David B.
Bank Allowed Charges on a Frozen Card — Then Blamed Me for the Overdraft
I am extremely disappointed with how this bank handled my account. Before I went into the hospital earlier this year, I purposely froze my debit/ATM card weeks in advance because I knew I would be dealing with medical issues and wanted to make sure no transactions could be charged to the card while I was unavailable. Despite the card being frozen, the bank allowed three transactions totaling approximately $180 to go through. Those transactions caused my account to become overdrawn. I did not intentionally spend money I didn't have. I took a specific step to prevent charges from being made, and the bank nevertheless processed transactions against a card I had already frozen. What makes this even more frustrating is that the bank subsequently sent me a letter threatening to close my account if I did not repay the negative balance. The letter also warned that having the account closed could make it more difficult for me to open another bank account. So, essentially, the bank processed transactions that I had taken steps to prevent, the transactions caused the overdraft, and then I was threatened with account closure because of the resulting balance. I am not disputing that the approximately $180 needs to be resolved. I am disputing the circumstances that caused the overdraft in the first place. I believe the bank should have properly honored the card freeze and should take responsibility for the transactions that were allowed through despite that freeze. Customers shouldn't have to protect themselves from unauthorized processing by the very safeguards the bank provides.