Consumer complaint received 2024-03-11
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Deposits and withdrawals
Company: U.S. BANCORP (IA)

On XX/XX/XXXX, around XXXXXXXX XXXX I went into the XXXX IA US Bank branch. I asked the employee at the counter to speak with a banker about options to open another checking account. XXXX was the employee who had me step into her office to assist me. I explained that I have 2 checks from my divorce that I need to deposit but I wanted to open a new checking account so I could have an account for bills and a different account for a spending account to keep better track of what I'm spending each month. She was very courteous and talked to me about her own personal experience similar to a divorce and the difficult financial situation it put her in. She started setting me up an account and then she had to start over because she was starting a new savings account instead of a new checking account. She asked me if I would be interested in applying for a loan to pay down my credit card debts and I explained that I had a plan in place to work on that and that most of them are still on 0 % interest. She asked me to sign a few things on her electronic pad. I needed to verify some things on my account. I thought it read my maiden name when it was actually asking for my mother 's maiden name so I goofed up and told her it was wrong. When I read it again, I realized it was my mom 's maiden name and I explained that was correct. I tore the retirement fund checks from the Treasury from their check stubs. She asked me for the checks to put them into the accounts. I forgot to sign them so she brought them back in and put them face down on the table for me to sign. I signed them without looking at them. She took them and was gone for a few minutes. When she came back, she said they would hold one of the checks for a week to make sure it went through and the other would be on a 24 hour hold. I told her that I figured that would happen. No big deal. I thanked her and left the office. The next day, I tried to use my debit card and it would not work. I assumed it was just from holding the checks or something. Friday, XX/XX/XXXX, I tried to use my debit card again and it was declined again. I checked my online banking app and saw that it said the funds had been deposited so I wasn't sure what was happening. I tried to transfer the money that I needed to cover a bill over from my savings to my checking and it said there was a problem and gave me a number to call. I called the number and the woman told me that my accounts were frozen and under investigation to be closed. I asked her why that would be and she told me to contact the branch. I called the branch and XXXX answered. I explained the situation and she said she remembered setting up my account and taking the checks. She started looking into it and told me that she needed to talk to the branch manager so she would be putting me on hold. I was on hold for a long time and when she came back, she explained that she would try to contact the back office dealing with my accounts and see what she could find out. She also told me to contact the fraud department and gave me their number. The man at the fraud department told me there was nothing he could do and that I needed to talk to the bank branch manager because he's the only one that could help me. I then had to leave work 5 hours early to go to the bank to figure out what was going on. I got to the bank and explained the man at the counter that I needed to speak to the branch manager as soon as he was available. He messaged my information to the branch manager who was in a meeting with XXXX at the time. He messaged back saying that he would be finished with his meeting in about XXXX0 minutes or I could schedule an appointment. I told the man that I would be staying until I spoke with the branch manager. XXXX came out and invited me into his office. He introduced himself and asked what was going on. I explained the situation. He said he would try to figure this out. He explained that he gets frustrated because they always tell the angry customers to see the branch manager but he doesn't have access to any information either. He tried to call some number where he gave some codes and talked to a woman on the phone. He explained to her that he needed to know what to tell the customer because all of her funds were locked up and they were telling him to let me know to wait for a letter in the mail. I showed him the stubs that came from the checks. He said that he deals with this a lot. He also said that Treasury checks are super easy to duplicate and many people do it. I explained that nobody knew I had the checks and I was the only one who had handled them other than XXXX. He said that someone must have known the exact amount because they were flagged as fraudulent checks. He said he would keep trying to figure it out and get back to me. I went home and continued trying to figure it out. I called the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  number, thats the issuer of the checks I had deposited, and the XXXX employee verified they were legitimate checks and she said she had never heard of such a thing. I went to a different US Bank to see if they would be able to tell me anything different and I brought more information about the checks. He said he would do what he can but it was almost time for him to leave. He copied and emailed my information to the risk department, or back office department as the branch people kept calling it. I went home defeated. XXXX from the XXXX branch contacted me again around XXXX or XXXX that evening. He said that the checks were fraudulent and they were closing my accounts and that was all the information he could give me. I would need to wait for a letter in the mail from the risk department explaining what was happening with my accounts when they finished their investigation. I thanked him for trying and got off the phone. Saturday morning, I missed some classes that I needed to go to because I was trying to figure out the situation. I called many numbers and they either told me that they couldn't give me any information, I needed to contact the fraud department, or I need to speak with the bank manager. I spoke with my sister who works in the risk department at a different bank. She said she would call and ask some questions and try to figure things out. She conferenced me in to get into the accounts and figure out what was happening. XXXX, the customer service employee, who took our call on Saturday XX/XX/XXXX at approximately XXXX girl started out helpful until she put us on hold and came back to tell us that my accounts were with the risk department for research and once they were done that I would get a cashiers check for whatever amount was left and that there wasnt a timeframe for when this would happen. My sister mentioned that she understands that some things can be considered suspicious activity but I havent even had a bounced check and the checks I deposited were government retirement account issued XXXX XXXX XXXX but her mentioning she was a bank employee seemed to frustrate XXXX who told her that if she works at a bank she should know that banks can close accounts. My sister became frustrated and explained that them doing this puts me, a single mom, without any funds to feed my kids, pay rent, etc. My sister asked how to escalate the matter with a manager and XXXX said she could have a manager call in 24-48 hours but that they would tell me the same thing. My sister asked for US Bank 's complaint process and XXXX advised that it had recently changed to only being able to submit a complaint to the manager that calls me. On the afternoon of XX/XX/XXXX, I received a call from an unknown number. I was unable to answer the phone as I was working. She left a message saying she was a manager with US Bank and she was calling about the escalation about the closing of my accounts. She left her number. I called the number she left and it rang once, beeped, and then was dead air. I hung up and called again and hit XXXX during the silence and it told me that my message was recorded and would be delivered to the recipient. I hung up and called a third time. When it beeped, I left my name, number, and why I was calling. I have not heard anything since. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a call from the other branch manager that I had stopped in to talk to. He asked me if my paycheck had gotten rerouted or if he needed to try to get it handled for me. I explained that I went to my work HR department and they fixed my paycheck so I had gotten it. I then asked him if he had any idea what was happening with my accounts yet. He said he would email the back office and would get back to me when he heard back. I have not anything from US Bank since. I have attached the business cards of those I worked with in the local branches and a picture of the XXXX checks I was depositing. I also have digital copies of my bank statements if that would be helpful but I won't attach right now since the instructions say not to include account numbers in this form.