USAA Update

[Anonymous]

Usaa recently opened a credit account with a 10k cl without my approval. If you want the whole backstory it's in another post. The last I heard they were sending it to fraud to have it closed in a way that wouldn't hurt my credit report. Fast forward to today and I call to check on the status. 4-5 reps later and I'm nowhere closer to having my problem taken care of. All they want to do is close the account and have me take a hit on my cr or just keep the cad and 10k cl. They keep asking if my wife opened the account behind my back which I found insulting. The funny thing is they keep admitting that they have no record of the application on file only that I somehow have an account. I explicitly tell them not to close the account bc they kept trying to be sneaky and close it. Well I just looked at my accounts online and the card is gone. I'm frustrated bc I know they closed it. I'm so mad right now and my impulse is telling me to get rid of all of my accounts with usaa but my better judgement is keeping me from doing it. I'm mad now but usaa has otherwise been good to me and I have so many accounts with them. Before you ask...the reason  I don't want to keep the card is because I want a limitless and usaa only lets you have so much open credit plus it would make it harder to get in the future with an extra account. My question after this long vent which I thank you all for letting me do, is how bad will a recent card being opened and closed hurt my credit score? They've only pulled once on experian for the three cards that were opened(2 legitimate ones). Am I making a mountain out of a mole hill?

[Gmood1]

It also depends on how thick your file is. Chances are you probably won't notice any difference. I opened 6 accounts over the last 3 months. My scores are nearly unchanged. Only moving a few points up and down. 

In the end the account will just add to your AAOA. I wouldn't sweat it at all.

[elim]

Keep USAA around, They have a few things that are hard to find with other lenders (drag and drop free cash, etc).

I have a crooked insurance company that I deal with every other month.  I make a couple calls, and they do nothing. Next, I use my final approach, which is to say "Hi, this is blah, XX bureau has advised me to keep a record of the call so I'm recording now... I'm communicating with blah co., the time is x, the date is x and your name is?"  I then slowly explain what the error is and what I will accept for a solution (mine are worth about 1k each month). I let them know If nothing is done within xx days I will use this call to file a complaint with XX bureau. I am polite and understanding with the CSR. This gets it done (so far).

If it is their mistake...  Enroll them in fixing it (I might bring up Wells Fargo's similar fraud).

The hit for a new account Is huge to me (5/24). I would make them fix it within 30 days.

[heyryan]

If you really don't want the account showing (I don't blame you!), and it does show up on your credit reports, I'd recommend the following:

1) Dispute with the credit bureaus. Explain that you didn't open the account, you told USAA to REMOVE it, not CLOSE it, and they didn't comply, and that it's a fraudulent account.

2) File a CFPB complaint before they get gutted. That should get you a better response than the CSRs you've been dealing with.

As for dumping USAA, no one can tell you if that's the right course of action except you. I understand the impulse though. I recently dumped them - I'm not a full member, and they've changed their eligibility requirements so that I really couldn't do anything except their (sub-par) checking accounts. Also, I found the customer service has declined in the past few years, too - so they weren't valuable to me anymore.

Good luck, I hope you're able to get it all straightened around!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your advice. An update: This morning USAA flagged my account for fraud and locked me out of my online accounts. I took your advice after I called usaa and got nowhere again, and filed a complaint with the CFPB. Let's see if that solves anything. My experience from the past was that usaa was always top notch, but the past isn't the present and from what I'm reading they've gone down a ton especially compared to navy federal. I'm leaning towards closing out everything I have with them, but that'll be a lot of work especially the investment accounts so we'll see. Thanks again.

[heyryan]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for your advice. An update: This morning USAA flagged my account for fraud and locked me out of my online accounts. I took your advice after I called usaa and got nowhere again, and filed a complaint with the CFPB. Let's see if that solves anything. My experience from the past was that usaa was always top notch, but the past isn't the present and from what I'm reading they've gone down a ton especially compared to navy federal. I'm leaning towards closing out everything I have with them, but that'll be a lot of work especially the investment accounts so we'll see. Thanks again.

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I'm sorry you're continuing to have issues with them! I know it's of little consolation, but you are definitely not alone. I've read a lot of stories on here, creditboards, DoC, etc that USAA is just not the shining star they once were. Most people swear up and down by them, but in 19 years they've never passed "meh" for me.

NFCU on the other hand, has fallen solidly into the "you rock" category for most of their products and customer service. They might be a little quirky, but they're solild.

If you wouldn't mind, can you let us know what happened with the fraud alert and the outcome of the CFPB complaint? Hopefully they'll do right by you eventually!

[Anonymous]

Wow I'm sorry you're having so much trouble with USAA. Their customer service has definitely changed from what it used to be a couple of years ago which is sad because that's why so many people kept them.

[Anonymous]

When you call customer service ask to speak to the office of the president. They will first transfer you to exec escalations which is unempowered, and then there is one step up. The people in that office are the ones who handle CFPB cases and have a ton of clout at USAA to get things done. I reconned a credit card with them and got a call back in under 5 minutes with an approval. 

[Anonymous]

All I can say is wow! I will definitely try this. Thanks so much! I will keep you all posted.

[Anonymous]

Update: I got my account unlocked this evening. I was going to wait 48 hours and then try but I figured what the heck. I call and it's no big deal. They unlock it like it's nothing. I guess I finally got the right CSR. The funny thing is she had a bunch of notes on my account ready to go so I'm wondering if they already had that I made a complaint with CFPB on file. CFPB emailed me and said they had already sent it. She had me change like everything on my account and towards the end I asked why I had to do all that and she said bc my acct was closed for fraud and she didn't want it to happen to me again. I said it wasn't fraud. Nobody hacked me or anything. Y'all just opened an account without my authorization. She started to want to argue with me but just ended up apologizing for there mistake which felt so good to hear. Does it solve my problem? No. Do I believe they believe they are wrong? Hell no! I'm going to let the CFPB process play out and see where that takes me but at least I'm back in. Something I did learn from her was that USAA doesn't flag credit bureaus or alert them in any way for fraud. It would be up to me to do that. I've heard people on here say that my credit report would be flagged but at least with usaa they don't do that. Its part of a checklist they sent me. Real good to hear that. I'll keep y'all updated when I hear back from the CFPB.