Consumer complaint received 2021-02-20
Product: Credit card or prepaid card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement — Card was charged for something you did not purchase with the card
Company: FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF OMAHA (VA)

Only two people had access to my First National Bank Of Omaha Visa credit card - myself, and my girlfriend - and we only used this card for specific purposes. When I noticed a purchase for XXXX XXXX ( total amount of {$5.00} ) post on XX/XX/XXXX that I did not make and which did not appear in my XXXX account, we immediately reviewed my girlfriends XXXX account to see if she inadvertently used it. There was no purchase in her XXXX account either. 

Once we confirmed we had not made the purchase, I immediately contacted your company via phone to report the unauthorized transaction. The prior card number ( ending in XXXX ) was shut down, and I was issued a new card number ( ending in XXXX ). I subsequently received a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX with information regarding the investigation. 

I later received a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX that advised that the investigation was closed, and the unauthorized transaction was deemed valid because I participated in the transaction and that the transaction was being added back to my account balance. Again, I immediately called your company to ask how this was possible. The agent I spoke with repeatedly referenced that we had made multiple prior purchases with XXXX that were not unauthorized, and while not saying so specifically, insinuated that because wed shopped there before, we had to have made the charge in question. 

This infuriated me, for a number of reasons. First, I work in the credit card industry, so I have first-hand knowledge that the information your agent provided around the fraud process is not accurate. Yes, we have made prior purchases at XXXX. Yes, one of those purchases was a valid XXXX XXXX transaction from XX/XX/XXXX. They have no bearing on the validity of the unauthorized purchase that is being reported. Second, if the transaction were valid and we participated in it, a. ) why does it not show up in either of our XXXX purchase histories, and b. ) why would I have reported it as unauthorized? Third, his statement that I needed to contact XXXX instead made no sense ; we had already confirmed that there was no purchase on either of the two XXXX accounts that would have explained the charge to the credit card. This falls squarely on the issuer to address as an unauthorized purchase from a compromised card. 

I requested the account be closed, and when he advised he could not complete that, I was transferred to an equally unhelpful customer service representative to complete the closure. They provided no information other than a curt response advising that the request was submitted. I requested that the account be documented on the reason for the closure as well, but have no way to confirm that occurred. 

I immediately went online and paid the balance, excluding this invalid charge ; I refuse to make any additional payments. Its not about the {$5.00}, its that your company a. ) doesnt understand how fraud protection is supported to work, and b. ) is willing to lose a customer over {$5.00} instead of addressing the fraudulent transaction. Those two points made this an easy and principled business decision for me to make. 

To summarize : - Neither myself nor my girlfriend made the {$5.00} charge in question. 
- I reported it as fraud as soon as I noticed it posted to my account. 
- The investigation concluded that since Id made legitimate charges with XXXX previously, that this charge must be valid, and told me to contact XXXX ... regarding a purchase that does not appear on either of our XXXX accounts ... 
- I have paid off the legitimate balance and requested the account be closed. You will receive no further payment from me, as the remaining {$5.00} is an illegitimate charge. 
- You lost a business relationship over {$5.00}. 

Additionally, I am requesting that you cease and desist all further contact with me regarding this account. I refuse to be harassed in any way due to the incompetent service Ive received to date. I can only hope that someone other than the agents can see the issue here and remediate the matter appropriately. 

Lastly, I am filing a complaint with the CFPB. Again, working in the industry, I know that this is not how the process is supposed to work, and the appropriate regulatory bodies should be made aware of the concern. The unauthorized activity on my account was just {$5.00} ; imagine how customers facing a much larger amount must feel if they are being treated similarly?