Fifth Third Bank / 53.com
reviews and complaints

In mid-March 2020, we started the refinancing process with Fifth Third Bank in Cincinnati, Ohio. Chris B. was the Mortgage Loan Processor. From March until we closed on June 11, 2020, it was a challenging process. We informed Chris B. that we wanted the closing costs included in the loan, and he assured us it wouldn't be a problem. At some point, we were informed that our Debt to Income ratio was slightly off, and we needed to pay off a credit card with a balance of $2238 in order to proceed with closing. After some email correspondence, it was decided that the card would be paid off at closing. We received the Closing Disclosure on June 8, which showed that we needed to bring $2238.12 to pay off the credit card, with the remaining closing costs rolled into the mortgage. On June 10, I obtained a cashier's check for the required amount. On June 11, Chris B. called me to inform me that the amount we needed to bring had decreased to $1450 and asked if we could get a new cashier's check. Due to my work as a police officer, I couldn't leave to go to the bank before closing. Mr. Berger said the difference of $787 would be refunded to me by the title company. On June 11, we received an email from Mr. B. stating that we should bring a check for $2237 to closing, but only $1450 was needed. The title company would send a check for the difference. At closing, a woman came to our home and instructed us to sign the documents in blue ink without explaining their contents. I asked her about the check and refund, but she had no knowledge of it. She mentioned that she couldn't print a second copy as her ink cartridge had run out, so I requested her to email me the copies. Later that night, we received the email with the copies of the signed documents. After a few days, I checked the credit card that was supposed to be paid off and found that the balance hadn't changed. I contacted *** from the title company, who informed me that they had no record of paying off a credit card. She also mentioned that my refund of $700+ had been sent to me via ***. I emailed Mr. B. to inquire about it, and he apologized for the oversight and promised to resolve the issue. However, as of June 25, 2020, I still haven't received the refund or had my card paid off, and the bank hasn't provided a resolution. Today, I received an email from Chris Berger stating that we may need to reclose in order to pay off the credit card, as there was a miscommunication between the underwriter and the closing department. He assured me that I wouldn't have to pay for a second closing or bring more money. He explained that the $1450 we were supposed to bring didn't include the credit card payment, and we actually needed to bring $2200. I feel that this entire process has been mishandled. The bank is holding $2200 of our money, I still have to pay the credit card, and they haven't provided satisfactory answers. I am running out of time to seek recourse, as it has already been two weeks since we closed. I refuse to continue being pushed around by a bank that made a mistake and won't rectify it. I have numerous email exchanges with the bank, the Closing Disclosure, and the documents from the title company. Please assist me. Additionally, the bank has not paid the necessary taxes due on July 2nd, despite my two emails reminding them. I will not pay the late fee for that either.

