FINAL UPDATE: Suntrust Froze (Update: Cancelled) My Accounts!

[usatc]

So I used to order two boxes of halves a month from Suntrust and then they decided to stop ordering them for me because "it cost too much". Because of this I found another bank and after making friends with the head teller who orders I learned I can order as much as I want b/c they pay a flat order/pickup fee. I have been moving about $6,000 a month of halves for the last three months (I mainly deposit at Suntrust branches because they stopped ordering for me) and today I tried to deposit and cash $1,000 in halves at a Suntrust and after waiting 20 minutes was told that I couldn't exchange my halves for cash.

I deposited $3,000 in cash from other boxes I had deposited (I spread deposits between banks to not overload them) before I left and on the way home talked to my wife who said she couldn't access our accounts online. I called and was told that I had some sort of freeze on my account where I can't withdraw money (but they let me deposit my money and didn't mention I couldn't touch it). Calling this evening I was told that the department that put a freeze on my account was closed until Monday. I only deposit to one account but both of our accounts are now frozen!

I have never had a single dollar short in boxes I deposited and don't know what's going on. Can anybody help!?!


***** Update ******

I've been trying to figure out the issue with their customer service and they told me I have a "No Debit" hold on my account. I have nothing negative against my account and that "it is strange there are no notes on why this is against your accounts".

Yay Suntrust.

***** Update ******

The customer service supervisor said they can't help me because the department that would help me is closed until Monday. I did find out that my local bank in my neighborhood (the manager to be exact) is the one who put this "No Debit" hold on my account (it's been there since at least Monday, with no notification to me). I got the regional manager's address to send them a complaint and will go to the branch Monday and close our savings account and leave the other open with a minimum balance... from now on rather than depositing at different banks to not overload them every coin I go through is going to this branch.

Oh, and they said they can freeze my money if it is due to a security concern (heaven forbid they notify me though)

**** Final Update ****

So long story short Suntrust is closing both my wife's account (who has been with Suntrust for many years) and my account (which was opened recently so I could do business in Florida).

The "No Debit" hold was "an accident". Basically the manager at my local branch decided I was depositing too much rolled change (in Dec. they offered me bags to bring it in loose but I declined because I wanted to save the 3% fee). The fraud department and I played phone tag with each other today but I was able to go into the problem branch today to deposit change (because they were being difficult I didn't break up my last $1,500 in halves between two banks like I normally did). Unfortunately I was told after the deposit that I couldn't talk to the manager because she was in a "4-5pm conference call and couldn't be disturbed").

What was funny was I asked the teller then (before I knew all this) if there was a limit in how much rolled change I could bring in and she said there wasn't. I left because they closed at 4pm but went back through the drive through and asked the teller if the manager could call me after talking again to the fraud department and they had no clue what was going on. After a few minutes I was told that the fraud hold on my account was in error (no apology for freezing our accounts for a week) and that it was being closed because of the too much change thing. Mind you, this is the exact same teller who told me that I could deposit change with no charge. I asked her about this she paused and then said that "in your initial paperwork with the bank we said we could close your account for any reason we see fit". I then called her on the fact she literally 15 minutes prior told me there was no limit and then she repeated what she just said.

So the reason my accounts were frozen was an error, and now I find out that this manger closed my account because I deposited too much change (again, my wife had all her paychecks direct deposited for years/used the bank as her main bank and I never deposited/withdrew to her account).

So I'm thinking now of writing some members of their executive staff (real letter) expression my disappointment and unhappiness with the utter disregard to customer service, follow up, my wife's account and history, and so on and so on.

My wife, my family, and her family are in utter astonishment as well. I really can't believe this is happening.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Family Maps of Hinds County, Mississippi, Deluxe Edition - Grab it through Amazon!

[diggummup]

All I can think of is CONTACT THE NEWS!

A bank closes your account and your wife's account for depositing money?!?!?!

That's just sad.

Yes the Press is the way to go here. I don't know what part of Fl. your in but down here in Broward/Miami there's one (sensationalistic) tv station news that has a lawyer that they use specifically for public complaints. His name is Howard Finkelstein and his segment is called "Help Me Howard". If you were down here he would be on it like flies on sh!t. I'd make that managers life he!!.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Agony and Death on a Gold Rush Steamer: The Disastrous Sinking of the Side-Wheeler Yankee Blade - Grab it through Amazon!

