Consumer complaint received 2025-10-16 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Other banking product or service
Issue: Managing an account — Problem using a debit or ATM card
Company: OPTUM BANK, INC.
State: GA

Complaint narrative:
I am submitting this complaint regarding serious custodial and security failures by Optum Financial in connection with my employer-sponsored XXXX Savings Account ( XXXX ). For more than a year, my Optum XXXX debit card was used for numerous unauthorized and fraudulent card-present transactions in multiple states, often on the same day, while XXXX failed XXXX detect or prevent the activity. 

From XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX, my XXXX card was used at XXXX XXXX, XXXX, Touchdown Wings, XXXX, XXXX, Georgia XXXX, and other non-medical merchants. These are not qualified XXXX merchant categories, yet Optum repeatedly authorized them. The card was also used in different states within hours of each other, such as XXXX, Georgia and XXXX XXXX, California, proving that more than XXXX person had possession of my card data. These transactions were in-person, not online orders, which shows Optums systems approved cloned or duplicated cards without flagging suspicious activity. 

XXXX systems failed to : Enforce the merchant category restrictions that limit XXXX cards to medical expenses. 

Detect and block obvious fraudulent patterns such as same-day, multi-state transactions. 

XXXX me or suspend the card despite ongoing misuse over an extended period. 

I reported the fraudulent activity after discovering it and provided all evidence. Instead of accepting responsibility for its custodial failure, Optum issued a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, acknowledging the unauthorized charges but claiming that I am liable for a portion of the losses because the transactions were reported outside of XXXX XXXX XXXX window. Optum credited only {$250.00} out of approximately {$1800.00} in fraudulent transactions, leaving {$1500.00} unreimbursed. 

This response is unacceptable. Optum can not rely on the XXXX limitation when it failed to perform its duties as an HSA custodian and failed to provide any notice or monthly statements that would have allowed me to detect the unauthorized use earlier. I have checked all of my personal and work emails and confirmed that Optum never sent a single statement or notification of activity. 

XXXX XXXX was created through my employer, and I did not directly agree to any arbitration or terms limiting my rights. I never received or signed any disclosures before Optum issued the debit card. The small paper agreement mailed with the card contains unreadable fine print and does not meet the standards of a valid consent to binding terms. 

This situation has caused significant financial and personal hardship. The XXXX funds were meant to cover essential medical expenses, including dental procedures for myself and orthodontic treatment for my partner. Because of Optums failure to secure the account and its refusal to fully reimburse me, I have been unable to pay for those treatments. 

Optums handling of this matter reflects gross negligence and breach of its custodial obligations under the XXXX agreement. The company allowed non-medical transactions, failed to monitor for fraud, did not provide statements or alerts, and is now attempting to shift the financial burden of its own failures onto the consumer. This represents a clear pattern of misconduct and disregard for the basic protections that should apply to any federally regulated financial account, especially XXXX designed for health care purposes. 

I request that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau investigate this matter and require Optum Financial to take full responsibility for the complete amount of unauthorized transactions, totaling {$1800.00}, and to correct its internal security and monitoring deficiencies immediately.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation