6/20/10
In my case, they made my account negative by charging fees first and then crediting the wire amount that came in.
At the branch, under Kevin Henderson as store manager, they told me the wired money was available, and of course I withdrew the money. Right there at the counter, they did not even tell me, "Hey, you already have a negative balance, are you going to take care of it?" And of course I did not have any reason to ask, because I knew my balance was positive and could not imagine they had already applied a $36 fee for no reason.
Next, they applied the wire fees on top, and the balance went negative. Last, they applied the incoming wire amount, and the negative balance dropped down but remained negative. You see the sneaky trick? Then they applied another $36 fee for the negative balance they created.
A few days later, the same week, I walked into the branch in person and deposited cash, which took 15 minutes for them to count. Nobody told me, "You have a negative balance, are you going to take care of it?" I was "sleeping" well because I could not imagine their sneaky techniques. That resulted in another, third fee of $36. Then I wrote a check for the cash I deposited, and this time my check bounced because they held all those fees that I was not aware of. This is where I woke up and found out about all of these techniques.
For the record, all this took place on 5/25 at the SunTrust branch in Publix, involving the counter manager Maggie O'Beng and branch manager Kevin Henderson. When we walk into Publix to shop, he gets in front of us with a fake smile and a handshake, bending his back to us, saying "welcome to SunTrust"! Who told you we come for you? We go to shop at Publix!
Personally, at the beginning, seeing all these complaints online, I thought they were a scam, making up cases to take people's money through fees. But my experience was finally positive. I called district manager Lisa Hill. She was amazing, although she was not in charge of the particular branch. She speaks very little, but within 20 minutes the right district manager, Daniel Hanberry, called me personally, and then the customer service operator Chastidy took care of the rest. After this resolution, I am amazed. I think that at SunTrust there are really professional people like Lisa Hill, Daniel Hanberry and Chastidy, and they take care of the mess that managers like Kevin Henderson and his crew create.
I am sorry, but I am a mathematician, and Kevin Henderson probably knows less than me about ordinary math and numbers. There I was with all the transactions printed out, speaking simple logic, and I had this man telling me over and over, again and again, the same stereotyped answers to my request. I felt like he did not even use his brain. I mean, come on, manager, not all cases are the same, right?
Besides that, the store manager, Kevin Henderson, called me on Thursday 6/3 at 5:50 pm, ten minutes before he goes home. I asked what the purpose of his call was. He answered, "Is there anything we can do for you, so we can continue the same relationship like before?" What would anyone have answered? The fees, right? That is what I answered: "Refund the fees and we will be OK." Well, suddenly Kevin Henderson remembered that the purpose of his call was not to get me back as a customer, but to criticize me and interrogate me about whether and why I reported that he was unprofessional.
For a second time, he persisted in asking me if I reported that he was unprofessional. Is it not unprofessional to call a customer back at home at 6:00 pm, in the evening with family, like solicitors do, and intimidate me about my report of his unprofessionalism? Yes, it is! But he could not realize what he was doing right there. I answered, "Yes sir, you were unprofessional. One time, when I walked into the bank, you told me the wire amount was available although it was not, just to create a negative balance and charge me fees. You lied to me on purpose, telling me that I had this amount available. The second time, when I walked in in person three days later to deposit the cash, again you did not tell me about my negative balance, so I wrote a check that bounced." I asked him, "Is this professionalism to you?" and he went speechless. It was "mmm..., Hmmm..., aaaa..., eee...". Something was going on in his mouth (it is possible he was eating!), at which point I decided not to give more time to those sounds, and I finished the call saying, "Thank you for your call, Sir!"
How is it possible to call me and interrogate me about whether he is unprofessional, when calling a customer at home at 6:00 pm is soliciting, and interrogating me at the same time is at least grounds for a lawsuit? Aren't these two incidents alone unprofessional, yes or no?
But again, other than that, I feel I should reward SunTrust by continuing to do business, although I had decided to take my fees back and walk. I think that is not fair. Daniel Hanberry showed real professionalism. I feel great about it, and I am writing about this whole incident with the purpose of being fair. It should be recorded among the rest of the complaints.
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