USAA Settlement CFPB

Trusted USAA To Pay $12 Million For Violating Consumer Protection Laws

USAA, the federal savings bank and insurance company relied on by servicemembers and veterans must pay consumers $12 million in restitution and $3.5 million in fines for violating laws that protect consumers.

Based in San Antonio, Texas, the federally chartered insurance company violated the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and Regulation E. USAA repeatedly failed to honor consumers’ stop payment requests on preauthorized electronic funds transfers. USAA also failed to appropriately investigate errors reported by consumers.

Making matters worse, USAA also reopened closed deposit accounts without seeking authorization or giving notice to consumers.

USAA stands for United Services Automobile Association, and it has 12.4 million members. Over 66,000 members were impacted by consumer protection violations. The company will pay $181.59 to each affected consumer.

The matter is titled, In re USAA Federal Savings Bank, File No. 2019-BCFP-0001. You can review the consent decree here.

About CFPB

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) obtained the consent decree as a settlement. The Bureau is an agency aimed at modernizing enforcement of federal consumer protection laws.

According to its website, the CFPB was created to provide a single point of accountability for enforcing federal consumer financial laws and protecting consumers in the financial marketplace. Its primary focus is:

  • Rooting out unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices by writing rules, supervising companies, and enforcing the law
  • Enforcing laws that outlaw discrimination in consumer finance
  • Taking consumer complaints
  • Enhancing financial education
  • Researching the consumer experience of using financial products
  • Monitoring financial markets for new risks to consumers

Similar Posts

34 Comments

  1. GEICO and any other “name brand” insurance depends upon the local Agent and the Underwriter. My experience with GEICO was bad. Offers I get now are way out of range from Progressive. And I’ve had two claims with Progressive without a problem. My Home Owners, Auto and Motor Home are all lower than I can get anywhere else. The Auto and Motor Home are what the claims were on. The Home hasn’t had a claim and is underwritten by UBE. Had a bad experience with trying to get insurance from State Farm. After I had a lower rate than my previous insurance quoted and cancelled the previous insurance over a raise, the underwriter wouldn’t honor the Agent’s quote so I had to go back to the previous insurance. Insurance is a financial game. Your Agent has to be honest and have honest underwriters.

  2. TO: Dan January 14, 2019 at 3:53 pm

    BULLCRAP!!!

    Then you are an idiot for bad homework. I have had them on and off since my enlistment during the VietNam war and they have not only had cheaper rates than all the others but paid what they were required to, quickly!

    usaa gave me a low quote to start then raised the rate 22 percent on renewal. So there. So did all the other insurance companies. Farmers raised my rate for homeowners 38 percent after the first year.

    GEICO hasn’t raised my rate at all for homeowners or vehicles.

  3. ben who do you contact about the usaa settlement please advise also hello to you and yours J& A

  4. I have over $600 unauthorized charges that I had blocked from my account and they were still able to go through and I never recovered my money nor my fees USAA had silly silly explanations this happened five times over a year and a half with the same company how do I get in on this lawsuit?

  5. Well how does one make a claim in this USAA order? They charged me overdraft fees on several occasions, AFTER I instructed them NOT to Pay.

  6. We have been with USAA for over 40 years. We had roof damage from high winds in the May. USAA has really made this process difficult. The day after the damage we had a trusted roofer tarp the roof pending approval from USAA. During the delay more high winds caused the tarp to leak leaving us with interior ceiling damage. The adjuster they sent gave us a low ball estimate. We refused it and requested another appraiser. This one was fair. We went ahead and contracted with our trusted roofer and the exterior was completed. We were told we would need to pay another $500 deductible for the interior. We used the USAA approved company in our area. The work was completed and now USAA is refusing to pay. It has been 6 months. The company that did the work has submitted the claim 3 times as have we. We have made many calls. We’re shopping for a new company for our home and cars. How sad. I laugh at their commercials.

    1. Very interesting. My recent experience (2018) regarding a claim for roof damage was handled extremely well. My entire roof was replaced. The process was easy. Payout was made immediately after the contractor provided an itemized list of work accomplished ($13,000+). I’m a 43-year USAA member. I have a checking account, two savings accounts, and two credit cards. They insure my two homes and vehicle. Most of my investment accounts are also with USAA, even though they outsource the management of the investments. I’m appalled at their banking sector for these violations. But, I’ve always received excellent service, so I will stay with them.

  7. I cancelled my checking account with them a few years back i just ONLY have a CC with them, their sales people will literally beg the shit out of you to buy their insurance or get another service.
    Very annoying experience kinda reminded me of the Well Fargo Tellers a few years ago when i just wanted to put a deposit into my ex’s account they would ask me about 5 times if i wanted an account with them,
    later we find out they were up to some shitty unscrupulous tactics, later fined for it.

  8. @Dan: I used to have Geico when I was stationed in San Diego, when I bought my first ever new car (Mustang GT convertible) their rates were higher than State Farm was. Then when my sisters truck was stolen and was found a few weeks later in mexico they refused to pay for her loss. They will also cancel your insurance if they see a radar detector in your vehicle, even if it’s not hooked up or turned on.

    I have been with USAA (checking, credit card & auto insurance) for 25 years now and my premiums through them are less than other companies in the market place charge, so I don’t see any reason to leave until something changes for the worse.

  9. Congress for Bankers. What do you expect? Surprised Senator Warren’s baby was allowed enough funding to accomplish this. Now that she has thrown her hat in the ring it won’t happen again.

  10. USAA has left a lot of active duty, retirement and their family members of veterans out in the cold when it comes to not reimbursing us for money that was ours that was “floated” though our “CLOSED” bank accounts. This is only the beginning.

  11. Any recommendations for banks and car insurance? I’ve been with USAA for many years and it looks like time to do business elsewhere.

    1. GEICO is . . . . by far . . . . the best. I switched to auto and homeowners and have saved over $1,000 a year. $1,428.14 to be more exact.

      Go to a credit union and ask them to help you and state, “I’m paying my bills but would like to save money off the top and reduce my monthly payments. I would rather give the money to you all in one place.”

      They will be happy to help you at a very reduced rate. My credit union did that in 2002 and have been very helpful since. My credit score is now 820. Ya gotta pay your bills on time tho.

      1. Nope, stay away from Geico, they will screw you at the drop of a hat. Geico stands for Government Employees Insurance Company and their people are so anti anything that they dont believe in. They are anti 2nd Amendment and donate to all the gun grabbers groups, they support a carbon tax and they support kneeling while the National Anthem is being played and more. If you believe in the Constitution and dont believe that man is causing this myth of global warming, then dont deal with Geico as they will just take your money and use it for policies you dont agree with. I did my homework on these creeps and would not have them if they were the last insurance company on earth

  12. I guess I got lucky on this one. A few times when I was reconsidering my vehicle insurance coverage, I would look into the company as they were catering to veterans and military personnel. Each time I was disappointed in their customer service and their rates were extremely high. Happy to hear their business ethics have finally been addressed and they are suffering the consequences.

    Peace out

  13. OMG this is exactly how they took my money, humiliated me and they issued 3 card to prevent and insure my money was not falsely taken only to minus one acct $94.95. And they robbed another account of $28.75. All of this without my authority. Of course I emptied my a ct to protect my from how they was spending my money. Now I’m stuck with 2 loans and credit card payments. Where can I get a lawyer to remedy my inconvienance. They violated my trust and will not admit their mistakes.

  14. usaa (small letters on purpose) robbed me by increasing the interest rate on a closed account in violation of the 2009 Credit Card Act. They did it 3 times after the account was closed. The first time they increased without proper notification according to the same law. They MUST give a 45 day notice conspicuously, meaning a separate notification separate from the billing statement, before they can increase. They put it in a paragraph on the bill the exact same time they increased my rate. I have definitive proof for any attorneys out there who want to capitalize on a class action lawsuit. I would be very happy to send copies.

    I also notified the legal office of the A.F. base I live next to and they did NOTHING!!! I gave them proof that usaa was ripping off active duty personnel!

