Consumer complaint received 2016-03-04
Company: E*TRADE BANK
State: NY
Product: Bank account or service
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Account opening, closing, or management

Complaint:
I had been a former employee, then customer of E-Trade for many years. I had my E-trade checking account linked to my Pay Pal account. XX/XX/XXXX, there were several unauthorized charges in my Pay Pal account, which spilled over to the E-Trade account, since it was attached. I first contacted Pay Pal, and they went ahead and credited my account for the unauthorized charges. The problem is E-Trade Bank. Because there was n't enough money in the ET Bank account to cover the unauthorized charges, they charged me XXXX NSF ( insufficient fund fees ) in a matter of a few days, for {$25.00} each ... that 's {$450.00}!!!! I spoke with them several times, explaining that I did n't make these charges, but they refused to reverse any of the XXXX fees. I spoke with Pay Pal again, and they informed me that since these fees were charged by ET Bank, they would be the ones to reverse them. This makes sense. Pay Pal did their part ; they credited my account for those charges, and even provided me with XXXX letters to give to ET explaining that these charges were n't my fault. I ca n't begin to tell you the XXXX that ET Bank continues to put me through. I have spoken with many reps from there, most of whom are clueless as to what 's going on ( even though they are on an " XXXX '' team- XXXX ). I get different reps every time & have to rehash the story to them, they 've given me incorrect information on a regular basis, and they put notes under the incorrect account numbers so that other reps do n't see the notes. I have also sent many " secure messages '' to their Customer Service Dept. I 'm supposedly a " valued client '' but, again, nothing. They just refuse to credit my account for anything, and they wo n't even give me a reason. On top of that, around this time, they went ahead & closed all of my accounts. I had a checking & savings account, along with XXXX brokerage accounts ( for myself, kids, etc ). The problem was with the checking account ... why close my brokerage accounts???? Again, no answer. I have attached some of their messages, and, in XXXX, they say that I requested to close my account ... real swift. They hide behind the policy that they are n't required to give a reason, but it 's obvious that they do n't want to reimburse me. They are aware of every word in this complaint, including that under Regulation E, it 's against the law to charge NSF fees for unauthorized charges. I have spent a lot of time & energy on this for nothing. They continue to send me useless, generic messages that they need me to call in as they require further information. When I do call in, the rep does n't have any or ask me for any information. He just said that they wo n't agree to credit my account. Also, what more information do they need????? I have given you the facts, the letters, print-outs of the transaction history, etc ... ..what more do they want????!!!! Finally, they sent me a message stating that they will no longer address this issue via e-mail or phone call ; I had to send them a letter. I put together a very detailed letter and mailed it certified. I got a message that the incoming correspondence was received, but nothing else. I have given them over two months to do the right thing, but they simply refuse. At this point, I 'd like for everyone to know what a horrific " bank '' E-Trade Bank really is, and I still want that {$450.00} back.

Company response to consumer: Closed