[underdogger]

Wake up Hello I have been doing this for 30 yrs. The greedy guys like yourself 4500 dollars 3000 dollars . You can bet the Irs will be notified next . The banks have figured out that they have a lions share of silver going into and out of their vaults and now they want to some how get all that action and shut you down.
If you buy 200/ 300. at a time you do not attract attention to youself I am certain your not going to like the results if you persist on this matter . Irs will get their microscope out and some how try to figure out how much you have not reported in your endevoures . and they will know what you eat for breakfast. This I saw but who am I thats why pennys and nickel and dimes and quarters are safe .Remember your dealing with a comodity .They are now educated to that fact Hello I wish you well but IMO you brought this on your self.

 

[$ilver$urfer]

Wake up Hello I have been doing this for 30 yrs. The greedy guys like yourself 4500 dollars 3000 dollars . You can bet the Irs will be notified next . The banks have figured out that they have a lions share of silver going into and out of their vaults and now they want to some how get all that action and shut you down.
If you buy 200/ 300. at a time you do not attract attention to youself I am certain your not going to like the results if you persist on this matter . Irs will get their microscope out and some how try to figure out how much you have not reported in your endevoures . and they will know what you eat for breakfast. This I saw but who am I thats why pennys and nickel and dimes and quarters are safe .Remember your dealing with a comodity .They are now educated to that fact Hello I wish you well but IMO you brought this on your self.

underdogger,

While I understand your sentiments here about bringing attention to yourself by ordering and dumping large amounts of coin, there is a point of contention I have with your statements. There is no state or federal law that I am aware of on the books or that can be enforced by any big acronym agency whether local, state or federal that can tax you on coins you order from a bank for face value. So many people these days are afraid of XYZ agency or big brother (evidenced by your "they will know what you eat for breakfast" comment) and that is what the social engineers want! They control the MSM and the message to ensure that we all stay in FUD mode (fear, uncertainty and doubt)! So many have been brainwashed to be afraid to take a chance and of the powers that be which is why there are so many people in our society with a barely get by or good-enough attitude. Strive for excellence, and you will reach it, if you are happy with mediocrity, you will have that too!

Just my five cents (usually I offer two, but the inflation is horrible these days)!

HH,

$ilver$urfer

 

[SFBayArea]

Despite the fact that they can freeze your account at anytime, I would still take them to small claims court. They didn't notify you and caused you a great deal of inconvenience because you have done nothing wrong. You have nothing to lose by taking them to small claims court except your time. Look into it. When you dumped your coins, didn't the tellers ask you why you have so many coins? I've always gotten questions like that from new tellers and I'm just honest with them. I tell them it's part of my hobby. I order coins, go through them for the good stuff, and exchange the rest. Once they know what I'm doing and are cool with it, they don't care. In fact my main dump bank expects me in every week. If you lie to them about why you have so much coin to dump, that's when they get suspicious and can pull the rug from underneath you. It sucks what happened, I hope you can research on taking them to small claims to get even a small amount for the inconvenience this bank has caused you. Based on that, you and the bank may settle out of court and come to a resolution like restoring your account and allowing you to dump as much as you want. I don't think a letter expressing your dissappointment would do anything. Anyone can read it and say "So F#cking What". Like I said "small claims court" or at a minimum write about them to a newspaper but don't talk about CRH too much or you get new competition sprouting up. Good luck.

 

[SFBayArea]

Wake up Hello I have been doing this for 30 yrs. The greedy guys like yourself 4500 dollars 3000 dollars . You can bet the Irs will be notified next . The banks have figured out that they have a lions share of silver going into and out of their vaults and now they want to some how get all that action and shut you down.
If you buy 200/ 300. at a time you do not attract attention to youself I am certain your not going to like the results if you persist on this matter . Irs will get their microscope out and some how try to figure out how much you have not reported in your endevoures . and they will know what you eat for breakfast. This I saw but who am I thats why pennys and nickel and dimes and quarters are safe .Remember your dealing with a comodity .They are now educated to that fact Hello I wish you well but IMO you brought this on your self.

So the IRS clamped down on you already since you've been doing this for 30 years? They're gonna take your hoard away? Get Real. The IRS cannot tax you on it unless you sell them anyhow and only on the profit you made during your sale. I think there's a certain amount limit (something like $600) at which point you have to claim on taxes if you sell. I still have the majority of my finds and have sold very little throughout the years. You sound like one of those anti-gov. backwater folk.

 

[usatc]

Just to put my final two cents in (again), I was not originally dumping $3,000 at one bank, it was between $1,000 -$1,500 at different banks. Funny thing is that I didn't start this until I asked another branch if they could order and they said they would gladly, and that they also (this is the teller & manager) would love me to bring back whatever I wanted for their customers who often requested halves. So one of the three branches I dropped off welcomed my halves.

One other final note, because of the fraud concern, I notified my work that I was under investigation for fraud at my local bank. I work at a defense contractor and hold a secret security clearance, and I have to notify them if something comes up that could affect it. As I mentioned earlier, my wife was starting to work here as well, and she had a interim clearance (expedited one that allows her to work while the in-depth one is being conducted). If it went on another day or two my manager said we would have had to get two different sites security/ethics departments involved (making issues for more than just one bank manager with a personal vendetta).

On a positive note the bank that lets me order as much as I want has always been super helpful and I talked to the manager their awhile ago to give separate thanks to the main teller, the entire branch and she was ecstatic. I was there earlier this week to talk to a consultant and set up an appointment today to review my car/home/flood insurance to see if I could bring more business their way, specifically because they have always been so friendly and if I can bring more business their way I would gladly do it (also gonna pick up some halves after).

HH!

 

[jrf30]

Just to put my final two cents in (again), I was not originally dumping $3,000 at one bank, it was between $1,000 -$1,500 at different banks. Funny thing is that I didn't start this until I asked another branch if they could order and they said they would gladly, and that they also (this is the teller & manager) would love me to bring back whatever I wanted for their customers who often requested halves. So one of the three branches I dropped off welcomed my halves.

One other final note, because of the fraud concern, I notified my work that I was under investigation for fraud at my local bank. I work at a defense contractor and hold a secret security clearance, and I have to notify them if something comes up that could affect it. As I mentioned earlier, my wife was starting to work here as well, and she had a interim clearance (expedited one that allows her to work while the in-depth one is being conducted). If it went on another day or two my manager said we would have had to get two different sites security/ethics departments involved (making issues for more than just one bank manager with a personal vendetta).

On a positive note the bank that lets me order as much as I want has always been super helpful and I talked to the manager their awhile ago to give separate thanks to the main teller, the entire branch and she was ecstatic. I was there earlier this week to talk to a consultant and set up an appointment today to review my car/home/flood insurance to see if I could bring more business their way, specifically because they have always been so friendly and if I can bring more business their way I would gladly do it (also gonna pick up some halves after).

HH!

Bringing some donuts or a pizza to that favorite branch once in a while can't hurt either. To make sure they still love your business. :-)

 

[SFBayArea]

Just to put my final two cents in (again), I was not originally dumping $3,000 at one bank, it was between $1,000 -$1,500 at different banks. Funny thing is that I didn't start this until I asked another branch if they could order and they said they would gladly, and that they also (this is the teller & manager) would love me to bring back whatever I wanted for their customers who often requested halves. So one of the three branches I dropped off welcomed my halves.

One other final note, because of the fraud concern, I notified my work that I was under investigation for fraud at my local bank. I work at a defense contractor and hold a secret security clearance, and I have to notify them if something comes up that could affect it. As I mentioned earlier, my wife was starting to work here as well, and she had a interim clearance (expedited one that allows her to work while the in-depth one is being conducted). If it went on another day or two my manager said we would have had to get two different sites security/ethics departments involved (making issues for more than just one bank manager with a personal vendetta).

On a positive note the bank that lets me order as much as I want has always been super helpful and I talked to the manager their awhile ago to give separate thanks to the main teller, the entire branch and she was ecstatic. I was there earlier this week to talk to a consultant and set up an appointment today to review my car/home/flood insurance to see if I could bring more business their way, specifically because they have always been so friendly and if I can bring more business their way I would gladly do it (also gonna pick up some halves after).

HH!

The fact that your security clearance maybe compromised and that you had to list that you were under investigation would be more ammo to bring out in your claim in small claims court against that bank in terms of inconveniences that they have caused you.

I found that funny how the dump banks welcome your halves. All their other customers who want halves are obviously CRHers who will get dumps.

