Consumer complaint received 2023-09-09
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Problem caused by your funds being low — Overdrafts and overdraft fees
Company: TRUIST FINANCIAL CORPORATION (PA)

My husband, XXXX XXXX, went to XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX to become a signer on a non-profit account for a group with which he is involved. He was informed that he could not be added as a signer due to negative information identified in the XXXX XXXX verification report that was run. The report showed a charged off bank account ( Account XXXX ) from the former BB & T, now Truist Bank. The charge off was in the amount of {$540.00} and the account charge-off date of XX/XX/XXXX. When told about this issue, I was surprised since I thought I had closed the account and both my and my husband 's debit cards in XX/XX/XXXX. My husband then went to Truist on XX/XX/XXXX and was provided with bank statements for the period of XXXX. I was shocked to see that, after I thought the account and debit cards were closed in early XX/XX/XXXX, recurring debit card payments came through starting on XX/XX/XXXX which started to overdraw the account. The statement dated XX/XX/XXXX for the period of XXXX showed the assessment of {$280.00} in overdraft fees and {$36.00} in returned item fees. The fee breakdown for the 27 day period was - XXXX Overdraft fees ( {$36.00} each ), XXXX returned item fees ( {$36.00} each ), XXXX negative account balance fee ( {$36.00} ), and XXXX Prior Day OD Fee ( {$36.00} ). During that period, we received no overdraft or return item notices via postal mail or email and no phone calls from the bank. Had I been notified in XXXX regarding the issues with the account, I would have had the opportunity to ask for the card to be closed ( again ). The account was charged off on XX/XX/XXXX, again with no notice of charge-off or chance to bring the account positive or discuss the issue with the bank. Because of this issue, my husband was embarrassed in front of other members of the non-profit group with whom he went to the bank. Additionally, this will affect our ability to open new accounts elsewhere until this is resolved. As a banking compliance XXXX, I work with many community banks regarding the fairness of their overdraft practices and programs, as well as recent regulatory scrutiny regarding these practices since many banks have used overdraft fees in a way inconsistent with ODP and UDAAP guidance and expectations. The assessment of a {$36.00} negative balance fee is exceptionally unfair since the XXXX fees charged in the 3 days prior to the negative balance fee should have been a red flag that something was amiss with the account or, at least that a negative balance fee could be seen as " piling on '' to an already negative situation for a customer, thus further harming the customer. I could say the same for the " Prior Day OD Fee '' - what purpose does this type of fee serve, other than to further harm the consumer and provide fee income to the bank? In my work with community banks, I have not seen anything like this happen. I did not contact Truist regarding this issue since the account is now charged off and is likely not still on their books for collection in the event its been transferred to a third party. I am asking for the Bank to return overdraft fees assessed and/or, at the very least, to remove this account from the reporting record in order to have the charge-off for which we were not notified about to be removed. The inclusion of this account on our XXXX or other identification verification record will cause continued harm to our ability to bank or be added as signers for the groups for which we volunteer.