Consumer complaint received 2023-12-14
Product: Checking or savings account — Savings account
Issue: Closing an account — Company closed your account
Company: KEYCORP (OR)

*Note : It does not appear that Laurel Road is on your list of companies accepting complaints. Key Bank, their parent company, is on the list. I've therefore selected Key Bank on the following page, but to be clear, all of my interactions thus far have been specifically with Laurel Road. 

On XX/XX/2023, I was approved for a Laurel Road High Yield Savings account. 

On XX/XX/2023, I deposited {$8300.00} into the Laurel Road account from my pre-existing savings account at another institution, XXXX. 

At some point between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, I lost access to my Laurel Road account. I was no longer able to log in through the Laurel Road website or the mobile app, both of which presented an error notice stating that my account had been restricted. '' On XX/XX/XXXX, I called Laurel Roads customer service number and spoke with an agent who informed me that my account had been closed. She said that I would receive a letter in the mail providing further information. ( To my knowledge, as of the date of this message, I have never received any such correspondence. ) The customer service agent stated that the balance of my Laurel Road account would be refunded via check to the external account at XXXX from which it had originally been transferred. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted XXXX to ask if they had received the check, or any communication from Laurel Road regarding the check, and was informed that ( 1 ) it was extremely unusual to receive funds from another bank via check, ( 2 ) XXXX would prefer that the funds be sent via electronic transfer or via check directly to me, and ( 3 ) XXXX had not received the check and had no record of any communications from Laurel Road regarding the check. 

I then called Laurel Road customer service again. I asked the customer service agent if the check could be canceled and the funds instead sent electronically to my XXXX account or directly to me via a different check, consistent with XXXX 's preference. I was told this was not possible and when I asked why, I was given no explanation. The customer service agent assured me that Laurel Road had been in contact with XXXX to ensure that the funds would be properly processed upon receipt. I then asked ( 1 ) if the check had been sent, and if not, when it would be sent, ( 2 ) when I could expect XXXX to receive it, ( 3 ) the mailing address to which it was or would be sent, and ( 4 ) information about Laurel Road 's correspondence with XXXX. 

A Laurel Road customer service agent followed up with me by email later that afternoon to state that the check had been issued that day, XX/XX/XXXX, and was likely to go out that same day or the following day. She stated that shipping would take 7-10 business days, and that Laurel Road had sent XXXX a hold harmless form that could be used to request more information if additional details were needed to process the refund. In a separate email that same day, a different Laurel Road customer service agent told me that the request to return my funds to XXXX had come directly from XXXX ; she did not provide further context. 

On or about XX/XX/XXXX, I called XXXX to see if they had received the checkunderstanding that it had not yet been ten business days, but hopeful that I would receive an updateand was told that they had not. This XXXX representative, like the one Id spoken with earlier in the month, again stated that it was unusual to receive a bank balance refund via check, and it would be preferable if Laurel Road sent the money electronically to XXXX or via check directly to me, the account holder. The representative then asked if I could provide the check number and/or tracking information so that they could keep an eye out for it. I didnt have those details, so I called Laurel Road customer service again. 

The Laurel Road customer service agent told me that, contrary to the email I had received on XX/XX/XXXX, the check had actually been sent on XX/XX/XXXX. I asked for the name of the mail carrier with which it had been sent, the tracking number, and a check number. She said she was unable to immediately provide that information and told me she would follow up in an email. When she did, she stated that Laurel Road could not provide me with any of the requested information. In other words, Laurel Road had sent the check ten days later than it had initially represented, and apparently had no means of telling me where it was or with which carrier it had been sent. 

To reiterate, at this point my account had been closed for at least a month, I had still received no explanation or written notice from Laurel Road regarding its closure, and I had been without access to the balance of the account ( over XXXX XXXX dollars ) since late XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX ( ten business days later ), I again called XXXX to see if the check had been received. The representative said there was no record of any check or communication from Laurel Road regarding me or my account. She also told me, like the two representatives I had spoken with earlier, that the situation was highly unusual and that I should request an electronic transfer or a check made out directly to me. Immediately after that call, I called Laurel Road customer service yet again and asked for an update on the check. This time, contrary to what I had been told via email on XX/XX/XXXX, the customer service agent told me that shipping usually takes 14-15 business days, so XXXX would not yet have received the check. I explained that I no longer had confidence in Laurel Roads information given that my account had been closed abruptly and without notice, and that, over a month later, I still had no idea where my money was, how to track it, or when I would receive itall due to the fact that Laurel Road had repeatedly given me inaccurate, contradictory, and/or incomplete information. 

I was then transferred to a resolution specialist, to whom I relayed the above concerns. I once again reiterated my desire for an electronic transfer of my account balance to XXXX or a check made out and sent directly to me, and was once again toldwithout explanationthat this was impossible. I then requested, yet again : ( 1 ) the check number, ( 2 ) the name of mail carrier with which it was sent, ( 3 ) tracking information, ( 4 ) details as to whether, when, and how Laurel Road had contacted XXXX regarding the check, and ( 5 ) information regarding why my account was closed, whether Laurel Road had sent a letter with an explanation, and, if not, whether it intended to send such a letter. 

Later that evening ( XX/XX/XXXX ), I followed up in writing via email to document the above chronology and reiterate my request for the information noted above. It is now XX/XX/XXXX and I still have not received any of the requested information.