KeyBank

I grabbed all the money the machine spit out and thought well I’ll just make a second deposit. At that point I looked up and saw that there was a warning sign on the ATM. It was then that I tried to retrieve my debit card back, only to realize that the machine would not return my card, I tried to figure out what to do but Key Bank’s machine didn’t even give me a receipt on the money it had taken and seeing's how the machine didn’t return my card I counted up the money the machine had returned to me and figured out that it had kept $5200.00 of mine. I stood there in front of the machine and got on my cell phone and called customer service thinking they could give me a service code to deposit the remaining balance of my deposit.

I was told they didn’t know what went wrong and that there was nothing they could do and I would need to come back to the bank in person on Monday to try and straighten out what went wrong, I begged them and pleaded with them explaining that I was supposed to buy a car that day. To my dismay no one could help me. So, first thing Monday morning I was first to the bank before they opened and when they did, I went in and retold my story to a bank employee only to be told there was nothing they could do until Wednesday because that’s when they were scheduled to reconcile, they’re AT, I was flabbergasted, I could understand how they could just keep $5200.00 of my money after their machine malfunctioned. I pleaded with them to no avail.

I left and called customer care and explained what was happening and had to be transferred to a supervisor before finally I was told they would count their til that day and call me, I headed back to the bank. By the time I got there they had counted the ATM and had found my $5200.00 BUT they told me they shouldn’t have counted their ATM money according to their manager and area supervisor so I was going to have to wait until they followed their policy and although they knew they had my money they could not return it to me or deposit it to my account. At that point I was beside myself and said I would have to write up a critical review. That’s when I was transferred to corporate and was told this would be thoroughly investigated and that I was in the right place to have this handled.

Yet it still took them approximately 1 week before my money was returned to me and in between time I asked for 10% for my troubles and for the fact that I lost the car I was going to buy. After my money was returned to me, I was told by corporate that they had not completed their investigation and I waited two more weeks only to be contacted by corporate and told their investigation was final, I did not receive the 10% I asked for, so I asked for the $200.00 I was out for the money I had put down on the car, I was told I would not be getting that either.

I didn’t even receive an apology or an explanation as to what had gone wrong. So, consider that before doing business with Key Bank. I personally would give Key Bank an “F” rating and have closed my accounts with them and move my banking business elsewhere. In summary, Key Bank's machine malfunctioned and ate $5200.00 of my money, then they held my money hostage, despite locating it the first business day, for ten days, causing me to lose the car and $200.00 car deposit.

I tried everything to get them to communicate with me. We even filed complaints with the OCC which was a joke as well. We even sent a letter to the CEO which we found out went nowhere. The complaint finally reached the Executive team in January 2021 which is suppose to be the highest level at KeyBank. By looking at the fraudulent checks that were written on his accounts and even the signature card adding a signer, it was obvious that the signatures were forged. But all my persistence and claims have all been denied with KeyBank stating they followed procedures and since my brother in-law did not file a forgery claim (which he did try but the branch manager would not assist him) the forgeries are denied. As an Administrator for someone you are there to protect the deceased estate which is what my husband tried to do and KeyBank refused to let him. DO NOT BANK AT THIS INSTITUTION!! They cannot be trusted with your money.

There's a young guy there who was very nasty with me and just wanted to send my account to foreclosure with no interest to help me. I told these people that if they don't accept my payment I'm going to go to the county clerk to deposit my payment and ask a judge to look at my case....and that I could also go to a bankruptcy court I told them. Then a young woman came to the phone and arranged my payment right away. I wonder how many people lost their home because these people....they are not Americans. They are vampires!... in my opinion. I wish they sell my account to another institution. The minute I can refinance, I'll do it...just to see No KeyBank in my life.

During these conversations, I was told I was supposed to receive a phone call once the charges cleared. Then I was told a representative is supposed to contact the client once this occurs to finalize the closing of the account. It was confirmed by Jennifer that a request to close an account is supposed to be processed the first time the request is made and within 2 business days. She then advised I would be able to complete a document to finalize the closing of the account. I was unable to touch base with her again, however. I informed a customer service agent that I needed to speak with someone who had more authority amid the institution because I was aware of this information.

Once I reached one of the executive managers she stated that Key Bank is actually able to place a restriction on the account if you have the intention of closing it. I have documentation that the charges they claim are occurring are coming out of my other account. Yet, Key Bank is attempting to dismiss me and state I need to contact the institution that is charging the account. However, when I contacted those institutions they state only one of those payments (the payment from my actual account) processed.

Key Bank is literally locking me in an account I do not want and charging fees. The customer service representatives are taught to pacify and deflect in order to retain a clientele. When one reaches the executive office, they utilize the same tactics. Recently, I spoke to a representative name Angel, the second member at the executive office I spoke with, she stated I would need to contact customer services after she verified closing the account with them was not a one call or one-step process as it is with other credible banking institutions. I was obviously frustrated because she kept insisting she transfer me to customer service despite acknowledging this. Thus, upon my inquiring about what her competencies were as a leader in the company and she was unable to answer.

I have verified that this is extremely unlawful and shall proceed to take action. I have no idea how much money this fraudulent banking institution has collected from me in fees alone, and I do not intend on paying anymore of those exorbitant charges. In fact, I intend to recoup those losses since it is my understand that they capitalize off of individuals who do not understand their rights. I have two different banking accounts, a savings account, and an investment account. I am a multi-licensed insurance agent in the process of obtaining a notary certification. I have never encountered such a horrific ordeal, and I am well versed enough to understand that this is absolutely illegal. Please do not bank with this institution. It is predatory practice, and considering many individuals are losing their incomes due to the pandemic, this is unfortunate.

Recently I had my partner open up a Key bank account in NYC to make it easier for me to send him money for expenses as we just started a new LLC in the city and as of yet we haven’t opened up a business account for it. My partner wanted to bank elsewhere, I however convinced him Key bank was the way to go. With that said I told Mr ** what my intent was at which time he told me he could not do it over the phone. I asked Mr. ** why not and his response was he could not verify who I was. I responded that you absolutely can verify me. Key bank verifies me over the phone all the time by asking me certain questions that only I should have access to. After a little back and forth he then tells me well it's our policy to have a customer come in person. I proceeded to tell him the whole purpose for me to wire was so that I don't have to come into the bank and I would like to do it on the computer to save myself time.

Mr ** once again said “well, we cannot verify you and it's not our policy to do wire transactions over the phone”. I said once again “you can verify me as your reps have done many times in the past for various other banking needs over the years”. Then I proceeded to tell him “if it's not your policy then just say it's not your policy, but what you keep saying is you can't verify me and that is an inaccurate statement”. I proceeded to tell him that I hold multiple degrees in communication and the way you’re communicating is not proper. All he had to say was it's not our policy and I would have accepted that but what he kept saying was he can't verify me and that’s not true you can verify me there are many ways.

The next thing I know Mr ** clearly agitated with me at this point slams the phone on me. I was shocked and appalled so I called back and he answered again and I said to him “Sir did you just hang up on me?” and he said, “Yes I did because you were yelling so I hung up.” I said to him “not only is that disrespectful it's extremely unprofessional to hang up on your client and I wasn’t yelling I was on speaker and I was projecting my voice and all you had to do was say sir, your voice is a little loud could you please lower your tone” but to hang the phone up on me with no warning was very unprofessional. I proceeded to let him know that I own five different LLC’s and I run a prominent Non for profit foundation that does a lot for the community and is supported by the Mayor of Albany here in the capital region. And I would no longer be putting my money in this bank.

I then hung up and went into the bank myself at which time I asked the teller if she could get me in contact with the branch manager who I was informed was out on vacation and that Mr ** was running things. I told her what I was trying to do and she said, "Well if you put the key bank app on your cell you could transfer money to anyone." I replied well it would have been nice to know that in advance of coming here. I found it odd that Mr **, who is the man in charge, didn't think it was important to tell me. So not only was he rude and unprofessional he didn’t even give me pertinent information that could have allowed me to resolve my issue and save me time and energy by not having to come into the bank.

It seems to me that since the policy says if the money is deposited prior to 6:00 p.m. that it will be posted on that day that I should already have my money but I called and spoke to somebody at key Bank one time in regards to their holding my money away from me for the time. That they do and they said that the bank only communicates with the unemployment department one time per day and that when that one time happens that you're credited instantly.

The lady explain to me that it was completely and totally automated and no human contact was needed yet if there's a holiday, for some reason, even though Washington state pays the unemployment to KeyBank, the automated system for some reason makes the people who are dependent on the unemployment wait an extra day to get paid which makes no sense to me since it's all automated and no humans are needed to make the transfer. I would call it a scam or a fraud or a screwing in progress anything except for fair.

KeyBank needs to learn to adhere to its own policies or not expect the rest of us to. They are not the payees, they are simply a middleman who we are stuck dealing with because ultimately, they are working for us and they've got it all wrong when they're snotty and rude and think that they don't need us. I would wager that key Bank is so accustomed to getting all this unemployment money that if all of the states that utilize KeyBank for unemployment were to just pull out of their programs altogether, they would go out of business and would realize quickly how much they did need us and how much better they could have treated us and didn't.

I don't agree with the holding of my money for an extra day because the holiday that we just had was the 4th of July which fell on Sunday, not Monday. They should not be allowed to just decide arbitrarily to close down without notice and withhold all of the unemployment money that is being withheld from people as I speak. I think a class action lawsuit is in order. I I'm willing to be an organizer but will need help if anybody else would like to join in and be an organizer let me know. My contact information is current and correct. **

Folks, read the fine print and don't switch banks over promotions that have hidden catches to them. Shame on me but a bigger shame on them for not being an honest bank and telling me after numerous phone calls that all my money was no good for the promotion. Unscrupulous trickery. I immediately had my direct deposit switched to a bank that is more upfront and doesn't take 8 months of direct deposits before telling the customer he didn't meet the one lump deposit of $500. I was warned by a co-worker not to get involved with Key Bank. I should have listened. Live and learn.

