Consumer complaint received 2023-08-29
Company: FIRST CITIZENS BANCSHARES, INC.
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Problem using a debit or ATM card

Complaint:
Dear Sirs The purpose of this correspondence is to request the help and intervention of Your Lordships or whomever you indicate to do so, to correct a situation that we are experiencing with First Citizens Bank. It is important to mention that we searched for other legal and valid communication channels without success. 

We are using this channel because the Federal Reserve recommended us to contact Your Lordships to find means of solving our problem. To understand the subject, below I make a brief report of the problem we face. Confident in the good administration and politics of your country, we opened an account in the aforementioned bank to use for vacation trips. 

We rarely used the account, including because of the pandemic and because there were no opportunities to travel, but we were aware that our resources were safe in your country and would be used by us when it was opportune. 

Unfortunately, on XX/XX/2023, we were surprised by a fraud in our account, fraud verified and admitted by First Citizens itself, which only reimbursed us for part of the stolen money. Upon accessing our First Citizens Bank checking account, we noticed that the total balance had significantly decreased. Around XXXX {$12000.00}! Analyzing the statement, we noticed a large number of debit transactions not carried out by us. 

They were fraudulent transactions carried out without using the PIN number in different locations. It is important to point out that in all the time that the fraud was happening, the bank 's security never contacted us to ask for confirmations or explanations, even though these were suspicious and atypical operations on the account. 

In this sense is our indignation and protests. If the fraud is amply proven and confirmed, why was the full amount of the fraud not returned to us? We can not accept allegations that seek to reverse the fraudulent situation and hold us responsible for the situation! 

On the same day, we informed the bank 's fraud department, canceled our debit card and requested a refund of the amounts deducted from our checking account. The following day, XX/XX/2023, we sent an email reporting this fraud to our account manager, XXXX XXXX XXXX - XXXX XXXX XXXXt XXXX - XXXX  ; XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  ; XXXX XXXX  XXXX : XXXX - XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX - XXXX XXXX  FL XXXX. 

We made numerous appeals to the account manager, XXXX XXXX, without success, leaving no alternative but to appeal to Federal Reserve, and following that to Your Lordships. In the mentioned above email sent to XXXX XXXX, we attached all movements in our account not authorized by us, all with strong evidence of fraud, so much so that a few days later some amounts were refunded, about XXXX {$3000.00}, but not the total amount defrauded. That is justified for their policy of not refunding claims over 60 days, even though the fraud happened for several more days than that! 

This fraud had been going on for several months, with glaring situations of non-compliance, such as purchases made on the same day indifferent cities and countries, different locations such as : XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, etc. We emphasize that we never received notices of these nonconformities or refusal by the bank for these suspicious transactions. 

We tried several phone contacts with the manager XXXX XXXX, but she did not answer the calls, responding only via XXXX that she would contact us at another time. We sent emails to her asking for the name of her superiors as she was not able to resolve our situation. 

Then she finally replied informing us that we would be contacted by her superior XXXX XXXX XXXX - Senior Vice President, XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. But so far we have had no responses. 

Based on this situation, we turn to you for the necessary measures. We appeal to your sense of justice, we want the total amount of our money back as is the usual conduct in the US, we did not give cause for the fraud, it was the bank 's security system that allowed the theft. This is a correct claim, if the fraud is proven and recognized, including because part of the money was returned to us, it is imperative to apply the criterion for the entire amount stolen from our account.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation