Consumer complaint received 2021-11-24
Company: U.S. BANCORP
State: CA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Closing an account
Sub-issue: Company closed your account

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX I applied for a job online and was asked to deposit a check amounting to {$2000.00} for equipment. The next day XX/XX/XXXX they asked me to pay for the equipments thru XXXX which made me worried and in doubt of the said check, on XXXX AM PST the same day I contacted the fraud liaison department in regards to the check i deposited, he confirmed to me that the employer was scamming me. I asked him if he can reverse/cancel the check and he said he cant since it is already cleared. I also asked him for the next step to take in regards to this and he told me nothing since it's going to bounce anyway and just wait for the {$20.00} fee and I can easily have it reversed when I go to my local branch. Since my account number was compromised I asked him if he can change my account number and he told me he can. What he did was close my account and made a new one. He transferred all the funds and told me to wait a few days to get the new acct number and I can still use my old debit card. 

XXXX weeks later, XX/XX/XXXX I realized that my account was then again frozen so I called the customer service at XXXX AM PST and the lady confirmed that my old acct ending in XXXX has a - {$2000.00} balance and that my debit card was still tied to it technically freezing my account ending in XXXX. She issued me a new card and told me to wait for it in the mail. I asked her about settling the negative balance and she told me she cant really answer me and so, she transferred me to the Fraud department. I was able to speak to someone from the fraud department and asked her about the negative account, she told me I can't do anything because the risk department already got involved and my account is now being closed. I asked her how I will get my money and pay for the negative balance and she told me that I need to wait in the mail for XXXX weeks and I will be issued a cashiers check thru mail and a bill for the negative balance. I asked her if there is any way I can speed up the process since I have enough funds to cover for the negative balance and she said no, there is nothing I can do. She also told me that my accounts are already getting ready to be closed so, nothing will come in and that all check deposits so as checks issued will be rejected and returned. 

I have accepted my fate and tried to survive XXXX weeks of no money for my bills and also had a delayed paycheck since it was going to be rejected. 

Fast forward to XX/XX/XXXX, my current employer asked me if i received my pay for the last month, I told them no and that it will be returned to them. They showed me a screenshot that the amount was successfully deposited to the bank account and so, I decided to call customer service on the same day at XXXX AM PST. The customer service rep told me that my account was already at the collections and so, she transferred me to the collections department. The lady from the said department told me that the money that was indeed received was used to fund the negative balance. I asked her why it was taken if the account was closed and it was supposed to be returned to my employer. She told me my account was reopened and it was still open when my check arrived. The statement was different from what the fraud liaison told me and so she decided to transfer my call to the fraud department to gain some clarity on the issue. 

I was able to speak to the fraud department and he was able to let me know that the account was reopened and that I should have been instructed to go to my local branch to speak to the branch manager. He told me that the branch manager would be the one who can help me communicate with the risk department and possibly have my account back or atleast get my money and fix the issue before it went to collections. I told him how hard it was the past XXXX weeks having no funds, having my paycheck taken away and technically my money was held for that long and there was an actual way to resolve the problem. With that same guy I asked to report a complaint regarding the first representative that told me i don't need to do anything and just to wait for the check to bounce which resulted in the negative balance in the first place. And another complaint for the lady who told me I can't settle the negative balance and that I cant do anything about it. He told me he sent the complaints but I didn't really get anything from this complaint, no response, updates nor calls. I also called my local branch the next day XX/XX/XXXX XXXX AM PST to ask for assistance in regards to my account and they said it was already too late. My accounts are already closed and she cant do anything anymore. 

I received the bill on XX/XX/XXXX but with no cashiers check, I decided to go to the local branch on XX/XX/XXXX XXXX AM PST to ask if I can do a payment plan since the actual money to cover the negative balance hasn't arrived. He told me that the bill had already been paid for and that my cashiers check will be issued soon, no actual dates yet. The negative balance amount was deducted to the final check that will be issued. I told him that this is the way it was supposed to be done in the first place. Lastly, it was a good thing that I didn't mail in any payments since it will double the amount lost in the process. I didn't even get any alerts, calls or email regarding this which made it even more frustrating. 

Fast forward i received my check for the remaining balance and it was sent to the wrong address! it was sent to the old one my moms house. 

I have already contacted your department thru mail and thru phone regarding my case and yet there is still no proper resolution involving this. I spoke to XXXX XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX pm and she told me that your department will check up on my case and will get back to me regarding to what happened, so as my request to help me remove a report for my chex system. Days have passed and I still havent gotten a response.

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