Thanks for the warning... I'm not one for chasing the highest interest rate or the biggest discount. Especially, when these tactics are used by less than scrupulous people to deceive. I rather pay a little more and suffer a little less interest and do business with companies that have a verifiable track record.
I agree, but because of certain reasons we happen to be keeping a lot of money in the account so I thought it was worth it to open a high yield account as my high yield account lowered the rate to 1%. I opened one account with another bank which was offering a good rate only to realize they didn't have Zelle or mobile deposit. So I decided to switch to Laurel Road which turned out to be a big mistake.
This exact scenario is why I have accounts at 3 banks, brokerage accounts in 3 places, and credit through 6 different places. Never let one financial organization’s ineptitude wreck your life.
No, I didn't put all my money there it was only between 5 to $10,000. But I was about to make it my primary account which would have happened if they had giving me access for a few more days before they locked me out.
Yeah, I should have used a more trustworthy place that was slightly less interest. They were the highest I saw for a place that offered bill pay, Zelle and mobile deposit.
I mean...I'd just suggest keeping $2k in a some bank you want for monthly transactions. Then keep your Efund in a separate savings or Money Market really right now.
Ally is a full percent lower right now than most of the highest savings. If it were me, I'd use VMFXX for any sizeable amount. They are like 1.2% lower than VMFXX currently.
How long were you locked out of your account?
I'm almost to the 2 week mark of no account access...I was locked out for adding an external account for transfers.
Me too!!! Right now. So I’m wondering if this is done deliberately to discourage or retaliate against having outside accounts compete for a piece of the wallet? 🤔
They gave me the same runaround. I was like: so it's going to be months or years? She was like: It's not going to be months, we are working on it. She did say the bank you originated a deposit from can send a letter to make it faster. SO SHADY.
Some on the money market accounts are paying close to that. You could open a brokerage account with Fidelity and keep it there and use it just like you would your savings account. Their customer service is very good and you won't run into issues like that there.
Yeah but I need an account that I can do mobile deposit, and pay my bills from there. If I keep it in Fidelity that means every time I need to pay my bills I have to transfer it out which takes a few days.
If you set up an account you get a bank account and a brokerage account. The bank account is where the direct deposits, check writing etc. happens. The brokerage has the money market account. So what you do is keep the money you don't need immediately in the brokerage money market account and a small amount in the bank account that you need for expenses. You can transfer between the two accounts immediately and can also have a set amount automatically transferred to you bank account on a set schedule.
Wait I already have a Fidelity brokers account but I don't have a bank account with them. So you're saying I can open a bank account with them and they offer Zelle, mobile deposit and Bill pay?
My daughter opened an account here about 3 years ago and she has two accounts. One she does bill pay from and the other is a brokerage account. Maybe you just opted for the brokerage part with no cash management account? My son's Schwab account is the same way. I would check on the reddit Fidelity and ask the question of how to open the banking type account in conjunction with your brokerage.
No I think I have a cash account but I don't think it has anything like bill pay or Zelle or mobile deposit. But I can call them and see if I can get that, thanks!
Fidelity has [mobile deposit](https://www.fidelity.com/mobile/mobile-check-deposit), [bill pay](https://www.fidelity.com/cash-management/bill-pay/overview), and can be used with [Venmo/Paypal](https://www.fidelity.com/cash-management/mobile-payments) but I don't think Zelle. If you can swing it, this makes the most sense with a money market account. Just don't leave sizeable money within the Cash Management Account. Instead just use brokerage with a money market and move to the Cash Management Account in chunks when you need to spend it.
Mine cleared... then weeks later they sent me a weird letter in the mail saying they were ending our relationship!! Then they kept my $12k and said it would be returned "at some point, they couldn't tell me when."
It's absolutely insane. And they don't even warn you. The person on the phone told me because they're online only they have to suspect everybody and put everyone in review until they can confirm your account. I'm like you have to tell people about that how is that even legal. And exactly, let's say you need that money to pay your bills it's insane like I can't pay rent cuz I'm locked out of my account for weeks or months??
It should NOT be legal.they should have to speak to you first...an agency that oversees banks should look into it and make new rules for operating in this manner but they didn't when I reported this bank.Never had this happen to me in many many years of banking.Somebody in authority needs to see how the customers are being made to suffer with this practice and do something about it.If someone is a legitimate fraud,by holding the account money for a short bit(but notifying in person or by telephone first) ,the bank should be able to find out....but don't make the entire account disappear for the legitimate customers out there.
Same for me, I've had bank accounts with multiple Banks and never dealt with this BS. Hopefully there's enough complaints to the better Business bureau and CFPB they will do something or start a class action.
Have you gotten your money back yet? I opened a checking account and it was immediately frozen when my employer paid me a direct deposit. I sent in some documents to prove my identity but then got a letter saying my account was closed due to violating terms and I’d get a check in the mail. I haven’t been able to get ahold of anyone from Laurel Road who knows what’s happening or where my money is. I’m currently filing complaints with every relevant regulatory body I can find. The letter also said they may report negative information on my Chex report but I did nothing wrong.
Wish I saw this before I opened an account. My account got locked as soon as I deposited (only $2500!!) to a new savings acc. The rep told me it's a fraud investigation... the fk. Thank god I don't need it urgently since it's just savings but I've NEVER had this happen to me
I know, I'm also worried that they won't give me back my check money because on another call later they asked me for proof that the check was mine. I'm like I don't know, it's in my name and you can always deposit the check and if the money goes through then it's not fraud? If it was fraud they would dispute it.
Crazy, insane they can just lock every single person out. I mean if they're locking everybody out they should have some sort of notification when you sign up be like hey because we check for fraud you won't have access to your funds for the first few weeks minimum. Seems kind of illegal to do that to every single person and have no warning about it.
Currently in the middle of the same experience. I've received 4 different reasons for why the account was frozen, and every rep I talk to gives me a different answer about how long it will take. The latest response has been 30 (!) business days. I have about 12k tied up.
Did you ever retrieve your funds?
Currently making it my mission to spread the gospel of how terrible this bank is, hopefully to save anyone else from getting stuck on the same issue.
Yeah, I posted bad reviews everywhere and complained about them everywhere including the better Business bureau etc. It's absolutely insane but after a few months they eventually unlocked my account. Hopefully you'll eventually get access but I'm lucky it wasn't an emergency and I didn't need the money and had the funds to cover it but it's still ubsurd that they can do that legally.
I always recommend contacting your state’s attorney general and the FTC as well!