    I got a loan from my credit union and paid them off with a much lower interest rate . . . and . . . lower payment.

    1. I forgot to mention the other thing they violated. They raised the rate on the old balance and that is very specific in the law. They must have 2 lines of interest bearing balances going forward from the day the rate increased so, the lower rate and then the new rate only on new purchases and transactions.

  15. 01/14/2019

    Dear Benjamin Krause,

    Any relations to Wells Fargo?

    Former employees/Executives?

    Sincerely,

    Don Karg

      1. Hey Ben did you hear Navy Federal was offering NO Interest/NO Credit Check LOANS to Fed Govt Employees/Coastguard up to 6k because of the Shut Down?

      2. “Synergies.” Nice word for any or all of it. Ahem… the ‘industrial/corporate/financial/military/health care/etc’… complexes or corrupted machines/predatory establishments. IMNSHO all running openly above the laws or investigations. Which ones are NOT connected together in some way or sucking from the teat of the all mighty “Chambers of Commerce,” country clubbers, and others?

        Media has been silent on all those fighting against the insurance companies to rebuild after some disaster. The fire in Paradise, CA., they seem to be more worried about widening the roads and other stuff instead of getting people taken care of. Used to be a lot of YuckTube channels about this issue until they were scrubbed. So the censors and fascist have some of those synergies going on.

        Wells Fargo must be another rip-off agent. Pushing properties to be sold for cash and not accepting GI bill loans or inspections until. A long list of realtors want their big money for nothing much while refusing to disclose any information about the properties they are, were, pushing to sell for them. Forgot the terms or words used by the fancy realtors, “bonded” maybe to/for WF as front people or sales people. Wouldn’t tell people WF in their home state out west owned the properties locally. Couldn’t get in to inspect any properties of theirs, realtors would not say anything about WF being involved or selling properties off for them seemingly in secret until the paperwork started. Took quite a while to research that tid-bit of info out. Realtors (all that were called) couldn’t and would not tell people anything about the properties concerned. When the septic was last cleaned, who the power companies were, cesspool or city sewage/water, if well water when last time tested. Just “being sold as-is and we have no more information about the property.” Along with more BS then towards the end be told they all wanted cash sales before inspections of the inside. Sounds like Pelosi and the bills must be passed into law before reading. (!) All the above is from those who supposedly hate corporations, greed, etc. Big laugh.

        Just like locally once a bankruptcy is over the first thing done is for all/any insurance company out there to come in and cease property coverage. To get insured again you have to make some kind of property improvements. Roof a few years old but color diminished or 3 in 1 not fancy enough… ‘get a new prettier roof.’ Jut more games to get people back into debt and of course for higher premiums to be charged. Higher taxes too for home improvements and such plus the fees and permits or revenue. Oh all legal and any complaining did no good for anyone affected by the game.

        Also oddly enough if some local college or mafia clique wanted some properties when dealing with a bankruptcy or not, having insurance or not, they be conveniently burned down. The property picked up by those wanting it later in the first place. Signs of arson the insurance companies would refuse to pay due to curious circumstances, or the people living there minus insurance would be totally out and on the street. Didn’t matter how much the residents could prove innocence or being away on a short vacation. Those who wanted the property got it on the cheap. The mighty machines and corporation win.

        Never heard of the CFPB. Doubt they would dare challenge any deep-seated unethical or money making/ripping off practices in this state. No other agencies, media, poli-tick-tians, or bureaus seem to want to come here to clean up some long standing corruption, gangsta rule, or shady dealings to the major law breakers encompassing the area and entire state.

    1. Don,
      That was my first reaction after reading this article!
      Kinda scary what some businesses will do to their customers!!!

  16. I had a mortgage, a credit card and 3 vehicles insured with USAA for about 6 years. I payed the mortgage off way early. The people that helped me obtain the loan was super nice and was always referring to me as Sergeant First Class. After paying the house loan off, I have never been called that again ! This year I cancelled my auto insurance on 3 vehicles because they raised the premium for no reason that could be explained ! I have NEVER had an accident, a ticket, or a claim in my life ! The first call I made to shop lowered my premium. I have kept the credit card because I pay it off every month in full, so it is difficult for them to mess that up !

