Ally Bank

We
are in receipt of your correspondence file # [redacted] dated November 10, 2017, regarding
the above referenced individual and/or account and welcome the opportunity to respond
to the stated concerns.  On November 22,
2017, a detailed response has been emailed and mailed to the above...

referenced
individual.  Due to privacy concerns, we are unable to provide you with
any additional details in this matter.  We thank you for taking the time
and effort to bring this issue to our attention.  If we can be of further
assistance, please contact us at the Executive Resolution Group,
###-###-####, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time and
Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Thank you. All I wanted was for you to acknowledge the issue on your end and make it right by reimbursing me for the penalty charged. I should not have had to contact the Revdex.com, but your staff is SO obstinate about admitting culpability. It should never have needed to be escalated this far.I sincerely hope you can work out your website site issues - I have been a customer for several years and really didn't want to go through the hassle and time of moving all bill payments to another bank. I did have to though, since I cannot afford to have missed payments and resulting penalty fees.Thank you again,[redacted]

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
"Later that same day" is misleading... all of these transactions occurred between midnight and 3am which are not business hours.
This happened to me at [redacted] debited 5 items overnight and a large deposit came in overnight as well. By the time it was all said and done they had given me 5 overdraft fees and ended with a +$500 balance. Upon review they refunded all the fees and apologized, and I received settlement check later on that year for that practice.
I have no control over what "early morning hours" you process debits vs credits dubbed "overnight transactions". It is not a fair practice for overnight debits to clear before credits especially in a bank with no branches (it's not like I over drafted and then went to the bank and deposited funds to avoid overdrawing, that deposit should have been processed first).
I feel this is unfair and should be corrected so that deposits received overnight clear/post before debits overnight. However, I will not continue pursuing this complaint I just wanted it known to someone at Ally that I have negative feedback on this issue. The complaint can be closed.
Regards,
[redacted]

We have reviewed and addressed the concerns referenced in the complaint. Please refer to the attached for our response. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me directly.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth R[redacted]
Executive Resolution Specialist, Ally Bank

We have reviewed and
addressed the concerns referenced in the complaint. Please refer to the
attached for our response. If you have any further questions, please feel free
to contact me directly. Sincerely, Michelle S[redacted] Executive Resolution
Specialist Ally Bank.

From: Executive Resolution Group<[email protected]>Date: Mon, May 22, 2017 at 1:30 PMSubject: FW: You have a new message from the Revdex.com of Metro Washington DC & Eastern Pennsylvania complaint #12019413.To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>[redacted]
 Per our conversation of May 22, 2017, here is the information we provided [redacted] in our letter dated March 16, 2017. On March 3, 2017, the [redacted] recalled the two deposits from February 22 and 23, 2017. That same day, we informed you that the funds from the [redacted] had been recalled. If you have questions about the return of funds to the [redacted] please contact the [redacted] and provide the [redacted] you will need to have the taxpayers whose funds were returned available to discuss the details of their tax returns or tax refunds. On March 6, 2017, we sent the [redacted] a check for $2,030.90.  Sincerely, Michelle S[redacted]
[redacted]  *  [redacted]
** [redacted]
[redacted]
** [redacted]  *  ** [redacted]  *  [redacted]

Good Afternoon,
Please see the attached response.  We consider this matter closed.
Sincerely,
Michelle S[redacted]
Executive Resolution Specialist
 
Thank you for forwarding Mr. [redacted]s response dated August 31, 2015, to our attention.We have previously responded to [redacted]s complaint on April 8, 2015, to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. On July 29, 2015, August 13, 2015, and August 26, 2015 to the Revdex.com. As such, we consider the matter closed.If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact the Executive Resolution Group, ###-###-####, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time and Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.Sincerely,Michelle S[redacted] Executive Resolution Specialist

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:bank fails to take responsibility for its misappropreiation of my moneyfurther at the time I opened the account they had an executed  W9 on file from me which would have satisfied the IRS requirement so no back withholding by the bank was necessary at that time 
Regards,
[redacted]

We are in receipt of your
correspondence case # [redacted] dated November 16, 2016, regarding the above
referenced individual and/or account and...

welcome the opportunity to respond to
the stated concerns.  On November 23, 2016, a detailed response has been emailed
and mailed to the above referenced individual.  Due to privacy concerns,
we are unable to provide you with any additional details in this matter. 
We thank you for taking the time and effort to bring this issue to our attention. 
If we can be of further assistance, please contact us at the Executive
Resolution Group, ###-###-####, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Eastern Time and Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:I like that it was removed from my [redacted]system report, but when I was on the phone, I was told I owed $79.48 on the phone (in which the representative also told me to make out a check to my self in that amount before I hung up because I was told different things), in makes the amount of $87.86 clearly invalid. I still do not feel it is right that I am being liable for an unauthorized charge, as [redacted] themselves referred me to my bank regarding this matter. If it is truly removed my [redacted]report, could you mail me a confirmation, and also confirm it is not in collections (as it states in the resolution) because I do not want to pay Ally bank then a collection agency then harrass me about an unpaid debt from Ally bank (even though I never got such a call since collection attempts have stop in '13 after I called in). If I do pay this, I do want a confirmation stating that it have been paid in full (after I find out which one I owe since I am now told two prices).
Regards,
[redacted]

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
Regards,
[redacted]

March 14, 2014
**. [redacted]:
Thank you for forwarding **. [redacted]’s complaint to our attention regarding his requests for an Internal Revenue Service Form 1099 (“1099’) for a Uniform Gift to Minors Account and account closure.
We...

sincerely apologize to **. [redacted] for the lack of timely communications from our Executive Resolution Team regarding his requests. On March 7, 2014 we emailed a copy of the requested 1099 form to **. [redacted], and we closed the account ending in [redacted].
We have thoroughly reviewed the facts and circumstances regarding his concerns. The 1099 forms for Ally Bank accounts were mailed between January 22, 2014 and January 24, 2014. We have confirmed that the 1099 form for account ending [redacted] was sent in the name of the minor to [redacted], which is also the address on file for **. [redacted].
On March 4, 2014, when **. [redacted] spoke with our Contact Center, he requested the 1099 form for account ending in [redacted] be emailed to him, the account to be closed and a call back from upper management by 5:00 PM that day. **. [redacted] was informed that we could not guarantee a call back in that time frame; however, the request would be made for him to be contacted and to allow one to two business days for contact and email, and three to five business days for the account closure. Unfortunately, **. [redacted] was not contacted nor was the 1099 form emailed within the stated one to two business day time frame. The account ending in [redacted] was closed within the three to five business day time frame, and the funds transferred by Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) to his account at another financial institution.
Again, we apologize to **. [redacted] for the multiple calls he had to make, for the lack of a timely response and the inconvenience this caused him. His experience is not typical of Ally Bank’s level of customer service and does not meet the standard we strive to achieve. **. [redacted]’s experience has been brought to the attention of our management team, who will use the information to improve customer service and efficiency. The associates involved with this issue have been provided additional coaching.
With respect to his request for compensation, while we are sympathetic to the frustration he experienced, as a policy, we do not provide compensation.
If you have any further questions or need assistance with your future transactions, please feel free to contact me at the Executive Resolution Department, ###-###-####, Monday through Friday 8:30 am to 4:00 pm Eastern Time.

[Please note that you have me listed as "Mrs."  - I am a "Mr."]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted].  I understand that as a technical matter the bank is correct, since the deposit agreement is explicit, and therefore I accept the response and thank them for refunding the fee.  However, I continue to believe that this is a misleading and predatory business practice that is in place consciously for just this purpose of collecting fees from unsuspecting customers.  There is no other conceivable benefit for the bank in not making funds immediately available upon the arrival of the stated date rather than several nanoseconds later after the debits have posted.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Thank you for forwarding [redacted]’s complaint regarding his recent account application. We sincerely apologize that Mr. [redacted]’s customer service experience has not been at the level Ally Bank strives to achieve and maintain. In order to complete our...

review process for his application, we need either the Confirmation Notification Letter (“CNL”) from the United States Postal Service (“USPS”) or a utility bill. A list of acceptable bills is provided below. Ally Bank complies with the federal Customer Identification Program (“CIP”) requirements, adopted pursuant to Section 326 of the USA PATRIOT Act, which require every financial institution to obtain certain information from new customers and to have reasonable procedures in place to verify the identity of each new customer. In other words, Ally Bank must conclude that the applicants are who they say they are. However, Ally Bank is an online bank and therefore we cannot verify the identity of new customers by viewing documents (such as a driver’s license or a passport) provided in a face-to-face account opening process. Instead, Ally Bank uses the identity information provided by new customers and compares that information to the information about the person contained in certain commercially available databases (such as credit bureaus). Identity information includes the person’s date of birth, Social Security or Taxpayer Identification Number, street address and other information. If the information provided cannot be confirmed in these electronic databases, Ally Bank requests additional information. Ally Bank uses an automated process to review and make decisions on each application. During the review of Mr. [redacted]’s application, we were unable to sufficiently verify his identity. We have thoroughly reviewed the facts and circumstances surrounding Mr. [redacted]’s concern. On April 7, 2016, we received his application for an Interest Checking and Online Savings Account. We could not verify his identity and requested additional documentation. The information we received was insufficient to complete our review. Regrettably, when Mr. [redacted] spoke with our Customer Care Department on April 18, 2016, we did not clarify the issue with the documentation. We requested the CNL which would have been mailed by the USPS to Mr. [redacted]’s new address. What we received was a print out of an online screen from USPS. On April 25, 2016, an Executive Resolution Specialist called Mr. [redacted] and left him a voice mail message and also emailed him regarding the information we require to complete our review process. In part, the email informed Mr. [redacted] to supply the CNL. Mr. [redacted] responded that he would not be receiving a CNL as he did the address change online. Additionally, in our email to Mr. [redacted] we advised if the CNL was unavailable we would accept the following: Utility Bill: MUST be one of the following and cannot be more than 3 months old - Cable - Water - Electric - Gas - Trash/Waste Collection - Internet Bill - Phone Bill – is only acceptable IF the phone number on the bill matches the phone number on the application - Vehicle Title - Bank Statement The documentation can be delivered to Ally either by fax to ###-###-####, or unsecure email to [redacted], or by regular mail to [redacted] 
[redacted] Horsham, PA 19044. This documentation should be submitted as soon as possible since the account application will become inactive 30 days from the time it was submitted. When providing the information, Mr. [redacted] should include his name and case # [redacted]. We sincerely apologize for the miscommunication Mr. [redacted] received. Mr. [redacted]’s experience has been brought to the attention of our management team, who will use the information to improve customer service and efficiency. We have provided feedback to the associates involved with this issue. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact the Executive Resolution Group, ###-###-####, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time and Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Sincerely, Michelle S[redacted] Executive Resolution Specialist

July 22, 2015
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> 
Dear [redacted],Thank you for forwarding [redacted]’s complaint regarding our customer service and an expedited shipping charge.We sincerely apologize that [redacted]’s customer service experience has not been at the level Ally Bank strives to achieve and maintain. We have thoroughly reviewed the facts and circumstances regarding [redacted]’s complaint. We expedited [redacted]’s debit card to him at no charge. His debit card was delivered July 17, 2015, and he was able to use his debit card the same day.With regards to registering [redacted]’s external account, an external account may register immediately or may require test (trial) deposits. Trial deposits are usually two small deposits, less than a dollar, and a withdrawal of the total amount of the two small deposits. We send the trial deposits to verify the owner of the external account.We thank you for bringing this to our attention. [redacted]’s experience has been brought to the attention of our management team, who will use the information to improve customer service and efficiency.If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact the Executive Resolution Department, ###-###-####, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time and Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.Sincerely,
 
Michelle S[redacted]
Executive Resolution Specialist  |  Deposit Operations
P O Box [redacted] MC: [redacted]
Horsham, PA [redacted]
T + ###-###-####  |  F + ###-###-####  |  [email protected]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: [redacted] <[redacted]>
Date: Sat, Jun 28, 2014 at 11:56 AM
Subject: Revdex.com ID#[redacted]
To: [email protected]
Additional information:
 
1) I specifically and intentionally declined the over draft...

protection service and have
never and will never authorize that service.
 
2) at least 2 days prior to check being cleared. I placed a "stop payment" on that
check for $4200.
 