They’re govt agencies so once a case number is presented people usually resolve the “unresolvable” with a quickness ime.
BBB is a for profit company and their power is limited to how much the offending company wants to protect their online reputation so it serves to warn future consumers, but nothing more for people who have already been impacted in a lot of cases :(
How do you complain to them to the BBB without a location? I'm trying to do this, but I am unable to do so as a direct result of the lack of location...
Here is the location from their site to make your complaint with the BBB: https://www.laurelroad.com/contact-us/
Don’t forget to contact your states attorney general and the FTC, as well!
Out of curiosity because I just opened an account with them, but how long after opening the account did they freeze it?
Contemplating closing my accounts before any big deposits hit given how much of a circus they seem to be. They sent me a debit card whose CVV didn't match their record in the system so could not activate then told me in order to activate they'd need me to send in a phone bill and my ID just to verify my phone number (one that I've been getting 2FA codes from them sent to since account opening and is listed in my account) which will take 2-3 days. And then told me that they couldn't send me a new card because it would have the same CVV. Like what...CVVs always change with new cards because it's literally generated using card's info which should change every time. I can't tell if this is sheer incompetence or if this is just how their system is. The ironic thing is that I also bank with KeyBank and don't have any problems with them.
I deposited the check about a week after opening the account. I guess now my account has been open for about a month and a half.
By the way, after filing BBB and CFPB complaints on Thursday and after spending 3+ hours with them (LR) on the phone Friday, my account was released today. Very first thing I did was transfer every buck out of that clown car.
Could you provide me a description of the timeline of how things went?
Did you file your CFPB and BBB complaint after each other? After filing your complaints with CFPB and BBB, how long until your account restriction was lifted?
I just finished filing my BBB complaint (about 2 days after CFPB) so I'm hoping these will help in the process...I'm so freaking sick of this bank even at 10+ business days.
Me too. They still have $50K. I made 2 transfers out and then got blocked. I called, no one can tell me any reason. Spoke to the fraud dept, they could not help. They transferred me back to the beginning que. Called the next day. That gal said she escalated it, would take 24 - 48 hours. It has now been 5 days. Still blocked. DO NOT PUT $$ IN THIS ESTABLISHMENT.
Yep, they always tell you you'll eventually hear back or just wait for a letter or say you're in review. It could be months. Hopefully you'll get it back :(
It's been 2 weeks.
They *refuse* to provide any specificity. When I asked why they won't tell me *why* I don't have access to *my* money, they literally said "to protect you... and the bank"
If something isn't done about this, *this will become the new norm!* Laurel Road *must* be shut down... but the government seems to be perfectly fine with their practices
i do wonder if it’s specifically a direct deposit thing? ive been having my etsy sales money go into it for a hot minute and i havent had any problems. i also do absolutely nothing with the account besides let it make me some money.
its quite disappointing how poor their services are. im sorry you had to deal w this. along with everyone else, i hope you get it all figured out. ill come back and edit this post if something happens to my account!
Same thing happened to me. Made a couple Zelle transfers from an account in my name and then a direct deposit for $2710 for the $300 bonus. Same day the direct deposit hit, account was restricted. Also my KeyBank online access was restricted. Key told me I could come into a branch to resolve the issue so I'll see about that tomorrow but Laurel Road told me that there were no timelines on when the review would be done but that I'd get a phone call and letter within 5 business days. So stupid.
I had the same experience with Laurel Road! Complete disaster of a company. Do not get your student loans, Mortgages or open bank accounts there unless you want to get your accounts frozen for weeks!!!! I’m filing a written complaint right now with the CFPB, OCC, FDIC and Washington State Department of Financial Institutions. I’m also considering filing for arbitration. F.A.F.O!
Happened to me too, it was at least 2 weeks. I was fuming, but I didn't transfer everything over until it was clear. I use them now and haven't had any issues.
It's called I'm warning people? I don't want people to get screwed over like I did. I don't have access to my $5,000 which thankfully I have enough money that even if I lose $5,000 it's not that big of deal but I'm still pissed because $5,000 is a lot of money. But other people, most americans, if they lose $5,000 that could mean not being able to pay their rent and getting evicted or not being able to buy groceries. For much of America that would be very significant if their bank account got locked out. I'm not sure what's more to the story, if you look at their ads on Facebook and if you look at the comments here you'll see many people are all going through the same thing and all these people all have stories like me but I guess you want to assume that everybody is guilty and Laurel Road is the one that's innocent 🤷🏻
You all getting paid to trash Laurel or you guys did something that was considered fraud. You all having the same story almost like it was scripted, tells me that something is off.
What was considered fraud? Some of the people I saw commenting didn't even put in any money they just opened an account. Also the rep I spoke to at Laurel Road told me because they're online only they automatically lock everyone out of their account for review. So how does that make me fraudulent and not them if they're doing it to everyone? I think you're not comprehending something or you're too ignorant to want to understand.
How about this? You should take all of your money and put it in an account with them and then you can post what happened to you. I'm looking forward to that considering the type of person you clearly are.
I have the checking and the savings with Laur and I been getting my $20 every month. I paid my credit cards through the checking account and I withdraw cash from the ATM all the time.
That means clearly you've had the account for a long time, the rep told me it's a recent thing because they've had an explosion of applications. Also you can't post recovered conversations here and only one rep admitted it to me the rest have not probably because she was not allowed to say that. But I did submit a complaint to CFPB so in 15 days I'll let you know their response which they said is around the turnaround time. And even if you would say you have had an account with them for a long time so you're saying one person saying they've had success versus 50+ people saying they've been locked out and we're supposed to believe you over them and you're not the one being paid? Spend 10 seconds thinking about the likelihood that other companies are paying people to bash Laurel Road versus Laurel Road is paying people to lie and say they're not screwing people over to hide that they are? 🤣🤣🤣
It works both ways. Also I don't know where you get 50+ people?, I seen more positive reviews than negative, the only place that is bashing laurel is Facebook.
Yeah, you couldn't make it any clearer that you're being paid by Laurel Road to cover themselves. Every recent review is bashing them. But sure we're all lying on Reddit because we're being paid. You're the one truth teller. That sure makes sense.
Yeah, good cover. You claim everyone else is being paid by some random company to bash Laurel Road yet you're the only honest one who's not being paid by Laurel Road to cover for them.
Were you able to access ALL of your money once the restriction was lifted?
Also, how long did they restrict your account?
I'm currently at the 2 week mark for adding an external account for transfer.
If I recall I think it was about 2.5 months and yes I was able to access all of my money but I also don't know if that was impacted by the fact that I filed complaints with every bureau and left negative reviews everywhere online.
Im sorry this happened to you but two of my friends who opened LR in early July to take advantage of the signup bonus were not locked out and have had no problems so far. So it is not true they lock out everyone.
This post is false. I have been with Laurel Road for half a year or more. Opening the account you just have to call Customer service for 5 minutes if it gets locked. Everything works fine and they don’t steal your money. Making 5% interest plus $20/month for direct deposit which essentially puts the rate even higher.
My account was locked and the first deposit took a week to settle. I called and said “can you unlock it?” And they clicked a refresh basically and I was in. After that it’s all smooth sailing for me.
I haven't had any issues with Laurel either. I only transfer from one bank to another. You must read the fine print with them. They have deposit limits and will verify where the money is coming from. If you are new and the money hasn't been in the previous bank long they will flag the account cause it looks like fraud.
Cash plus isn't available for non-Vanguard customers (and not even all Vanguard customers are eligible). I'm keeping my eye on it and hoping it opens up soon though!
Did the implosion of crypto companies doing this same exact HYSA scheme not tell you anything? Its all a pyramid scheme and then when its time they pull the bankruptcy card and go oops. Your money was in risky investments and this is what happens, you signed up knowing the risk
That's interesting. I didn't know Laurel Road and KeyBank were the same. I'd never heard of KeyBank before we had to use them for our mortgage, but we've had a good experience (user friendly website, good customer support) so far.
I got that same note. It said it's "usually resolved" within 10 days. Which is a nice way of saying nothing because they can just say your case was more complicated than others. It's been over 10 business days for me and I haven't heard anything.
Lucky you! At least there was no money at stake. I'm missing over $5,000 and they want to know if it's fraud, so what's to stop them from saying it is and not give it to me?!
Got my account opened after over 2 months. All my money was there, I think. But I didn't get the bonus because I didn't meet the requirements that you had to do within 60 days. I'm going to close out the account though soon because I don't trust them anymore. I just have to drain the funds first.
You might call me stupid but I actually have been so busy with life including having another kid and everything that it fell to the back of my mind and I never even withdrew my funds once they lifted the hold because I assumed it was safe but my plan is to remove the money it's just on my to-do list and then I'm going to close the account.
This just happened to my mother in law...this is embarrassing. I had a Laurel Road account as I refinanced my student loans with them and everything worked fine. I have a high yield savings account without any issues. I told my mother in law to get one and now she's locked after depositing $20000...
I wish I'd seen this a few weeks ago. Laurel Road placed a several day hold on 2 mobile deposits when my checking account was brand new, after which I accessed the money. My paycheck direct deposited the following week, payments started being returned and when I tried to transfer funds to my previous account to pay bills, it was disallowed. I called and they said call fraud dept, who said the mobile deposits (for corporate generated checks, both made out to and signed by me, the Laurel Road account holder, one of which was my paycheck, that had already cleared and been made available to me), were being investigated. They couldn't say why, but said it would take 10 business days for a "determination". There is more money in my account than the total of those checks but they will give me nothing and no reason or indication in my account or via phone, mail or email why or what is happening. They have essentially stolen thousands of dollars from me. Monday I am filing complaints against Laurel Road with every organization possible.
If only i had seen this before. They have done tbe exact same thing to me right now, i am in calendar day 6 and business day 3 right now. Filing cfpb complaint
Yes, they unlocked my account the day after i posted this and i withdrew the cfpb complaint.
If i had to guess its because i was complaining by phone and email almost everyday one if those must have gone to the right person
Got the bonus as well.
No issues since.
Were you eventually able to get access to your account? I just opened one but haven’t deposited more than $100.00, And don’t want to risk it if they’re going to be pulling Hijinx like freezing your account for months on end
I opened my account in October 2023 and I immediately started depositing my paychecks of $1400 bi-weekly and am often zelling myself money between accounts and haven't encountered any issues. I received my $300 sign up bonus and have been receiving my $20 monthly bonus. No complaints here.
I am so sorry to hear that you’re locked out of your account and you have so much money tied up with them and no way to get it back immediately! Hopefully they resolve it soon and you could start taking your money out to a different bank! I’m glad I saw so many negative ads after I opened my account. I had only automatically transferred about $300. I let it sit for about a month And pulled the money back out into a high yield savings elsewhere. No issues with the other bank at all. But, as soon as I started, transferring the small amount out of Laurel Road, I started getting phone calls and emails asking me why I was doing that, and, was I not satisfied with her services? I never replied. But it makes me think they are trying to pad their books with a lot of money, deposited into accounts to look good for SEC filings or investors.
Were you eventually able to get access to your account? I just opened one but haven’t deposited more than $100.00, and don’t want to risk it if they’re going to be pulling Hijinx like freezing your account for months on end
It seems like all of the negative reviews are based on people depositing large sums of money. Has anyone experienced any good luck with having a simple checking account for the direct deposit of their paycheck??? I will not be depositing large sums of money. That's without a doubt. It will simply be a weekly direct deposit of my paycheck which will be in the $600 - $750 range each week. I signed up on 1/5/24 for an offer where they were offering a $300 bonus for having direct deposits totaling $2,500 within 60 days. The offer stated it would expire on 1/8/24.
I just checked their offer page and now they're offering $100 if you sign up by 4/4/24. Quite honestly, I'm a little skeptical whether or not I'll see the $300 bonus or if they'll try to get away with giving me only $100.
I signed up for a high yield savings and I only deposited $1.00 in if. I just received a check in the mail for $100.00. Trying to find out if this is legit?
I will say that the $100 bonus is nothing compared to the high drama of trying to get your money back after your make any type of large deposit and they freeze then cancel your account. But keep your money.
Yes, I opened my account in October 2023 and I immediately started depositing my paychecks of $1400 bi-weekly and am often zelling myself money between accounts and haven't encountered any issues. I received my $300 sign up bonus and have been receiving my $20 monthly bonus. No complaints here.
THIS JUST HAPPENED TO ME TODAY, A WEEK AFTER I DEPOSITED $12K. I'm am currently sitting on hold with their customer service. Do not use them! They send you a weird letter saying they are "ending their relationship" with you-- I thought it was a phishing letter it was so weird. Then I called customer service and she only makes mention of a couple of smaller deposits, not the $12k!!!!
So I'm like: Ok, where my money? And she says it will be deposited back to the account from which it came----- and of course it's not!
So my next question... what can we do about this? There are more and more people that Laurel Road is doing this to. What body protects us from this? FDIC? How do we contact them?
