Consumer complaint received 2018-11-16
Company: PNC Bank N.A.
State: OH
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Fee problem

Complaint:
I opened a " Virtually Wallet Spend '' account at PNC Bank on XX/XX/XXXX. This account was to be fee free if certain depository conditions were met. I satisfied those conditions and incurred no fees until XX/XX/XXXX. At that time and each month subsequent through XX/XX/XXXX a {$7.00} fee was charged to my account because I did not meet a minimum balance requirement of {$500.00}. The total amount charged to my account has been {$100.00}. 

I contacted the bank to complain and demand a refund of these fees as I did not receive notification of the change. They explained that the fee structure change was included in my XX/XX/XXXX monthly statement. In their opinion, that was notification. I am of a different opinion. 

I have paperless statements. I do not receive statements by mail and I do not receive statements by email. Instead I receive email notifications that my statement is available on their website.The following is the message portion of the email received XX/XX/XXXX : The Online Statement for the account listed below is now available for viewing. To view your Online Statement, you must sign on to PNC Online Banking and click on Online Statements. 
This statement will continue to be available for up to 7 years through Online Banking. 

If your e-mail address has changed or will change, please update our records by selecting the Customer Service tab in Online Banking and clicking Online Statements E-mail. 

If you have not done so already, please add the sender of this e-mail to your e-mail address book to ensure ongoing reliable delivery. 

Thank you. 

There is absolutely no reference to a change in fee structure in this message. 

The question may be asked why I don't look at my statements? In the time between opening the account to the first fee being taken, I had initiated 9 transactions. The last three were inter-account transfers in response to notifications of inactivity from PNC. Certainly they then were aware that this was not an active account. Certainly they had the ability to communicate directly with me when the circumstance suited them. Clearly they would prefer to fee me than notify me of the change. 

It should also be noted that I maintain an interest bearing account that had more than {$500.00} in it. I received XXXX cents of interest in XXXX on it. In XXXX I have received another XXXX cents to date. I will note that aside from inter-account transfers, I have had one transaction in this account since opening it on XX/XX/XXXX. 

It is unreasonable and unethical that account term changes be communicated in any fashion other than DIRECTLY with  the account holder. This should be done by first class mail in my opinion, but at a minimum, in an email that succinctly summarizes the changes occurring and a revised account agreement. Burying it in an electronic statement that needs to be retrieved from a bank 's website is an invitation to abuse of numerous deposit holders who have no reason to expect any changes or transactions such as myself, or others who do not have the wherewithal or access to obtain their statements even if they elected, frequently with inducement, to receive their statements electronically.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief