ComplaintsforFirstBank Puerto Rico

• Initial Complaint

  04/17/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am not liable for the debt with FIRST BANK PUERTO ***** I do not have a contract with FIRST BANK PUERTO *****You guys need to handle this issue. This has been going on for a long time now that I have seen my information. That's messing my Character & name up as a person.They are in violation & told me 30 days when I had fraud. A identity theft with police report I had attatched as well, they are in major violation.

  Business response

  04/28/2023

  FirstBank is committed with providing an excellent service to our customers. Please refer to the document included for our comments and resolution regarding the allegations. In case of any further questions, you may contact our FirstLine *************** at *************, or **************. Thank you,

• Initial Complaint

  04/15/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am not liable for the debt with FIRSTBANK OF PUERTO ***** I do not have a contract with FIRSTBANK OF PUERTO *****You guys need to handle this issue. This has been going on for a long time now that I have seen my information. That's messing my Character & name up as a person.They are in violation & told me 30 days when I had fraud. A identity theft with police report I had attached as well, they are in major violation.

  Business response

  04/25/2023

  April 25, 2023
  BBB Complaint ********
  Customer: ******* Kiniesha ******
  **********************
  Re: BBB Complaint ********
  On 4/17/23, we received complaint number ******** from Mrs. ******* Kiniesha ****** through the Better Business Bureau. Immediately following the receipt of this complaint, it was referred for investigation to the proper business units. However, we have not been able to complete our investigation within the prescribed 10 calendar days provided by the bureau. Looking for the best interest of our customer, we want to ensure that the investigation is duly completed and that we have all relevant information to attend our customer's desired resolution.
  ********************** is fully committed with compliance of any regulation that affects our operations and, furthermore, with the full satisfaction of our clientele. Therefore, as soon as our investigation is complete, we will provide our response through this channel.
  Thank you,
  Complaints & SCRA Department Manager
  FirstBank Puerto Rico

• Initial Complaint

  04/10/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  FIRSTBANK PR responded to a CFPB complaint in regard to an account **********. This account was closed on a bank branch in ******************** in 2019. I closed the account because I was moving to *******, **, where I opened a new bank account with ********************** When I went to FIRSTBANK branch in ******************** I was attended by the a customer service agent, that ask me for the reason of the closure. I advised the custumer service agent that I was moving out from Puerto ***** The agent help me to close the account and didnt informe me of any balance due. I didnt received any notice to my mailing address because I didnt have the ** Box 826 *******, ** ***** active under my name. FIRSTBANK didnt make any attempt to contact me on my phone number ************.

  Business response

  04/18/2023

  FirstBank is committed with providing an excellent service to our customers. Please refer to the document included for our comments and resolution regarding the allegations. In case of any further questions, you may contact our FirstLine *************** at **************, or **************. Thank you,

• Initial Complaint

  12/08/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 8 November 2022 I made a payment of $600 to First Bank Mortgage Account Number *********** from my Banco Popular Puerto **** online account, confirmation number ***********. My ****************** account is under the following name ***************************************** y/o *************************** ****** ending in ****. During the past few days, I have been receiving calls from First Bank Mortgage indicating they have not received the payment and that the account is behind with an outstanding balance. I provided the above information to First Bank Mortgage, but they said they have not received the payment and that I need to make a payment.

  Business response

  01/24/2023

  On 12/06/2022 & 12/22/22, FirstBank received BBB complaints from *************************** ****** claiming that FirstBank is making collections calls corresponding to mortgage payments that were processed using a Banco Popular of Puerto **** account. She states that this situation has occurred three times causing late payments on her account.
  As part of our process, we identified that the complainant forwarded us documentation pertaining to the claimed payment not applied to the customers mortgage account. It was identified, with the customers provided evidence, that the payment was sent to an incorrect account, according to the mortgage account number on the receipt and the customers number account on our records.
  We exhort the customer to validate the accounts number prior to completing payment transactions. As part of our evaluation, a referral was made for the payment reapplication, which was processed on January 9, 2023.
  FirstBank is committed with providing an excellent service to our customers. In case of any further questions, you may contact our FirstLine *************** at **************, or **************, toll free using complaint reference number CCMS08847 & CCMS08889.