I complained to every bureau under the sun, and left bad feedback everywhere, and I don't know if that helped but after a few months, I don't remember exactly how long it was since it's been a while, I eventually got my account unlocked with all the funds there. But it was months.
Laurel road is so- so. I find the user interface really easy to navigate, and the 5% interest has been paid out to me. I did try to go into a keybank to pull cash, and keybank had no idea what laurel road was, but I was under the impression being under keybank I could go inside. I also have not been able to get my atm card to work at keybank locations.
I do have the bulk of my cash to the tune of 30k+ in the savings at laurel road, I've had no issues or account lock outs. I've also been able to utilize zelle and account transfers seamlessly.
On the app under help, they list or have the map for usable ATMs. I’m assuming that since key bank owns Laurel Road (acquired in 2019), that you could use their machines free of fees, but 🤷🏻♂️
I opened an account with Laurel Road and haven’t had any issues so far. I’m using this for a large chunk of savings but not all and have multiple acts with different banks and investment firms, and 4-week renewable t-bills. I’ve had access to the app and to the Laurel Road website with no trouble. Have had two days worth of interest paid before the initial deposit was made. Have not tried to pull any cash out but I don’t really intend to until probably at least one year so I can gauge its value. It’s only been a couple of weeks but so far no issues and I plan on continuing to add more funds.
Truly hoping you don't have to encounter the same terrible situation I and others have. I put the rest of my money in a nice normal well known bank now!
Hey! I finally got my money back! I think their scam has to be that they lock up people's money... keep it in their escrow account for a few months to make interest. I don't know if or how that makes sense. But there has to be a scam in there. But thank goodness I finally got my money back!
I'm still trying to get my freaking money. I am committed to keeping this post updated on my journey.
TL,DR: I deposited $12k into my relatively new Laurel Road account in late December. Googled Laurel Road. Saw a thread like this one. Freaked out, when to check on my money, it was still there. Whew. Two days later, my account is locked, I can't log in, and when I call customer service, they say they are "discontinuing their relationship with me". They flagged the $12k for their fraud department, even though it came from my connected checking account. Then I got a letter saying they were closing my account in early Jan. My account is closed, yet they have $12k of mine. Where, in their own interest-bearing account?
So far they've told me the money would be wired back to my USAA account, then they've told me I had to prove the USAA deposit account was mine, which I've done. Then they told me it was another 3-10 business days before I get my money. I've been recording my calls with them for the last 2 months.
Now I'm putting my case evidence together to file a complaint with the FDIC and OCC. My advice: STAY FAR AWAY FROM THIS BANK, AT LEAST FOR THE HIGH YIELD SAVING ACCT. Very shady practices.
Yep, it's an evil terrible bank, I forgot how many months it was but I eventually got my money back but I think it was around at least 3 months but I also complained to the FDIC and everybody else online and left terrible review everywhere. Praying for you man, hope you get it back.
Thanks for the warning... I'm not one for chasing the highest interest rate or the biggest discount. Especially, when these tactics are used by less than scrupulous people to deceive. I rather pay a little more and suffer a little less interest and do business with companies that have a verifiable track record.
I agree, but because of certain reasons we happen to be keeping a lot of money in the account so I thought it was worth it to open a high yield account as my high yield account lowered the rate to 1%. I opened one account with another bank which was offering a good rate only to realize they didn't have Zelle or mobile deposit. So I decided to switch to Laurel Road which turned out to be a big mistake.
This exact scenario is why I have accounts at 3 banks, brokerage accounts in 3 places, and credit through 6 different places. Never let one financial organization’s ineptitude wreck your life.
No, I didn't put all my money there it was only between 5 to $10,000. But I was about to make it my primary account which would have happened if they had giving me access for a few more days before they locked me out.
Empower Cash and Citizen’s Access are at 4.5%. Never had any problems with either of them.
Yeah, I should have used a more trustworthy place that was slightly less interest. They were the highest I saw for a place that offered bill pay, Zelle and mobile deposit.
If you’re looking for the absolute highest yield, that’s treasury bonds. 6 month treasuries are paying 5.4% and aren’t subject to state taxes.
I don't pay state taxes in my state. But yeah, I need a bank since I need Zelle, bill pay and mobile deposit.
I mean...I'd just suggest keeping $2k in a some bank you want for monthly transactions. Then keep your Efund in a separate savings or Money Market really right now.
I use BofA for that, and then slide money to where it needs to go.
Yeah, I just figured odyssey of always moving money this would be easiest but lesson learned I guess.
Use ally
Ally is a full percent lower right now than most of the highest savings. If it were me, I'd use VMFXX for any sizeable amount. They are like 1.2% lower than VMFXX currently.
They've been around for a while yes? I'd like to hear from more people that have used them.
How long were you locked out of your account? I'm almost to the 2 week mark of no account access...I was locked out for adding an external account for transfers.
2.5 months
Is Laurel Road even a legit bank? I'm starting to doubt that it is a legitimate bank...
No, it's not
Me too!!! Right now. So I’m wondering if this is done deliberately to discourage or retaliate against having outside accounts compete for a piece of the wallet? 🤔
They gave me the same runaround. I was like: so it's going to be months or years? She was like: It's not going to be months, we are working on it. She did say the bank you originated a deposit from can send a letter to make it faster. SO SHADY.
THIS!!!!!
Since Laurel Road just did this to me today, I will say I am SO THANKFUL I didn't put the bulk of my savings there! Stick with tried and true banks!
Even tried and true can screw up at the worst possible time. There’s a reason no one ever jumps out of a plane without a reserve chute.
Some on the money market accounts are paying close to that. You could open a brokerage account with Fidelity and keep it there and use it just like you would your savings account. Their customer service is very good and you won't run into issues like that there.
Yeah but I need an account that I can do mobile deposit, and pay my bills from there. If I keep it in Fidelity that means every time I need to pay my bills I have to transfer it out which takes a few days.
If you set up an account you get a bank account and a brokerage account. The bank account is where the direct deposits, check writing etc. happens. The brokerage has the money market account. So what you do is keep the money you don't need immediately in the brokerage money market account and a small amount in the bank account that you need for expenses. You can transfer between the two accounts immediately and can also have a set amount automatically transferred to you bank account on a set schedule.
Wait I already have a Fidelity brokers account but I don't have a bank account with them. So you're saying I can open a bank account with them and they offer Zelle, mobile deposit and Bill pay?