3) also 2 days prior, I transferred $4000 from my checking to savings so there would
be insufficient funds in my checking account. I did understand that I would have to
pay roughly $30 for NSF charge.

April 17, 2014
Dear **. [redacted]:Thank you for forwarding **. [redacted]’s complaint to our attention.We have thoroughly reviewed the circumstances regarding the unauthorized Online Savings Accounts opened in **. [redacted]’s name with his personal information.On...

March 10, 2014 and March 12, 2014, accounts were opened online on our ally.com website using **. [redacted]’s personal information, including his Social Security number. Ally Bank complies with the federal Customer Identification Program (“CIP”) requirements, adopted pursuant to Section 326 of the USA PATRIOT Act, which require every financial institution to obtain certain information from new customers and to have reasonable procedures in place to verify the identity of each new customer.Under CIP requirements, every bank must obtain, at a minimum, the following information from a new customer prior to opening an account:(1)    Name;(2)    Date of birth for an individual;(3)    Address, which shall be (i) For an individual, a residential or business street address; or (ii) For an individual who does not have a residential or business street address, an Army Post Office (APO) or Fleet Post Office (FPO) box number, or the residential or business street address of next of kin or of another contact individual; and an(4)    Identification number, which shall be (i) For a U.S. person, a taxpayer identification number; or (ii) For a non-U.S. person, one or more of the following: a taxpayer identification number; passport number and country of issuance; alien identification card number; or number and country of issuance of any other government-issued document evidencing nationality or residence and bearing a photograph or similar safeguard.In this case, the perpetrator(s) had sufficient personal information about **. [redacted] in their possession to enable them to supply Ally Bank with the required four pieces of information as well as successfully pass the identity verification protocols used by Ally Bank.Ally Bank is an online bank, and therefore, cannot verify the identity of new customers by viewing documents provided by that customer (such as a driver’s license or a passport) as compared to a face-to-face account opening process. Instead, Ally Bank uses certain information contained in the credit histories of individuals seeking to open accounts at Ally Bank. Ally Bank also uses certain information available in commercially available databases to confirm that the individual exists. This process ensures the information provided by the new customer matches the information obtained from the records of a credit bureau and other available databases. In this case, the information supplied by the perpetrator(s) was sufficient to cause Ally Bank to believe that it was opening an account for **. [redacted].On March 12, 2014, all accounts were closed by a Loss Prevention Specialist. On March 23, 2014, **. [redacted] spoke with our Contact Center and was given our Loss Prevention Department’s contact number. On March 31, 2014, **. [redacted] spoke with a Loss Prevention Specialist who advised he was an identity theft victim and recommended **. [redacted] contact the credit bureaus and file a police report. Below we have included a document with tips on handling potential identity theft and fraud.If **. [redacted] needs to speak with our Loss Prevention Department directly, he may contact them at ###-###-####, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me directly at the Executive Resolution Department, ###-###-####, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
Sincerely,

April 10, 2014Dear **. [redacted]:Thank you for forwarding **. [redacted]’s complaint to our attention.We have thoroughly reviewed **. [redacted]’s Interest Checking Account ending in [redacted] and the hold placed on his eCheck deposit. On April 1, 2014, an eCheck deposit of $5,000.00...

posted to the account ending in [redacted]. We placed an extended hold on the funds and sent **. [redacted] the funds availability notice via email. The notice stated that “The funds are subject to an extended hold because: The account has repeated overdrafts and funds would be available in five business days.”The extended hold that was applied is consistent with our Funds Availability Policy located in Section IV on page 28 of the Ally Bank Deposit Agreement dated December 7, 2013. It is also consistent with Federal Reserve Regulation CC, Section § 229.13(d), regarding repeated overdrafts:An account may be considered repeatedly overdrawn and items may be held if on six or more banking days during the previous six months the account had a negative balance, or would have had a negative balance had checks and charges been paid.Specifically, the extended hold was applied due to the account having negative balances from January 6, 2014 to January 9, 2014; February 3, 2014 to February 5, 2014; March 3, 2014 to March 6, 2014; March 18, 2014 to March 20, 2014 and March 28, 2014 to April 1, 2014.As a courtesy, on April 3, 2014, the Executive Resolution Team was able to verify the check had been paid by the external bank and released the hold from the funds. Please note, this is a onetime courtesy and as of today, the exception holds on future funds deposited by check is scheduled to expire on September 30, 2014. However, if the account becomes negative prior to September 30, 2014, this will extend the scheduled expiration date.If you have any further questions, please call me directly at ###-###-####, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST.Sincerely,

