Compass Bank
Don't be fooled by Compass Bank's "free" credit check

In early June, I received a letter in the mail from the bank I had used for the last couple of years, Compass Bank. The letter offerred a free credit report to me for just replying to it, something that I had been wanting to look at for some time, and did not realize that I could get my credit report free online with just a few clicks of the internet.in fact, the Fed requires that customers be able to look up this information for free, so Compass Bank was not really supplying an additional service. Because it was "free", however, I decided to go ahead and apply.

Although I signed the first page of the agreement, what I didn't realize was that on the second page lurked a clause intended to provide another non-service/service by stating that because I had signed up for the free credit report, Compass was going to count this signature as a de-facto agreement to cover me with Identity Theft, at $12.95 per month. The really tricky thing though was that no other notification that this charge (which I never actually read or authorized by signing BELOW) would be sent, and the charge would actually not be processed until 2 months after the credit report was to be sent. This would give any non-suspecting consumer who had even read the tiny-printed, hidden clause plenty of time to forget about the charge.

Because this was an account that I only used while abroad, it had a whole $2 of funding in it. So low and behold two months later when the $12.95 charge hit, not only did I receive that charge, but an additional $36 in overdraft fees. I had no idea who this mystery charge was from, because I hadn't used the account in over a year, and neither did the bank! When I called, the said they only showed a 1-800 number that I could call to find out who had charged me, and refused to take back the charge even though the business did not list their name, service provided, or any other information with the charge, which my local branch admitted was strange. I tried to follow instructions and called the 1-800 number to dispute the charge, and guess who it was... The very COMPASS BANK who had said they had no idea who had processed the charge! Completely confused now, I was unsure where to turn. Little did I know at this point I could have just contacted 1-800-COMPASS and taken advantage of the 'overdraft forgiveness' that they provide to consumers once or twice for each account.instead of being told this by the people I talked to, however, I was told to open up a dispute. I was also told this would take no more than 5-10 business days to process.interestingly enough, it took 20 business days to still not hear a response, and I got charged another $12.95 plus another $36 overdraft fee. I was now $97.90 indebted to the bank for a service I never wanted or authorized which I had opened a dispute about, but they still charged me again. This time, I went into my local Cherry Creek, CO branch, where I was told after heated debate as to whether this was right that there was nothing they could do. I again called the customer service number, where only now was I notified that there is actually a thing called 'overdraft forgiveness'. At this point, it was too late for forgiveness of both overdraft fees, as apparently, I only got one. To be charged again for a fee that I didn't authorize in the first place, and had a dispute pending with my bank, and to be charged by that very bank was the most ridiculous event I had ever heard of! In addition, several times when I tried to get names from some of the agents on the phone, I was deliberately hung up on. One woman named Leticia in particular.

The only method of resolution the bank offerred now was to pay everything, close the account, and hope that the charges were reversed. So that's what I did, and the bank still made off with $36 of my hard-earned cash (3 hours of work because I was a poor student at the time). I even had to borrow the almost $100 to close the account from my parents, because otherwise I couldn't make the rent. The bank never cared, and I will never be a customer with them again. I will also continue to advocate for all friends and family of mine to sever any relationships with Compass Bank, and tell my story as often as possible. I'm sure that this has cost the bank far more than the $36 it unrightfully stole from me, and that is my only vindication. I now bank with only First Bank, Wells Fargo, and Diner's Club, who all have been amazing with their customer service. I advocate for all of you to never put up with companies like Compass Bank. They deserve to be out of business if their method of business is as unethical as trying to swindle/steal from their customers.

Company: Compass Bank
Country: USA
State: Colorado
City: Denver
Site: compassbank.com

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