Consumer complaint received 2021-04-13
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Closing an account — Company closed your account
Company: ALLY FINANCIAL INC. (IL)

On XX/XX/2021, I was informed formally by Ally that a checking account I had for almost 10 years was closed. During that span I've had as much as {$50000.00} in the account. At the time the account was closed, I had a balance of over {$12000.00}. Ally had provided no concrete explanation of why the account was closed other than " based on recent activity your checking and savings account will end this relationship ''. They not only closed my personal checking account, but also 3 minor savings accounts which belonged to my daughters. My childrens accounts have little if any activity going on in their accounts with balances between {$300.00} and $ 4,000+. The only issue may have been that my name was on it as a custodian. In my personal checking account which was closed, the only unusual activity was the fact that I made a dispute of 2 charges of {$9.00} a piece. Based on the Consumer Fair Credit Act, I have the legal right to dispute charges on my account. Over the past 2 years I have made no deposits that were returned NSF, nor have I overdrawn my account. My monthly acitivity is roughly 20 transactions a month. I have 3 direct deposits month, one from Social Security and two from Illinois Department of Employment Security. I first became aware that my account had been frozen on XX/XX/XXXX when I tried to make a purchase at a fast food resturant. I was told my account was closed on XX/XX/XXXX when I called to inquire why my card was declined. Even though I was told it was closed on XX/XX/XXXX, there were other transactions that happened in my account, including one deposit and 6+ withdrawls. I was told that a letter had been sent out to me on XX/XX/XXXX. To tell you the truth, I had been told by more than one representative over the next several days that a letter was sent out explaining to me why the account was closed. Those statements were blantantly false. I only received an email dated XX/XX/XXXX stating that the account had been closed on XX/XX/XXXX. The letter they claim was mailed out to me would have the information on why my account was closed was never received by me via USPS. Only the XX/XX/XXXX email alluded to the fact that they did not like the way I handled my affairs. On XX/XX/XXXX I again contacted Ally and was eventually was told that no letter had ever been mailed to me. He then informed me that an internal email was sent out to me on XX/XX/XXXX, something that no other representative had informed me of the pending closure of my account. To get to this email, I need to click on Tasks, then click on More Tasks, then click on Notices before I could then view the notice they sent me of the impending closure that was supposed to take place on XX/XX/XXXX but did not happen until XX/XX/XXXX. They really hide this notice very well. Ally provides no indication that there was an email that I need to search for. I only became aware of that notice after several calls with Ally, no one told me of that notice until my phone call to Ally on XX/XX/XXXX. Ally supposedly gave me a 2 week warning before the account would be closed, which actually did not happen until 26 days after supposed notice. I found out that it takes 6 weeks for Social Security to update and switch over my direct deposits. On XX/XX/XXXX, my Ally account accepted a direct deposit from the Social Security Administration. After seeing that they accepted my SSA deposit, I made an e-deposit into my Ally account on XX/XX/XXXX because it appeared my account was still active. Ally accepted the deposit and stated they would notify me whether or not the deposit was accepted. No email was ever sent to me either way on the status of this deposit. When I talked to the representative on XX/XX/XXXX, he could find no records of that deposit being accepted or rejected. I would like to know what happened to my money because it was not returned to me when they closed out my account. The information provided to me by several different representatives has been very inconsistent. I was told several times that an explanation letter had been sent out to me which they could not discuss. On the afternoon of XX/XX/XXXX I spoke with a representative and was told a supervisor would call me back. She did at XXXX XXXX  CST while I was in the shower. I asked her to call me back in 3 minutes. She did not return the call until XXXX XXXX. By then I had gone out for dinner. I called back the next day and talked with a different supervisor. He told me they would review the situation and would call me back within 3 business days. I received no such phone call. When I called on XX/XX/XXXX, that reprsentative said he saw no notes that anyone would get back to me. When I call Ally, the recording tells me that these calls are recorded for my protection. I would like these phone calls pulled out to substantuate my claims on how Ally misinformed me on the status of my account. On XX/XX/XXXX I received a notice from XXXX that my payment from my Ally account was rejected. On XX/XX/XXXX Ally paid out 2 other charges of {$260.00} and {$100.00}, and one check for {$280.00}.