May 29, 2015
Dear [redacted],
Thank you for forwarding on May 22, 2015, [redacted]s’ complaint regarding his debit card.We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience we have may have caused [redacted]. We are sympathetic to his experience and understand his...

concern.At Ally Bank, we take the security of our customers’ personal and account information very seriously. We are committed to making every attempt to protect our customers. As part of our commitment, we monitor debit card activity in order to prevent unauthorized activity. In the event a transaction is determined to be potentially unauthorized, we will make an attempt to reach our customer to verify the transaction. If we are unable to reach our customer, we may block the transaction.
Travel Notification is a valuable tool that assists us in fraud detection with mitigating fraud and protecting Ally and its’ customers. Placement of these notes allows the agents to see if the customer could have processed the transaction in question without necessarily contacting the customer. It does not however stop fraud monitoring of the customer’s account.We review transactions and create a score based upon three facets of a transaction:
Customer normal - What is normal spending for the customer.
Merchant normal - What is a normal purchase for the merchant.
Heightened awareness - Are there any global fraud trends active in that area or with that transaction type.
We take all these assessments and create a three digit score. This score ranges from 000 to 999 with 999 being confirmed fraud. [redacted]’ score is 802.
When a customer places travel notes, it helps to lower the score for the first item, customer normal. The other two criteria; however, are unaffected. Customers may go to a bad terminal or to an area known for card skimming. In these instances, we would grant the fraudsters full access to the customer’s balance had we stopped fraud monitoring.
While we make every effort to mitigate any inconvenience to our customers by blocking transactions, we are unable to make a guarantee that we will never block a transaction that [redacted] transacts with his debit card. On May 15, 2015, a debit card transaction was declined due to an incorrect address. The street number entered was [redacted] and the zip code was [redacted] street number is [redacted] and his zip code is [redacted]’ suggestions regarding being contacted by a human being instead of the automated system and the results of our review have been forwarded to Ally Bank’s management team. This information will be used to help improve customer service and efficiency. Again, we apologize for any inconvenience that this experience may have caused [redacted].
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me directly at the Executive Resolution Department, ###-###-####, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
Sincerely,Michelle S[redacted]
Executive Resolution Specialist

July 23, 2014Dear **. [redacted]:Thank you for forwarding **. [redacted]’s complaint regarding her check deposit and restricted account access.We have thoroughly reviewed the facts and circumstances surrounding the complaint filed by **. [redacted].•    On Tuesday,...

July 8, 2014, we received a deposit from **. [redacted] with a note that the check could be counterfeit. As the check did not display any discernable alterations, we deposited the check into her account.•    On Thursday, July 10, 2014, we received notification the check was not honored by the paying bank due to the check being altered/fictitious. As a security measure, we placed a restriction on **. [redacted]’s account and sent her account to our Loss Prevention Department for review.•    On Monday, July 14, 2014, **. [redacted] spoke with a Loss Prevention Specialist and **. [redacted] requested her account to be closed. The Specialist informed **. [redacted] the check was altered/fictitious and the account was under review.•    On Tuesday, July 15, 2014, **. [redacted] spoke with a Loss Prevention Specialist and again requested her account to be closed. The Specialist informed **. [redacted] the account would be closed and a check would be issued to her.•    On Wednesday, July 16, 2014, an Executive Resolution Specialist emailed **. [redacted] that we had received her concerns, and that as a courtesy we reimbursed her deposited item return fee of $7.50. Also as she requested, we closed her account and mailed her a check for the balance in the account.We thank her for bringing this to our attention. Her experience has been brought to the attention of our management team, who will use the information to improve customer service and efficiency.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me directly at the Executive Resolution Department, ###-###-####, Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Eastern Standard Time.Sincerely,