Consumer complaint received 2025-07-18 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Problem accessing account
Company: ALLY FINANCIAL INC.
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
I am writing to formally complain about my locked account, account number ending in XXXX, with Ally Bank, as I have no viable way of gaining access to my account. The lack of compassion and poor handling of this situation, in my opinion, is either intentional or a result of complacency, which has allowed a lack of oversight to occur. I am saying this because when I brought up the CFPB to XXXX, an Account XXXX at Ally, he felt XXXX. I also believe this because a representative on an earlier call tried to convince me to XXXX  and commit fraud to regain access to my account. Also, when I was connected to a XXXX account XXXX, XXXX?? ( I'm unsure of the correct spelling of the name due to a sudden phone transfer ), They transferred me without warning to the fraud department. 
The fraud department person never introduced himself and stated that I had XXXX  XXXX by bringing up the CFPB. When I asked him if any of our conversations would help with my account, he said no, it would not help, and insinuated that I would not be able to regain control of my account. Now, all this is condensed into XXXX phone conversation, where I spoke to no less than XXXX different people, and it lasted approximately XXXX and a half hours. I had several days of such long calls. And never once did anyone try to assist me. And now I can not even call them ; to contact Ally Bank, one would need an account with them to use the cheaper international number. My account has been locked, so in the computer 's eyes, I have no account with them. So far, I have spent around {$200.00} on this issue due to XXXX  charges. 

Some background : I am a XXXX XXXX XXXX with over XXXX years of service and another XXXX-plus years as a XXXX XXXX. And held an Ally bank for well over XXXX years, I had the bank serve as an emergency slush fund. I transferred amounts between my XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX account ( with the same name ) and Ally Bank, so everything was fine for over XXXX years. Then, my phone did a swan dive into the ocean. The problem stems from Ally Bank not having any alternative way to verify your identity except through a phone number and address, and an AI test that is anything but XXXX. 

* Side Note XXXX - XXXX AP addresses are XXXX  mail addresses for the XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX, designated as " XXXX XXXX XXXX '' ( XXXX ). " XXXX  '' stands for XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX of the geographic areas within the XXXX postal system, basically a mail forwarding service -end side note * Side Note XXXX - The XXXX  is the provider of long-distance communications service for the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. Every installation has a special XXXX  number, and the numbers vary by worldwide location end side note * Side Note XXXX - Approximately XXXX years ago, I updated my account phone number to XXXX from XXXX XXXX and my mailing address to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Apt XXXX, XXXX, Texas XXXX from XXXX XXXX XXXX 
When you call, if the computer does not recognize your phone number, it will ask for the phone number registered to your account, along with another piece of information that I will not disclose. What matters is that when I spoke to Ally Bank, the system the service reps are using and the computer hooked to the phone did not match, and the service reps did not see my phone change ; they still had my old XXXX number, but the computer did not. Every time I called, I entered XXXX as my phone number and was able to get through. - End Side Note Problem : My address has been an XXXX  address, and my phone number has been a XXXX  phone number for almost XXXX  years. Neither item is taken into consideration by Ally 's AI, which incorrectly identifies my most recent XXXX XXXX address as being in XXXX XXXX ( which it is, as that is the location for this particular XXXX XXXX XXXX ) and that I live there which I do not, so when the AI asks me anything about XXXX XXXX, such as how many years I have lived there, I can not answer because I have never actually lived there. Similarly, my phone number is XXXX XXXX. If you looked it up VIA XXXX, it would read XXXX XXXX, XXXX. However, if you look it up on the non-XXXX, it shows up as New York, so when asked about New York, I can not and can only answer that I do not live or have lived there. And so, when I get any question wrong, the employee says Sorry, I can not talk to you further. I will be hanging up. 
For the past week, I have been chasing my tail like a dog to get anyone to listen to me, from Ally Bank or someone who can help. Not XXXX person I spoke to was willing to help. XXXX employee insinuated that I should lie and commit fraud to pass the test. I have talked to Ally 's risk review team, XXXX team, and customer care team ( reference number XXXX ). Every time I call someone on the phone, they immediately administer the same AI test I fail, and then they hang up, telling me to call back in XXXX hours and try again. Now I can not even call them because they have locked my account. I can not use the XXXX  number because my account is closed, and the computer does not recognize my Phone or SSN ; it believes I have no account and hangs up. I record most phone calls for my protection, so the recording serves as a backup for everything XXXX state here. The Fraud Employee accused me of XXXX  an employee with harm because I said I had no choice but to contact the CFPB. How is it a XXXX  if I state my right to make a formal complaint to a government office? Is the CFPB a XXXX? No, it is a tool that consumers can use to get assistance with a banking issue. 

Details : For brevity and easy checking on Ally bank 's part, I will list the details as only for my last phone conversation with them on XXXX XX/XX/year>, XXXX ( XXXX Standard Time, subtract XXXX Hours for EST ) ( time is roughly due to recording error ) Around XXXX, I contacted an account XXXX. I couldn't understand his name, but I explained the situation and asked him to talk to a supervisor. And he said, 'No problem. ' He finally got me in touch with XXXX, who told me he heard me, but can not help. At this point, I was receiving the same treatment as I had on the other occasions of calling. I brought up my growing desire to take this matter to the CFPB. At that point, XXXX took an Abrupt tone with me, and later on, I found out he accused me of XXXX him because I stated CFPB. XXXX stated he was going to get me in touch with a XXXX  account XXXX and to hold on. 
I was connected to XXXX ( whose name I was unsure of due to the poor quality of the connection on Ally 's end ), who, after a few minutes, abruptly and without any warning, transferred me to the fraud department. 
The person I spoke with was unknown, as they did not introduce themselves. At this point, I was getting frustrated and did not think to ask. The employee insinuated that I could call back daily until I got it right, even after I explained the XXXX and XXXX  situation to them. This person informed me that I had XXXX  XXXX by bringing up the CFPB. Later in the conversation, when asked if this was going anywhere regarding the restoration of my account access, he said no. He insinuated that I would never get it back. This person stated that they would try to transfer me to a supervisor, but said they would not take the call because I failed the test. So, if you fail the test, you are nobody to them, and no one from Ally XXXX cares. What a way to treat a retired XXXX XXXX. They treated me as if I were a piece of dirt on their shoe, that they wanted to clean off.

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 non-monetary relief