 

[underdogger]

Wake up Hello I have been doing this for 30 yrs. The greedy guys like yourself 4500 dollars 3000 dollars . You can bet the Irs will be notified next . The banks have figured out that they have a lions share of silver going into and out of their vaults and now they want to some how get all that action and shut you down.
If you buy 200/ 300. at a time you do not attract attention to youself I am certain your not going to like the results if you persist on this matter . Irs will get their microscope out and some how try to figure out how much you have not reported in your endevoures . and they will know what you eat for breakfast. This I saw but who am I thats why pennys and nickel and dimes and quarters are safe .Remember your dealing with a comodity .They are now educated to that fact Hello I wish you well but IMO you brought this on your self.

So the IRS clamped down on you already since you've been doing this for 30 years? They're gonna take your hoard away? Get Real. The IRS cannot tax you on it unless you sell them anyhow and only on the profit you made during your sale. I think there's a certain amount limit (something like $600) at which point you have to claim on taxes if you sell. I still have the majority of my finds and have sold very little throughout the years. You sound like one of those anti-gov. backwater folk. Backwater folk?? last time I heard that I was watching huck fin. No in 30 yrs I have not seen the 3 leter named agency's . However I have seen small banks say we do not sell our change to anyone but acct. holders . Or we know what your doing and we would rather you not. Or my favorite is " if you keep comming here there is paperwork we need to fill out ". My point is that when you do things in large manuvers It is not to long for them and every other swinging Richard to find up what is up! Its like soon after gold is found the rush is on . Greed will shut down a hobby that I have enjoyed as a coin collector for over 30 some years . Notice I said collector not MONEY GRABBER!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Rich Hartford]

I work for a bank that will remain nameless specializing in cyber security, fraud, and espionage.

What probably happened is someone in the branch submitted a SIR (Suspicious Incident Report) suspecting you of money laundering or some sort of fraudulent transactions. Depending on the outcome of the investigation it could even go to the secret service. It is in the contract that you sign with the bank that they can terminate your account at any time however, there should have been notification of the freeze on your account. The branch manager was completely in the wrong for freezing your account and not notifying you.

To me it sounds like this particular branch didn't want to be "inconvenienced" handling the halves and came up with a reason to give you the boot. If you went to the regional branch manager you could probably make life uncomfortable this manager. After all, they lost business by their actions with the direct deposit coming in and the potential mortgage loss not to mention family members shutting off accounts.

The banks around here call them SAR (Suspicious Activity Report). I have a friend that had the same job. Got fired when every case led to the bank being the culprit
HH
Rich

 

[JD-GA]

This is when its time to pack up and move on. The bank lied and froze your accounts because it seemed suspicious. They have the right to do that because it is very suspicious compared to normal banking activity. They shouldnt have lied about it but still they did nothing illegal. They also got tired of spending money dealing with your coins. This is evident by the fact that the teller was still reading there is no limit on coin deposit. This means there is no "written" limit but i assure you that bank managers have their limits with how much they are going to deal with someone when it comes to making no money. The way the teller handled you was "by the book". She read there was no coin deposit limit and also read the policy that they can terminate your account whenever they see fit. In highschool this exact same action would be taken by young girls by delivering a note saying "its not you its me" or "we can still be friends." Its called severing a relationship without hanging you the bird and if you go after them with petty notes saying how displeased you are the manager of the bank is just going to say "see i told you this guy was nuts." Shake their hand, tell them thanks for providing their service this long and just move on.

This is all part of the game and the very reason I sit down with the manager of every bank i CRH with and explain exactly what im doing and how much I plan on doing it before opening an account. This way there are no surprises on either end and we can always sever our relationship with me not having to explain anything or feeling guilty/ heart broken.

 

[Bubba707]

Really, the only thing that can be done is get the accounts released, the close them out. If you try to just pull the money they'll hang you with all kinds of delays so the best method is open an account elsewhere and transfer it all out. If you feel particularly snarky leave the absolute minimum in the current account to keep them open. Banks HATE those minimum deposit accounts.

 

[SFBayArea]

This is when its time to pack up and move on. The bank lied and froze your accounts because it seemed suspicious. They have the right to do that because it is very suspicious compared to normal banking activity. They shouldnt have lied about it but still they did nothing illegal. They also got tired of spending money dealing with your coins. This is evident by the fact that the teller was still reading there is no limit on coin deposit. This means there is no "written" limit but i assure you that bank managers have their limits with how much they are going to deal with someone when it comes to making no money. The way the teller handled you was "by the book". She read there was no coin deposit limit and also read the policy that they can terminate your account whenever they see fit. In highschool this exact same action would be taken by young girls by delivering a note saying "its not you its me" or "we can still be friends." Its called severing a relationship without hanging you the bird and if you go after them with petty notes saying how displeased you are the manager of the bank is just going to say "see i told you this guy was nuts." Shake their hand, tell them thanks for providing their service this long and just move on.

