Consumer complaint received 2022-08-29
Company: TRUIST FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: FL
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Problem making or receiving payments

Complaint:
From XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX, I was unable to access my mobile banking account for more than a couple of hours. My real estate transactions and credit restoration services funneled money into my accounts. Upon calling Truist to get my account balance, the customer service representative told me the account number I requested did not exist, which frightened me because I had taken a loan not even 1-2 months ago. To skip waiting hours for the banker, I asked a teller to pull up my account and they couldn't locate it either, so I sat down with XXXX XXXX, the senior banker at the branch in XXXX. As I did not use that account for anything, he notified me that one of my accounts was overdrawn by a considerable amount. XXXX insisted that it had to have been given to someone, which I insisted I did not authorize nor do I use the debit card myself because of the risk debit cards impose when put in the wrong hands. I explained that I do not use debit cards. He pointed out that my credit card was overdue, which I didn't know because I couldn't access mobile banking and my auto-pay was disrupted by the merger. As a courtesy, XXXX waived the late fees on the account. When I remitted the payment information for my car, the auto-pay was not set up. My visit to the branch in XX/XX/XXXX was to make sure my accounts were in good standing and to try to get access to mobile banking after 30 years of trying. I was notified by XXXX that I was credited the money stolen from my account, but I told him I did not believe the balance was correct. My accounts were not resolved until well after the bank closed. The {$2500.00} I paid for my car payment came as a shock to my finances because I was unaware that my payment remitted and request for autopay had not gone through. My bank account can not be accessed by phone or branch teller. As soon as I paid, I was kicked out of the app. I wrote an email to XXXX about my loss of access after I was on the phone for over an hour with a customer service representative without any resolution, which was frustrating as I was leaving for some time and could not monitor my bank activity.The issues that stemmed from this merger had caused a lot of damage to my credit profile and finances when I returned. As a result of the auto pay failing, I was behind on my auto loan. One of my credit cards failed to go through auto-pay despite working with the banker directly to set it up, which resulted in late payments being reported twice to my credit report. The fraud took place on my escrow account ending in XXXX. The account was closed and charged off. To safeguard my personal information and identity, I changed my phone number, my email address, changed sensitive passwords, reordered all credit cards and debit cards, as well as updated my extended fraud alert with the credit bureaus. As soon as I returned home, I lost my ID and went to the DMV to find out that my license had been suspended because I requested bill pay, which did not occur, resulting in my license being suspended. Due to a glitch in bill pay, the {$20.00} monthly payment I requested to be drafted did not get processed properly. The collection balance is over $ XXXXDuring my absence, my child 's father was involved in a major XXXX XXXX that nearly took his life, and the payment issue left me immobile. I had to write a letter to the judge to explain the issues I have been experiencing in hopes she will have mercy on me considering the reason I was away was that I needed XXXX to recover my XXXXXXXX and time away to maintain it after I had experienced a XXXX XXXX  due to overworking and stress that led to major XXXX and XXXX. On XXXX, I went to a Truist branch in XXXX XXXX and waited for quite some time to find out where I stand with them. Since I misplaced the card of the senior banker, I can not refer to him by name at this time. As far as the charged-off account, auto-pay issues, and auto loan information are concerned, he explained what he could see from his end. Upon explaining that I had signed documents to resume auto pay with XXXX XXXX, he said he couldn't see them, which was strange since auto pay worked on XXXXne account but not the other. After I deposited some checks I had been holding, he recommended I resolve the payments that were behind and pay my car payment immediately. The Truist Auto Loan Department 's XXXX  informed me that she could only waive one late payment and any additional reimbursement would have to go to a back office, which she said she would request.It was important for me to make sure my credit would not be affected by technical issues, so I asked her for the telephone numbers of each department that handles bureau-related disputes. XXXX then transferred me to XXXX in Suntrust 's credit card department, now Truist. Despite visiting my local branch personally, XXXX and I discussed mobile banking and autopay. In my absence from mobile banking, I noticed that both late payments were reversed on both credit cards and that one autopay had been processed while the other hadn't. While I was away, I couldn't visit a Truist branch because there is none in XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. Despite using more than one system to push through the auto-pay, XXXX was unable to process it. After 10 days, she has not called me back after taking my contact information and promising to fix the auto pay issue. Due to the issues with my Truist banking experience, my credit score has declined by XXXX points, causing my insurance premium to increase for my renewal, which has motivated me to file complaints.In addition to the ATM incident, I have noticed suspicious activity impacting some of my other credit cards, including a state prepaid card, which I did not link to the possibility of my information being compromised until a customer service representative asked me to email supporting documentation to XXXX. Because more than one card was impacted and the situation with the ATM, I believe there has been a breach in the Truist data. Upon further research, I discovered that the bank has been a hotbed for fraud with this transition, so I filed a police report and an identity theft affidavit.I began filing complaints and writing letters on XX/XX/XXXX. To ensure the information provided was accurate, I logged into my mobile banking and noticed two transactions that I did not recognize, including a charge of {$550.00} from XXXX XXXX as well as a payment of {$100.00} from XXXX XXXX. Because I typically do not process payments from my bank account or use debit cards, I immediately contacted the fraud department. My fraud support representative, XXXX, told me the transactions were ACH transactions, but he didn't have information about the merchants, which I found strange. According to him, he advised me to freeze my account and reopen a new one, which I told him was not feasible at the moment since it was late at night on a Saturday and my business account is a hub for my merchant payments. I specifically stated that I am currently displaced and living in a XXXX and that taking that step abruptly would place me in danger. The supervisor expressed the seriousness of this new but ongoing issue with Truist and created a game plan to come up with a reasonable transition.In case I had inadvertently heard her name incorrectly, I was transferred to XXXX ( Account Security Supervisor ). According to XXXX, the account has been frozen and I need to open a new account or go to a local branch to unlock it. Before being transferred, I told XXXX not to proceed if that were to be the case ; it was done without my consent anyway. Due to living in a XXXX, the credit card I have has very limited credit availability, and the frozen account is where I receive payments, which now will be disrupted, causing further problems for me. According to XXXX, she would take note of my complaint and provide me with a number to call XXXX XXXX XXXX at XXXX Option # XXXX for any further assistance. However, XXXX XXXX XXXX is only open XXXX as well as the bank and my merchant. This merger has caused a great deal of mental stress during a fragile time while in recovery, I have dropped several points after several years of maintaining perfect payment history, my identity has been compromised, Ive lost my driving privileges temporarily, and my insurance premium has gone up, and I am losing money and time now that I have to navigate how to fix the issues with receiving my money appropriately and I feel that I should be compensated at this point for the magnitude of repetitive negligence at my expense.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation