Consumer complaint received 2016-03-03
Company: FIFTH THIRD FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: PA
Product: Consumer Loan
Sub-product: Vehicle loan
Issue: Managing the loan or lease

Complaint:
My car loan payment of {$290.00} is due to Fifth Third Bank by the XXXX of each month and is n't considered late until the XXXX. 
I mailed in a check for {$300.00} to Fifth Third Bank from XXXX addressed to their XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX with more than enough time for it to arrive before the XXXX of XXXX. 
I got a call on the XXXX from a XXXX XXXX customer service rep saying my payment was n't received and that I was charged a late fee on top of the loan amount. I figured the check was lost in the mail. The rep suggested I used their online payment site to handle the payment. The total amount I paid was {$320.00} after all fees. This payment posted to my checking account XXXX XXXX. The rep told me she put a note on the account to not process the paper check if/when it is received since I 'd be paying online that same day. 
I received a call from my personal bank this morning indicating that the {$300.00} check was processed XXXX/XXXX/16 and went through XXXX/XXXX/16 because I did n't have the funds XXXX/XXXX/16 but got paid overnight XXXX/XXXX/16 from my direct deposit from work ( Commonwealth of PA ). They said the payment went through once my paycheck entered my account but that I 'd be charged a fee of around {$30.00} for it bouncing on XXXX/XXXX/16. 
I called XXXX XXXX and asked a different customer service rep to cancel the new payment ( which my personal bank indicated was the {$300.00} check, not the online payment of {$320.00} XXXX. The rep said that the online payment was the last they 'd gotten but that they did receive my check for {$300.00} on the XXXX. I asked why ... WHY they did n't process the check if they already received it. If they processed it on the XXXX, I would n't have a late fee from them, a bounce fee from my personal bank, and all of the stress that 's coming with the ordeal. I was transferred to " Research and Dispute Department ( XXXX was the rep ). '' She said that, because my payment was made online and not on the phone ( mind you, the original rep okayed paying online ), they would n't be able to refund the payment with the late fee of {$320.00} and that my personal bank would have to cancel the payment. For my personal bank to cancel the payment, it would cost me another fee. I stated that this is ludicrous and she swore she 'd call me back. I 'm still waiting. 
All this said, and thank you for reading it all, I have to report this situation. They deliberately held on to my check, which was on time by their own definition, and waited to process it until after it was late. If this is n't criminal, or at least unethical, then I 'm crazy. As a consumer, I find it very difficult to make money to consume at my job as I am spending all of my time going back and forth between my car loan bank and my personal bank. 
It may be pointed out that I should have cancelled the {$300.00} check once I paid the {$320.00} online. I asked my bank to cancel check number XXXX. The check I wrote was XXXX ... honest mistake. Mistake or not, I should n't have HAD to cancel anything, or pay online, or be charged fees, because they had my check on time and failed to process it. 
Thank you for your time. Feel free to edit this to remove details if you wish to publish this.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation