Fifth Third Bank / 53.com
reviews and complaints

I have the same card and got it in the mail after purchasing a condo through 5/3rd. I never use the card only kept it to rebuild my credit. I just received a balance of 94 dollars on my card for yearly fees.
I am really pissed and would like to help with the class action lawsuit.

After purchasing my condo, I received a letter asking if I wanted to split my mortgage payments and pay half every two weeks instead of one monthly because it would save me money. Sounds great only 5/3rd signed me up with a bill payment agency. In order to drop them and accept the bi-weekly offer I have to pay $275 to stop the bill pay agency. 5/3rd should have disclosed this information at closing, if they were really concerned about its custumers and saving me money in the long run.

Thanks for sharing.
Linda S. in Ohio

It happened to me. I was told by the fifth third bank personnel that they would provide a overdraft protection and I nodded in agreement. A few days later I get the rejection mail and a couple of phone calls from fifth third bank personnel again offering the same service. Days go by and nearly 2-3 weeks later I get this Fifth Third Optimum Gold card and without paying a lot of attention to it I follow the instructions on the card to activate it. Later when I called I was told that the card is not from Fifth Third bank but a third party on behalf of Fifth Third and that they are charging a yearly fee to maintain the card.

This is ridiculous. Why and how and with whose permission did Fifth Third divulge personal information to third party. I have really not paid a lot of attention to the issue, but i sure am pissed at what happened. Taking a legal recourse is a time consuming option which is scarce.

I am looking to start a class action law suit but need your story http://closeyourbankaccount.blogspot.com/

Wow. I am NOT a 5/3 bank customer, and I came on here just to find out if it's an ok bank. Based on this feedback and my own limited experience with the bank, I'm running away from them as fast as I can. I just today received a mailer from them promising $200 with a new account. I called the number and it was really a trick to lob more than a dozen solicitations at me for everything from magazines to medical alert devices to insurance, and I believe it would have kept going if I hadn't given up and disconnected the call. I went on their website to see if I could learn more about the promotion, and there was nothing there. I called customer service, and no one would talk to me without me first giving them my social security number, even though I am not a current customer.

How is this bank still in business?

Just last week 5/3 (Fifth Third Bank) charged me $444 in overdraft fees in one day. There was about $4000 in my account, its a busy business account. Traveling, I used the debit card on several occasions earlier in the week to pay for trip expenses. In one night a $3000 check and a $1000 check went through, leaving an overdraft amount around $1000. In the morning when the bank opened, I called them and said I would be in directly after a morning appointment to make a deposit to cover the overdraft amount. I made a deposit of $1380 at 1030 that morning. There were 11 transactions that went through on the same date as the checks. Several of these were actually charged/purchased by me in the preceding days. The overdraft fee is $37.

So for what is actually an overdraft on one check, the bank justifies charging their customer 12 overdraft fees. It didn't end there. The next day the charged me another $185 in fees and another $30 in fees. The next day another $6 fee. The next day another $18. The next day another $37 even though a $4875 wire transfer was received prior to the fee. Who knows why.

So if one doesn't agree or pay the fees, they are written off on the Checkcare System (or similar) and can not open a new account. I had several accounts with Firth Third to deal with the several boats that I manage. They have snowballed overdrafts on me before by

1) Debit Card Purchases - Even though the amount is deducted from the available balance, when the charge is made, they put the charge through 1 - 4 days later, pretty much it seems waiting for a larger check to go through, and then charge an overdraft fee on it.

2) Reordering Transaction Order - 'We put the largest transactions through first' is their story and this benefits us. ### is thick here. The only reason they reorder transactions is to screw their customer and take our funds. There is no better definition of bottom sucking ### than the execs who think that in the long run this isn't going to bite them in the ###.

3) So many overdraft fees and delayed and reordered transactions almost certainly guarantee them a much greater possibility of substantially more overdraft fees, daily over the limit fees, and whatever other fees they make up.

I moved over a year ago and Fifth Third lost my address. Finally they sent me a notice several months ago saying they had closed my account down and taken my remaining balance through fees. Apparently it works well to wait to notify a client until after you have cleaned him out.

Your not the only one!

I am looking to start a class action law suit but need your story http://closeyourbankaccount.blogspot.com/

I have lawyers interested in filing a class action lawsuit against Fifth Third Bank for Predatory Overdraft Fees and Unethical business practices. Please send your story along with and proof you may have to Sue53Now@GMX.com

dont write checks or use your debit card if you dont have funds. add deposits subtract debits, seems pretty easy to me, and doesnt really sound like the banks fault at all. im sure you received disclosures when you opened the account so you should have known what would happen if you were overdrawn. Last time i checked a bank is a business, they want to make money, and they didnt make you write checks that you didnt have funds to cover. its sucks for you but im just saying.

