How to File a Complaint Against Your Bank or Credit Union

Anonymous - #1, Thursday, July 15, 2010 - 8:01 AM

I have been struggling with a situation involving Bank of the Sierra.  When they first lauched their reward checking product their disclosure stated that you had to make one bill payment per statement cycle.  They say that they meant that the bill payment had to "clear" the account not simply be requested for payment in a cycle.  This is problematic when the payment is in the form of a check and the payee cannot control the speed with which the vendor negotiates the check.  The bank has since changed the language of their disclosure, but will not honor the former language.  I started a complaint with my state Attorney General's Office and the bank would not respond to them.  They handed it off to the California Attorney General who said that they had no jurisdiction.  Next, I tried the Better Business Bureau (the bank is not a member) and the bank refused to settle the matter.  Thus, it is listed as an unresolved dispute.  Next, I went to the California agency that regulates state chartered banks and they required the bank to respond to me in writing.  They denied the claim for the interest rate that I believe that I was entitled to earn for the one month period in question.  Again, the bank's position was negative.  I wrote a rebuttal and again this again brought a negative response.  I believe that I am at the end of the line with this regulatory agency.  I am now considering the FDIC.  I am confident that the bank has spent more in resources to respond to my claim than it would have in paying me the very nominal sum that I believe that I was due.  However, I suspect that they are worried that if they pay me they will have to consider other claims.  Frankly, this is a small regional bank that seems to have the mentality of some of the very large national banks that we have grown to hate!

adityanm - #2, Thursday, July 15, 2010 - 9:05 AM

The banks don't give a hoot to complaints to  CCC.

It has been two months since I filed a complaint to CCC but the bank has not even  responded to them or me.

51hh - #3, Thursday, July 15, 2010 - 9:41 AM

Anon. #1: I hava to say that I agree with BotS on this point, i.e., of course the payment has to be cleared before the statement closing date.  It is your responsibility to ensure that, and you have a full one month to do that.

That said, you may write (nicely and politely) to the botS executive office (say at VP level) for a coutesy interest credit, claiming that you did not expect such a lengthy billpay process for the payment. 

It may be more effective to work with the bank (from low level to high management level) than to report them to outside agencies.

Just my two cents.

Anonymous - #4, Thursday, July 15, 2010 - 11:20 AM

Dear 51hh,

I turned to the regulatory agencies ONLY after I tried without success to make progress with the bank.  With regard to your comment about "cleared" funds, that is not what the disclosure indicated.  The discloseure is the contact of operation and their operational policy must align with that disclosure.  Since they changed their disclosure recently,it seems to me that they realized that they had a problem.  How do you define customer good will?  It does not seem that this bank has an understanding in this regard.  Such a positive approach to solving problems yields fewer cases needing to go to regulatory agencies.

drjoanv - #5, Thursday, July 15, 2010 - 12:01 PM

I had a complaint against America's credit union in Washington state.  Almost 2 yrs ago I had opened several "add on"  CD's....After the accts were opened, I talked to both the VP of the branch and CSR.....and was told that I could NOT add to the acct thereafter.   The accts were at 5% and won't mature until Oct 2010 so it made a difference.  Then in april of this yr, I read at this site that an instititution could not change the terms after the acct was open.  I immediately called the CU and was told that they had made an error when telling me that I could not add to the acct.   It was ONLY acctss that were opened towards the end of OCT 2008 that ceased to be "add ons". But by that time I had lost a yr's worth of interest at the higher amount.

I filed a complaint with NCUA...the end result was that NCUA said that it was a question of "customer relations" and that they could do nothing. 

So filing a complaint went no where.

51hh - #6, Thursday, July 15, 2010 - 12:20 PM

Anon. #1/#4:

So one initiates a BillPay, the fund reaches the payee, then the fund is deducted often on the same date.  Their BillPay feature is one of the best with good speed (last time I tried).  But I agree with you that many RCA banks design rules/regulations (on debit transaactions, ACH, even e-statement) to minimize the likelihood of success in getting RCA interest.  They also assume that most customers would not bother to meet RCA requirements month after month.

