TCF National Bank Mishandled Regulation E, bad customer service, only responded after I informed them that they had been reported to the Better Business Bureau and Federal Reserve Ripoff Minneapolis Minnesota

The following is a letter that I sent to TCF Bank on 1/24/07. 2 days after faxing a copy of this letter to Bonnie S. at the Regulation E office and calling TCF to inform them that they had been reported to the Better Business Bureau and Federal Reserve, the issue was resolved. I have yet to receive an apology.:

TCF National Bank, President of Customer Service
801 Marquette Avenue
MInneapolis, MN 55402
January 24, 2007

RE: Regulation E File Number XXXXXX
Account Number: XXXXXXXXXX

To Whom It May Concern,

The following is a letter of complaint regarding the mishandling of a claim orally reported by myself over the phone to a TCF representative on 1/3/05. On 1/3/05 I called TCF Bank after finding a banking error on my online bank statement. On 12/22/2006, I wrote a check #5406 to Open Cities Clinic in the amount of $40.00, which was presented electronically and cleared on 12/26/06. The same check was presented again physically and cleared on 1/2/07. I was told by the representative when I called that this was not the first call in the day about the same sort of error. The representative assured me that she would file a quick claim and the issue would be resolved in 2 to 3 hours.

When I found that my claim was not resolved and my account credited for the error in 2 to 3 hours, I called TCF Bank again. The representative told me that the issue would be resolved in 3 to 5 days. When this did not happen, I called again and was told by a representative that it would take 5 to 7 days. When again the issue was still not resolved, I again called and was told 7 to 10 days. By this time, it was 1/16/07. Being that it was now the 9th business day, the representative said that they would check into this for me. Sh e reported to me that she had filed a second claim since the first one had not been handled as of yet. She said that no one was answering the phone in the bank's "problems" department. She then spoke to her supervisor, who said that the form would be personally walked over to the person in charge of claims to be signed and my account would be credited by the end of the business day.

On 1/17/07, when I found that my account had not been credited, I called TCF Bank again. I was told by a representative that the first person who originally filed the quick claim had filed the wrong sort of claim, a Regulation E claim should have been filed. The representative that I spoke with on 1/16/07 had filed a Regulation E claim. I was asked if I had ever been told that I needed to fax in a signed letter requesting that the claim be investigated. I had not. I was told by the representative that I would need to fax in a letter explaining the situation and signed by me, the claim would not be investigated without a signed letter. In addition, this representative was also not able to contact the "problems" or Regulation E Department but would continue to try. I was told that my account would be credited for the $40 claim plus any NSF fees incurred as a result of this claim in 7 to 10 business days. I was also told that this representative would continue to try to contact the Regulation E Department to push this claim through more quickly as I had already waited for such a long amount of time at this point.

On 1/18/07 I fax the letter as instructed. I stated in the letter that in addition to investigating the claim, I would like instructions as to how I could file a complaint with the Bank President, as I did not feel that the problem was handled promptly or proffesionally. On the fax cover sheet, I wrote "Please call 612-250-3093 to confirm receiving". I was never called.

On 1/23/07, I called and spoke with "Tony", a supervisor. I excplained to Tony that I would like to file a complaint regarding the handling of my claim. Tony said that the claim was "cut and dry". He apologized and informed me that the claim should have been handled by now. He was unable to reach anyone in the Regulation E Department, but assured me that he would leave the information regarding my complaint for his manager, who would call me in the morning.

On 1/24/07, when no one from TCF Bank had called me by 12:30pm, I called the bank. I was told by a representative that there was no notation on the account as to wether or not Tony had asked a manager to call me. Even if he had, I was told, the managers are very busy making phone calls and may have not had a chance to get to me yet. I was told that the representative had emailed Tony, and a bank manager named Laura would call me before her shift ended at 2:30pm.

On 1/24/07, when no one from TCF Bank had called me by 12:30pm, I called the bank. The representative did not attempt to contact Laura for me. She informed me that I could contact the Regulation E Department myself to check on the status of the She stated that the claim was filed 1/19/07, and that the bank had until 2/2/07 to resolve the claim. I informed her that I was unhappy with my bank service, and would like to file a complaint. I informed her that at this point, I would just like to change banks. She said that she would get her supervisor on the phone for me.

I explained the situation to her supervisor, who asked me "So, are you unhappy with the claim or just the way that it was been handled?" I said that I was unhappy that the mistake happened, I was unhappy about how it was handled, and I was unhappy that no one was calling me back. She said that she would file a complaint with Corporate for me so that a claim would not be handled this way in the future. She also gave me the number for the Regulation E Department.

On 1/24/07, I called the Regulation E Department. I explained my situation to the representative. The representative stated that they had received a quick claim dated on 1/4/07, but they were waiting on a signed letter to continue the investigation. I informed her that I had faxed in a signed letter on 1/18/07. She put me on hold while she went to find it. She got back on the phone line and stated that she found the letter and would give it to the investigator. I asked that the investigator called me back and give me the status of the claim. At no time was I offered the investigator's name or contact information.

On 1/24/07, I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. I also got online and got the information to file a complaint with the Federal Reserve. I called TCF Bank and informed the representative of this, and asked for the name and address of a TCF Bank Manager to send a copy of the complaint to. She sounded very annoyed, and said that she would speak with her supervisor. She gave me the address, and told me to address it to President of Customer Service. I asked for a name. She stated that her supervisor did not give her one.

Regulation E states : "A financial institution shall investigate promptly and, except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, shall determine whether an error occurred within 10 business days of receiving a notice of error. The institution shall report the results to the consumer within three business days after completing its investigation. The institution shall correct the error within one business day after determining that an error occurred."

On 1/24/07, I received a letter from TCF Bank, from Regulation E Specialist, Bonnie S. informing me that a suspected ACH error had been reported and I was to provide a signed, written explanation of the disputed transaction. The letter was dated 1/19/07. However, I made the oral report of an ACH error on 1/3/07. It is due to bank error, and not my own, that the claim was not filed correctly. Therefor, at this time the bank has exceeded their 10 business day limit of time to investigate this error and credit my account.

This entire claim and complaint was not handled in a prompt or proffesional manner. I ask that TCF National Bank be investigated for the mishandling of the claim and subsuquent complaint. Furthermore, I wish to inform that bank that they had lost me as a customer and I plan to shut down the account and change financial institutions once this claim is completed. I will never give a positive comment about TCF Bank to anyone that I know. This was a horrible mishandling of a customer account and in my eyes would not and should not ever be tolerated by any customer.

Sincerely,

Heather

CC:
TCF Bank President - Barry Winslow
TCF Bank Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer - Candace Lex
Bonnie S, Regulation E Specialist
Office of the Comptroller of Currency
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
The Better Business Bureau of Minnesota and North Dakota

Heather
Minneapolis, Minnesota
U.S.A.