Consumer complaint received 2023-03-09
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Opening an account — Didn't receive terms that were advertised
Company: U.S. BANCORP (IL)

I am alleging a UDAAP regulatory violation in connection to a promotion offered by US Bank. Below is a summary of my communications with US Bank. Some of the dates listed below are approximations. 

In XX/XX/XXXX, I received a promotion offer from US Bank to receive a {$500.00} bonus if I opened a checking account, set up direct deposit and met some other qualifying factors. The promotion offer included a promo code that indicated it needed to be entered directly on the application. 

In XX/XX/XXXX, I applied for a checking account with US Bank and entered the promo code that I was provided. I was approved for the account and shortly thereafter I contacted US Bank to ensure that the promotion was applied to my account, that I was eligible for the promotion and that I just needed to satisfy the rest of the requirements ( such as certain direct deposit thresholds ) to receive the bonus. 

In approximately XX/XX/XXXX, once I had sufficient direct deposits made to my account I contacted US Bank to confirm that the promo was still applied to my account, that I was eligible for the promo and that I had satisfied the requirements. The US Bank representative confirmed all my inquiries in the affirmative. Further, the US Bank employee indicated that there had been some internal problems at US Bank in paying out this promotion and that the representative would need to submit a manual request to have the payout sent to me. After doing this, she indicated that if I did not receive the bonus within a week to call back. 

After a week I had not received the bonus so I called US Bank again. I asked the agent to confirm that the promo applied to my account, that I was eligible for the promotion and that I satisfied all the requirements, in addition to the details the previous US Bank agent had told me. This US Bank agent confirmed all my inquiries in the affirmative and indicated that US Bank would not be paying out the bonus until the bonus promotional period had ended. At the end of the promotion period I would receive the bonus. I also received a letter from US Bank indicating that the bonus would be paid out on XX/XX/XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, after not receiving my bonus, I contacted US Bank and asked the agent to confirm that the promo applied to my account, that I was eligible to receive the bonus and that I satisfied all the requirements. The US Bank agent, again, confirmed all my inquiries in the affirmative and indicated she did not know why the bonus was not paid and that further investigation was needed. She indicated she would get back to me within 3 days. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a voicemail from US Bank indicating the promo would not be paid to me because they could not find evidence that an email offer had been sent to me and that the terms and conditions of this promotion require that the promo be sent directly to recipient. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called US Bank about the voicemail I received, and the US Bank representative indicated that they could not find record of sending an email to me with this direct offer. I indicated that I did not recall if I received the promotion via email or direct mail but that I had received the promotion from US Bank and I had used the promotion code with no issue during the application process. The US Bank agent did not provide further assistance on resolving my problem or why prior US Bank agents had all confirmed that the promo was applied to my account and that I was eligible. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I had a final conversation with a Customer Care Unit representative who reaffirmed that the promotion was applied to my account but that it would not be paid out because there was no record of directly marketing this promotion to me. The representative admitted that they reviewed the calls that I had made and that all the US Bank representatives had improperly told me that I would be receiving the promotion. I was also told that there is currently no error message that is set to appear if someone enters an invalid promo code during the application process. 

In summary, during the application process I entered the promotion code that US Bank provided to me into the application itself. At no point did I get an error message indicating that the promo code was incorrect, that it had already been used, or that I did not qualify for the promotion. Further, numerous US Bank agents confirmed that the promo was applied to my account and that I was eligible for the offer. Eventually, I met all the requirements to satisfy the promotion requirements. 

Based on the above information, US Bank has engaged in unfair, abusive, and deceptive acts and practices regarding this promotion in violation of the UDAAP regulation.