One strategy I adopted in regards to debit transactions and ACHs is to do it ASAP, preferrably the first week after the closing of the last statement cycle.  Then toward the last week of the current monthly cycle, double check all the activities online to ensure all requirements are met.  As a safety margin, I typically do 1-2 more transactions (in debit/ACH) just to make sure.  If a weakness is shown at that time, I do make-up transactions in the last week.  This strategy does not quarantee 100% success, but it does mitigate the risks created by RCA bank design.

As for filing complaints, be patient and reasonable.  Most people are more open to courtesy rather than criticism/threat.  In general, try at least five CSRs/supervisors over the phone at various time before resorting to writing.  I almost always get a nice CSR (i.e., with patience and willingless to accmmodate) after several attempts.  They all go beyond their ways to help me.  I am sure that there are some nice CSRs at BotS as well.

As for writing, always go to the top.  First, compliment their dedication/service nicely.  Second, state the issue and your effort to resolve the issue (mentioning CSRs/supervisors by name) succinctly.  Third, suggest options for resolution humbly and respectfully.

Good luck.   

Anonymous - #7, Friday, July 16, 2010 - 2:57 PM

To file a complaint, it helps to know which Federal or State agency supervises your bank. 

State banks are controlled by their State Attorney Generals' Office.  You can look at http://www.affil.org/home/consumer-tips-and-help/get-help-with-a-problem ; click your state and look under "File A Complaint".

Helpwithmybank.gov is for Federal Banks, not for State Banks, and here is the online complaint form, run by The Office of the Comptroller of Currency OCC:

https://appsec.helpwithmybank.gov/olcc_form/

Here is the Federal Reserve banking complaint form:

http://www.federalreserveconsumerhelp.gov/consumercomplaint.cfm

Better Business Bureau:

https://odr.bbb.org/odrweb/public/getstarted.aspx

The more complaints there are against a bank, the more likely that action will be taken to help your case.

More info at the Americans for Fairness in Lending website:

http://www.affil.org/get_active/complaint.php

 

 

 

Anonymous - #8, Friday, July 16, 2010 - 4:26 PM

My experience with a complaint to the NCUA was unimpressive. They forwarded my complaint to the credit union and the credit union answered (poorly) 2 of the five items I complained about and ignored the other 3 iessues). As a finance MBA (with two cash management certifications) and 30 years of large corporate treasury experience, I am appalled by

1. How this complaint was handled by NCUA.

2. The caliber of their personnel and

3. Their review of the credit union answer to my complaint.

I was told by an executive at a different credit union that the NCUA is primarily focused on insurance issues for credit unions.

Anonymous - #9, Wednesday, October 20, 2010 - 7:04 PM

Could someone please tell me what to do:

 

I have a CD with America's Credit Union and it matured on the 15th. They told me they sent me a check but I never got it and in order for them to put a stop payment on the check they want me to to sign something that states that

a) You agree to hold America's Credit Union harmless for said amount and to indemnify it against any loss, expense and/or costs incurred by reason of its refusal to pay said check

b) You also agree not to hold America's Credit Union liable in the event payment is made contrary to this request through inadvertance or oversight.

c) You also agree that this stop payment is done for cause only.

The stop payment will expire 6 months from the date of your order unless renewed in writing prior to that date.

 

..so...what does all this mean?



 

krishna kumar (anonymous) - #11, Friday, June 24, 2011 - 1:11 AM

Hi, there is an easy way to resolve your complaint, first you need to file a complaint with your bank and if you don't get a reply within 30 days, then you need to file the complaint to the Banking Ombudsman. You can read this particular article in this Akosha went ahead and looked at the various issues relating to the banking problem. You can find the full article <a href="http://www.akosha.com/consumer-complaints/article/comprehensive-guide-approaching-banking-ombudsman-india">about an complaint against bank</a>. Do share your thoughts on the article.

Anonymous - #12, Friday, August 12, 2011 - 2:46 PM

I have been a member of the State Employees Credit Union for over 25 years.  Over the last 10 years, I have done much business which included savings, checking, auto loans, RV loan, and HELOC.  They have always more than met my needs.  In late April, SECUGA joined with the Federal Credit Union to become GA United Credit Union. This was the beginning of a horrible experience fo me.  "Members beware"  It all stated when I applied for an auto loan around July 1, 2011.  Some of the complaints included poor commications, very long hold times and unclear, misleading or wrong information.  After talking to several supervisors and driving to the main office twice most of my issues were resolved.  Unless things really improve, I will take my business somewhere else.