Consumer complaint received 2022-01-26
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Closing an account — Can't close your account
Company: PNC Bank N.A. (AZ)

My husband and I had been customers at BBVA Compass Bank in XXXX, AZ for about 30 years. It all went pretty smoothly until PNC Bank took over BBVA Compass Bank early in XXXX, XXXX. PNC closed all the customers ' online accounts for several days, and when they reopened them, some of our accounts were not visible online. That concerned us, so we went to the bank to see why. When we got there, the lobby was unusually crowded with customers, and employees were having people sign a list to be called to come back later. It was chaotic, and that does not create trust. We wanted to be in control of our money, so decided to close our accounts ( we had six ), withdraw our money ( considerable ) and find another bank. We paid off a credit card we had at the bank and asked if all our accounts were now closed. The banker said yes. 

We thought we were finished and could move on, but we continued to get reams of mail from PNC. It didnt seem that they knew our accounts were now closed. Then we got a collections letter from them, saying a charge had been made on our checking account. The checking account number was a PNC number that was unfamiliar to us. I called the phone number given on the collections letter, waited 20 minutes, but the person who finally answered could not access the account. So he transferred me to the fraud department, I waited another 20 minutes and the lady who answered could not help me, either, and said I should call the number I originally called. So I took the letter on XX/XX/XXXX to the XXXX PNC branch, where we had banked for 30 years previously. 

XXXX, the lady who met with me, found the transaction that was in collections, which was for {$50.00} plus interest, from a fund I had donated to on XXXX. I thought the transaction took place before the takeover, but evidently it was somehow charged to what I thought was a closed account. So I paid it, and asked XXXX to make sure the account was closed. She tried, but couldnt do it, and told me it might take a couple of days for the payment that I made to go through. She said she would call me on XX/XX/XXXX, to let me know that the account had been closed. 

There was also another issue that she was going to take care of for me regarding some money that PNC was going to send to us in the form of a check, I had been told previously by another banker named XXXX. We had paid off a HELOC loan a few months previous and there was a credit in our account of a little over {$40.00}. The check had never arrived. XXXX told me that PNC had destroyed many checks, and that possibly our check was in that group. XXXX was going to see about getting us our money. 

XX/XX/XXXX came, and no call from XXXX. I called the bank, and someone was going to leave her a message to call me back. She never returned my call, so I called again, and no one answered. I sent XXXX an email asking her what she had found out, and never received a reply. I called again and found out that XXXX was out on medical leave for 6-8 weeks. I made another appointment to talk to someone else. 

I visited the bank again on XX/XX/XXXX, spoke with XXXX, who assured me she would do everything to take care of our issues. But she did not or could not. I showed her a new email we had received from PNC on XX/XX/XXXX, saying that we owed {$93.00} and needed to pay it immediately to avoid further collection actions. We have no accounts with PNC, so there is no way I can research and take care of these things online or by phone. She would not tell me what the charge was for, because it was under my husbands social security number, and he has to come in to clear it up. I asked if I could call him so he could give her permission to talk to me about the charge, but she said that is not allowed. The last four digits of the account number in question ( and that is all we could see ) were the same as the credit card that we paid off when we left the bank. We both owned that account. 

The final straw is that PNC has reported these amounts to the credit agencies. I have checked my report and see the evidence. We havent checked my husbands reports yet. We have worked hard to manage our money and keep our credit rating high over XXXX. PNC is driving us down. Since we were told when we left the bank that all our accounts were closed, everything was paid off, and that we would receive a check for the credit in our HELOC account, we believe that PNC has lied to us and cheated us. Or, they are extremely incompetent and careless with other peoples money. Please help us fix this, as we are helpless to deal with accounts to which we have no access. We are at their mercy.