Banco Popular Of North America PUT HOLD ON AMOUNT ALREADY MADE AVAILABLE WITHOUT NOTICE WHEN THEY SEE CHARGES ARRIVE SO I PAY OVERDRAWN FEES OVER AND OVER/ HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE Rosemont Illinois

I have a Banco Popular checking account which also serves as a debit Mastercard which I opened while I briefly lived in NY. I deposited a certain amount of money on this account using 2 US money orders and a check. Within about four days the amount was made available. I verified this by calling their automated service several times. Then, in the following two days I proceeded to make a few online purchases. Among those was bedding. The place I ordered the bedding from sent me an e-mail a few days after I placed the order alerting me to a problem with my Mastercard(Banco Popular) that caused it to be turned down. I called the automated service and it said I was way overdrawn. How could this happen? So I called Banco Popular customer service and I was told that my two US money orders had been put on hold, that the person who had made this decision was not available for me to speak to, and that they had decided to place a hold to investigate my money orders. What? A US money order is equivalent to cash! My money somehow became suspicious while it traveled from FL to NY. The amounts were average for any working person. There was nothing to investigate. I am the average person making a deposit on my bank account. I told the customer service employee that I was very upset, naturally, and worried about the other orders that would be coming in as they were shipped, I asked if I would be charged overdrawn fees and the employee assured me that i would only have to pay the regular $30 fee. I didn't think it was fair, since I was never informed about the hold on my account but decided not to make a big deal out of it. Several days later, I got a letter from Banco Popular that informs me of the hold together with my statement. The statement showed up to $120 in overdrawn fees. I was being charged the $30 over and over and over. As soon as the store where I purchased the comforter alerted me to the situation I stopped making purchases. Banco Popular sent a notice too late, about a week had passed. What good is that then? However, they have my phone number, and my e-mail. Still they could not make an effort other than regular mail to contact me about what I consider top priority info on my account. It is as if they saw me use my card, and held it to purposely charge me overdrawn fees. I called again, this time to ask about the $120 fee, how to close an account, and how to leave a formal complaint. So I dialed 1-800- 377-0800, pressed 2 to continue in spanish, entered my account number, and then I got hung up on! So I think that maybe I have a dropped call, even though my cell phone does not say call dropped, and instead says call ended. So I try again, and again I get the same result. I think, well, maybe it's option 2 that has something wrong with it. I try again pressing option 1 for english and I got the same result. How could my call end exactly after I entered my account number time after time? This was too much of a coincidence. I tried again using option 2. Again, repeatedly, after I entered my account number my call ended. Then realizing these people were hanging up on me, as soon as the automated thing answered without pressing 1 or 2, or giving my account number, I pressed 0 the option to speak to a representative and I was quickly transfered to an available employee. By this time I was considerably upset. Information on how to leave a complaint was denied. Instead the employee wrote an e-mail to God knows who which she read to me and clearly did not explain the problem well, the wording sided with Banco Popular, and did not explain at all what I wanted out of that e-mail. The employee wrote that I wanted to be contacted to talk about ''something''. I failed to get the employee to do a better job at this. She proceeded to tell me that I was over reacting, and that I should compose myself since I was talking to professionals, that my call was being taped and that everyone was going to hear me out of control, finally she said words that to me sounded like 'the cherry on top', the employee told me that next to my account the initial employee, who was just as useless as this girl, had placed a note saying that I was displeased with their service. In their lingo and judging by my experience I am sure that that just really means AVOID THIS CUSTOMER IN BIG RED LETTERS and therefore me being hung up on was not just something I was making up. Banco Popular I have the right to be displeased, especially if your service is WAY WORSE THAN POOR and I am $120 poorer for no reason. I don't give away money! I never cursed, or threatened or anything. I only said that I was unhapy with service the first time, when I was branded with the displeased customer note. Even if I am a displeased customer, I expect to at least have my calls answered. It is a huge disrespect that you hang up on your customers. I can not sound happy and calm when I have been hung up on several times. Professionals? at taking my money! And I already see that you are not interested in retaining customers, or taking care of your reputation for that matter. And that's how Banco Popular cheated me out of a few bucks. Sad but true.

Gabriela
Tampa, Florida
U.S.A.