX package containing check was signed for. 
XXXX Called to check status of check, only able to talk to Customer Service agent. They could not provide any information on if the check was received. But assured me that if it was signed for it would be processed. 
XXXX quick check on the phone app showed that a partial deposit was reflected on the account. 
XXXX tried login using web on my laptop. Account returned that it had been locked for my safety to contact customer service number. I called the general customer service number provided ( note late in the evening on eastern time ) and spoke to a gentleman, checked my information, put me on hold, and returned to tell me that USAA is exercising its right to no longer do business with me and closed my account. No information or reason why was provided and was told that a letter would be mailed to me providing the reason why. Any funds in the account would be returned to me by check or I would be provided an opportunity to have them wired somewhere else. I was also told that a letter would be sent to me stating the reason why this decision was made ( as of XX/XX/XXXX I have not received any letter stating this decision ). 
XXXX I called the main number for the XXXX XXXX XXXX listed online during business hours. I spoke to a lady and she explained that USAA had deemed me to be fraudulent, and they could not verify that I was a veteran. I asked where the money was and was told that the check would be returned to the issuing party once all processing took place. I was told it would take 7 to 10 days. They said I could ask the issuing party to stop payment on the check and issue a new one. I contacted the issuing party XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, they contacted their bank XXXX XXXX Bank to see what could be done. But since USAA had already deposited the check and it had cleared, they could not do that. 
XX/XX/XXXX Called the general number to check the status of return of the check back to the issuing party. I first talked to a male person. He reviewed the account and stated he could see what I was saying. Asked what the check was for, I explained it was the remaining funds from the sell of my home in XXXX. The reason it was on a business in XXXX, the funds were wired to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX for a down payment on the home I purchased in XXXX. The check was the remainder after the down payment was process. XXXX XXXX issued a check. After doing some more review he asked me if he could reverse the decision would I still be interested in doing business with USAA. While I started explaining my answer the phone conversation was cut off. Not sure what happened, if USAA hung up on me or the cellular connection was cut off. However, I felt that it was done deliberately since this person seemed to be trying to help me. 
I called back and got a different person, female this time. I explained the situation and that I was trying to find out some status on the return of the check to the issuing party and other details of what has transpired over the last two weeks. She did some reading and then transferred me to another female ( XXXX ). She tried to find some information, stated she sent some emails to the fraud department, but was not getting an immediate response. She also stated it could take up to 60 days for the return of funds. I stated that is very confusing, since I had been told it would be processed within 7 to 10 days. She mumbled some more information that was illegible by me. I asked what the processing time would be, she said she would send an email to the person I spoke to on XXXX to ask for confirmation. That person did not immediately respond. I was told that a message was left for that person and they would call me with an update, but it was dependent on when that person came back in to work and got the message. I said I would be patient for the 10 business days, but if the check was not processed back to the issuing party I would be talking to other people. During this conversation I was told that 10 business days would be XX/XX/XXXX. 
XX/XX/XXXX I called ( at XXXX ) to follow up on the status of the return of the funds back to the issuing party ( XXXX XXXX ). The customer service rep did not know when it was going to be returned, but put me on hold ( to talk with supervisor, which he stated later in the conversation ). He offered to put in a request for a re-review of the actions taken against me for being a fraud and not a veteran. He asked if needed would I be able to produce documentation to show that everything is legitimate. I said I could provide a XXXX for military service and my closing documents from the sale of my home and purchase of my home which reflect the deposited check amount. I also, said I could get a letter from the issuer of the check stating its legitimacy. It seemed that he was typing this into the system. I was told that it would take 3 to 4 days for this re-review and that I would be contacted for information as needed. I agreed to let the review take place and was willing to provide any documentation needed to prove legitimacy. 
I was told the funds are in the account. 
XX/XX/XXXX As of the evening ( note this is the end of 4 days for re-review ), I have not been contacted back by anyone from USAA to request any proof documents to show that this was a legitimate check, that I am not a fraud and I am a veteran. I tried logging into the account again and I am still locked out. 


If any additional documents are needed beyond what is attached, I can provide.

Company public response: Company believes complaint represents an opportunity for improvement to better serve consumers
Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief