Consumer complaint received 2026-03-04 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Problem with a lender or other company charging your account — Money was taken from your account on the wrong day or for the wrong amount
Company: HUNTINGTON NATIONAL BANK, THE
State: OH

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/XXXX I used my debit card to purchase a chest of drawers for {$850.00} from XXXX XXXX, owned by XXXX XXXX. The merchant was supposed to deliver the item on XX/XX/XXXX. On the delivery date, I called the merchant to get the delivery time but he did not answer my calls and instead texted me. In the text messages, he stated he was refunding my money and said he was sending the refund receipt. He never actually sent the receipt, and no refund ever appeared in my account. After that, the merchant stopped responding. Because the item was never delivered and no refund was issued, I contacted my bank and opened a dispute. The bank issued a provisional credit while they investigated. During the investigation, the merchant told the bank that he never agreed to refund me. However, the same merchant, XXXX XXXX, told the XXXX XXXX XXXX and publicly replied to my XXXX review that he refunded me months ago. I provided the bank with screenshots of the text messages showing the promised delivery date, the merchants statement that he would refund me, and his contradictory statements to the XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX reviews. The bank did not accept this evidence. I called several times during the investigation and was told the case was still being investigated. I was never told I needed to submit documentation, I was never asked when the merchant delivered the product or IF the merchant delivered the product. It appeared to me the case was not being thoroughly investigated. In XX/XX/XXXX, the bank reversed the provisional credit and closed the case, even though the merchant never delivered the item and provided inconsistent statements to different parties. After I filed the dispute, the bank closed the original transaction account to my access, meaning I could not view it, use it, or manage it in any way. I requested this because the merchant had my banking information and I did not trust him with that information given the fact that he did not refund my money or deliver my furniture and ceased all communication with me. The bank told me the account was only being left technically open so that it could receive a refund if and when the merchant issued one. The account had no funds and I had no ability to monitor or manage it. Because the account was restricted, I had no way to see or respond to any activity related to the dispute. When the bank reversed the provisional credit, they did not reverse it into the restricted transaction account. Instead, they withdrew the {$850.00} from a different personal checking account, without my authorization or notice. This withdrawal caused that account to fall short and resulted in me becoming delinquent on my rent and resulting in late fees. This created significant financial hardship and would not have occurred if the bank had handled the dispute properly, reversed the funds into the correct account, or provided proper notice. I explained that the removal of the funds from my other account was causing me to be late on rent. When I went in the branch ( on XXXX XXXX in XXXX, Oh, I showed the representative, XXXX XXXX my documentation. She opened another dispute for me, trying to get my money back so that I can pay my bills but the research department on the dispute team immediately closed that dispute as well and said they were not reopening the original case. NOTE : XXXX XXXX was very helpful to me. This is a clear case of goods paid for but not received. The bank failed to : Conduct a reasonable investigation Consider written evidence Address contradictory merchant statements Apply Regulation E standards correctly Handle the restricted account appropriately Avoid causing additional financial harm Additionally, the banks decision to remove funds from an unrelated personal checking account causing me to fall behind on rent and incurring additional fees is an unfair and harmful practice.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief