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Fifth Third Bank ripoff Allows Illegal Transactions when reporting a illegal transaction on debit card will tell you there is nothing they can do and your stuck with paying it plus the damages Big Rapids Michigan
I make all my payments over the phone to my utility and loan companies. I dont pay for anything online because of the risk. just yesterday i made my truck payment by my debit card and later that day recieved a call from westlake finacial (which is another story)they stated to me that it was denied due to address problems. so i had to call my bank and get a fax number so they can release the funds and put them back in my account and they will run my card agian. I have never heard of this so i called 5/3 and told them what westlake told me. 5/3 told me they already have a authorized code and they will recieve there money on the first transaction. If westlake has a problem have them give them a call. I called westlake back and told them what 5/3 said they replied as if we dont get the fax we are taking your truck. so i had no choice i gave it to them. i jumped back on the phone with my local branch and also called the ohio branch telling them what they were doing. my local branch stated that it sounds like they want to set up auto with drawl and now we have been warned we will not authorize it. but if they have your debit card number we cant stop debit card transactions even if you cancel your card if its threw a company. i said i was told i had 48 hours to get them there payment or i will lose my truck(im not late on payments). 5/3 bank said well it looks like time is on your side.
Well i woke up this morning and pulled my account online threw 5/3 and i have a negative avaliable balance of 189.00 i looked at my card activity and they did run the card twice yesterday. i called ohio and asked them why did they allow it when i was told that i didnt have anything to worry about. I agian was stated that if they have your debit card numbers they can run it threw as many times as they want and they cant stop it and they have to pay them. I told them but this is a illegal transaction it was not authorized. they agian stated you gave them the numbers and they have it on file so they can do what they want with it and there is nothing they can do. what happen to security on these check cards or reporting fraudulant activity and they will protect there customers. 5/3 told me that it is only on checks and withdrawls they can stop. i have to talk to westlake because its not a bank error its westlakes error. then i asked about my loan i have through another bank that is automatically taken out of my account every month. is the payment not going to go through bacause my avaliable balance is negative. the guy at 5/3 said oh you shouldnt have to worry if the exstra transaction westlake did doesnt post in 3 days your loan payment will be avaliable for them to take out. plus i see on the computer that one westlake transaction is reqested to post back into your account on the 18th. but the bank cant authorize it to be there sooner. so im locked out of my account with a negative avaliable balance and my loan that comes out on the 16th will be sent back because no funds avaliable but they have on the computer to release the illegal transaction but not until the 18th.
Moral of the story you cant trust 5/3 to protect you from fraud on your account. and if you lose your debit card and someone uses it you might as well hang your hat up they wont stand behind you because its not a bank error. its your error.
Paige
farwell, Michigan
U.S.A.
5 Updates & Rebuttals
Stile
Phoenix,Arizona,
U.S.A.
Response to Aafes - Right track, wrong train.
#6Consumer Suggestion
Sun, June 25, 2006
"The bank is wrong. Yes, as long as they have your debit card information they can continue to run transactions through your bank. You need to have the card changed to one with a new number."
Yes and no. It actually isn't enough to change your card number. Westlake financial can continue to authorize under an old card number, if this provision is included in your contract with them. If you really want to deny them access to your account, you'll have to change your checking account number.
"
Go to the bank, speak to the manager and quote this to them. They must investigate."
Yes, they must investigate. But what they will find is that Paige willingly gave the merchant her debit card number, she is contractually obliged to them, and she does owe them money. Therefore, this isn't fraud. Also, if Paige asserts that she was overcharged, she must provide evidence to support this, otherwise it's her word against Westlake, and banks don't involve themselves in "he said, she said" situations. Unless you have a receipt showing what you were supposed to be charged, then this is considered a merchant issue, which must be corrected with the merchant directly.
Call Westlake and find out why they took so much out. If they're unwilling to credit back the difference, you may need to consider taking them to small claims court. You may also want to take a look at the Fair Credit Billing Act to see if that provides you any ammunition.
Aafes
Viernheim,Europe,
U.S.A.
The bank is wrong
#6Consumer Comment
Sun, June 04, 2006
The bank is wrong. Yes, as long as they have your debit card information they can continue to run transactions through your bank. You need to have the card changed to one with a new number.
However, under the Electronic Funds Transfer Act the following applies to unauthorized transactions:
If you believe there has been an error in an electronic fund transfer relating to your account:
1. Write or call your financial institution immediately if possible, but no later than 60 days from the date the first statement that you think shows an error was mailed to you. Give your name and account number and explain why you believe there is an error, what kind of error, and the dollar amount and date in question. If you call, you may be asked to send this information in writing within 10 business days.
2. The financial institution must promptly investigate an error and resolve it within 45 days. For errors involving new accounts (opened in the last 30 days), POS transactions, and foreign transactions, the institution may take up to 90 days to investigate the error. However, if the financial institution takes longer than 10 business days to complete its investigation, generally it must put back into your account the amount in question while it finishes the investigation. For new accounts, the financial institution may take up to 20 business days to credit your account for the amount you think is in error.
3. The financial institution must notify you of the results of its investigation. If there was an error, the institution must correct it promptly, for example, by making a recredit final. If it finds no error, the financial institution must explain in writing why it believes no error occurred and let you know that it has deducted any amount recredited during the investigation. You may ask for copies of documents relied on in the investigation.
Go to the bank, speak to the manager and quote this to them. They must investigate.
Joseph
Cincinnati,Ohio,
U.S.A.
Who owes who the fees
#6Consumer Suggestion
Sat, June 03, 2006
I work for a company that takes credit card payments and does automatic credit card billing. As far as I know, the company who incorrectly charged your account is the one who owes you the fees.
5/3 Bank didn't make the mistake, the company who charged you did. If they refuse to make good on the fees your option is, of course, to take them to court. It is their fault, and their responsibility - that is the downfall of business. Sometimes you make mistakes that are going to eat into your profits.
For example: We recently noticed a customer was accidentally taken off our automatic renewal plan. No big deal, a keystroke fixed it. Then the man saw the charge on his bank statement. Well, turns out that it wasn't simply an error - the customer asked to be taken off our renewal plan (no one made the proper notes of this or followed up with the other work that needed to be done).
Well, he was furious as a $10 charge on his card placed him over his limit and (ironically) in debt to 5/3 Bank for $225. After our lawyers meet with his lawyers they suggested we no only give him free service for a year, but told us that we were liable for his bank fees since we caused them.
This $10 charge has cost us more than $3000 (after lawyer fees) - but that is the price of doing business. Sometimes it costs more - but your actions have consequences.
Chris
Eastlake,Ohio,
U.S.A.
5/3 did this to me also
#6Consumer Comment
Thu, February 09, 2006
Paige,
First off all, A little bit of grammer and punctuation will help follow your story.
I is capitol when implying yourself. Threw is "I threw the ball" The word you want is "through".
Your story is very wordy and hard to follow.
---
Enough of that, I had a similar incident happen to me last year. Let me begin by saying that I am very anal about knowing my account balance to the penny from payday to payday. My story is this:
There was an unauthorized debit of $79.00 onto my primary checking account. This put me at a negative balance. Well, long story short, I contacted the company that posted the debit to my account and they admitted their (not there) mistake. The company re-deposited the 79.00 into my account a couple of days after the original transation. However, I was charged $ 118.00 of NSF fees by 5/3. 5/3 told me to get the $ 118.00 credited by the company that made the incorrect transaction to begin with. Well, I gave it a shot and the company basiclly laughed at me on the phone. They said the fees were not theirs and they would not make good on them. With much arguing with 5/3, they refused to return the NSF fees, even though they were told by the original company that the original transaction was a mistake.
As far as I am concerned, 5/3rd's "Totally Free" checking is not totally free. They charged me $ 118.00 last year.
Robert
Wallingford,Connecticut,
U.S.A.
Westlake Financial is the problem.
#6Consumer Comment
Mon, January 16, 2006
Sounds like 5/3 bank did all they could for you.
Since you provided the information for your debit card transaction to Westlake Financial to take your payment, there is really nothing that 5/3 can do since the error is with Westlake Financial. Since, according to your post, there is a transaction that is scheduled to post back by the 18th, you should go after Westlake Financial for reimbursement of the fees charged by 5/3.
Good luck.