This is exactly what they did to us! We were with First Charter for over 6 years and then 53 bought them out. They actually post the larger amount items first no matter what the order they come in. And yes they charge overdraft fees on pending charges! This bank is all about the money! The branch managers are cowards too, would not return our calls or see us in the branch locations! I hope God blesses the VP's, and Presidents of 5/3 banks!

I was ripped off by fith third I have filed a small claim law suit if everybody did thiss it would cost the bank more than they are making with here fees and the would stop

I agree whole heartedly. I loved first charter. 53 bank is the worst I have ever used. The ridiculous charges are just the tip of the iceberg. This is the worst merger since Wachovia/First Union.

I have never had such unhelpful operators or online sites in my life. Although all of my fees were refunded, they were reapplied at midnight, because the refunds hadn't posted yet.

This is the worst bank I have ever had the displeasure of letting take my money.

I am leaving immediately. Good Riddance 5th 3rd. Go back to St.Louis.

Thank GOD they are going under. What a nasty dishonest bunch of criminals. Nice to see people lined up to close accounts.

We were in a tornado and our insurance cut us check with our name and 5th 3rd. And weeks later we have still not seen the money. Every Time we call they tell us lie after lie. We have done all they ask of us but we have not got any help. They are also rude.

(1) Fifth Third didn't pay my 2008-09 taxes because they inadvertently froze my escrow account during a refinancing process.

(2) Despite assurances they would pay late payment fee penalties due to the treasurer's office, Fifth Third paid the penalties from my escrow - information I found out only incidentally when I called regarding the status of my account - and two supervisors refused to reverse the payment, insisting i was responsible for my taxes. A third supervisor finally agreed with me.

(3) I have just been informed that I have an escrow shortage of $4405 that once paid will result in a $70 increase in my mortgage payments - this despite my taxes actually having gone down!

I got letter saying my escrow was 3 grand d short. And they raisin my pmts to 1450 a month...1600 if I don't pay the 3 grand in 2 weeks! I'm going in To meet someone. Not leaving til its fixed. I lived in my house a year so far... they messed with the wrong hombre.

I have a mortgage account with 5/3rd Bank which was established in August of 2008. I received a letter along with a bill in the mail, in February, stating my escrow account was short about $2, 000.00. I called customer service mortgage department and could not get a valid reason for this shortage. I was also told during the telephone conversation that my escrow account had a negative balance, which was lower, in October. October was when my 1st mortgage payment was due. I then decided to call the lender that opened the account and she stated it was due to homeowners' insurance and taxes. I asked why I wasn't informed sooner and how could this have happened within a few months. No one wants to be bothered and I'm constantly given the same explanation by customer service who will not allow me to speak to anyone else such as a supervisor or manager. I also, have been requesting bank statements of payments for the account and still haven't received them. I now realize how some people lose their homes.

my BSNL broadband connection is not work properly...
Error is =>password & user name incorrect...so please help me to start my connection I wait only more 2 day only...
my connection is down last 15 day...help me

Thanks to 'Freedom of Speech', so that we may spare others the same misery.
I too have decided to bank elsewhere for the lack of customer service, and 'attitudes '
I have encountered at some drive-up service windows.
Too often I have gone to the ATM machine to withdraw cash from my account, only to find
it is 'out of service', and without a sign posted to tell you in advance.
I went into the lobby to use my debit card, and they wouldn't accept it, instead wanted to charge me a $3.00 fee for a counter check, to take cash from my account.
I do not carry my checkbook with me, and have been a customer at this local bank
for over five years.
Why should it cost me, when their machine is not in working order. And why are they in the banking business anyway ?
Maybe some of them " should quit their day job", and give us a break !

I am in total agreement with you. Thank you for sharing this with us.
We know exactly how you feel...
In the name of "Freedom of Speech" here is my experience with this same bank.
Two months ago I had an awful experience with this bank also.
Even though it was their mistake, I had a debit charge for a purchase I made for merchandise,
taken out of my account twice.
The local chainstore gave this bank more than enough proof, eletronically, and verbally,
after many phone calls to this bank, to let them know it was the banks error. I gave a computer generated copy of the transaction to the bank, from this same store, and they also received another copy of this transaction from the store.
It was so clear, yet I had to initiate a dispute, which even after ten business days, and in actuality fourteen days, no credit was received. No call either, no word from this bank, as to
why they were holding back my money. Four days later I refused to sign a new dispute for the same problem, and I demanded my money back. Four days pass, and after many calls and wasted time spent on the phone, they credit my account with the correct amount. Two days after this, they decide to remove the money from my account, and never even tell me they are doing so. I call to ask why they did this, and am told they are looking into the matter again.
This amount was for almost $350.00, I am not talking pocket money !
After many calls to this bank and demands for my money to be rightfully given back to me, they take four more days to credit it to my account. Now I see two credits appear, and I see
they are more confused then I thought...and they are "bankers"...Hmmmmm...
I took my $350.00 out of that account, left their $350.00 error in there, which they acted quickly upon, and took it out the next day. Obviously their money matters to them, and
" mine didn't ", is the message I got. To keep this account would mean that I would have to monitor it 24/7, to avoid errors of theirs that might be very costly to me... and perhaps have to go through this again in the future. No Thanks ! Needless to say I bank elsewhere now, and this bank is in the past, where it will stay for good. This was so unfair, and was a great inconvenience for me and my family, at a time when school was starting, and money was greatly needed!
A week after this was over, I received a letter from their home office,
which was postmarked two weeks after I received my first credit, and mailed five days after they printed it, and received another five days later. It said " we cannot credit your account, as the local store issued you a credit ". All in all this is almost a month later !
In closing they stated the following message at the bottom of their letter to me, which reads...
"For information on our products and services, stop by any of our Banking Centers, or visit us online. We'll show you how the things you do today can bring you closer to a better tomorrow"... Thanks but no thanks !
I ALREADY FIGURED THAT ONE OUT FOR MYSELF...

Fifth Third Bank is stealing from us. We had a car loan from a GM dealer and 5 3 would not let us pay it off. They refused to give us the account number so that we could pay it off. Before the first payment was due, we paid over 95% of the loan amount. this was the amount they told us was due. They next harassed us on Saturday, threatening us that we were in default. We finally overpaid the loan.
We also had an extended warranty which we immediately cancelled three days after getting the loan giving us a total refund. This was part of the loan we had with 5 3 bank. They were to refund this warranty cost in full. We never received the refund check. After many calls to 5 3 bank in which they said a check was sent, they told us another check was being sent. We received a check dated the day after that last call. We deposited it in our local bank. Two weeks later, 5 3 bank stopped payment on the check effectively stealing money out of our account. Not only that, our bank charged us a fee for this. We have been calling 5 3 bank for a week and they keep giving is the run around. This is common theft. They have no intention of giving us our money back. They will not let us talk to anyone but a telephone screener.
My advice is to run as fast as you can from Fifth Third Bank. If not, you will regret it.
Alex Peele, Olathe, K S

Call the BBB in your area and see if you can get $500.00 for lost time at work and give half of it to your boss.

I love working there. Hours are great, over time is always an option, tons of vacation, great pay, bonuses are great and easy to get if you are GOOD at your job. Most of this complaint seems to be sour grapes as far as hiring.

Bogus! There is more to this story that is not being said obviously...cry me a river

The lack of logical thinking by both the teller and her manager was obvious. My friend lost her ID and asked me to help her cash a check from her student loan. I currently have 3X the amount of the check to be cashed in my checking account. I have been banking with 5/3 for 8 years. The teller refused to cash her check to us because she had no picture ID to confirm she was who the check said she was. The various other IDs she had available (w/o picture) and the word of this loyal customer of 8 years, with enough $ in his checking account to cover the third party chac weren't enough to help us out. Basically, for the idiotic staff that practice "no logical thinking" my word wasn't good enough to vouch to identify my friend. Why does anyone banking with them for more than 8 years and enouigh $ in their checking account would want to defraud them by depositing in their account a third party check from a "ghost" individual. Again, these people shoewed no compassion for the extrenuous circumstances or motivation to help a loyal customer. I'm closing all accounts in the next few days and move to another bank that provides intelligent employees to interct with customers. I have no time to deal with idiots, making me waste my time and who can't thgink outside the box making customer to feel being treated like delinquents!.

Whereas you ought to have been more careful regarding automatic bill-payment withdrawals, I sympathize with your having been charged multiple (lumped) fees for what ought to have been regarded as a single overdraft event. My complaint is similar, but related, in that Fifth Third Bank charges very high interest, relative to prime, to credit card customers (13.99 / 24.99% to me currently), uses customers' deposited funds at no cost to them, then charges multiple service fees within debit card accounts: $11.00 Monthly Service Charge; $3.95 World Debit Monthly Fee. And whereas the monthly service charge is waived if conditions are met ($500 per month in direct deposits, for example), I still doubt the equity between fees and cost of service, virtually all of which is done electronically. Or have electrons just become that expensive? Here's the (very rough) math: If I have on deposit, on average, $1, 000 (not a lot of money these days), and Fifth Third charges the lower credit card interest rate (13.99%; up from 12.99% a year ago), they make well over $1, 500.00 per year on my money, while charging me almost $50 per year just to use the debit card, not to mention the nearly $1, 500.00 or so per year they're charging me on credit card balance. Add to that the transaction fees they charge merchants (4% on $20, 000 of transactions = $800; that's $3, 800.00 per year for one customer's two stinkin' cards! I plan to pay off my 5/3 credit card asap; shop for a better provider and quit using credit / debit cards whenever possible. I'm fed up with feeling like this bank has me by the short hairs.

