Compiled from Public Data by FairShake
The US government’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) collects complaints against financial companies.
In 2017, the CFPB received 1093 complaints against USAA. USAA ranked Number 31 among all financial companies for the most complaints.
Date of Complaint: November 10, 2017
Company Official Name: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: MD
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-Product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-Issue: Deposits and withdrawals
Response Type: Closed with explanation
Public Response:
Company believes complaint is the result of an isolated error
Date of Complaint: November 13, 2017
Company Official Name: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: RI
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-Product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest
Sub-Issue: Problem with fees
Full Complaint:
I called USAA consumer service on XXXX XXXX XXXX to question the continued interest on a XXXX cash advance and was told nothing could be done to rectify to matter.
I ‘m a veteran and I feel I am being cheated and was misled in regards to the use of a USAA credit Cash advance feature. I took out XXXX as a XXXXash advance in XXXX. I was told that the repayment of the XXXX would be applied first from my monthly payment and that I would have to pay interest on the advance until it was paid off. This is acceptable, but now I ‘m find out I have to pay interest on the XXXX until the total credit card balance is paid off. USAA is charging interest on the credit card balance and plus charging interest for a XXXX cash advance that has been paid in full for the life of the card. DOUBLE INTEREST!
If USAA disclaimer was made clear, I would not have accepted those terms. Who would?
They said that they read the terms explaining the interest on the advance continues until the Purchases on the card was paid off, I disagree, it was ( the cash advance ) until advance balance, not the full card balance.
Complaint Tags: Servicemember
Response Type: Closed with monetary relief
Public Response:
Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Date of Complaint: November 9, 2017
Company Official Name: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: TX
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-Product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest
Sub-Issue: Problem with fees
Full Complaint:
I went to a USAA ATM to withdraw money from my USAA checking account. My USAA ATM card and my USAA credit card look almost identical. I accidentally put my credit card in the ATM instead of my ATM card. I proceeded with the withdrawal and at no time did the ATM indicate that I was using a credit card or that I was taking a cash advance. The screen asked how much I wanted to withdraw and my receipt says withdrawal. I did not know that I had made a cash advance until later that night when I was reviewing transactions. I called USAA the next day, but there was nothing that they could do because the transaction had not posted yet. The following day, I paid the money back that I had withdrawn and I called USAA. The 2 people that I talked to said that they would not refund the fee and interest and that it was my fault that I put my credit card in the ATM. I believe that there are several instances of deceptive business practices in this case. 1. The cards look almost identical. 2. The ATM did not tell me which account I was using. 3. The ATM told me that I was making a withdrawal not a cash advance. 4. The ATM did not tell me that I was going to incur any fees. 5. The receipt told me that I had made a withdrawal not a cash advance. 6. There were no fees listed on the receipt. 7. USAA did not allow me to reverse the transaction even though I notified them right away when I realized the mistake. I believe that this could have been prevented if USAA had been more open about the transaction while it was happening. It also could have been resolved easily by the company, but unfortunately their representatives just did n’t care. This is actually the first time that I have had a less than awesome experience with USAA customer service.
Complaint Tags: Servicemember
Response Type: Closed with monetary relief
Public Response:
Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Date of Complaint: November 10, 2017
Company Official Name: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: None
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-Product: Checking account
Issue: Problem caused by your funds being low
Sub-Issue: Non-sufficient funds and associated fees
Response Type: Closed with monetary relief
Public Response:
Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Date of Complaint: November 11, 2017
Company Official Name: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: AL
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-Product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-Issue: Deposits and withdrawals
Complaint Tags: Servicemember
Response Type: Closed with explanation
Public Response:
Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Date of Complaint: November 9, 2017
Company Official Name: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: IL
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-Product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-Issue: Deposits and withdrawals
Full Complaint:
I have a checking account at USAA. They have returned payments when my statement balance has been over the amount requested. They keep two ledgers, one with an ” available balance ” and one with a ” statement balance ” and play games with the timing of the deposits and payments each day in order to hold funds XXXX deposits XXXX and maximize fees ( take payments out at the end of the day, not when presented but after all other debit card transactions have gone through ).
For instance, on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX I transferred {00.00} from an account at XXXX to my USAA checking account. The bank increased my statement balance by the full {00.00} on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX but increased my ” available balance ” by only {0.00} and ” held ” {00.00}. This technique caused me to have multiple payments returned and fees charged. I checked my XXXX account and XXXX released the funds from my account and withdrew them on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX. As of today my money has still not cleared as of this day. i was told the {00.00} would be released on the XXXX ( 8 days later! ) and when I saw a notification of such I assumed that was the last day … not the actual day as other banks usually give a timeframe.
When I called the bank, they told me that the ” account history ” determines whose funds get held and whose do not and they are released in ” waves. ” I believe that USAA is discriminating between account members on the amount of time it takes to receive their money. I also believe this discrimination is directed at lower socioeconomic individuals who will have a harder time making payments with longer ” hold times ” and lower balances. I believe this is an unscrupulous banking practice affecting our nations hero ‘s and targeting veterans and service members who may not have financial acumen as USAA is branded as a ” military ” bank.
I further suspect these ” held ” funds are most likely held in an interest bearing account, where USAA makes a profit on the additional days ( short term and overnight interest ) it holds the funds and also gets to charge more overdraft and NSF fees because the account holder ‘s ” available ” balance is now lowered for a longer period of time. The fact that I was told that the hold times are longer for ” certain account holders ” shows that this is a discriminatory practice and targets those with lower balances and who have harder times making payments. By doing this, USAA is discriminating against some of its customers and also making money off of veterans and service members in an unscrupulous and predatory manner.
Complaint Tags: Servicemember
Response Type: Closed with explanation
Public Response:
Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Date of Complaint: November 10, 2017
Company Official Name: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: VA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-Product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest
Sub-Issue: Charged too much interest
Response Type: Closed with monetary relief
Public Response:
Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Date of Complaint: November 12, 2017
Company Official Name: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: TX
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-Product: Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Sub-Issue: Account information incorrect
Complaint Tags: Servicemember
Response Type: Closed with explanation
Public Response:
Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Date of Complaint: November 10, 2017
Company Official Name: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: AZ
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-Product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers
Sub-Issue: Didn’t receive advertised or promotional terms
Response Type: Closed with monetary relief
Public Response:
Company believes complaint is the result of an isolated error
Date of Complaint: November 9, 2017
Company Official Name: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: MI
Product: Debt collection
Sub-Product: Auto debt
Issue: Communication tactics
Sub-Issue: Used obscene, profane, or other abusive language
Full Complaint:
**Explicit Language** XX/X/2017 – A repossession agent violated FDCPA working on behalf of USAA. On Wednesday XXXX XXXX, 2017 a repossession agent made contact with me in person at my place of residence. Repossession agent identified himself, his employer, and who he is working on behalf of ( USAA ) and the collateral after asking if I was the responsible party. He advised he was at my place of residence to recover the collateral. I said, ” well its in my garage and I am not going to open it ”. He asked what do I think will happen if he goes back to his truck and tells USAA that I said, ” XXXX XXXX ” ( implying that I was n’t going to pay USAA ever again ( for the record the only thing I said to him was ” well its in my garage and I am not going to open it ” at no time did I use explicit language ) ) to which I replied, ” It does n’t matter because am not dealing with this through you and you are not the one I am to pay ”. He then said he is just trying to help me. He said I can hide from repossession but ” this will not go away and USAA will keep repossession efforts no matter how much I pay. ” He went on to tell me that he has multiple vehicles he uses to repossess with and not just the truck that is in my driveway ( attempt to invoke fear ).
After hearing his last few sentences I started closing the door as I knew that his statement was in violation of the FDCPA by threatening endless repossession efforts unless intending to do so. With the door nearly closed he began direct profane language escalating in speed and volume primarily the ” XXXX XXXX XXXX in attempts to humiliate and abuse.
Response Type: Closed with explanation
Public Response:
Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
FairShake accessed this complaint from the public archives of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). You can file your own complaint with the CFPB here.