This is a warning to all SunTrust customers! SunTrust made my funds unavailable for 1 week and then closed my account when I wanted an explanation. Let me tell you what I have been through...
Friday, Nov. 10: I deposited $1000.00 CASH into my account and paid my bills online. When I went to pay my power bill, the first charge attempt was declined. Bad zip code? The second charge attempt went through (different card, same account).
I then entered all the info for the bills that I had paid that night into MS Money to see why the card was declined, as there were more funds in the account than bills paid, and compared it to the online statement. The declined card looked like a glitch. I checked online, and they had the power payment on hold twice. I called that day to ask why a declined charge was being held on my account. I was told the only way they could remove the charge was to have something faxed from Bill Matrix (the power company's third-party payment system). I explained that my auto insurance would be canceled if I didn't make a payment that night. The CSR told me to write a check for my insurance, as it would take a few days to clear. When she told me this, I knew someone giving bad advice would not be able to help me any further.
Monday, Nov. 13: I called Bill Matrix and explained what happened. She called SunTrust and spoke with Ebony. Faxed the requested at 8:56 AM. I called SunTrust, and they said it would all be resolved in 1/2 hour to an hour. I checked my account online at 10:34am, and everything was back to the way it should be.
Wednesday, Nov. 15: I went online to check my funds before making a payment for my cell phone. Guess what. The hold was back on my account, and now a UAF charge for $128.00 was put against my account. Because of the extra power payment charge ($263.95) and the NSF fee, my account was now -$222.00. All of this was done on the 14th.
I called the bank, and they told me they would put a credit on my account for the $263.95 but would not issue a credit for the $128.00 in NSF, as this was not a bank error. I tried to explain that if the hold had not been placed back on my account, there would be no NSF charge. They told me this was not a bank error and they would not help any further.
I called Bill Matrix and asked them about the issue with the NSF fees, and they stated that they had sent the paperwork to the bank on Monday. The extra charge should not have been put back on, as they cannot collect on an item without an authorization code. They three-wayed with SunTrust and were finally able to get the NSF charges removed; however, it would not be posted until the next day. I also drove to the local branch to see if I could get help. Harder to turn someone down in person?
I spoke with Mr. Cohen, the branch manager. He would not let me finish explaining the confusion. He kept cutting me off and making excuses about how this whole issue was my fault because of the way I pay my bills. He laughed at me, implied I was not smart enough to manage a checkbook, and called me a liar. He told me I'm not supposed to call the 1-800 customer service when I have an issue and should have gone in person when I had this problem. He told me he was done talking to me and to go back to 1-800 service because this was started with them. I asked, "Sir, please stop patronizing me."
I was then told to leave the bank; if I came back there, he would have me arrested, and he was closing my account. I was shocked. I called the 1-800 number and was told there was nothing I could do except notify my direct depositor and automatic withdrawals so as not to incur more charges. Also, as this was a month-old account, I had just received my checks. I asked about the box of unused checks that I was charged $21.50 for. They told me to take them to the branch where I opened my account, and they would shred them at no charge. I called back at 10:06pm to see if my account was still open and was told it was.
Thursday, Nov. 16: I took the checks into the branch where I opened my account. The CSR who opened my account saw me. I explained why I was there and that I was still looking for an explanation of why all of this had taken place. I was told that Mr. Cohen could not do that, and that her manager and herself would get to the bottom of this. "Go ahead and have your direct deposit set back up and keep those checks, as we will fix this."
I got a call from that branch manager, and she informed me that my account was closed and they had sent all of the funds in my account to me in a check (in the mail). She told me that because Mr. Cohen was off until Monday, there was nothing they could do except look into it again on Monday after they had talked to him. I asked why, when I was in the bank earlier that day, they didn't tell me the truth. I was told that what had been done was done and they could not help me.
What SunTrust has done is deny me access to my money for almost a week and then close my account for my asking about it.
At least they are waiving the account early termination charge of $40.00.
Is this legal?
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