Consumer complaint received 2024-06-21
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Problem with a lender or other company charging your account — Transaction was not authorized
Company: ALLY FINANCIAL INC. (MA)

I hold a checking account with Ally Bank. On XX/XX/24, I discovered XXXX fraudulent transactions ( ranging in value from {$1.00} to {$120.00} ) that had been charged between XX/XX/24 and XX/XX/24. Each transaction was listed as XXXX XXXX with XXXX of XXXX different names : XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX, and XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX. To be sure - I am not familiar with any of these names, and my use of XXXX XXXX is rather minimal - once per month at most to send money to my parents. 

I immediately notified Ally Bank on XX/XX/24 and opened a claim for each of the XXXX fraudulent transactions. I then checked my XXXX XXXX account and noticed that none of these charges were listed under my transaction history, so I reached out to XXXX XXXX for further information. The representatives at XXXX XXXX refused to discuss the matter, as the fraudulent charges did not appear to be directly associated with my personal account. In all likelihood, someone created a new XXXX XXXX account with my banking information. 

Within 2 days, Ally Bank issued credits for only XXXX of the charges- all of which were below {$30.00} ( totaling about {$200.00} ). The remaining XXXX charges - all of which were above {$50.00} each - were not refunded ( that is roughly {$800.00} unaccounted for ). After having waited for further information from Ally, I finally received a decision letter for each of the claims that read : " The above disputed transaction was processed through a third-party payment processor, XXXX XXXX ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Based on your transaction history, it appears you have an established relationship with the third party service provider. You XXXX be required to resolve the dispute directly with the third party. To avoid a potential negative impact on your relationship with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, please contact them to confirm whether the transaction processed through your account there as they may have their own dispute process ''. 

As mentioned, despite my banking information being used fraudulently on their platform, XXXX XXXX refuses to work with me, as the charges are not associated with my personal account. What's more, Ally can not explain why they set the precedent of refunding some of my charges while refusing to credit others ( all from the same vendor ). As of today, XX/XX/24 - over a month since the initial claim was originated- Ally Bank says that the investigation is still pending, and that they will not credit my account unless they can recover the funds from XXXX XXXX. According to Ally, XXXX XXXX has not responded to their requests during the investigation. Worse yet- the representative at Ally Bank said it was possible that I will never have my money recovered. 

In all, I have been waiting for over a month to recover nearly {$800.00} in fraudulent charges, and neither Ally Bank nor XXXX XXXX will provide me with information regarding the status of the investigation. I was encouraged to file a complaint with CFPB, and hope that it will generate a response from either company.