Complaint Review: BB & T - Internet

We have a current issue with BB&T that we'd like to share and it's pretty clear and simple that this is a case of a bank using illegal practices, resulting in fraud against the consumer.

Situation: We were going on vacation 3 days before Labor Day. We made a transfer from our Main account to our personal account on that day before we left to cover incidental charges. The main account has no debit card, the personal account does, which is what we use to spend for vacations. We initiate the charge before we even leave the house, so naturally this is before any specific charges are posted against this account. Each day during the vacation we check the account to ensure we haven't forgotten to enter any charges into our check register, albeit we kept receipts and the like, just to triple check ourselves (we're careful to a fault like that.)

Upon our return home 5 days later, on a bank processing day, we realize we're in the hole to the tune of about $200 dollars. NO WAY we spent ourselves into a hole. We quickly check the account and immediately realize our pending transfer from before we left has DISAPPEARED.  This transfer was pending for the better part of the weekend.  We have had an issue with BB & T before like this, with disappearing transfers, but never to this degree... We make another transfer at this point because shoot, we're in the hole and there is a list of charges pending, all valid charges.

We call BB&T and a representative advises us that this happens from time to time, has even happened with his personal account, especially over long weekends such as a holiday weekend, simply so the money is not tied up for too long. WTH?? If I make a transfer, you leave that transfer there until your bank can process it. Who gives you permission to undo what a customer wants to do and conscienciously does on your system, without notifying them? Nevertheless, he says it's no problem, he's personally experienced it before, and the money from the original transfer should appear within 24 to 48 hours.  This credit, he says, will topple the second transfer we made during our panic. He proceeds to credit the overdraft fee we had been charged at that time. No problem, we think BB & T is handling it like a champ and admitting to their mistake.

Two days later when the initial transfer never shows, we check the bank and realize we've been dinged with yet another overdraft fee, from one of the purchases we made during our vacation. We call the bank again and go over all of the details from the previous conversation up to that point. A nice lady kindly explains that she doesn't know what that previous rep is talking about and that all she can do is refer it to a 2nd level representative, who should be able to look further into our complaint and resolve it/call us back within 24 to 48 hours. Mind you, charges are still clearing and only SOME from that weekend come with overdraft fees, some don't. We ask her, well why don't the other charges come with overdraft fees since they were all made around the same days, if what you're saying is true about our account having insufficient funding (due to this mysterious disappearing transfer)? I don't really know, she replies, and begins to spit out her customer service rhetoric again about someone being back with us within 24 to 48 hours.

I say: FRAUDULENT and UNETHICAL. How does a bank like BB & T decide to cancel a customer initiated transfer between his/her own accounts? Even if the bank is closed, I initiated that transfer and until the bank can clear it, LEAVE IT ALONE. I believe this is their practice to catch people off guard, especially during a holiday weekend because this bank KNOWS people will SPEND MONEY. Why play games to pad your own pockets with our hard earned cash? If this doesn't get resolved, we're contacting a lawyer, the SEC and whomever else we can find to hear about this that can do something about it.