TL;DR I'm forced to pay over $3500 in fraudulent charges
It's sickening that TD Bank has rigid high standards for its cardholders, but will not stand up to extreme credit card fraud. When I opened a credit card in 2023, it was a triumph after initially being rejected in 2018, then spending years building credit. The banker told me to use credit exclusively because it was safer than debit. I have been painfully let down by TD Bank and online banking.
To use mobile banking for my credit card, I had to add an authorized user. This is because the app opens with a pop up. I dismissed it many times, but eventually added the requested information, naming myself as the only authorized user. Since I already had a card, I did not expect another one. A second card was mailed to me without my knowledge. It was stolen. By the next month, there were about $3500 in fraudulent charges on my account. I did not see & report those until four months after the last fraudulent charge.
Last summer was rough for me. I suffered an injury and had ambulance bills. I spent an enormous amount of money on an important move and was packing up my life. My grandmother was ill. I did not have a debit card, so all of my transactions were on credit. The summer's pain dragged on into the fall when I realized my account had been defrauded.
The first fraudulent charge happened so quickly after the card was mailed (six days) that I now doubt it arrived in my locked mailbox. By following up with merchants, I learned that my card was used with a fake ID to buy a phone & a phone line two weeks after it was mailed. None of the agents I've spoken with know for certain how the card was activated, I was told that it had to have been done online. It's unlikely that one of my two devices, a phone and a laptop, was used to activate the card. At the time, I lived alone.
As a user, I expect online banking to flag suspicious activity or at least to clearly show cards and transactions. TD Bank takes no responsibility for stewarding my account from theft & fraud in that way. I was not notified that my account had a second card added to it, so there was a break in the chain of custody. No one was watching the card activity. In comparison, Discover alerts me to card activity daily so that I can review it.
During that difficult summer, I made two mistakes - I interacted with a frequent pop up in my mobile app, and I did not export the PDF statement for June until four months later. The second card is only visible on the PDF export. The pattern of spending on the second card is clearly fraud when I can see it.
The amount demanded is about 10% of my net salary, before rent. I feel gutted - I have lost sleep and appetite due to stress. I had started applying to professional development programs, but will now have to postpone my dreams to pay a thief's debt. TD Bank has continued to charge late fees and interest during the past two months when I have been calling the bank weekly to dispute. To avoid interest, I would need to pay in full with the gift my grandmother left me in her passing. I am crushed.
I acknowledge these agents for helping me - the Harvard Square branch opened my account, the Brighton brank aided my filing a claim. There have been five calls from collections. I received help from customer support agents & a manager. Investigations, Credit Card Services and the chairman of the board team spoke to me at length. These friendly representatives professionally enforced an impassive policy that ground me down until I gave in and began to make payments again.
Today, TD Bank has managed to squeeze about $4000 in fraudulent charges, interest & fees, but has lost a truly lifetime customer. I learned about bank accounts for the first time while on a Girl Scout field trip to TD Bank. I looked for the big green door handles any time my parents took me to the bank. I trusted TD Bank with my checking and savings, but my money is not safe with you. Your process simply isn't justified. It certainly doesn't work for me. My parents are likewise chary about their TD accounts after witnessing the extraordinary way this bank handles fraud.
CFPB Complaint # 231108‐12453638 read more