Consumer complaint received 2025-04-30 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Banking errors
Company: ALLY FINANCIAL INC.
State: NC

Complaint narrative:
I signed up for an Ally Bank XXXX Account using a referral code through the Ally Customer Referral Program on XX/XX/year>. Ally Bank advertises a {$100.00} Welcome Bonus after completing certain steps that are outlined on their website and also sent via email. After being approved to open a spending account, I funded the account as required as a part of the account opening process on XX/XX/year>. Ally Bank indicated that the next step on the " welcome bonus to-do list '', sent via email, was to receive a qualifying direct deposit by XX/XX/year>. A direct deposit was received by my Ally Bank Spending Account on XX/XX/year> with " XXXX : XXXX '' in the title and was labeled as a " deposit '' under the account 's transaction history. I have included a screenshot of the transaction details as proof of the deposit. According to the Ally Customer Referral Program Terms and Conditions for New Friends, which I have also provided a copy of as an attached PDF, Ally Bank will deposit a {$100.00} Welcome Bonus to the account after receiving a Qualifying Direct Deposit ( QDD ) within 30 days ( the " Payout Date '' ). 


On XX/XX/year>, 30 days after receiving a direct deposit, I had still not received the {$100.00} Welcome Bonus and reached out to to Ally customer service for assistance. I received a response from Ally on XX/XX/year> explicitly confirming that my QDD had been received and that I simply needed to wait for the bonus to be deposited. I reached out to Ally again on XX/XX/year> to inform them that the Welcome Bonus had still not been deposited to my account despite being more than 30 days since receiving the QDD.I received a response from Ally on XX/XX/year> informing me that I had been assigned case number XXXX and that my issue was being looked into by their back office team. I was told that I would be contacted within 5 to 7 business days regarding my case ; however, by XX/XX/year> I still had not received any correspondence from Ally regarding my case. This prompted me to reach out to Ally to try and receive assistance regarding my case. I finally received a response from Ally on that same day informing me that my deposit would likely not be classified as a QDD and that my case was still under review. After asking customer service some questions regarding the promotion terminology, I was informed on XX/XX/year> that they would not be classifying my deposit as a QDD and that my case would be closed. Most importantly, Ally acknowledged the incorrect information that I had been given by a customer service associate on XX/XX/year>. Despite giving me false information about my eligibility in the referral program, Ally asserted that the case could be considered resolved and that I would not be able to receive the Welcome Bonus. All correspondence with Ally Bank customer service that has been referenced is included as an attachment. I must note that Ally never took the initiative to reach out to me regarding this issue and that I was the initiator of all correspondence with Ally customer service. 


I strongly believe that this is a case of " bait and switch '' given that Ally Bank used the promise of a {$100.00} Welcome Bonus to lure in new customers, used vague terminology in their terms and conditions, and allowed customer service associates to give out incorrect information regarding eligibility status. Additionally, Ally waited until after the account opening period to inform me that my deposit was not eligible for the referral program, thus giving me no time to make another deposit that would be considered a QDD.

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