I’ve never financially struggled so badly until I started banking with Fifth Third Bank! Around August 2019 my husbands employer alerted us that his estranged wife/ex business manager was accessing employee bank account information thru company cellphones. She was duplicating payroll checks and running them thru “hidden accounts”. She was also having child support payments taken from my husbands check and sending them to an account owned by her deceased father instead of the child support agency. My husbands employer went to all employees banks including ours, Fifth Third, to attempt to explain her fraudulent actions. Meanwhile we discovered the phone number and address on our online banking information had in fact been changes to hers at some point. We changed it back and alerted Fifth Third of the issue. Fifth Third told my husbands employer that my husband would just need to stop by and sign some papers to move forward with any recovery measures. When my husband attempted to do this the banker told him there were no such papers to sign. My husbands employer chose to file a claim with company insurance to reimburse employees then in turn the insurance company sued said estranged wife. That was fine but Fifth Third basically brushed off our fraud accusations. A few weeks later we got a notification by mail that the address on our account had been changed again. Fifth Third did flag this attempt and warn us so we weren’t completely satisfied but enough so to move on. In 2019 we paid nearly $4000 in overdraft fees. Mind you at our previous bank we went for a few solid years without ever overdrafting. I strongly feel that Fifth Third could singlehandedly break a person. When inquiring about some of the bogus overdrafts I was basically mocked and treated like I was beneath the agents. In November 2019 I made the unfortunate decision to open an early access account. At the end of December my husband was laid off. We had no direct deposits going in therefore our early access payment was not made causing our account to be over-drafted for the amount we owed. The account stayed overdrawn with overdraft fees piling on. My husband had unemployment payments deposited in our accounts which only slightly decreased the overdrafted amount..his first check from new employer almost covered the rest of the overdraft, and finally we got back in the positive with his second check. As you can imagine we were barely keeping our heads above water at that point. Fast forward to March 24th when our tax refund direct deposited into our fifth third account. Fifth third immediately deducted $1041 for the early access account charges. Mind you those charges were paid when our account was overdrawn for the amount. I called customer service and attempted to get a refund but was unable to do so. Fifth Third was advertising covid19 relief yet took a large amount of money out of our account for an early access account that had been settled and closed. In fact my statements reflected the zero balance owed for early access and offered a new credit limit before fully closing said early access account. We must be gluten for punishment because still... we continued banking with fifth third. Now, a few weeks later yet another unresolved issue. I had used the fifth third bill pay to set up a $500 payment to be sent to another bank for a loan payment. When I did this it gave me a delivery date of the following day at which time my account balance decreased $500 and in my transactions it said Fifth Third bank hold $500. It was only when the other bank contacted me did I check again and the scheduled payment date had been moved up to April 23, 2020. I had previously taken screenshots with my phone of the previous expected payment date and the transactions that showed the hold. In the mean time I would receive daily balance text updates from fifth third in which my balance still reflected the reflected the $500 already being taken. Even on Thursday the 23rd Ithe date the payment was scheduled to be made I had a text balance of $635.11. Under the impression that the $500 hold was paid towards my payment I paid a couple more bills then to my surprise on Friday I check my account to find my balance was -$438.11! I immediately start trying to figure out how and why knowing there was a major error somewhere and find that the “fifth third hold” for $500 is no longer showing up on my transactions. Luckily I had taken a screenshot before. We live in a rural area where cellphones service is sparse. I attempt to contact fifth third and kept dropping the call when I was on hold for 15-20 minutes. I again make the mistake of trusting in fifth third and think there’s no way this error won’t be caught and corrected so I let the matter rest for the night. I SHOULDVE KNOWN BETTER! Today I see my account has $24 available. This is because said scheduled payment has been returned unpaid!? Where did the $500 go that was deducted from my account in the first place? And why if said payment was scheduled for the 23rd did it not post to my account until the 24th? Even if the $500 hadn’t already previously been placed on hold and deducted I still had enough in my account the 23rd to cover the payment. Instead I was given an inaccurate balance and still somehow my payment is unpaid? I call customer service today which only caused me more turmoil... I ask to talk to a supervisor thinking I’d have better luck addressing the errors. Wrong! I explain myself at which time he tells me he doesn’t see the $500 hold on my transactions.! I explain that oddly enough I no longer see it either but I do in fact have screenshots to verify my claim. Again, the supervisor disagrees and talks to me in a condescending manner causing me to completely lose my cool like never before. Once I get myself pulled together and think he’s helping me he finally says are you there? I say yes. He says are you doing some research or something? I say no, I thought you were? He says “Nah, why would I be doing any research?” I’m still flabbergasted that this is how a Fifth Third agent handles their calls. We conclude the call by him telling me that “I don’t wanna listen so I just need to step inside a local branch.” Sure thing...I’ll do that during this pandemic in which we have stay at home orders! No problem! So here I am, at a loss. A family friend who happens to be an attorney advised me that he could build a case off of the fraud negligence. But honestly we don’t even want the trouble. I’d simply like to know why my $500 payment is showing returned? And my $1041 put back in my account!

I am sharing this review, ironically, during the celebration of National Consumer Protection Week. My business has been a customer of the downtown Fifth Third Bank branch for approximately 20 years. Fifth Third failed to protect our funds from an account takeover via a "check-washing" theft (involving the changing of payor's name, and obvious forgery of signatures). Unfortunately, despite immediately reporting the theft, it happened more than once (June, 2023, and December 2023). Fifth third failed in its most basic duty --- keep the funds safe and secure. To add insult to injury, Fifth Third then denied our requests for reimbursement. The runaround and bureaucracy at Fifth Third is atrocious. Fifth Third failed in its legal duty to secure and protect the consumer, and failed to reimburse. Upon further research, it appears that this is a pattern and practice by big banks across the country. See recent lawsuit by NY AG against Citibank. See Senator Sherrod Brown's Senate Committee on Banking. We have asked for copies of all documents supporting their denial of our request for reimbursement. Fifth Third so far is silent. We have filed complaints with the regulatory agencies, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Office of Comptroller of Currency. We have also filed with the BBB. I encourage similarly situated consumers at Fifth Third to do the same. #53Better. Here is our story. https://tinyurl.com/2p87exdy

https://tinyurl.com/mtz67yy2

https://tinyurl.com/mr3p4tdu

My husband has banked with Fifth Third for nearly a year. He has had 10X the problems that I've had with PNC and I've been banking them for over 12years. It seems as if every month he has to call customer service and subject himself to hours of just plain ignorance. I say that because maybe they have a lot of uneducated customer service representatives working for them. Most of which don't seem to have common sense, let alone common knowledge as to the bank's policies or resolutions to any problems for that matter. I mean he usually has to speak with a number of them on any given phone call. They constantly hang up on him, he has to repeat his self over and over. sometimes they are rude. He is then inconvenienced at no fault of his own. They always want to cut his debit card off and send him a new one. I can't tell you how many unauthorized charges that he has had. One time it was $230 in less than a month. On the 27th of Jan. he had to call again and this time he had calculated fraudulent charges on his account since December and the grand total being around $909. Usually they go ahead and credit you before the investigation. Given the amount I guess they waited for legitimacy of the claim. He just talked to them again today wondering why he hasn't got it back. The lady told him it would be deposited tomorrow. Not only do I believe they have unfair practices but They obviously have data security breaches as well. he never uses his card when we are out only his IPhone which I know to be secure if the software is up to date. Any other IPhone user would vouch and tell you the same. So no one is getting his info from a card reader or anything. It clearly falls back on the bank. We aren't rich, he is a hardworking middle class taxpaying citizen and that hurts financially when it is that much money at a time. I dont care who you are, you shouldn't have to constantly watch your money to know that it is safe with any financial institution. Who has time for that?! He is on his 6th or 7th and I mean LAST debit card, currently. We have had enough! Shame on you fifth third!

Faith and third in Evansville they are rude on first Ave and don't care about their customers me and my father can't get are accounts unlocked I'm on his account pluss I have my own we went online and bought some things they said it was fraud razy we've had nothing but problem s with them it's a sorry [censored] bank if they are not unlocked by Tuesday were contacting are attorneys nothing but crap every month with them it's the worst in Evansville Mike masterson /larry masterson father and son

I deposited a $3200 check from my Old National Bank on Dec. 13 to 5/3 Bank. On Dec. 14 the check cleared from Old National (funds withdrawn), then 5/3 Bank locked my account. I then went to the Woodridge, Il. branch to see what was going on. We spoke to the fraud dept. and they said they were looking into it. That was on Dec. 14. It now is Dec. 20 and my account is still locked.

That money was for my mortgage, which has not been paid because of 5/3 Bank. I have no money, can not even buy food.

Both checks are in my name with same address on both, how can that be fraud?

In 2016 someone took a fraudulent mortgage out on mother's home she tried to get them to investigate and stop it I have a copy of the bogus contract with fake signatures her house was just about paid for and they took out a loan for more then the value of the house and no appraisal. Tried to get remedy but unfortunately she was on her death bed when she found out and we couldn't get any help from the trenton police. So they stole the mortgage money and the house. But I'm not done I'm going get you figured out because that was wrong took advantage of a dieing customer

We paid off our car on 10/18/2023 - I went to the branch on 10/19 to see if I could get a lien release letter to bring to DMV to get my title as I have a buyer for my car and I need to get my title. I was given a letter, but DMV will not accept the letter. I spoke to multiple people at 5/3 and they said that the process to release the lien with DMV takes 10 business days. How in today's electronic world does this take 10 business days? Once the loan is paid (money was electronically sent bank to bank) why would it take 10 business days to release the lien. This will hold us up from selling the vehicle to well over 2 weeks and will cause us to take time off to go to DMV to request a fast title release as it will take another 2 weeks and US Postal to get us our title.

In today's modern world, this should be a simple transaction. I will go back to the big Banks such as Chase/Bank of America who seem to be in the new century with modern technology.

The problem started on 10-22-23 at 3 PM I have called the phone number [protected] on that date but no one there to talk. Then today about 8:10 AM I got some one that was very nice but I could not under stand. Then I went by my branch , they said there was nothing they could do. They said I needed to call Disputes at [protected]. I could call the white House and talk to Joe Biden quicker. This is some of the sorriest service I have ever gotten. If you call this easy , I hope I never see what you call hard. Richard Skaggs [protected]

5/3 sent me a letter telling me that my accounts will be closed down. No reason or fraud activity whatsoever that has been done. I've been a member for 32 years and this is how they treat good customers! I purchased a house as an investment which I had saved years for and paid cash for. I took money into the bank and also withdrew the remaining funds needed out of one of my accounts to get a certified check from the bank to take to the realty company. There is nothing wrong or illegal doing that! I've worked hard for what I have and this is how a personal bank sees me after 32 years. They can keep ripping people off with bad interest rates and very very poor customer service. You can call the 5/3 branch in trenton ohio any day of the week and nobody picks up the phone ever! I walk in and nobody is usually doing anything! The worst part is, the bank manager knows me personally and knows for a fact that nothing fraud is happening and just says it comes from corporate to pass the blame... Joke of a place to do business! I guess because I don't owe them on loans or other financial situations and have great credit they must see me as a problem. This bank is a joke! They aren't for customers, there an institution that takes advantage of less fortunate people with raising interest rates and [censored]ty customer service. Somehow after 32 years as a customer, they are closing my accounts with no explanation of actually what was done wrong... Because there was nothing wrong done!

I made reservations at Davis Motel for 9-15-23 and 9-16-23. Applied to my credit card on 9-4-23 in amount of 174.64 and unknown fee of 19.99. Inadvertently my husband paid the bill at the office with his Visa. Bill from motel states 126.52. His credit bill stated 161.00. No problem there. However, I filed a complaint # C23093195379 on my master card with Fifth Third. My phone # [protected]

Thank you for your time and expertise.

They hold my insurance money due to house fire. Their process takes 17 days to get to me. So ive been waiting on check since june. I call weekly saying I havent got yet. Today they inform me it was cashed. So now it fraud and it was cashed 3 days after they wrote it so it never their building. Endorsement not even right. & they tell me nothing on it

Oh my God. I received a check from my home owner's insurance to replace my roof on 7/7/23 and that very day I priority mailed it to Fifth-third Bank ... attn: Draft Department as sadly the check was made out to me AND fifth-third bank. I had to call several times to get a proper address from someone whose first language was English. Many calls later, I was told that the latest I would receive my check back was August 7, 2023. After the mail ran Aug. 7th (of course no check) I called them AGAIN. My check was being held as there wasn't a contractor's worksheet or something. I explained that I had not separated the check from all 20 or so pages that had come with it and surely, they had everything that they needed. He calls to the 'upload department' and gets back on the phone with me ... and indeed they did have it and as it was their mistake, he would ask his supervisor if they could 'overnight' me my check. I'm so grateful ... premature. Another call: 'so sorry for the miscommunication - he wasn't aware of our mailing departments procedure...'. It's now August 10th ... another check of the UPS tracking number still shows label created. Another call ... oh it will go out today. It's noon. Just checked UPS website; label created. It's still in Ohio and not at all on its way to me in Arkansas.

