Consumer complaint received 2024-02-19
Product: Checking or savings account — Savings account
Issue: Managing an account — Deposits and withdrawals
Company: DIGITAL FEDERAL CREDIT UNION (WA)

I tried opening a savings account with Digital Credit Union ( DCU ) on XX/XX/XXXX. I provided sensitive personal information such as my social security number and the account number to my current savings account with XXXX. I wanted to open a savings account with DCU because they offered a higher interest rate for their high yield savings account than what I was receiving with XXXX which was advertised in a financial newsletter that I subscribe to. Reading about DCU in this newsletter gave me the impression that this institution was credible, legitimate, and actually cared about retaining and attracting new customers to their bank. I deposited {$1500.00} into that account after I opened it but on XX/XX/XXXX I received an e-mail notification stating that the deposit request was cancelled and upon trying to log into my account I discovered that I had been locked out. Even more surprising was the fact that despite the notification that the deposit request was cancelled the money had been withdrawn from my savings account anyway which I no longer had access to because it was locked away with DCU. I immediately called DCU to try and find out what was going on and the customer service reps I spoke to were dismissive, unhelpful, and did not appear to know anything that was going on inside DCU. They eventually transferred me to their loss prevention department where I spoke to another representative who was even less helpful and was questioning my like I had committed some act of fraud by opening a savings account with their bank. He asked me several questions such as why I was opening an account with them, where I was depositing money from, and how I heard about their bank which left me feeling extremely dumfounded and frustrated. On top of that this representative would not tell me why they flagged the account, what they were looking for, and when I could expect to regain access to my funds. He was extremely vague, dismissive, and repeatedly just told me they were going to continue looking into it ( Im still not sure what they are looking into they have access to all of my personal information ) even after Ive provided them with sensitive personal information multiple times over especially my social security number. I called back again on XX/XX/XXXX to figure out when they would unlock the account but I continued to encounter the same dismissive attitude from the representatives and was told by their loss prevention department that they would decide in 1-2 weeks whether or not they would unlock the account even though my money is still sitting in the account without my authorization!!! I am extremely frustrated and I regret ever opening the account in the first place and I also regret that I did not read any of the reviews of the bank prior to opening the account. Upon reading some reviews after the fact it seems this bank has an extremely low rating and has had multiple complaints and low review scores because of their mishandling of their customers accounts, concerns, and their funds. Its becoming more apparent that there is something very suspicious and border line fraudulent with this institution that they feel like they can lock their customers accounts at their own discretion without warning or any legitimate reason and prevent them from accessing their funds, especially a prospective customer such as myself. Despite the amount of personal information Ive provided including my social security number and bank account numbers they still feel the need to hold my money hostage at their own discretion. I strongly advise that you or look at the other complaints that this institution has received and conduct an investigation into their business practices as I strongly suspect that they are conducting some kind of fraudulent activity.