• Initial Complaint

  09/06/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  I had a mortgage with First Bank that was paid in full in January 2021. To this day (9/6/2022), the bank has not sent the document signifying payment in full (******). I have called them repeatedly and they told me it was sent via **** but never received. Have attempted multiple times to reach resolution as I am selling the property in question. Without the document in question, I am unable to easily sell my property. When I spoke with the bank they told me I have to call the **** to find out. This is unacceptable as the responsibility is on the bank to make sure this document is sent and received. I have offered to pay for ***** and asked if they can re-send. They put me on hold and eventually the call is dropped. Have been trying to resolve this now for weeks. The results are the same, wait on the line to eventually be disconnected. My attempts to escalate within the bank end in the same place, you have to contact the post office, and there is nothing we can do.I have attached the payoff document that was sent in January 2021. Shortly after this the mortgage was paid. I need the official document from the bank so I can sell the apartment.

  Business response

  09/21/2022

  Complaint is currently under investigation. Puerto **** was impacted by Hurricane ****** which has impacted service hours in the institution.  

  Customer response

  09/26/2022

   
  Complaint: 17924009
  
  I am rejecting this response because it does not provide resolution or expected timing of resolution. This issue has been active since 2021 and the storm ***** just occurred a couple of weeks ago. Besides, the answer provided is that they have limited hours of operation. It does not refer to the issue at all.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  12/17/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  First bank has online transfer service for customers on their portal/website. I started online transferring $1000 regularly from First bank checking 5235 to my daughters ***** Bank ******** 3081 since October 2021. Starting December 2, 2021 and 7 consecutive times until December 10, 2021 the transfers stopped going through. I called the puerto **** customer service line and the lady said she's been getting calls from other customers about the same problem and doesn't know where the money is going. She said she would message the back office to fix it. The next day I called again and the agent said that the money seems to be bouncing back from 3081 and going back into first bank 5235. He said he would also present this to the back office. I called again the next week, third time and the agent said the same thing about reporting to back office. I then asked that agent to call the St. Croix Sunny **** ******, wait on the phone and let me talk to the branch manager who turned out to be ******* *********, who said she basically can't do anything about it. I thought she was on the phone with me while I told her that I would patch in my daughters **********. ***** said that everything is ok on their end. There are no blocks, etc. ***** even patched in their online tech who said everything was ok on their end. Ms ********* had hung up, unbeknownst to me. I called again the next day and couldn't get through, so I emailed *************************** like 20 times. Finally, I got a call from the branch manager, Ms. ******* ******* at the ************ branch who after my being insistent, called the back office/customer service and called me back to let me know that there's nothing they can do about their broken online system. I asked to please transfer the $7k to the 3081 asap because I need to pay the nurses by Friday Dec 17th. No can do, she said. She said I would have to overnight a notarized doc giving permission and a notarized ID document. PLEASE TRANS $$

  Business response

  12/30/2021

  BBB Complaint # ******** / CCMS07650
  Customer: ***** *******
  **********************
  12/30/2021
  
  
  On 12/21/2020, FirstBank received a BBB complaint from ***** ******* claiming that FirstBank presents a system issue that causes that external transfers, towards a ********** account belonging to her daughter, get returned. Customer claims that the issue happened from December 2 to December 10, 2021. Since complainant and customer could not make an electronic transfer, they went to the ************ branch and our manager asked her for a notarized document with an expired identification, which the customer could not provide at the moment.
  
  After investigating, it was identified that all the failed transfers of December, that presents the error of "Unable to locate account" are caused by a customer data entry mistake. In this case the user entered a wrong account number for the transfer's destination ******** The *** transactions details show that it was used the account number #********* instead of the #*********, that is the correct number of the Chase ******** We proceed to send all the investigation results to the branch manager that is in contact with the customer to explain her the origin of the error for these failed transfers of December and additional error causes from October to December that failed mostly due to lack of action by the customer (token confirmation) or for exceeding the daily amount of external transfers ($1,000), according to Digital Banking log details. Branch manager confirms that after deleting all account information and registering all over again to transfer testing, there have been no more errors (after 12/15/2021).
  