Deposit of $68,000 from sale of property on July 31 in to checking rejected as funds not available but showing same next day on-line. Transferred deposit of $68,000 from checking to Equity account causing an overdraft problem. New deposit of $68,000 made August 4, 2023. I need to stop the original transfer from checking to Equity, but unable to do so. Local branch has no authority to intervene. Having to change auto pay accounts as I cannot access the $2,500 in our account to stop insufficient funds notice. Senior citizen needing help please.

I called on 8/3/23 it files a dispute and the rep that I spoke told me they were unable to file a dispute and told me to recontact the merchant again. But before calling I spoke with the merchant and wasn't able to get any assistance on a card transaction. The rep at 53 disputes had me provide all the information in regard to rep just to informed me that she still refuses to file the dispute on a merchant took a payment that was posted to account that was close that I didn't or was informed it was closed. The charge was for $267.82. I was never notified before processing a payment my capital on account was no longer active. I called the merchant capital one and they are not able to tell me where the payment went to.

Fifth Third Bank took double mortgage payments from my bank account from September 2022 to May 2023 despite weekly calls to report this and try to resolve the issue. They did not apply any of the funds they took then reported me as delinquent to the Credit bureau saying I had not paid my mortgage, when in fact I paid double the mortgage amount for 9 months! I spoke with countless agents and supervisors all who opened tickets and escalated them to the "back office" promising it was their error, they would resolve it and I would receive a call within 3 business days. Nothing has been resolved, overage funds in the amount of $24,537.77 have not been returned to me and no one has ever called me back or provided any update on the open ticket investigations.

So, I got this SBA Loan for my bussiness about three months ago from Fifth Third Bank (53.com). I was so excited to finally get the funds I needed to help my bussiness grow. But, to my surprise, my funds were immediately held by the bank without any specific reasons. I tried everything, contacting the bank, going to the bank, getting a lawyer, but still NOTHING. It's been more than 3 months now, and I haven't used a single dollar for my bussiness. My bussiness is getting worse, and I am watching all these funds, and I don't have access to it. It always goes back to some person named Barbara who is "in charge" of my funds. I got her phone number, which by the way she never answers. I reached out to her only once (after repeatedly calling like 40 times), where she didn't even introduce herself, just an immediate raise of voice, and threat. Threat? Please, I don't know where else to go, who to talk to, what should I even do? Not to mention that the bank hasn't called me not even once for these 3 months.

I am so disappointed with Fifth Third Bank (53.com). I thought they were a reputable bank, but now I am not so sure. It's frustrating to see my bussiness suffer because of their incompetence. I don't understand why they would hold my funds without any explanation. It's not like I have a history of defaulting on loans or anything like that. I am just a small bussiness owner trying to make ends meet.

I have been trying to get in touch with someone from the bank, but it seems like no one cares. I have left countless messages, but no one has bothered to call me back. It's like they have taken my money and forgotten about me. I am at my wits' end, and I don't know what else to do.

In conclusion, I would not recommend Fifth Third Bank (53.com) to anyone. They have been nothing but a headache for me, and I wouldn't want anyone else to go through what I am going through. I hope they can resolve this issue soon, but I am not holding my breath.

My experience with 5th 3ed Bank has been really bad. They put holds on checks that I deposited into my account twice. Both times, the check cleared the bank it was written on within a couple of days, but the holds remained for a long time. The first time it happened, it took over five weeks for me to get my money. This time, it's been 10 days and I'm still waiting. They say the money will be available on a certain day, but the hold doesn't go away. They give me another date, but the hold is still there.

When they did it to me the second time, I immediately emptied my savings account with them, cancelled my credit card, and I'm waiting for the money to clear so I can close my checking account.

I found out that fifth third Bank is ranked number four by the consumer financial protection bureau as the most complained about financial institution in America, even though they're not one of the top 100 largest banks.

I don't recommend this bank to anyone. They don't seem to care about their customers and they make it hard to access your own money. It's frustrating and stressful to deal with them. I hope others can avoid the same problems I had.