ATLANTA — A Georgia man said $2,000 mysteriously disappeared from his bank account with the newly-formed Truist Bank, and he didn't get it back until he called 11Alive.
Steve Ware wasn't the only person who was having banking issues in recent months. From fraudulent withdrawals to long wait times, customers who used to bank with Suntrust and BB&T said they're having issues as the companies merge to form Truist Bank.
"It was frustrating for the last month and a half," Ware, a former customer for SunTrust bank said.
Ware said his patience ran out, so he reached out to 11Alive and described how $2,000 mysteriously disappeared from his account. He said it happened around the time SunTrust sent a notification to customers asking them to limit how they used their accounts the weekend of Feb. 18 while the bank merged with BB&T to form Truist.
"That weekend we intentionally used cash for everything," he said.
Ware said when he checked his account the following Tuesday he noticed the money was missing.
He immediately called his local bank but says they couldn't figure out what happened either. What's worse, he says, is that he didn't hear from anyone again for more than a week.
"They're swamped," he said. "You call in you can't get anybody or you're on hold forever."
11Alive received several emails with much of the same concerns.
One viewer wrote in and said someone used a fraudulent check to withdraw money and left them $600 in the negative.
Bank customers also wrote in and complained about long wait times over the phone, some saying they were put on hold more than four hours. Others were flabbergasted over missing money and being told it would take 30 days to get it back.
Truist Bank did not immediately respond to questions prior to this story's publication Tuesday, but later provided the following response:
Protecting our clients and their accounts is a top priority for us. Truist takes instances of fraud very seriously and we go to great lengths to detect and prevent fraud, including providing prompts within the user experience to help clients identify red flags that may indicate scams.
Industry-wide, the Federal Trade Commission reported consumers lost more than $3.3 billion to fraud in 2020—a more than 80% increase from 2019. That’s why we’re committed to educating our clients on how to keep their accounts and personal information safe and secure to help prevent fraud. We provide tools, tips, and resources on our website that clients can visit to learn more.
- Learn how to protect your accounts and information
- Learn how to protect against fraud
Also, in a prior statement sent to 11Alive's sister station, the institution acknowledged some customers would not be able to use their new Truist debit card for a few hours after activating it. The bank added that they were working to restore services and apologized for the inconvenience.
Full statement below:
"As part of our transition to Truist, some clients—after activating their new Truist debit card—are experiencing a delay of up to a few hours before they are able to use it. Our teams are working diligently to restore these services, and we encourage our clients to visit Truist.com where we're posting updates. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused for these clients and appreciate their patience as we transition SunTrust products to Truist."
Ware said after getting 11Alive involved, the missing $2,000 is now back in his account as of Tuesday afternoon.
"I said look, 'I told you last week I was calling 11Alive and they said we'll get back with you,'" Ware said. "About a half-hour ago, 45 minutes ago I get this text message that everything was in sync."