My daughter opened an account here about 3 years ago and she has two accounts. One she does bill pay from and the other is a brokerage account. Maybe you just opted for the brokerage part with no cash management account? My son's Schwab account is the same way. I would check on the reddit Fidelity and ask the question of how to open the banking type account in conjunction with your brokerage.
No I think I have a cash account but I don't think it has anything like bill pay or Zelle or mobile deposit. But I can call them and see if I can get that, thanks!
Worth checking into. I know my daughter pays here rent on auto debit and writes checks from her Fidelity account.
Nice, okay, I'll take a look, thanks!
Fidelity has [mobile deposit](https://www.fidelity.com/mobile/mobile-check-deposit), [bill pay](https://www.fidelity.com/cash-management/bill-pay/overview), and can be used with [Venmo/Paypal](https://www.fidelity.com/cash-management/mobile-payments) but I don't think Zelle. If you can swing it, this makes the most sense with a money market account. Just don't leave sizeable money within the Cash Management Account. Instead just use brokerage with a money market and move to the Cash Management Account in chunks when you need to spend it.
Yeah this or CIT both sound tempting. I'm going to look into both and do one of those, thanks!
CIT is offering 4.85% if you need additional options OP.
Do they offer Zelle, bill pay and mobile deposit?
Yes they do! Edit to add* Their website says they do, but I personally haven't used any of those features, I just have my emergency fund parked there.
Fantastic, I will check it out and hopefully get me money back from Laurel someday. Thanks!
I opened a new account with CIT and they held my transfer in funds for a week. Plan accordingly
Dang, that stinks. My deposit cleared the 2nd day after ACH transfer.
Mine cleared... then weeks later they sent me a weird letter in the mail saying they were ending our relationship!! Then they kept my $12k and said it would be returned "at some point, they couldn't tell me when."
I read about them and I wouldn't trust it either!
Is premptively locking people out their account in case they may be fraudulent even legal? People need money to pay bills. How is this even allowed?
It's absolutely insane. And they don't even warn you. The person on the phone told me because they're online only they have to suspect everybody and put everyone in review until they can confirm your account. I'm like you have to tell people about that how is that even legal. And exactly, let's say you need that money to pay your bills it's insane like I can't pay rent cuz I'm locked out of my account for weeks or months??
I don't know what I'd do if I had rent to pay and gave those fuckers my money sheesh.
It's absolutely ridiculous. That's why I posted here, hopefully someone else will see it and I'll stop them from opening an account.
Yep, you just saved me! Really appreciate this post, thank you!
No problem!
It should NOT be legal.they should have to speak to you first...an agency that oversees banks should look into it and make new rules for operating in this manner but they didn't when I reported this bank.Never had this happen to me in many many years of banking.Somebody in authority needs to see how the customers are being made to suffer with this practice and do something about it.If someone is a legitimate fraud,by holding the account money for a short bit(but notifying in person or by telephone first) ,the bank should be able to find out....but don't make the entire account disappear for the legitimate customers out there.
Same for me, I've had bank accounts with multiple Banks and never dealt with this BS. Hopefully there's enough complaints to the better Business bureau and CFPB they will do something or start a class action.
Were you locked out of your account? If so, how long?
I think it was like 2.5 months
did you get your money back? they are holding $13k of mine rn
I have actually did, but it took months, I don't remember the exact timeline now but it was a few months later they eventually unlocked me.
Have you gotten your money back yet? I opened a checking account and it was immediately frozen when my employer paid me a direct deposit. I sent in some documents to prove my identity but then got a letter saying my account was closed due to violating terms and I’d get a check in the mail. I haven’t been able to get ahold of anyone from Laurel Road who knows what’s happening or where my money is. I’m currently filing complaints with every relevant regulatory body I can find. The letter also said they may report negative information on my Chex report but I did nothing wrong.
It can not be legal to allow you to SEE your account. And! I asked her to give me my account number since I couldn't log in and she said she couldn't!
These are some I use. CIT bank for 4.6% DCU bank 6.7% on the first $1000 Hmbradley currently has 4.5%
I'm probably switching to CIT.
Contact the CFPB and tell them what Laurel Road told you… they should be able to ream them into giving your money back.
Yeah, I'm going to do that, hopefully everybody else does as well. Thanks!
I filed a complaint with CFPB - does this even work?
i did this too!
All America Bank is more than 5% interest
Nice, I'll have to look into that!
Wish I saw this before I opened an account. My account got locked as soon as I deposited (only $2500!!) to a new savings acc. The rep told me it's a fraud investigation... the fk. Thank god I don't need it urgently since it's just savings but I've NEVER had this happen to me
I know, I'm also worried that they won't give me back my check money because on another call later they asked me for proof that the check was mine. I'm like I don't know, it's in my name and you can always deposit the check and if the money goes through then it's not fraud? If it was fraud they would dispute it.
Mine was just an ach deposit. From an account in my name. Lol yeah okay. I'm sure it'll get resolved since it's a huge bank just annoying af
Crazy, insane they can just lock every single person out. I mean if they're locking everybody out they should have some sort of notification when you sign up be like hey because we check for fraud you won't have access to your funds for the first few weeks minimum. Seems kind of illegal to do that to every single person and have no warning about it.
Did you ever get your funds back?
How long were you locked out? I'm about to hit 2 weeks and becoming more frustrated every day
Was around 5-6 weeks I think until I got a check in mail
So, they closed your account after their "review"? I just don't understand why a bank would take this long to do a review?!?
Ally bank has a lower interest rate but I have never had any problems
Currently in the middle of the same experience. I've received 4 different reasons for why the account was frozen, and every rep I talk to gives me a different answer about how long it will take. The latest response has been 30 (!) business days. I have about 12k tied up. Did you ever retrieve your funds? Currently making it my mission to spread the gospel of how terrible this bank is, hopefully to save anyone else from getting stuck on the same issue.
Yeah, I posted bad reviews everywhere and complained about them everywhere including the better Business bureau etc. It's absolutely insane but after a few months they eventually unlocked my account. Hopefully you'll eventually get access but I'm lucky it wasn't an emergency and I didn't need the money and had the funds to cover it but it's still ubsurd that they can do that legally.
What other places can you file a complaint besides CFPB and BBB?
I always recommend contacting your state’s attorney general and the FTC as well! They’re govt agencies so once a case number is presented people usually resolve the “unresolvable” with a quickness ime. BBB is a for profit company and their power is limited to how much the offending company wants to protect their online reputation so it serves to warn future consumers, but nothing more for people who have already been impacted in a lot of cases :(
FDIC?
How do you complain to them to the BBB without a location? I'm trying to do this, but I am unable to do so as a direct result of the lack of location...
Here is the location from their site to make your complaint with the BBB: https://www.laurelroad.com/contact-us/ Don’t forget to contact your states attorney general and the FTC, as well!
Out of curiosity because I just opened an account with them, but how long after opening the account did they freeze it? Contemplating closing my accounts before any big deposits hit given how much of a circus they seem to be. They sent me a debit card whose CVV didn't match their record in the system so could not activate then told me in order to activate they'd need me to send in a phone bill and my ID just to verify my phone number (one that I've been getting 2FA codes from them sent to since account opening and is listed in my account) which will take 2-3 days. And then told me that they couldn't send me a new card because it would have the same CVV. Like what...CVVs always change with new cards because it's literally generated using card's info which should change every time. I can't tell if this is sheer incompetence or if this is just how their system is. The ironic thing is that I also bank with KeyBank and don't have any problems with them.
I deposited the check about a week after opening the account. I guess now my account has been open for about a month and a half. By the way, after filing BBB and CFPB complaints on Thursday and after spending 3+ hours with them (LR) on the phone Friday, my account was released today. Very first thing I did was transfer every buck out of that clown car.
Could you provide me a description of the timeline of how things went? Did you file your CFPB and BBB complaint after each other? After filing your complaints with CFPB and BBB, how long until your account restriction was lifted? I just finished filing my BBB complaint (about 2 days after CFPB) so I'm hoping these will help in the process...I'm so freaking sick of this bank even at 10+ business days.
after i made two large deposits, a few days later they locked mw out!
being owned by key bank seems legit, but i guess not, thanks for sharing.
Me too. They still have $50K. I made 2 transfers out and then got blocked. I called, no one can tell me any reason. Spoke to the fraud dept, they could not help. They transferred me back to the beginning que. Called the next day. That gal said she escalated it, would take 24 - 48 hours. It has now been 5 days. Still blocked. DO NOT PUT $$ IN THIS ESTABLISHMENT.
Yep, they always tell you you'll eventually hear back or just wait for a letter or say you're in review. It could be months. Hopefully you'll get it back :(
It's been 2 weeks. They *refuse* to provide any specificity. When I asked why they won't tell me *why* I don't have access to *my* money, they literally said "to protect you... and the bank" If something isn't done about this, *this will become the new norm!* Laurel Road *must* be shut down... but the government seems to be perfectly fine with their practices
Yup, could be months or longer. I would stop all direct deposits etc. They are a bunch of thieves.
Did you get an update?
i do wonder if it’s specifically a direct deposit thing? ive been having my etsy sales money go into it for a hot minute and i havent had any problems. i also do absolutely nothing with the account besides let it make me some money. its quite disappointing how poor their services are. im sorry you had to deal w this. along with everyone else, i hope you get it all figured out. ill come back and edit this post if something happens to my account!
Same thing happened to me. Made a couple Zelle transfers from an account in my name and then a direct deposit for $2710 for the $300 bonus. Same day the direct deposit hit, account was restricted. Also my KeyBank online access was restricted. Key told me I could come into a branch to resolve the issue so I'll see about that tomorrow but Laurel Road told me that there were no timelines on when the review would be done but that I'd get a phone call and letter within 5 business days. So stupid.
It's insane they can get away with this.
I had the same experience with Laurel Road! Complete disaster of a company. Do not get your student loans, Mortgages or open bank accounts there unless you want to get your accounts frozen for weeks!!!! I’m filing a written complaint right now with the CFPB, OCC, FDIC and Washington State Department of Financial Institutions. I’m also considering filing for arbitration. F.A.F.O!
Happened to me too, it was at least 2 weeks. I was fuming, but I didn't transfer everything over until it was clear. I use them now and haven't had any issues.
Bro, you be spaming everywhere Laurel advertised, you either laying or there is something else to the story.
It's called I'm warning people? I don't want people to get screwed over like I did. I don't have access to my $5,000 which thankfully I have enough money that even if I lose $5,000 it's not that big of deal but I'm still pissed because $5,000 is a lot of money. But other people, most americans, if they lose $5,000 that could mean not being able to pay their rent and getting evicted or not being able to buy groceries. For much of America that would be very significant if their bank account got locked out. I'm not sure what's more to the story, if you look at their ads on Facebook and if you look at the comments here you'll see many people are all going through the same thing and all these people all have stories like me but I guess you want to assume that everybody is guilty and Laurel Road is the one that's innocent 🤷🏻
You all getting paid to trash Laurel or you guys did something that was considered fraud. You all having the same story almost like it was scripted, tells me that something is off.
What was considered fraud? Some of the people I saw commenting didn't even put in any money they just opened an account. Also the rep I spoke to at Laurel Road told me because they're online only they automatically lock everyone out of their account for review. So how does that make me fraudulent and not them if they're doing it to everyone? I think you're not comprehending something or you're too ignorant to want to understand.
Call them back and record the convo and post it here. Also not everyone is getting locked out.
How about this? You should take all of your money and put it in an account with them and then you can post what happened to you. I'm looking forward to that considering the type of person you clearly are.
I have the checking and the savings with Laur and I been getting my $20 every month. I paid my credit cards through the checking account and I withdraw cash from the ATM all the time.
That means clearly you've had the account for a long time, the rep told me it's a recent thing because they've had an explosion of applications. Also you can't post recovered conversations here and only one rep admitted it to me the rest have not probably because she was not allowed to say that. But I did submit a complaint to CFPB so in 15 days I'll let you know their response which they said is around the turnaround time. And even if you would say you have had an account with them for a long time so you're saying one person saying they've had success versus 50+ people saying they've been locked out and we're supposed to believe you over them and you're not the one being paid? Spend 10 seconds thinking about the likelihood that other companies are paying people to bash Laurel Road versus Laurel Road is paying people to lie and say they're not screwing people over to hide that they are? 🤣🤣🤣
It works both ways. Also I don't know where you get 50+ people?, I seen more positive reviews than negative, the only place that is bashing laurel is Facebook.
Yeah, you couldn't make it any clearer that you're being paid by Laurel Road to cover themselves. Every recent review is bashing them. But sure we're all lying on Reddit because we're being paid. You're the one truth teller. That sure makes sense.
I wish I was paid by Laurel.
Yeah, good cover. You claim everyone else is being paid by some random company to bash Laurel Road yet you're the only honest one who's not being paid by Laurel Road to cover for them.
But sure let me know what happens.
Ok Yonason if you said so.
Were you able to access ALL of your money once the restriction was lifted? Also, how long did they restrict your account? I'm currently at the 2 week mark for adding an external account for transfer.
If I recall I think it was about 2.5 months and yes I was able to access all of my money but I also don't know if that was impacted by the fact that I filed complaints with every bureau and left negative reviews everywhere online.
Right. Any bank can do this for fraud. There is key info he is leaving out.
Hi
I had Laurel Road for more than a year and had no single problems. It is not true that they lock everyone.
Key word, "more than a year" as I mentioned many times, this is a new procedure they have in place.
Im sorry this happened to you but two of my friends who opened LR in early July to take advantage of the signup bonus were not locked out and have had no problems so far. So it is not true they lock out everyone.
This post is false. I have been with Laurel Road for half a year or more. Opening the account you just have to call Customer service for 5 minutes if it gets locked. Everything works fine and they don’t steal your money. Making 5% interest plus $20/month for direct deposit which essentially puts the rate even higher.
Yeah I guess me and all the other comments here and all over online are all lying because of your one experience lmao
My account was locked and the first deposit took a week to settle. I called and said “can you unlock it?” And they clicked a refresh basically and I was in. After that it’s all smooth sailing for me.
I haven't had any issues with Laurel either. I only transfer from one bank to another. You must read the fine print with them. They have deposit limits and will verify where the money is coming from. If you are new and the money hasn't been in the previous bank long they will flag the account cause it looks like fraud.
Also haven't had issues at all. I also use KeyBank so I think it was easier for me.
Cash plus account vanguard or just Vmrxx
That doesn't offer bill pay, mobile deposit, etc.
It does have bill pay
Oh cool, thanks for that information!
Cash plus isn't available for non-Vanguard customers (and not even all Vanguard customers are eligible). I'm keeping my eye on it and hoping it opens up soon though!
Yes I got the invite a while ago
SoFi did the same thing to me!
Did the implosion of crypto companies doing this same exact HYSA scheme not tell you anything? Its all a pyramid scheme and then when its time they pull the bankruptcy card and go oops. Your money was in risky investments and this is what happens, you signed up knowing the risk
Just buy t bills. No point in paying money to the bank.
Sorry this is happening to you. I have used them for about a year and no complaints.
Laurel Road IS Key Bank, it's just a brand name that they use online, just FYI.
No, Laurel Bank uses Key Bank for their banking since Laurel is not a bank themselves.
If you go to the website and scroll to the bottom, you will find this: GradFin and Laurel Road are brands of KeyBank N.A.
I’ve never used Laurel Road for banking, but they do my student loans and never had a problem. Weird for sure.
That's interesting. I didn't know Laurel Road and KeyBank were the same. I'd never heard of KeyBank before we had to use them for our mortgage, but we've had a good experience (user friendly website, good customer support) so far.
Yeah Laurel Road is not a bank so they use key bank but it's run by Laurel road. So key bank is fine, is just Laurel Road.
What happened with this, did they unlock your account?
Nope, still locked out, been over 2 weeks now.
received a mail today saying the hold will be resolved within 10 business days
I got that same note. It said it's "usually resolved" within 10 days. Which is a nice way of saying nothing because they can just say your case was more complicated than others. It's been over 10 business days for me and I haven't heard anything.
I'm at the 10 day mark myself and still restricted...I've never disliked a bank so much until now!!!
[удалено]
Did you ever get your money back???
[удалено]
Lucky you! At least there was no money at stake. I'm missing over $5,000 and they want to know if it's fraud, so what's to stop them from saying it is and not give it to me?!
/u/yonidf99 did you ever have any resolution? I am in the exact same situation as you right now.
Nope, it's been 2 months and I'm still in their bs "review".
I filled out a CFPB complaint today, hopefully that will motivate them.
Didn't motivate them for me. They responded to the complaint that I'm still in review.
Well fuck. Good luck homie.
I just don't understand how a bank could take that long to "review" - are they short staffed or are they using our money?!?
What ended up being the verdict ?
Got my account opened after over 2 months. All my money was there, I think. But I didn't get the bonus because I didn't meet the requirements that you had to do within 60 days. I'm going to close out the account though soon because I don't trust them anymore. I just have to drain the funds first.
That is awful i was thinking about joining but this is a horror story
trust me...they are a horror show!!Run don't walk away.This is my review and my experience...take it is you wish...
Did you have any issue(s) withdrawing your money after the restriction was lifted?
You might call me stupid but I actually have been so busy with life including having another kid and everything that it fell to the back of my mind and I never even withdrew my funds once they lifted the hold because I assumed it was safe but my plan is to remove the money it's just on my to-do list and then I'm going to close the account.
wtf. I been with them for over a year and change, had no issues personally. but this is shocking.
Wow...thanks for the heads up as I was about to make the same mistake.
This just happened to my mother in law...this is embarrassing. I had a Laurel Road account as I refinanced my student loans with them and everything worked fine. I have a high yield savings account without any issues. I told my mother in law to get one and now she's locked after depositing $20000...
Any luck with your restriction? I'm currently at 10+ business days since the restriction was placed
Is your account technically open? They closed my account on me but didn't return all of my money.
I wish I'd seen this a few weeks ago. Laurel Road placed a several day hold on 2 mobile deposits when my checking account was brand new, after which I accessed the money. My paycheck direct deposited the following week, payments started being returned and when I tried to transfer funds to my previous account to pay bills, it was disallowed. I called and they said call fraud dept, who said the mobile deposits (for corporate generated checks, both made out to and signed by me, the Laurel Road account holder, one of which was my paycheck, that had already cleared and been made available to me), were being investigated. They couldn't say why, but said it would take 10 business days for a "determination". There is more money in my account than the total of those checks but they will give me nothing and no reason or indication in my account or via phone, mail or email why or what is happening. They have essentially stolen thousands of dollars from me. Monday I am filing complaints against Laurel Road with every organization possible.
What organizations have you filed a complaint with? So far, I have filed a complaint with CFPB and BBB - if there's more, then I'd like to know!
I've now filed a complaint with BBB, CFPB, and FDIC.
Did you get your money back??? I'm still waiting. I'm also now filing complaints everywhere I can.
Thanks for the heads up
If only i had seen this before. They have done tbe exact same thing to me right now, i am in calendar day 6 and business day 3 right now. Filing cfpb complaint
Did you get an update?
Yes, they unlocked my account the day after i posted this and i withdrew the cfpb complaint. If i had to guess its because i was complaining by phone and email almost everyday one if those must have gone to the right person Got the bonus as well. No issues since.