Well, it's different if based on what the bank did had an effect on your current employment. If the bank's actions compromise your security clearance or you have to list this on future defense industry employment everywhere you go, this is an undue burden that the bank should be accountable for. Also the bank needs to define what is considered suspicious activity. Every organization needs to have protocol and a department manual for guidelines for different situation. I'm sure they probably have this and over stepped their bounds by calling your account suspicious simply because you're depositing coins. As long as you didn't lie to them about why you're depositing coins, it is unreasonable to deem this suspicious. After all, there are numerous merchants (ie laundry mats) that deposite large quantities of coins all the time. Is that suspicious? You don't think a laundry mat could take their bank to small claims court if the bank shut down their account for depositing a bunch of quarters? The bank causing the laundry mat to shut down their business because they counldn't pay employees and overheard of the laundry mat because their account was shut down? Depositing large amounts of coins in itself is not suspicious.

I would go to talk to the head of the bank. If the manager wasn't available, make an appointment. Let them know about the disatisfaction and how your job security clearance may be compromised due to them being over zealous in try to stop you from depositing a bunch of coins. Tell them, that you are considering taking them to court because of the undue burden they have caused you. Ask them to show you what their department policy says about the requirements for reporting suspicious activity and whether shutting down your account was warranted simply because you were depositing coins.

Tell them that you want to re-instate your account with dumping privileges because of what the teller told you. Finally discuss what the teller told you. If the teller was mistaken in terms of coin deposit policies, they need to be clarified in terms of what they tell customers and what the department says. No one in the future should go in there and expect to do deposits via coins and have their accounts shut down. If people have large quantities of coins to deposit, the bank and the teller should be on the same page in terms of what they tell customers. Make sure to note that you're not afraid to discuss this with someone higher up on the chain of command if this manager refuses to do anything.

We live in a selfish world and unfortunately not everyone obides by the rules. It's my belief that you have to fight for your rights so that you're not shoved around. Typically when people get away with doing certain things, they will do it again until they get caught. If you have health insurance and you got sick and your health insurance company doesn't want to pay your bills, you're not going to fight for yourself? Are you going to just take it up the A##? I say H#LL NO.

 

[Moneypenny]

This is when its time to pack up and move on. The bank lied and froze your accounts because it seemed suspicious. They have the right to do that because it is very suspicious compared to normal banking activity. They shouldnt have lied about it but still they did nothing illegal. They also got tired of spending money dealing with your coins. This is evident by the fact that the teller was still reading there is no limit on coin deposit. This means there is no "written" limit but i assure you that bank managers have their limits with how much they are going to deal with someone when it comes to making no money. The way the teller handled you was "by the book". She read there was no coin deposit limit and also read the policy that they can terminate your account whenever they see fit. In highschool this exact same action would be taken by young girls by delivering a note saying "its not you its me" or "we can still be friends." Its called severing a relationship without hanging you the bird and if you go after them with petty notes saying how displeased you are the manager of the bank is just going to say "see i told you this guy was nuts." Shake their hand, tell them thanks for providing their service this long and just move on.

This is all part of the game and the very reason I sit down with the manager of every bank i CRH with and explain exactly what im doing and how much I plan on doing it before opening an account. This way there are no surprises on either end and we can always sever our relationship with me not having to explain anything or feeling guilty/ heart broken.

The teller didn't do anything wrong, but the bank manager did. Either it seemed suspicious or the bank manager got tired of dealing with his dumps and their cost. I don't think it's both, and I think it's obvious which one it is. The "we can close your account for any reason we see fit" is a CYA clause for weird situations like someone depositing too much coin and costing the bank too much. That is fine. The manager should have spoken to him and told him he can't deposit/change more than a certain amount of coin, or that he can't bring ANY more coin, or even that she has decided Suntrust doesn't want him as a customer anymore and will be closing his account (not his wife's!). But the manager did not do any of these things. She froze both his and his wife's accounts, left them wondering what had happened, and forced them to report it as a possible fraud investigation at work. I agree that it's time to move on from that bank, but a complaint to the higher-ups (or even a lawsuit) is not petty, it's completely valid. Just my two cents...