So almost 2 weeks later a replacement card FINALLY shows up in my mailbox. I call to activate the card and was transferred to a live agent who then explained that this newly/FINALLY received replacement card had been reported lost/stolen and that card I physically had in my hands had been cancelled (which I absolutely made no calls to report anything lost or stolen or sent or called to cancel ANYTHING)!!! They said ... However ... That ANOTHER card was on the way and was sent out on March 30th.

At this point it was now the 2nd of April! On Saturday I had that card cancelled because it had been well over 10 days let alone well over the 2-3 days I was told to expect it. I had a new card expedited that I have to pay $15.00 out of my own pocket. It's now Wednesday ... No card STILL? This is absolutely ridiculous and I can't wait until it arrives so I can withdraw the entire balance at once and never have to deal with Keybank ever again in my life. I have had no issues receiving my unemployment via direct deposit into my real bank account.

I spoke to KeyBank representatives from Customer Service, a manager from Disputes, and a manager from the Fraud Alerts Department. They all assured me that this was a larger unemployment fraud issue that is going on and not localized to just me or KeyBank, but rather many banks and unemployment as a whole. As if that should give me assurance after explaining to each of them that someone had accessed my Login information, changed it and then proceeded to extract funds over three days and three transactions leaving me with $0.11 in my account.

The fraudulent party had access to my Login username, password, and two of five security questions which rotate to gain access to my account. Thankfully this Login information is unique to this account only. This sounds like an internal and/or an even larger issue at this point. KeyBank and Unemployment is giving no warnings to their account holders at this time. After filing a claim with their disputes department their only answers to the current situation are to cancel my current debit card, change my login information which I can't access until I receive my new debit card in seven to ten business days, and wait an additional ten to fifteen business days to hear from disputes. In an already struggling situation for the individual, this response on their behalf seems criminal from a large banking corporation that is profiting from unemployment distribution.

KeyBanks' hold times are insane even in Covid time, gauged in days not hours, customer service is woefully uninformed and non sympathetic, both managers were utterly clueless and had kids screaming in the background while on the phone. Hopefully this is something that with the internet and research, Consumer Affairs can help educate the public on the broader scope of the fraud.

I couldn’t sleep at all that night and found another number to call so at 3am I call and the customer service representative informs me that the PIN was changed and the money was taken but not from an ATM but through ACH transfer. I ask how this could be and if she had any info of where the money wound up and she tells me she can’t access that information. She also tries to push through my fraud claim but gets the same message-they cannot verify my identity. She also tells me to call back during normal business hours. I call back the next day, wait 2 hours on hold. Have to explain the whole story again because the previous representatives didn’t make notes like they said they would. This representative gets the same prompt they cannot verify my identity. I was directed to send in a proof of identity and address which I did. I was told that I had to call them back in 3 days to check the status.

I call back and they finally confirm my identity and the person on the phone informs me that they will begin the fraud claim and hopefully I will get my money back. Hopefully?! It’s $2000!! A few days later I received a letter informing me that after they performed a “thorough” investigation they have closed the claim and concluded that NO ERROR OCCURRED! The following reason for denying the claim was because “the cardholder authorized the transaction“. I was absolutely livid. These are my unemployment funds that have been wrongfully taken from me. I call the number on the letter and speak to someone. I ask to speak to a higher up or whomever conducted this supposed “thorough” investigation to which he replies that he doesn’t even know who that is and has never had access to that department or anyone in it.

Meanwhile, I have no access to my account online because it will not let me log in. The customer service representative tells me to type up a letter saying everything I told him plus proof of identity and fax it over. All the legwork is left on me. Anxious and broke and violated. I finally log into my account to find that the ACH transfers were sent to someone in Milwaukee, WI with no other information. I sent over the fax along with my FTC report, CFPB claim, FBI internet crime claim report as well as a BBB claim report. I am currently waiting on hold for over an hour to speak to someone to see if they even received my fax because keep in mind they will never contact you. If my password is changed on Amazon or Gmail I am automatically notified that it was but a financial institution that deals with unemployment benefits allows any stranger to change your information and they don’t even let you know.

Not only am I out $2000 but this has caused undue physical and mental stress. My stomach condition has flared up and I have been bedridden for days since this happened. I have a family to support and this is unacceptable especially during a pandemic where work is scarce. I am the victim. I am not only a victim of fraud and theft but identity theft but this bank has made me out to be the criminal. I am glad to know that someone in Milwaukee is enjoying my money without a care in the world while the bank is basically like “it’s okay that you stole money”. I demand not only my stolen funds be returned but the bank in which the money was transferred to be disclosed along with any other information regarding this fraudulent transaction. If this isn’t resolved I will be in contact with local news as well as my local congressman.

Another thing is if you have disputes they will screw you over. They will give you the credit and then reverse it without any type of notice or anything a month later. Once you call in and tell them you never received anything they "apologize". Well, that apology doesn't mean jack when you have an overdrawn account soon afterwards even after you use your check register to double check. This bank is one shady company and they don't care unless you reach their corporate office. Then all of a sudden they can magically "fix" things.