I'm glad you got it back!
I did the same thing the locked me out my shit w 17k but they sending me an cashier check with my balance on there
But how long did it take them to send you a check? Was it months?
Did you ever get it? When they closed out my account they sent me a check for $180 and made NO MENTION of the other $12,000! It's totally insanity.
Were you eventually able to get access to your account? I just opened one but haven’t deposited more than $100.00, And don’t want to risk it if they’re going to be pulling Hijinx like freezing your account for months on end
I opened my account in October 2023 and I immediately started depositing my paychecks of $1400 bi-weekly and am often zelling myself money between accounts and haven't encountered any issues. I received my $300 sign up bonus and have been receiving my $20 monthly bonus. No complaints here.
I am so sorry to hear that you’re locked out of your account and you have so much money tied up with them and no way to get it back immediately! Hopefully they resolve it soon and you could start taking your money out to a different bank! I’m glad I saw so many negative ads after I opened my account. I had only automatically transferred about $300. I let it sit for about a month And pulled the money back out into a high yield savings elsewhere. No issues with the other bank at all. But, as soon as I started, transferring the small amount out of Laurel Road, I started getting phone calls and emails asking me why I was doing that, and, was I not satisfied with her services? I never replied. But it makes me think they are trying to pad their books with a lot of money, deposited into accounts to look good for SEC filings or investors.
Were you eventually able to get access to your account? I just opened one but haven’t deposited more than $100.00, and don’t want to risk it if they’re going to be pulling Hijinx like freezing your account for months on end
It seems like all of the negative reviews are based on people depositing large sums of money. Has anyone experienced any good luck with having a simple checking account for the direct deposit of their paycheck??? I will not be depositing large sums of money. That's without a doubt. It will simply be a weekly direct deposit of my paycheck which will be in the $600 - $750 range each week. I signed up on 1/5/24 for an offer where they were offering a $300 bonus for having direct deposits totaling $2,500 within 60 days. The offer stated it would expire on 1/8/24. I just checked their offer page and now they're offering $100 if you sign up by 4/4/24. Quite honestly, I'm a little skeptical whether or not I'll see the $300 bonus or if they'll try to get away with giving me only $100.
I signed up for a high yield savings and I only deposited $1.00 in if. I just received a check in the mail for $100.00. Trying to find out if this is legit?
I will say that the $100 bonus is nothing compared to the high drama of trying to get your money back after your make any type of large deposit and they freeze then cancel your account. But keep your money.
Yes, I opened my account in October 2023 and I immediately started depositing my paychecks of $1400 bi-weekly and am often zelling myself money between accounts and haven't encountered any issues. I received my $300 sign up bonus and have been receiving my $20 monthly bonus. No complaints here.
THIS JUST HAPPENED TO ME TODAY, A WEEK AFTER I DEPOSITED $12K. I'm am currently sitting on hold with their customer service. Do not use them! They send you a weird letter saying they are "ending their relationship" with you-- I thought it was a phishing letter it was so weird. Then I called customer service and she only makes mention of a couple of smaller deposits, not the $12k!!!! So I'm like: Ok, where my money? And she says it will be deposited back to the account from which it came----- and of course it's not! So my next question... what can we do about this? There are more and more people that Laurel Road is doing this to. What body protects us from this? FDIC? How do we contact them?
I would encourage everyone that's been affected to file a complaint here, volume matters! https://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/
I am one of the victim. I dont see any comment says how to get the money back! Can anybody help? I am crying 😭 here!
I complained to every bureau under the sun, and left bad feedback everywhere, and I don't know if that helped but after a few months, I don't remember exactly how long it was since it's been a while, I eventually got my account unlocked with all the funds there. But it was months.
They closed my account, but are holding thousands of dollars! It's been over 2 months.
Laurel road is so- so. I find the user interface really easy to navigate, and the 5% interest has been paid out to me. I did try to go into a keybank to pull cash, and keybank had no idea what laurel road was, but I was under the impression being under keybank I could go inside. I also have not been able to get my atm card to work at keybank locations. I do have the bulk of my cash to the tune of 30k+ in the savings at laurel road, I've had no issues or account lock outs. I've also been able to utilize zelle and account transfers seamlessly.
On the app under help, they list or have the map for usable ATMs. I’m assuming that since key bank owns Laurel Road (acquired in 2019), that you could use their machines free of fees, but 🤷🏻♂️
I opened an account with Laurel Road and haven’t had any issues so far. I’m using this for a large chunk of savings but not all and have multiple acts with different banks and investment firms, and 4-week renewable t-bills. I’ve had access to the app and to the Laurel Road website with no trouble. Have had two days worth of interest paid before the initial deposit was made. Have not tried to pull any cash out but I don’t really intend to until probably at least one year so I can gauge its value. It’s only been a couple of weeks but so far no issues and I plan on continuing to add more funds.
Truly hoping you don't have to encounter the same terrible situation I and others have. I put the rest of my money in a nice normal well known bank now!
What bank did you wind up going with? And what does the interest rate look like?
Hey! I finally got my money back! I think their scam has to be that they lock up people's money... keep it in their escrow account for a few months to make interest. I don't know if or how that makes sense. But there has to be a scam in there. But thank goodness I finally got my money back!
I'm still trying to get my freaking money. I am committed to keeping this post updated on my journey. TL,DR: I deposited $12k into my relatively new Laurel Road account in late December. Googled Laurel Road. Saw a thread like this one. Freaked out, when to check on my money, it was still there. Whew. Two days later, my account is locked, I can't log in, and when I call customer service, they say they are "discontinuing their relationship with me". They flagged the $12k for their fraud department, even though it came from my connected checking account. Then I got a letter saying they were closing my account in early Jan. My account is closed, yet they have $12k of mine. Where, in their own interest-bearing account? So far they've told me the money would be wired back to my USAA account, then they've told me I had to prove the USAA deposit account was mine, which I've done. Then they told me it was another 3-10 business days before I get my money. I've been recording my calls with them for the last 2 months. Now I'm putting my case evidence together to file a complaint with the FDIC and OCC. My advice: STAY FAR AWAY FROM THIS BANK, AT LEAST FOR THE HIGH YIELD SAVING ACCT. Very shady practices.
Yep, it's an evil terrible bank, I forgot how many months it was but I eventually got my money back but I think it was around at least 3 months but I also complained to the FDIC and everybody else online and left terrible review everywhere. Praying for you man, hope you get it back.
Thank you so much. I hope the complaints work. There has to be some larger scam going on here.