Consumer complaint received 2022-06-22
Product: Checking or savings account — Savings account
Issue: Problem caused by your funds being low — Overdrafts and overdraft fees
Company: TD BANK US HOLDING COMPANY (NJ)

The following report is in regards to a dispute of a decision made by TD Banks anti-fraud services. During the pandemic, in XXXX of XXXX, someone obtained my checking account information and I unknowingly became a victim of identity theft. The accounts affected were my checking account and my savings account. I use these accounts as my emergency funds, and do not routinely check them as I do my main accounts with another bank. 

Prior to any fraudulent activity, my checking account balance was {$210.00}, and my savings account balance was {$5000.00}. On XX/XX/XXXX someone managed to obtain my checking account info and began making withdrawals using XXXX account they falsely created in my name. My checking account was reduced to {$0.00}, and over the course of the next few months, they continued to make withdrawals which activated protection. As a result, money from my savings account was automatically deducted via overdraft protection and the funds were drained from that account as well. 

There was no notification of any sort from TD bank, and no alert was communicated to me despite the months of suspicious activity ( multiple withdrawals from a {$0.00} balance checking account, causing overdraft protection to siphon off my savings account ). It was only brought to my attention when I received an alert from XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX stating a TD account was closed. Only upon investigating the alert from XXXX XXXX did I discover how far back the fraudulent activity went. By this time, my checking account balance was at {$0.00}, and my savings account balance was reduced to {$700.00}. 

I immediately called customer service on XX/XX/XXXX to report everything and was forwarded to the fraud department who said I would get an answer pending an investigation. I told them explicitly that I expected my accounts to be made whole, as I was a victim of identity theft. Over the next few weeks, I followed up with multiple agents from the fraud department for updates on my claim and kept being told to check back each week. Each time I spoke with an agent I was led to believe that I would get everything back by the end of the investigation. To my surprise, on XX/XX/XXXX, the last agent I spoke with from fraud services said they were only able to refund the most recent fraudulent transaction - a total of {$1000.00} to my savings account, and {$0.00} to my checking account. 

I expressed to her that I did not think this was fair. I have been an account holder from when it still belonged to XXXX Bank and was acquired by TD in XXXX. I relied on TDs services to keep my money secure from situations like this. At the very least, I should have been notified of any suspicious activity as many other banks do. Not once was I alerted by TD Bank of my checking account being {$0.00} for several months, nor did anyone catch the suspicious activity of multiple overdraft protection transactions continuously draining my savings account to cover the withdrawals from a {$0.00} balance checking account. 

Despite my disapproval of the results, XXXX said there was nothing else they could do citing a policy that requires me to notify TD of any fraudulent activity in the first 60 days of the incident. I reiterated that if I was made aware in a timely manner, I would have notified TD immediately. Nevertheless, the decision was deemed final. 

I then tried to escalate the situation with customer service and was forwarded to a supervisor named XXXX who also said there was nothing she could do on her end. She then suggested that I can try sending a letter to the corporate office or go to a local TD Bank branch and speak with a manager. 

In XX/XX/XXXX I went to the closest TD Bank branch located in XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, NJ and spoke with Assistant Store Manager XXXX XXXX XXXX who said she would stay in contact with me about the situation. After several weeks of not returning my phone calls/messages, I reached out to the Store Manager XXXX XXXX in who said she would take over the claim from XXXX. She forwarded the issue back to the fraud department who told her the claim is denied because it has already passed the XXXX requirement. She also said she checked for other alternatives on my behalf and came up with nothing. At this point I was at my wits end. The reason why so much time has passed was the lack of communication and slow-moving service on TDs part. 

TD Bank continuously promotes their stellar service but the experience I have endured speaks to the contrary. TD Bank failed to alert me of my account having a {$0.00} balance. They have failed to alert me of any suspicious activity, specifically multiple withdrawals from a {$0.00} checking account, resulting in multiple overdraft protection transactions being siphoned from my savings account. Throughout the pending investigation, TD customer service and fraud department gave me the impression the situation would be rectified and my accounts would be made whole. The local TD branch managers assured they would communicate any updates to me, but it was I who kept having to follow up and chase them for an update. As a victim of identity theft and a long-time member, I expected TD Bank to be sympathetic to my situation, but instead was given policy jargon as a reason to deny my claim. None of this speaks to the stellar service they advertise. 

As a result, the final balances of my accounts were left at : Checking : {$0.00} Savings : {$1700.00} My original balances before the fraudulent activity were : Checking : {$210.00} Savings : {$5000.00} In total, I have lost a combined amount of {$3500.00}