This happened to me also, Although I had much more in my account when I deposited $4, 000.00 in my account on Monday Morning. 5-05-08. The deposit is held until the next morning. meanwhile I had about 2, 300.00 in incoming debits all in varing amounts. The bank "Batched them all and now I was overdrawn. They charged me 264.00 in fees and did not even touch my overdraft protection. Some of the debits could have cleared, but they just lumped them all together and screwed me. Well, I am pulling my personal accounts, my IRA, my business accounts, and whatever else I have with them.

Bye bye Fifth Third.

We live in Galien Michigan and refinance our home to have a new home put on our property that we have resided on for 25 years. Come to find out a year after we have lived in our new home fifth third forclosed on our home and sold it in a sherriff auction with them rebuying the home w/o even letting us know. We cash our payroll checks there every week and visiting the same branch for the last 52 weeks we never were told that there was anything wrong with our mortage. Now it's been almost a year and we have called the bank everyday twice a day location after location and no one gives us advice on how to keep our home. We find this a little odd as we never were given notice no letters nothing the only notice we did get is that in the local paper on a sunday morning that our house was in a sheriff auction for monday. We have tried so many times to ask them for copies of our statements and they wont give them to us. We thought maybe the payments were being place accidently in another account with the same name but nothing. I have two children and am married but my grandmother raised my mother on this property I was raised here and not all I wanted was to raise my children here and we didn't even get a Hey Mrs. Beadle there's a problem with you mortage. I have been members else where and if you were a couple days late on a payment they would tell you. I asked them the phone number that they had for us and it was a number that had never been ours which was a typo for them as we have had the same phone number for years. Something fishy is happening and you would think when we are telling them we will pay the mortage and they say no somethings gotta give. Maybe since we refinance we only owed 20K on the house they will beable to make some money back. Why else would they re buy the home at the auction. Fifth Third Bank is Unruly and has many faults but I would have never thought they would go this far. Maybe the President of the company should think if this was his daughter in our shoes. Maybe will just take the house from her without giving her any answers
Galien, Michigan

Please let me know if you found an attorney. I have a similar compaint against 53 and how they handle their overdrafts. I was charged 269.00 in over draft fees because of the way they pay their charges I was charged for 7 overdrafts when I should have only been charged for one. Because they pay the largest amounts first then the smallest amounts last. Which can cause you to get charge more in over draft fees. They say they do this to help their customer but they do this because 9/10 times this will benefit them in fees. Again I would have only had to pay one over draft fee instead of 7 if they would have processed the payments in the order they came in.

Still in 2011 things have not changed. I am 90 days into being in contract and still have not closed on the home, and 5/3 just wanted there 3rd extension. It seems like they don't do there job until a day or two before closing and come up with something they missed and need right now or something I have already given them and need it againg because they first time it was misplaced. This has been the most frustrating experience and I wouldn't ever recommend anyone to do business with them. If I didn't have so much time invested in it, I would tell them to stick it!

Working for an agent who's buyer is using Fith Third for Mortgage...file has been in underwriting for "3 weeks"...will tell all REALTORS to stay away from this company.

This bank is screwing me on my auto loan. I am unable to talk to anyone. The operators send me in circles and ultimately I end up right where I left off...no where. They tell me three different things at any given moment. They will not give me a pay-off amount. They wont deposit my checks for weeks at a time. I found a fifth third bank in roswell, georgia and plan on visiting there in person. Maybe that will help but I doubt it.

We're doing a short sale, or so I thought. It seemed to be going along in the disfunctional way we thought it would...but that was o.k. and expected. In the end, when we thought we had it all worked out, boom...it's time to make the sellers life a living hell. I'm not going to go into details but take my word for it they'll find a way to make it "not work". Having delt with them for a few weeks I find it hard to believe they can function at all. Want to complain about it? Hey, maybe go to someone in charge who can "really" make things happen? Good luck. You'll never get to that person. It will take you hours on the phone just trying to get some meaningful help. The people at the top don't want to hear from you. In fact, they so much "don't" want to hear your problems they don't even give their phone operators access to their office. The only way you're going to get to them is to parachute in!

I agree with your assessment of 5/3 professionalism and follow through. I had a mortgage with them and after falling behind in ayments due to medical leave from work- my home went into foreclosure. I wanted to work with them and they said - on a number of occasions when I called that they were reviewing my file. In the end they NEVER contacted me to set up a repay agreement or loan modification and ultimately I lost my home. Pass along to your prospective buyer that 5/3 is crap and not to EVER use them. They don't care about the family applying for the mortgage - all they want is to make the money even when it is not there.