On Tuesday, October 9 I logged into my Fifth Third Account to find a large pending transaction in the amount of $680 that was authorized on Monday, October 8 at 5:11 pm to T-Mobile (of which I am not a customer, nor will I ever be after this experience) using my Debit Card number.
I immediately contacted Fifth Third's "Customer Service" and was told that there was nothing the bank could do until the charge actually posted to my account. The Customer Service Representative suggested that I contact T-Mobile at the 800 number listed with the pending transaction since they were the only one's that could immediately release the funds in my checking account.
I went on to explain to the Customer Service rep that I had been contacted by Fifth Third in early September when they told me there was a chance that my Debit Card number had been compromised. At this time we reviewed my recent transactions and found nothing unusual so I decided not to cancel my card at that time as I have several automatic monthly payments that are processed directly through my Debit Card. Approximately one week after I got the call from Fifth Third I heard through a friend that there was a news report that a local Hilliard Restaurant had given out customer's Mastercard numbers after receiving a call from someone that claimed to be a Police Officer investigating fraudulent reports. Had Fifth Third told me the entire story in the first place I wouldn't be a victim now. Word of advice, if you even suspect that your numbers have been compromised cancel them immediately - the slight inconvenience that you will go through are much better than the alternative that I am now facing.
After speaking with Fifth Third the first time, I contacted the Hilliard City Police Detective in charge of the case and informed them of the charge that was showing up on my account. When I told him that T-Mobile was involved he said "Good luck getting them to return your calls." I filed a report with them and was told that he had just received a similar call from another local Fifth Third customer on Friday October 5 that was also a victim of these unfortunate circumstances.
After speaking with the Police, I called T-Mobile's Customer Service and was told that they could not transfer calls directly to their Fraud Investigation Department (not did they have a direct line), however they could email them for me and they would contact me within three (3) business days. After several hours I tried my luck with T-Mobile again and after several attempts was finally able to get a fax number for their Corporate Offices - suspiciously enough they refused to give out a phone number for their Headquarters and after searching the web I was unable to find one.
I wrote a letter to T-Mobile explaining my situation and providing them with the Hilliard City Police contact information so they could forward the phone number and address associated with the account for the fraudulent charge and asked for a return call. Much to my surprise I received a return call within 1 hour of faxing my letter to them. I was told that I needed to contact my financial institution as there was nothing they could do for me. I told them that Fifth Third had told me that I needed to contact them in order for the charges to be immediately released and was told "that's not going to happen". I then asked for them to forward the information on the account to the Police and was told that their client's information was confidential and that they could be of no further assistance and ended the call.
The following day, Wednesday, October 10 I logged into my account again to see what transactions were posted and to see if I could finally begin a dispute with Fifth Third. Much to my surprise the $680 charge was no longer showing up in my pending or posted transactions and that my available balance did not show the charge as being held. I optimistically thought that T-Mobile came through for me and contacted the bank to correct the problem - boy, was I wrong.
The next day, Thursday, October 11 I logged in again to find that the $680 charge posted to my account the previous day causing two other items to be returned (of course they paid the $680 charge that I had been protesting for two days now and charged my $66 in fees). I immediately contacted Fifth Third and was told that I would have to fax a letter to their Dispute Department outlining my dispute and that it would take up to 10 business days to correct the problem - if it was credited at all!
I immediately wrote my letter, faxed it to Fifth Third and waited for them to contact me. When I hadn't heard from them the following day I called their "Customer Service" line once again on Friday, October 12 and was placed on hold for more than 20 minutes. I work for a living and had deadlines on Friday so couldn't wait any longer to talk to someone. I was again optimistic that they would correct the charges as I was a victim of fraud and had been a customer for more than five years. Boy was I wrong.
I logged into my account this morning, October 13 and they money has still not been credited back into my account. I called their "Customer Service" line only to be told that their Dispute Department is closed and that they would be back in the office on Monday morning at 8:00 am.
As soon as this situation is cleared I will be closing our Fifth Third account and finding a new bank - does anyone have a bank with great customer service? I'd really like to know as Fifth Third is HORRIBLE and should have a class action suit brought against them in my opinion for their business practices.
Stacie
Hilliard, Ohio
U.S.A.
0 comments