Consumer complaint received 2026-07-21 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Trouble using your card — Can't use card to make purchases
Company: PENTAGON FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
State: MD

Complaint narrative:
Since XX/XX/year>, Pentagon Federal Credit Union ( PenFed ) has repeatedly flagged authorized purchases on my credit card as suspected fraud. I received XXXX fraud-alert emails documenting XXXX distinct alert episodes. Every transaction identified in these alerts was authorized by me, and I responded to each alert by confirming that the transactions were authorized. XXXX of the documented alerts involved XXXX, where I have completed hundreds of legitimate transactions : - XX/XX/year> : {$900.00} - XX/XX/year> : {$38.00} - XX/XX/year> : {$10.00} - XX/XX/year> : {$19.00} - XX/XX/year> : {$320.00} These recurring alerts caused authorized purchases to be declined or interrupted. Even after confirming the transactions, I had to resubmit purchases or use different cards, resulting in shipping delays. The repeated false positives have made my PenFed card unreliable for ordinary purchases. All XXXX alert emails display the same identifier : XXXX XXXX XXXX : XXXX. On XX/XX/year>, I contacted PenFed through its online chat to ask why my established XXXX activity was repeatedly being classified as unusual and why the same fraud-case number appeared on every alert. The representative stated that the fraud-prevention system was flagging the transactions as unusual activity, that flagged transactions had to be confirmed and resubmitted, and that PenFed could not change the security placed on my card. I requested escalation to a XXXX or XXXX XXXX, but the issue was not investigated or resolved through the chat. After ending the chat, I called PenFed. During that telephone call, I was told that there was no open fraud case, despite XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX appearing on alerts issued over a period of more than XXXX months. PenFed could not explain what XXXX represents, why the alerts began on XX/XX/XXXX, why established XXXX purchases repeatedly triggered them, or what condition was causing the recurring false positives. I was told only that transactions are flagged when they meet a security threshold. I again requested escalation. I was told that PenFed could not transfer me to a supervisor, could not change the fraud activity, and had no additional information. PenFed therefore provided no meaningful way to investigate or correct an ongoing problem that is interfering with legitimate use of my account. I am not asking PenFed to disable appropriate fraud monitoring. I am asking PenFed to investigate a persistent pattern of false-positive alerts affecting authorized transactions, determine whether an erroneous restriction or risk marker is contributing to the problem, and correct the underlying condition. I have attached the XXXX fraud-alert emails and the XX/XX/XXXX online-chat transcript. Every transaction reflected in the attached alerts was authorized by me ; none was fraudulent or unauthorized. The statements concerning the absence of an open case and XXXX inability to explain or escalate the matter occurred during my subsequent telephone call.

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 explanation