Consumer complaint received 2025-03-20 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Problem caused by your funds being low — Overdrafts and overdraft fees
Company: ALLY FINANCIAL INC.
State: HI

Complaint narrative:
XX/XX/year> - Applied for joint checking/savings account with Ally Bank XX/XX/year> - Approved for an account by Ally Bank and XXXX able to login XX/XX/year> - Initiated a funds transfer from existing Bank of Hawaii account XXXX source account ) to Ally Bank ( destination account ) XX/XX/year> - Ally Bank XXXX XXXX that our account has been closed due to suspicious activity XX/XX/year> - Called Ally Bank to XXXX why our account was closed and confirmed with Ally Bank XXXX XXXX pending transactions were outstanding. 
XX/XX/year> - We decided to move our savings from XXXX  XXXX XXXX  to a higher yielding XXXX XXXX ( XXXX XXXX ) account while we look for another bank. 
XX/XX/year> - Received an insufficient funds notice for the transfer to XXXX XXXX. Signed into XXXX  XXXX XXXX  to discover that the Ally transfer had captured money from our account before the XXXX XXXX transfer XX/XX/year> - Called Ally to ask where our money went and was told that we would need to call back because their back office department was already closed. 
XX/XX/year> - Called Ally back XXXX department to request a refund of the insufficient funds fee because Ally allowed our transfer initiated on XX/XX/XXXX to continue even though they had already closed our accounts on XX/XX/XXXX and posted a withdrawal transaction to our Bank of Hawaii account on XX/XX/XXXX, a day after they had already closed our account. 

In speaking with XXXX XXXX Ally Bank back office agent ), XXXX insisted that it's not Ally 's responsibility to cover the insufficient funds fee because the transaction isn't showing as completed on the Ally side. She refused to acknowledge that that doesn't change the fact that the money was already removed from our Bank XXXX Hawaii account rendering later transactions, specifically the transfer to XXXX XXXX, to encounter insufficient funds. 

XXXX further stated that it was our responsibility to ask Ally to check both the primary and secondary account holder 's transactions on XX/XX/XXXX, since it was the secondary account holder that initiated the funds transfer from XXXX XXXX XXXX to Ally Bank. We told her that we had no way of knowing that Ally 's computer system doesn't show all transactions into a joint account on their end ; it would have never occurred to us that Ally could not see all of the account 's transactions. If XXXX is so certain that we should know this fact, shouldn't the agent we spoke to on XX/XX/XXXX have known this and checked both account holders as well? Why is the onus on us, customers who don't know how Ally 's system works, responsible for asking them to do a complete investigation in their own system? 

We are seeking help from the CFPB because Ally is clearly engaging in unfair practices. They hold all the cards and currently still have our money tied up in an as yet pending transaction. We don't have any of our money AND we are on the hook to pay XXXX  XXXX XXXX a {$30.00} insufficient funds fee for a transaction that Ally initiated AFTER they closed our account. How does this make sense? How is it fair that we owe XXXX  XXXX XXXX  for a insufficient funds penalty that should never have occurred?

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief