Thank You Senator Elizabeth Warren. Because Of You, I Got My Money Back! [View all]

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Although I admired Elizabeth Warren for her victory, I never expected to use the new bureau myself. When it comes to credit card companies and banks I feel have wronged me, I am much more likely to “let it go” than to “fight city hall.” Then Fifth Third Bank screwed withme. They put transactionson my statement they didn’t really make, and then they charged me $280 in fees for their made up transactions. Trying to convince them to have a bank examiner look into the transactions was futile. If it was on the statement, it must be true.

Tossingandturning infrustration one sleepless night, I asked myself, “What would Elizabeth Warren do?” It was then that I remembered her Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Not knowing what to expect,at 2:45 in the morning, I foundthe CFPB website complaint page and clicked on the “bank complaints” link.

I was asked to writea summaryof my problem in4000characters or less. Fortunately I have plenty of Twitter experience. I explained that I suspected the company to which Fifth Third Bank outsources its bill payment service, had falsified entries to cover up a mistake they had made, and that their cover-up had cost me undeserved fees. There was a way to upload supporting documents, but it was the middle of the night, so I merely mentioned I had screen shots of my account with the suspect transactions, and all my correspondence with the bank if they needed them. The form thenaskedwhat resultI wanted,andI said I wanted wanted my $280 back. (That was an oversight on my part. I should haveaskedformy moneyandan apology.) I then gave them my name, address and an email address to set up an account. That was all there was to it.

I figuredI would hear something back around 2020. It’s the government right?

Wrong. Shame on my pessimism. I should have had more faith in Elizabeth Warren. The agency reviewed my complaint, and sent me an email the verynext day saying they had submitted it to Fifth Third Bank. The email directed me to my own account page that would show all the correspondence among the parties.When Fifth Third Bank responded two days later, CFPB notified me immediately by email of the new development.

More: http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/thank-you-senator-elizabeth-warren-because-of-you-i-got-my-money-back/news/2013/04/02/64023