  17. USAA is no longer the company it once was. They have turned into just another big insurance company looking for profit. I had been with them for 40 some years with my car insurance. I had very very few claims in that time period. The largest was about $2500 and someone else’s’ fault more than 10 years ago. About a year ago, my wife saw a small dent that must have happened while the car was parked in a parking lot. We made a claim, the first in many years. The total bill was $1800, I had a $1000 deductible. They paid about $800. When I received my renewal, I noted my bill had just about doubled. $5800 a year for 2 years. My credit is excellent. Neither my wife nor I have had a ticket for at least 15 years.

    When I called I was given a myriad of excuses, not that was logical. I am now 75 and all I can think of is they did it because of my age. Beware of the numerous commercials that say “I am with USAA for Life”…I thought I was with them for life until the huge rate hike. I called 3 major auto companies and all were about half of USAA or less and I switched companies after 40 years.

    1. You pay $5,800/yr. for car insurance????? Do you drive a Bentley or Rolls Royce, or are you insuring multiple vehicles or a motor home? My car insurance is about $800/yr. for a $28,000 new sedan, and my coverage includes low deductibles for collision and comprehensive. You had a claim for a “small” dent that cost $1,800 to repair? There must be much more to your claims history and/or driving record that you’re not telling us. I sincerely doubt your age has anything to do with a premium that doubles. It’s more likely they consider you or your wife to be a high-risk driver. Sorry to be critical, but my 40+ year car insurance experience with USAA is 100% contrary to your report.

      1. Sounds like a ussaa sales agent defending his employer. The way you criticized him, i have no doubt that this company’s employees lack a soul when it comes to customer service. I once had an acct with usaa but got screwed by them. Thank god i left them.

  18. BREAKING NEWS FROM FOX!
    Dated: 13 January 2019 (3:10 min long)
    Titled:
    “Would VA Healthcare System Shift Help Service Members!”

    Seems to be VA is moving closer and closer to a “Tricare” privatization of services!

    1. That’s been the plan all along. Deny and lie. Trickcare isn’t interested in providing services. They exist to manage accounts They’re happy to hose small providers, and happier to hose veterans who can’t argue for themselves. Tricare is still managed by DoD. DoD contracting is all about bulk transactions. And we’re supposed to believe that “care” will reliably trickle down. Sure.

  19. I only have my car insurance through USAA. So far, so good. Never had any problem with them – yet!
    I never give any business authorization to take money from my bank account. Which is not USAA. I do that when the bill comes due!

  20. I did business with these filthy, idiotic, criminal deviants years ago. I had checking and savings, insurance, and credit cards. At one point, I had an issue with direct deposits and therefore missed payments and bills. I informed them that my direct deposit from DFAS was misappropriated or deposited elsewhere andxasked them to cover allotments and bills until issue was fixed. As days go buy, overdraft fees are adding up to the tune of $300. I called USAA and the guy on the phone told me “to suck it up and stop whining” and “it is not their responsibility”.
    I called later that day and some simpleminded broad told me “she would deduct $50 from the growing overdraft issue. They knew damn well I get 2 direct deposits every month and they did nothing about it. They proceeded to harass me with collection calls.

    They are rude, unprofessional, disrespectful, and are about thd dollar. For those of you gullible enough, USAA IS NOT military or veteran friendly and uses veterans and military as an advertising and manipulation tool.

    USAA, as proven here, is a dishonest and lethargic “business”. For those of you military and veterans dealing with USAA, LEAVE, TAKE YOUR BUSINESS TO ANOTHER BANK OR BETTER YET, A CREDIT UNION. Do not be gullible just because they “fraudulently” pay to advertise towards a captive audience.

    USAA MUST GO!!!

    1. I endorse your views completely and recommend North Island Federal Credit Union as they truly represent veterans and have reliable friendly staff that will see any problems settled quickly and with honor and grace ! Never had any issue not settled within a few minutes maximum.

Comments are closed.