Consumer complaint received 2022-04-27
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Closing an account — Can't close your account
Company: ATLANTIC UNION BANKSHARES CORPORATION (NC)

I opened an account with Atlantic Union Bank online and subsequently had a hold placed on my account causing the initial funding and a single direct deposit on XX/XX/XXXX to become trapped with a balance of XXXX. They will not remove the hold. They will not close the account and release the funds. All attempts at working with customer service have gotten nowhere, I've been told at least twice the rep would work with a manager and call me back and they never call be back. 

These are the actions that have occurred. 
XXXX I read the fine print on the checking account signup pages and NC was listed as valid geography for opening an account. Not specific counties or zip codes in NC, just generically all of NC. 
> I created the new free checking account successfully from the online website. I entered all the datapoints you would expect with a checking account signup, Drivers License, Social Security Number, Address, DOB, telephone, etc etc.

> Part of the process of opening the account is funding the account. I also successfully funded the new account from an existing old account for XXXX dollars. 
XXXX Immediately after successful signup I was allowed access with an account to online banking, so I got my routing and account numbers and submitted a Direct Deposit change with my employer payroll processor. 
> Within 24 to 48 hours of the successful online signup my account had a hold placed against my account and I could no longer access my web account. 
> After calling the XXXX number they claimed something was not right with my address on my drivers license and that I would have to come into a branch to have my driver license verified. Well, it turns out they recently closed the XXXX branch location so because I live in XXXX XXXX and the nearest branch is in XXXX I said to just close the account and return me the funds. 
> No one on the XXXX  support line knew how to close an account with a hold against it. I had to call 3 times to get someone to tell me that I had to send a Notarized letter with a copy of driver license. 
XXXX Since I had heard conflicting stories on how to close the account I was doubtful the notarized letter would work, so I googled individual branches and selected the XXXX XXXX branch based on the XXXX review scores and called that branch directly to cut out the XXXX  support line. The XXXX XXXX branch also confirmed that a notarized letter is the only way to remove the hold. The person I talked to told me the branch manager would call me back my end of day and never did. 
XXXX On XXXX I went to a different local bank that offered Notary services and I got the close request letter notarized. I chose this location specifically because it was in the same parking lot as a USPS post office. I went directly from the notary location to the post office and dropped the letter in the blue mail collection bin. 
XXXX I heard nothing so I finally called again on XX/XX/XXXX. I was transferred several times, no one had received my letter. There was confusion on their part between the back office and the XXXX XXXX branch location. They kept asking me where I sent it and did I put attention or Care Of XXXX XXXX. I was like no I sent it to the po box address you told me to send it to. I was told again that I would be contacted by the end of day on the status of the missing letter and was not contacted. 
> I waited till XX/XX/XXXX and called again. Same run around with long wait times and being transferred. Still kept asking me about the back office. Finally confirmed that they never received the letter and asked me resend it, to the same address as before! That letter had all my personal sensitive information, DL, DOB, SSN everything and who knows where it is now. 

I feel like there is inconsistencies in their business practices. When I entered the information for the online signup they had 100 % of the datapoints necessary to verify me or not. DL, SSN, DOB, XXXX, Credit Scores, etc, like they have everything they possibly could need to verify me. It feels disingenuous that they accepted my online application only to turn around and say something wasn't right about my drivers license. They had my address and my driver license number when I signed up, if there was a single red flag why did they allow me to finish the application? I think their website requirements and their actual business practices are out of alignment. I think they don't want to do business with people who can't come into a branch, so instead of updating the web with specific geographies they use this driver license verification as a ploy to weed people outside of their business districts out.