  As a result we would only have as a resolution to educate the customer about all the errors that must be avoided in the account registration and transfer process, so that all can be sent successfully by the system, which works properly.
  
  FirstBank is committed with providing an excellent service to our customers. In case of any further questions, you may contact our FirstLine *************** at **************, or **************, toll free using complaint reference number 7650.
  
  Thank you.
  
  ******* ********, **** ********************************* Supervisor
  FirstBank Puerto Rico
  
  See Attachment/File: BBB Complaint ******** - 7650.pdf

  Customer response

  12/31/2021

  (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
  The account number I used was correct. The branch manager did reach out to me and we both called ********** and inquired about whether ***** had possibly manually changed the account number from #********* to #********* just to pass the transaction, and CHASE ***** SAID ****** CANNOT AND DOES NOT CHANGE ACCOUNT NUMBERS FOR ANY TRANSACTIONS". ******************** system is broken and has been broken since my family started using their online transfering sinc 2015. Some payees would get their money that we either bill-payed them or internally/externally transfered to them, and sometimes they don't, and we don't know until they contact us complaining. We wouldn't know because when we transfer or bill-pay, we would receive notifications stating that the transaction was SUCCESSFULL. Of all the online transactions pertaining to transfers to ***** 3081 account, some went through and some didn't. And ONCE I SET UP THE ACCOUNT TO TRANSFER TO ON THE PORTAL, I NEVER CHANGED IT. SO HOW COULD THE NUMBER "9" JUST MAGICALLY APPEAR AND DISAPPEAR??????? FIRST BANK KNOW THEY'VE HAD THIS PROBLEM FOR YEARS AND IT'S NOT NEW, BECAUSE THE ***** SAID THAT SHE HAD OTHER CUSTOMERS COMPLAIN ABOUT THE SAME PROBLEM I WAS HAVING. THE THING IS, IF THEY'RE HAVING THIS PROBLEM, WHICH CLEARLY ISN'T THE ***** OF THE CUSTOMER, THEN PROVIDE PHONE TRANSFERS IF THEY CLEARLY SEE THAT THE CUSTOMER IS HAVING DIFFICULTY TRANSFERING ON THE BROKEN PORTAL. I HAD TO GET NOTARIZED DOCS, SIGNATURES, ETC JUST TO TRANSFER MONEY MANUALLY !!!BECAUSE!!! FIRSTBANK OWN PORTAL WASN'T WORKING!!! MR. ********** DON'T LIE AND SAY I PUT THE WRONG NUMBER, BECAUSE YOUR OWN PORTAL DOESN'T EVEN HAVE THE OPTION TO INSERT THE ACCOUNT NUMBER FOR A TRANSFER TRANSACTION ONLINE. SO, YOU DON'T EVEN MAKE SENSE WITH YOUR LYING RESPONSE. JUST MAN UP AND PROVIDE MANUAL OVER-THE-PHONE TRANSFERS WHEN CUSTOMERS ARE HAVING DIFFICULTIES TRANSFERING OR BILL-PAYING ONLINE!!!! AS A MATTER OF FACT, I WANT ALL THE #3.99 BACK THAT I PAID FOR SAME-DAY-SERVICE AND THE TRANSFERS DIDN'T, I SAY, DID NOT GO THROUGH!!!!

