Consumer complaint received 2022-07-27
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Deposits and withdrawals
Company: PNC Bank N.A. (MD)

FORMAL COMPLAINT AGAINST PNC BANK, XXXX, XXXX  Around XXXX pm on XX/XX/2022, I deposited twenty-three {$100.00} dollar bills into my checking account at the PNC Bank ATM at XXXX XXXX XXXX. I am self-employed and I am frequently paid in cash and make cash deposits regularly at this PNC bank ATM with no problems. But on this date, the ATM machine seriously malfunctioned. It took the twenty-three {$100.00} dollar bills for deposit to my checking account but kicked two of them out. It then started messaging and beeping repeatedly telling me to take my cash, take my cash, but I had already taken the two bills it kicked out. No further bills extracted. The screen then changed and messaged that this transaction can not be processed and returned my card. It gave me no receipt of any kind to show that I had made this deposit. It provided nothing to say this transaction can not be processed except on screen. I had nothing in-hand to show the loss of these funds at this ATM. 
I immediately went into the bank for help and the teller told me that the {$2100.00} was not credited to my account. I spoke to XXXX XXXX XXXX who told me emphatically that PNC had nothing to do with the ATM machine and there was absolutely nothing she could do and I would have to file a dispute. I requested that she go outside right then and try to get the ATM to refund me this money but she refused to go and told me again that PNC had nothing to do with the ATM machine. The ATM was only accessible by their vendor. This is extraordinary since the PNC logo is prominently displayed on the front of the ATM machine which sits on the front of their bank!! XXXX XXXX told me the dispute would take up to ten days to resolve as it could take ten days for the vendor to come and service the machine. I told her this was totally unacceptable as I needed my money to pay my bills. Neither she nor the bank manager offered to contact the ATM vendor immediately and ask him to come and open the machine. This vendor works for this bank and he should have been summoned immediately. This was not a {$20.00} error. It was {$2100.00}! Needless to say, I was extremely upset. While still at the bank, in their presence, I called my mother who handles my taxes and business matters. She was as incredulous as I was that the bank would take no action to retrieve my funds. She asked if I told them that my auto pay obligations at PNC would all be in arrears with penalties if the deposit was not credited promptly. I assured her that I did and it did not change their response. She said she was going to call another PNC bank in our area to see if this branch was following the proper protocol for this issue. She also relayed that she would immediately write a letter by registered mail to the CEO of PNC Bank, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, at PNC corporate headquarters in XXXX, PA, which she did the next morning. I can supply copy of that letter. In her letter she requested XXXX XXXX to intervene and accelerate the process of getting my money back due to the financial hardship it would cause me. I also called Customer Service at PNC bank and relayed my complaint. 
Several days later PNC restored the {$2100.00} to my account. At this point, I assumed they had confirmed my deposit which was exactly what I expected. Instead, now they have taken the funds back out and I have had to borrow funds to deposit to keep my auto insurance and other bills from being rejected by auto bill pay. I requested a further investigation of the matter. 
Late Friday afternoon, XX/XX/2022, XXXX XXXX XXXX, PNC Executive Client Staff, XXXX, called me and said he was going to do a further investigation into the matter and would get back to me. Three days later, on Monday afternoon, XX/XX/2022, he reported back to me that PNC had no evidence of the deposit and PNC was not going to restore the funds. XXXX XXXX would not provide details of what his investigation entailed or what the videos showed or even if he had seen them. It is hard to believe XXXX XXXX had time to do a thorough investigation into this matter over a weekend. 
My mother called XXXX XXXX at PNC on XX/XX/2022, to see what recourse I might have to get my funds restored. After that phone call yielded no satisfactory answers or results, the next day, XX/XX/2022, she again wrote to XXXX XXXX, the PNC CEO, for help. She enclosed copy of my Financial Power of Attorney authorizing her to speak to PNC on my behalf. To date, we have not heard further from him or his staff.

I have many questions that are unanswered in this matter : How long did PNC wait to report this error to their vendor? What did PNC do to protect a customers interest in this matter? Did a bank official accompany the vendor when he opened the ATM to ensure that the vendor was honest? What event triggered the ATM to stop working and messaging an error at that exact time and date that I was standing there? Who watched the video to determine that I was at this ATM at that exact date and time that the error message flashed? Who guarantees these vendors do not make mistakes with a PNC depositors funds? Unfortunately, for the consumer, the ATM vendor and PNC bank hold all the cards and they leave you standing there with absolutely nothing in-hand to show you deposited this money. 
Why would a bank customer, who has an account at a PNC bank, go to their ATM except to either withdraw or deposit funds? 
I have provided PNC Bank with every opportunity to correct this issue to no avail. Something needs to be done about it to protect consumers. In the meantime, the fact remains that either PNC bank or their vendor has my {$2100.00} UNLAWFULLY.