Consumer complaint received 2023-05-11
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Problem using a debit or ATM card
Company: CHARLES SCHWAB CORPORATION, THE (CA)

The complaint is about Schwab Bank and its handling of the review of a fraudulent transaction charged to my checking account debit card. 

In XXXX I purchased train tickets from a XXXX company called XXXX. The tickets were for a train trip between XXXX and XXXX, XXXX. XXXX represented that the tickets were fully subject to the terms of the XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX, and issued tickets that appeared to be authentic tickets of XXXX. 

However, when the tickets were presented to XXXX  in XXXX for a valid use under its terms, XXXX  rejected the tickets as not issued by XXXX  and not subject to its terms. 

Once XXXX  rejected the tickets for a valid use, XXXX became liable to refund the full price of the tickets as a fraudulent sale. XXXX thinks that it is not obligated to pay a refund until it receives a refund from XXXX, but XXXX has never provided ( a ) proof of payment to XXXX  for the tickets, ( b ) proof that it has submitted a claim for refund to XXXX, ( c ) proof that it is entitled to a refund from XXXX, or ( d ) that the tickets are authentic. XXXX  made it clear to me several times that tickets issued by XXXX are not XXXX  tickets. One significant possibility for that situation is that XXXX does not pay for XXXX  tickets at the time a customer like me purchases them. 

I attempted to obtain a refund via a debit card charge dispute from Schwab Bank, but it failed to comprehend the fraud. Schwab wanted 90 days to investigate the dispute, which I thought was excessive. When I pushed Schwab Bank for faster work, it quickly denied the dispute in order to move on without further effort. My experience in 8 years with Schwab is that it tries to avoid work and pass the buck at all times. Schwabs dispute denial was made ( XXXX ) without sufficient information and documentation from the merchant XXXX and ( XXXX ) without requesting any written information or documentation from me. Schwabs effort in this case is a breach of its fiduciary duty to me, the customer. 

I had 5 days to reply to Schwabs denial and did so in 2 with complete documentation, but Schwab has not responded to that reply and its investigator remains in dark silence. Schwabs system is that investigators only communicate in writing. 

It is a virtual certainty that this merchant XXXX will never refund the money for the fraudulent sale. The statement it made that it will do so is as fraudulent as the original sale. As I pointed out to Schwab, one can also presume that XXXX has received my money from the train company because the train companys terms of service specify a 30 day deadline to pay refunds and 30 days has passed. 

The key point to remember is that all of the hassles associated with the train tickets arose because XXXX did not deliver the tickets that I purchased and XXXX knew that at the time it delivered them. I could not know that until the tickets were presented for use. 

Did XXXX deliver tickets that were fully subject to the terms and conditions of XXXX? No. 

This is Schwabs internal case number : XXXX. You have my permission to review and communicate with Schwab about any aspect of the case file.