• Initial Complaint

  10/27/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Three payments done as payments to a line of credit to Banco Santander, now First bank since July X XXXX where not credited. One on march 4 for$400.00, then on April X XXXX for $200.00 and the last on may 7,2021 for $300.00. All in cash and I have the receipts from the teller. The account is : Rexart Enterprises,Inc. After a number of calls and visits to different branches for the last few months I have only evasive answers. I am the president of the afore mentioned Corporation. All I need is an intelligent answer to where my money went. If you need any additional information please feel free to contact me. Tel XXX-XXX-XXXX

  Business response

  01/10/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2021/11/05) */ On October 28, 2021 FirstBank received a BBB complaint from ****** ****** claiming that he made three payments to his credit line (#******7192), from March 2021 to May 2021, and that they were not applied. After investigating the case with our branch of Montehiedra, it was confirmed within the credit line account statements of our client, that the three payments made, for $400.00 (3/4/2021), $200.00 (4/6/2021) and $300.00 (5/7/2021), were received and applied on the corresponding dates. FirstBank is committed with providing an excellent service to our customers. In case of any further questions, you may contact our FirstLine Solution Center at (XXX) XXX-XXXX, or X-XXX-XXX-XXXX, toll free using complaint reference number 7508. Thank you. ******* *********** **** Complaints & SCRA Management Supervisor FirstBank Puerto Rico Consumer Response /* (3000, 8, 2021/11/13) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Enfatically I do not accept the response of First Bank! The intelligent answer to "where my money went" is not"the payments were received and credited on the corresponding dates". I want a written Certification of all the payments applied to the "credit line" from January 2021 to October 2021 that clearly shows each one of the payments claimed. That have to be answer clearly ,not just by word of mouth. Business Response /* (4000, 10, 2021/11/24) */ On November 15, 2021 FirstBank received a follow up to the BBB complaint #XXXXXXXX, from ****** Chacón. This instance, Mr. Chacón is requesting documentation that supports the resolution of the case, concerning the three payments made to his credit line (#******7192), from March 2021 to May 2021, which he claims that were not applied. The credit line account statements were reviewed and the breakdown of payments and remaining balance in the account are included (See Exhibit A) after subtracting each payment that confirms that the three payments made, for $400.00 (3/4/2021), $200.00 (4/6/2021) and $300.00 (5/7/2021), were received and applied on the corresponding dates. In addition, you'll find the requested information. FirstBank is committed with providing an excellent service to our customers. In case of any further questions, you may contact our FirstLine Solution Center at (XXX) XXX-XXXX, or X-XXX-XXX-XXXX, toll free using complaint reference number 7508. Thank you. Consumer Response /* (4200, 12, 2021/11/29) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) The response is identical as the first one. I ask for the monthly statements that show the exact transactions on the dates supplied. Each bank statement shows balance to date , payments received and resulting balance to carry forward. Any bank focused on service should be able to do that. They are called monthly statements. Business Response /* (4000, 16, 2021/12/15) */ On November 30, 2021 FirstBank received a follow up to the BBB complaint #XXXXXXXX, from ****** Chacón. This instance, Mr. Chacón is requesting the credit line account statements from January 2021 to October 2021 to support the resolution of the case. Attached, you'll find the requested information. FirstBank is committed with providing an excellent service to our customers. In case of any further questions, you may contact our FirstLine Solution Center at (XXX) XXX-XXXX, or X-XXX-XXX-XXXX, toll free using complaint reference number 7508. Consumer Response /* (4200, 19, 2021/12/22) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) After reviewing the monthly statements provided by First Bank not a single one of the claimed payments was reflected. Also the April statement was missing and a $200.00 payment was supposed to be posted.My accountant review them and could not find them either. The only settlement or response I would accept is a prompt refund of the $900.00 (March $400.00-April $200.00 and May $300.00). It is about time to solve this for good! Complaint Response Date bumped because: Holiday Business Response /* (4000, 21, 2022/01/07) */ Re: BBB Complaint #XXXXXXXX - Rebuttal / ********: ****** Chacón On December 22, 2021 FirstBank received a follow up to the BBB complaint #XXXXXXXX, from ****** Chacón. We want to inform Mr. Chacón that we stand by our resolution. Attached there is detail of the payment application; however, we will be contacting Mr. Chacón for further orientation. FirstBank is committed with providing an excellent service to our customers. In case of any further questions, you may contact our FirstLine Solution Center at (XXX) XXX-XXXX, or X-XXX-XXX-XXXX, toll free using complaint reference number 7508.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