Consumer complaint received 2019-12-19
Company: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: SC
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Closing an account
Sub-issue: Funds not received from closed account

Complaint:
In XX/XX/2019 I began the online process to open a checking account with USAA. The system did not have a way for me to state that my husband, a XXXX XXXX had died. His XXXX XXXX is what I believed would qualify me to open the account. I stopped the online process and called USAA. I told the Rep what I wanted, told him my husband was deceased and asked if I could still open the account. He assured me that I did qualify and he proceeded to assist with opening the account. The last step he took - with my permission - was to extract {$2500.00} from the bank I had at the time and charged me the {$25.00} wire fee to do so. He told me the account was now active and that I could begin using it immediately. I believe this was the last Friday of the month of XXXX. Over the weekend, I received by email from USAA documents that federal law requires be signed by me. The USAA instructions stated I could e-sign them. I tried but the e-sign link never worked. In between packing to go on an extended trip to XXXX I kept trying the e-signature link, thinking the problem was that the account was new and that it was just a " slow computer '' issue. Finally, I decided to call USAA for assistance. My intention was to go to my to account open up the documents, call USAA to get help with the e-signature link. When I tried to log into my account an error message told me my account was restricted to call USAA for assistance. I did immediately and eventually a woman in their Security Dept. very curtly advised that USAA has chosen to no longer conduct business with me or some script to that effect ... that has made me feel like I am a criminal of sorts ... and Rep refused to give me a reason for that decision. I called back and was transferred around to eight ( 8 ) different people, not one of whom could tell me what the problem was, just continued to make me feel as if I had committed an unknown illegal act. The ninth ( 9th ) person I spoke with in Security kindly advised me that the problem was I had not submitted my I.D . when I opened the account. I informed her that the man that helped me open the account NEVER ONCE asked for my identification. She kindly assisted me how to submit my I.D . electronically, however it was continually refused for one reason or another. Finally on XX/XX/XXXX my electronically submitted identification was finally accepted, however I remained locked out of the account. Countless phone calls to USAA only netted me the same run around in the same loop of non-assistance. Each call I was told by their Security Staff that they could not determine the reason for the restriction on my account so that Rep was escalating my call that I will receive a call from the appropriate department within no more than 2-3 business days ... to date, I have NEVER received a call. I was out of the country for an extended period of time, yet I still made several international calls to get this resolved by having my money returned to me and that account closed, yet no one has been able to assist me. Three ( 3 ) times I have sent emails to CEO XXXX XXXX, Chief Risk Officer XXXX XXXX, Customer Service Supervisor XXXX XXXX and CP Sales/Service ( manager? ) XXXX XXXX. Even though on the first email I had inadvertently submitted the incorrect member number still XXXX XXXX from Member Advocacy USAA Enterprise Financial Crimes Management sent me an email XX/XX/19 stating he had tried but was unable to reach me to call him and he gave the number and his extension. I began calling him the same day and each time left messages. I did not call XXXX XXXX, but each subsequent call thereafter I left messages ... specifically stating that since my Caller I.D . did not register a call from USAA I likely treated the call as a telemarketer and blocked the number. I pleaded with him to send me an email advising a day and time when he will be in his office and I will certainly call him at that time to get my money returned to me. Since his initial email, I have never heard another word from XXXX XXXX. Two ( 2 ) more times I have resubmitted my emails to the 4 USAA officials with my corrected member number and new cell phone number on them ... I have never heard anything back. I submitted a question to the XXXX community seeking suggestions on how to handle this problem and immediately the Help Desk for USAA sent me an email requesting more information. I immediately submitted the same information I have stated here. The reply I received from that Help Desk was that my information was submitted to USAA as a complaint. That was on XX/XX/XXXX ... to date, I have not heard another word. The last conversation I had with USAA Security was that no one in the company can access my account except Security so there is no one else in the company I can speak with because they will not be able to help me, that Security is the only department that can access my account and they can not help me because USAA has chosen to no longer conduct business with me. Additionally, On XX/XX/2019 I received a statement from USAA that shows they closed my account and issued an order for a check of my funds to be sent to me. Since I had not received the check, I called USAA several times with the same results as stated above ... no check, no help. I am a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX living on a fixed income. The money rightly belongs to me, it is now six ( 6 ) months since USAA has - in my opinion - illegally held on to my money, refusing to explain to me why and thus far, refusing to return it. If I had done this to their company, they would have all manner of Collection employees harassing me to retrieve what they would say rightly belongs to them. Yet as an innocent consumer, I have not felt like I have any methods to collect my rightfully owned money from USAA ... until by accident, I came across information about CFPB. My feeling is that USAA has stolen my money from me. I have recorded conversations with USAA representatives, each time I have advised them that the call was being recorded. The second to the last conversation I had with them, the Security Rep took me off of hold stating that she had found someone who could help me and the person was on the line. At that point I told them that I was recording the call and whether intentionally or accidentally I do not know, but one of them immediately disconnected the call and no one tried to call me back, so I called back and that is when I was told, no one at USAA will be able to help me. During my XX/XX/2019 conversation with a USAA Security Rep, I was told first one thing then another ... finally he put me on hold for a very long time came back stating that Property & Casualty had put a restriction on the check to be issued to me ... he supposedly tried to get them on the line to explain their reasoning to me, but he came back saying they were not able to take my call or something, then he said that it was because of the Auto department or something ... the more he spoke the more it sounded as if he was just making up things as he went along in his effort to get me off of the line. I informed him that I have never had an account or dealing with their Property & Casualty or their Auto departments. He then admitted that he wasn't sure if those departments were the problem. I never received an escalation call from that conversation either. I also believe that the representatives put me on hold for sometime upward of nearly an hour hoping that I would get tired, frustrated and disconnect the call ... I never once did so, I stayed on hold until they eventually came back on the line. Once again, I will be leaving the country for an extended period of time, but I will be reachable by email. I will GREATLY appreciate your help in recovering my money to me. Thank you

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation