ComplaintsforSouthState Bank, N. A.

• Initial Complaint

  12/01/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am a contractor/handyman, and I was a victim of financial fraud. A scammer, posing as a customer, asked me to bid a job, which I did. He accepted the estimate that I gave him for the job he had explained to me in detail. He sent me a cashiers check to pay for the cost of my labor and the cost of materials. I deposited the check into my bank account and the teller made funds available that moment. I checked my account online to verify this. My "customer" then asked me to pay the door supplier for the seven doors needed to complete the job. Since the check was deposited, to my knowledge, I had funds in my account that I previously did not. I proceeded to send $2000 out of those funds that were made available to me to the "door supplier". The next day, my "customer" proceeds to tell me that he is going to have to cancel the job and will need me to refund the remainder of the check. At this point, I knew something was not right, so I went to the bank and spoke with a woman named Pam about the situation. She proceeded to tell me that it is most likely fraud, and that I would likely find out that the check was fraudulent. The check did indeed come back as fraudulent and now they are telling me that I am out of pocket for the $2000 that I sent. I would not have been able to even send the $2,000, had they not made the funds from the fraudulent check available for me to spend immediately. I am a carpenter, and I am not familiar with the process the checks go through. To my knowledge, a cashiers check should be verified funds. Even if it wasn't, why would they make funds directly available? I find this strange, because most other checks that I have deposited of similar amounts have been placed on hold for seven business days before the funds were made available. The one time they should have placed a hold on the funds, they chose not to. Now they tell me I am liable for the damages ($2,000). I have filed a police report regarding the scammer and the situation.

  Business response

  12/07/2023

  Dear **** ******,
  
  On December 1, **23, SouthState Bank, N.A. (“the Bank”) received your complaint filed with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) regarding a cashier’s check you deposited into your business checking account and subsequently was returned due to fraud. You are requesting the Bank refund your lost funds. The Bank takes seriously its obligation to fully investigate complaints. Please accept this letter as our response.
  Research into your complaint revealed on October 17, **23, you deposited a cashier’s check in the amount of $5,540.00 at the Hilton Head Palmetto Bay branch. Pursuant to the Bank’s funds Availability Policy and the Federal regulation governing how long banks are allowed to delay the availability of funds when certain types of deposits are made to checking accounts, the Bank was unable to restrict the use of the funds from the deposited cashier’s check. Additionally, as stated in your Business Deposit Account Agreement, you are responsible for returned items. Any item deposited to your account or that we cash for you, that is not paid for any reason when presented to the party obligated to pay it, will be charged back against your account, even if this causes your account to be overdrawn, without regard to whether the item was returned within any applicable deadlines.
  While the Bank is sympathetic to your situation, based on the facts outlined in this response we are unable to grant your request to refund your lost funds. We trust this response provides clarity to your concerns.
  
  Sincerely,
  Justin S****
  Complaint Management

• Initial Complaint

  09/28/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am frustrated with South State Bank right now. I made a bank-to-bank transfer and they have child proof security BS (to protect them, not me) and making it difficult for the transfer to go though. I am asking that you push through the $2000 transfer from SouthState to my Navy Federal account.

  Business response

  10/05/2023

  Dear Avi S*****,
  
  On September 28, 2023, SouthState Bank, N.A. (“the Bank”) received your complaint filed with the Better Business Bureau (“BBB”) regarding your inability to complete a bank-to-bank (“B2B”) transfer from your deposit account, and you are requesting the Bank process your transaction. The Bank takes seriously its obligation to fully investigate complaints. Please accept this letter as our response.

  Research into your complaint revealed you attempted to transfer $2,000.00 from your account to an account at Navy Federal Credit Union (“external account”) on September 28, 2023. On the same day, due to a recent change you made to your online Bank to Bank profile, a precautionary restricted hold was placed on the transfer by the Bank’s fraud detection team until the Bank could contact you and confirm the transfer was valid. 

  On September 28, 2023, a representative of the Bank was unsuccessful in reaching you by telephone to verify the transaction. On September 29, 2023, you responded to the Bank’s outreach attempt, and confirmed that you initiated the transfer and that you are a signer on the external account. The hold was removed on October 2, 2023, and the scheduled transfer was completed on October 3, 2023.

  We trust this response provides clarity to your concerns. If you have any further questions, please reach out to the Bank at 1.800.277.2175.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Justin Smatt
  Complaint Management

• Initial Complaint

  08/15/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We opened an account with SouthState Bank for our HOA using Association Prime. Our agent (Sojay Property Management) created an agency resolution that went against our contractual agreement. The agent did not grant the board with access to the banking accounts as agreed. The HOA sent SouthState Bank a revocation to this resolution on 7/15/23 and attempted to work with Karen G***** to resolve but she never returned calls or sent the docusign in order to grant the board with access. We spoke with Cheryl today and she advised that SoJay is still set up on the account as an authorized agent against the boards wishes. We are requesting that this ****er be resolved this month or it will be escalated. Attached is the Agency Resolution revocation for review.

  Business response

  08/25/2023

  Layton Lakes Estates HOA
  c/o Akilah L******
  * ******* ****t
  ******* *****, NJ *****
  
  RE: BBB Complaint # ********
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            August 25, 2023
  Dear Akilah L******,
  On August 16, 2023, SouthState Bank, N.A. (the “Bank”) received your complaint filed with Better Business Bureau(“BBB”) regarding your Homeowners Association (“HOA”) agent, SoJay Property Management (“SoJay”) creating an agency resolution that went against the Board of Directors (“Board”) contractual agreement, and that SoJay did not grant the Board access to accounts with the Bank as agreed.  On July 15, 2023, the HOA sent the Bank a revocation to this resolution and have been in communication with a representative of the Bank, Karen G*****, in attempts to get this ****er resolved.  The Bank takes seriously its obligation to fully investigate complaints. Please accept this letter as our response. 
  
  Research into your complaint revealed that Ms. G***** has been in contact with the Board via phone and has sent email communications through the Footprints ticketing system. Ms. G***** advised the HOA they would have to set up a new online access profile to view the accounts, but this could not happen until the Board members were signers on the account.
  
  On August 18, 2023, you responded to Ms. G*****’s email stating you were planning on returning the signer’s information. As of the date of this response, the Bank has not received the signer’s information and Ms. G***** has sent follow up emails attempting to provide a resolution to your complaint, however the Bank has not received a response.
  
  Once the signer’s information is received, the HOA will then need to update the signature cards and execute the Online Banking Agreement and access forms to be granted online access. If you have questions or need further assistance, please contact Ms. G***** at ************.   
  
  Sincerely,
  Justin S****
  Complaint Management

  Customer response

  09/08/2023

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: We filed a complaint with the BBB regarding a similar ****er on 8/15/23 and it was advised that the bank made a good faith attempt to answer; see complaint ID ********. We acknowledged that the bank did respond and that ****er was closed, but there is a new issue is that if the board signs the electronic form to obtain the access to the account that the current property manager still exist on the account. The HOA Board did not want the existing property manager to have control of the funds. We need SouthState to address this new issue as we have reached out to the software vendor (CINC) to obtain our own independent account. The software vendor will not apply a discount or a lower rate to use CINC without the property manager being attached and advised that SouthState Bank can only authorize this request. We reached out to SouthState Bank on 9/6/23 and Sales advised that the discount to use the software can not be honored. If the HOA is only replacing the Property Management Company, we need to understand why SouthState will not authorize the discount so that we can move forward with using CINC. By restricting the usage of the software (the new issue) the board will be unable to transfer the lockbox over even after we sign the forms as listed in the prior complaint. Provide the discount to use CINC and explain what occurs once the board signs off on the electronic signature form as it relates to property management removal as listed in the agency resolution.
  
  Sincerely,
  Akilah L******

  Business response

  09/20/2023

  The Estates at Laytons Lake Homeowners Association, Inc.
  c/o Akilah L******
  * ******* ****t
  ******* *****, NJ *****
  
  RE: BBB Complaint # ********
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 September 20, 2023
  Dear Akilah L******,
  On September 8, 2023, SouthState Bank, N.A. (the “Bank”) was notified by the Better Business Bureau (“BBB”) that you did not accept the Bank’s response issued on August 25, 2023, to your complaint submitted on August 15, 2023.

  
  Your rebuttal indicates your concerns are regarding the Bank’s requirement that the members of the Board of Directors of The Estates at Laytons Lake Homeowners Association, Inc. (“the HOA”), execute new account signature cards, however, SoJay Property Management (“SoJay”), the current agent for the HOA through September 30, 2023, will retain access to the account, which is against the Board’s interest.  Additionally, you are dissatisfied that CINC, a third-party vendor providing services for property management purposes, will not establish a relationship with the HOA at an acceptable price.

  
  You are requesting the Bank provide you an explanation regarding SoJay’s access to the HOA’s account once the Board executes the signature cards and CINC’s unwillingness to provide services at an acceptable price.
  As stated in the original response on August 25, 2023, Ms. Karen G***** informed you Sojay will be removed as a signer from the account once the executed signature cards are received.  The Board members will then need to execute the Online Banking Agreement and access forms to be granted online access. 

  
  Subsequently, on September 19, 2023, Ms. G***** informed you that once you request revocation of the agency resolution, the homeowner’s payments will not be processed, and you will be unable to utilize the lockbox service. You informed Ms. G***** that you did not want to lose the CINC lockbox service and want to the service continued at the same cost offered with SoJay as the property management agent.  Regarding CINC’s pricing, the Bank is unable to provide insight as to the pricing offered to the HOA as a self-managed property association.

  
  It is my understand that you intend on contacting Ms. G***** after your scheduled meeting with Sojay on September 22, 2023.  If you have questions or need further assistance before then, please contact Ms. G***** at ************.   
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Justin S****
  Complaint Management

  Customer response

  09/21/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because there are some inaccuracies captured by Justin S****'s response.

  1. We explained to Mrs. G***** that the orginal signature cards that were sent to set up authorization on the accounts listed Mr. Daniels on Miss L******'s docusign. 

  2. The docusign signature request also gives the agency (Sojay Property Management) rights back which will terminate the revocation to the Agency Resolution that was set up by SoJay to refute the terms and conditions of the existing contract. How are you attempting to grant access to SoJay once we send in the signature cards if there is a revocation in place?

  3. Both CINC and TresRE advised that SouthState Bank controls the discount honored and those vendors cannot support any changes to rates given if not approved by the bank. The manner at which Justin S**** indicated in the response is that the Association was looking to obtain a discount just entirely because of the discounted rate given to SoJay and that is not entirely true. TresRE software is free to use, but if we wanted to couple that with accounting piece, it still had to be authorized by SouthState. The rate that was given to use CINC (full version) was $1500 a month. We are already existing customers under the current agent (SoJay Property Management) and to use our own accounting that ports over the existing portfolio should not be $1500. How are you attempting to charge $1500 for the same portfolio? None of this was ever explained. Terry at SouthState Bank also advised that the bank has the ability to grant discount but he had to escalate to confirm. We are requesting that you revisit honoring a discount based on this premise.

  4. The board is truly concerned of agency vetting that use CINC and this ****er is currently being investigated. The agent (SoJay) set up one account and when we received the signature cards, we saw the additional account set up by the agent. The board has no knowledge of funds going in and out of those accounts and this is putting the Association at a major financial risk. How is the bank not giving statements to the Association as we are still the client regardless of who signed the master agreement (which was revoked)? The board has a fiduciary responsibility and we are unable to fulfill these obligations if awareness to the funds are not properly identified. Do you grant rights to any organization even if it is possible that the license may be expired? The client (Association) should advise the bank who and what has that access to our funds? Allowing these restrictions to the client may be against state laws. 

  5. The board sent a certified letter to SoJay on 8/22/23 to advise that we are not letting the company (SoJay) out of the current contract until all issues identified in that letter is resolved. We are not sure where you are getting that the current contract with SoJay will expire on 9/30/23. We have a meeting with Sojay on 9/25/23 to discuss these ****ers so the lockbox should stay open until we (the client) advises it should close. 

  We are requesting to keep this BBB complaint open until we advise this ****er with the bank is resolved. We plan to speak with Mrs. G***** on Monday and hopefully there is a better response than what was given.

  Sincerely,
  Akilah L******

  Customer response

  09/21/2023

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because there are some inaccuracies captured by Justin S****'s response.

  1. We explained to Mrs. G***** that the orginal signature cards that were sent to set up authorization on the accounts listed Mr. Daniels on Miss L******'s docusign. 

  2. The docusign signature request also gives the agency (Sojay Property Management) rights back which will terminate the revocation to the Agency Resolution that was set up by SoJay to refute the terms and conditions of the existing contract. How are you attempting to grant access to SoJay once we send in the signature cards if there is a revocation in place?

  3. Both CINC and TresRE advised that SouthState Bank controls the discount honored and those vendors cannot support any changes to rates given if not approved by the bank. The manner at which Justin S**** indicated in the response is that the Association was looking to obtain a discount just entirely because of the discounted rate given to SoJay and that is not entirely true. TresRE software is free to use, but if we wanted to couple that with accounting piece, it still had to be authorized by SouthState. The rate that was given to use CINC (full version) was $1500 a month. We are already existing customers under the current agent (SoJay Property Management) and to use our own accounting that ports over the existing portfolio should not be $1500. How are you attempting to charge $1500 for the same portfolio? None of this was ever explained. Terry at SouthState Bank also advised that the bank has the ability to grant discount but he had to escalate to confirm. We are requesting that you revisit honoring a discount based on this premise.

  4. The board is truly concerned of agency vetting that use CINC and this ****er is currently being investigated. The agent (SoJay) set up one account and when we received the signature cards, we saw the additional account set up by the agent. The board has no knowledge of funds going in and out of those accounts and this is putting the Association at a major financial risk. How is the bank not giving statements to the Association as we are still the client regardless of who signed the master agreement (which was revoked)? The board has a fiduciary responsibility and we are unable to fulfill these obligations if awareness to the funds are not properly identified. Do you grant rights to any organization even if it is possible that the license may be expired? The client (Association) should advise the bank who and what has that access to our funds? Allowing these restrictions to the client may be against state laws. 

  5. The board sent a certified letter to SoJay on 8/22/23 to advise that we are not letting the company (SoJay) out of the current contract until all issues identified in that letter is resolved. We are not sure where you are getting that the current contract with SoJay will expire on 9/30/23. We have a meeting with Sojay on 9/25/23 to discuss these ****ers so the lockbox should stay open until we (the client) advises it should close. 

  We are requesting to keep this BBB complaint open until we advise this ****er with the bank is resolved. We plan to speak with Mrs. G***** on Monday and hopefully there is a better response than what was given.

  Sincerely,
  Akilah L******

  Business response

  09/21/2023

  Please advise we are not going to respond to the second rebuttal received (09.21.23) until after the customer meets with Bank representative, Ms. Karen G*****, on Monday 09.25.23. The customer can request to have the BBB remain open; however, the Bank has provided a response to all customer concerns, including new allegations via the second rebuttal. The customer is wanting to have all concerns re-reviewed reviewed on Monday 09.25.23 with Bank representative Ms. G*****. 

  Customer response

  09/25/2023

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because the board attempted to meet with SoJay on Friday and the agent failed to appear. The board also held a meeting with Karen G***** on 9/25/23 and there is still ambiguity about the lockbox process. The board questioned that if the Board President signs the signature card what will happen to the master agreement since there is still an Agency Revocation in place none of that was clear. Additionally, the bank advised that only the discounts apply based on volume of CINC although there was reference by the bank staff that a discount could be honored for special instances. Mrs. G***** demanded the names of those the board spoke with at CINC although she advised that she circumnavigated the board by speaking with the president at CINC to advise against the discount. The board is hoping for a seamless transiition so residents can continue with using CINC and SouthState, but it appears that the bank is not in a position to help resolve. The board is planning to follow-up with CINC to confirm the discount process as there is a recorded call whereby CINC specifically mentioned that to use the software it cost $1500 but could be less if the bank agrees on the discount. The board is still unclear on the relationship between the bank, SoJay and CINC. The bank is also based in Florida but NJ regulations should still be considered. The board believes that the cost should not be as high if we are account holders already and it would just be a ****er of transferring data from one portfolio to another and the bank to move the account to a new lockbox which is still unclear. Why is there such a dramastic difference of what was offered by the bank discount to use CINC for SoJay  ($723) vereses the board  ($1500) if the Association are the clients. The board plans to contact other interested parties for advice to understand bank compliance and regulations for instances like this in order to be better informed.

  The board advises that they also plan to meet with Sojay at 2pm on 9/25 and will follow-up with Mrs. G***** by 9/29 with a feasible plan. We would like to keep this BBB complaint open until those conversations are held. 

  Sincerely,
  Akilah L******

  Customer response

  09/25/2023

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because the board attempted to meet with SoJay on Friday and the agent failed to appear. The board also held a meeting with Karen G***** on 9/25/23 and there is still ambiguity about the lockbox process. The board questioned that if the Board President signs the signature card what will happen to the master agreement since there is still an Agency Revocation in place none of that was clear. Additionally, the bank advised that only the discounts apply based on volume of CINC although there was reference by the bank staff that a discount could be honored for special instances. Mrs. G***** demanded the names of those the board spoke with at CINC although she advised that she circumnavigated the board by speaking with the president at CINC to advise against the discount. The board is hoping for a seamless transiition so residents can continue with using CINC and SouthState, but it appears that the bank is not in a position to help resolve. The board is planning to follow-up with CINC to confirm the discount process as there is a recorded call whereby CINC specifically mentioned that to use the software it cost $1500 but could be less if the bank agrees on the discount. The board is still unclear on the relationship between the bank, SoJay and CINC. The bank is also based in Florida but NJ regulations should still be considered. The board believes that the cost should not be as high if we are account holders already and it would just be a ****er of transferring data from one portfolio to another and the bank to move the account to a new lockbox which is still unclear. Why is there such a dramastic difference of what was offered by the bank discount to use CINC for SoJay  ($723) vereses the board  ($1500) if the Association are the clients. The board plans to contact other interested parties for advice to understand bank compliance and regulations for instances like this in order to be better informed.

  The board advises that they also plan to meet with Sojay at 2pm on 9/25 and will follow-up with Mrs. G***** by 9/29 with a feasible plan. We would like to keep this BBB complaint open until those conversations are held. 

  Sincerely,
  Akilah L******

• Initial Complaint

  05/10/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Southstate Bank opened a bank account of someone impersonating me. The criminals used a synthetic ID shown in the attachment. These criminals then withdrew a large sum of money from my account at Key Bank in Kennewick into the fraudulently opened account at Southstate via ACH transfer. The transactions were: $200,000.00 (5/31/2022) $232,500.00 (5/31/2022) Key Bank disputed these transactions and completed an investigation deeming these transactions as 100% fraud. Southstate refused to return the funds even with proof of the fraud. I expected nothing less than the entirety of money stolen from my account ($432,500.00) returned back to me as this transaction that was facilitated by Southstate bank was unauthorized and in violation of the bank secrecy act (KYC).

  Business response

  05/12/2023

  ***** *******
  **** ***** **
  Richland, WA 99352
  RE: BBB Complaint ID #********
  May 12, 2023
  Dear *****,
  On May 10, 2023, SouthState Bank, N.A. (the “Bank”) received your complaint filed with the Better Business Bureau stating the Bank opened an account for someone impersonating you. The Bank takes seriously its obligation to fully investigate complaints. Please accept this letter as our response.
  Our investigation confirmed the Bank has no accounts open in your name and has never had any account opened in your name, though we understand your broader concerns pertain to an open fraud investigation and dispute. While we cannot communicate a resolution at this time, the Bank continues to investigate the matter.
  Sincerely,
  Brandon B*******
  Brandon B******* Complaint Management

• Initial Complaint

  02/17/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I received 2 $50.00 gift cards that clearly have expiration dates on the front of the card and when I called to activate them the bank withdrew fees for $50.00 on one of the cards and $15.00 on the other one even though the cards had not been activated. I saved these cards for a rainy day fund and needed to buy groceries.

  Business response

  02/21/2023

  Melissa ******
  **** ********** ***
  ******* ** *****
  RE: BBB Complaint ID ********
  February 21, 2023
  Dear Ms. ******,
  On February 17, 2023, SouthState Bank, N.A. (the “Bank”) received your complaint filed with the Better
  Business Bureau regarding dissatisfaction with the inactivity fees assessed to your gift cards. The Bank
  takes seriously its obligation to fully investigate complaints. Please accept this letter as our response.
  In addition to your initial complaint, when we contacted you on February 17th to further understand
  your concerns, you also expressed confusion about the following question included in the Frequently
  Asked Questions (FAQs) insert that came with the cards: “Does my gift card have an expiration date? Yes,
  the expiration date is 7 years from date of manufacture of card. The funds on this card will be available
  until spent or until the date of expiration on the front of the card. Which is at least 5 years from the date
  the value was loaded."
  While the above statements are accurate and neither card expired, our records show that card xxx2538
  and xxx0189, funded in December 2020 and November 2021 respectively, were rightly assessed monthly
  inactivity fees as outlined in the Fees and Charges on Your Card section of the disclosures provide at
  time of purchase. Please note, the date the card is activated has no bearing on the assessment of
  inactivity fees which is calculated based on the date of value load. Additionally, printed on the back of
  each card it states, “An inactivity fee of $5.00 will be assessed the first of each month after 12 full months
  of inactivity.”
  As a follow up, we attempted to contact you on February 21st but were unable to reach you and left a
  voicemail confirming fees were assessed according to the card agreement and that, as a courtesy, the
  inactivity fees were reversed. At this time, both cards are activated with a current balance of $50 each.
  We appreciate the opportunity to assist with your complaint and trust that our actions fully resolve your
  complaint.
  
  Sincerely,
  Amie ***********
  Complaint Management

  Customer response

  02/25/2023

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Melissa ******

• Initial Complaint

  12/05/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Received a letter from the IRS stating that a deposit was made to this bank in the amount of $4200. I have been contacting the IRS and making so many inquiries about where my money was sent. I have tried to contact the bank and no one can help me or even tell me what happen to my money. I even have the account number but for some reason I'm still being told they can't find anything. Now I know that an entire bank can't loss this type of information nor someone money like this. Its just crazy because I been going through this for almost 2 years trying to find my money. WHO CAN HELP ME????

  Business response

  12/09/2022

  RE: BBB Complaint ********
  December 9, 2022
  Dear Ms. *******,
  On December 5, 2022, SouthState Bank, N.A. (the “Bank”) received your complaint filed with Better
  Business Bureau (“BBB”) regarding funds direct deposited from the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). The
  Bank takes seriously its obligation to fully investigate complaints. Please accept this letter as our
  response.
  Our research confirmed on March 17, 2021, $4,200.00 received from the IRS was deposited into an
  expired prepaid card account ending in ****.
  In response to your complaint, we made several unsuccessful attempts to reach you using the contact
  information provided in your complaint. We kindly ask that you contact ***** ********* at ************,
  and he will assist you with accessing your funds.
  Sincerely,
  Amie K**********
  Complaint Management

• Initial Complaint

  11/28/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Since June 2022 I have been dealing with an erroneous escrow shortage issue. It has yet to be resolved and I have experienced talking to many with little to no exact answers. I am most frustrated that I have reached out and requested a call back from the Escrow department since June. I got a call once in October 2022, but still no resolve to my account. My mortgage went up by $700 plus and no one can tell me why or show me correct numbers to validate analysis. I was once told that someone negotiated an escrow shortage check on my behalf last year in the amount of $4,685.69. It was confirmed that this was either fraud or a mistake, however refunding it to my account would correct my escrow issue. It was credited back to my account, but did not resolve the issue. I am still struggling to get communication from the escrow department about my loan and this $700 plus new payment I am expected to honor since June 2022. After 6 long months of financial confusion I am requesting answers from executive leadership at SouthState bank. I am highly disappointed in how long it is taking to get answers on what should have only been a couple business days. It is affecting my livelihood. It is being reported that I am delinquent for months and to this day I have never been late or missed a payment. My credit score has now decreased hundreds and I’ve been getting foreclosure letters in the mail. Please help me resolve this issue with my mortgage and escrow. Thank you, Shuntae L*******

  Business response

  11/30/2022

  ******* ******** **** ***** **** ********** ** ***** ******** *** ****
  Dear Shuntae,
  On November 28, 2022, SouthState Bank, N.A. (the “Bank”) received your complaint filed with the Better
  Business Bureau regarding the escrow calculations and payments on your mortgage loan. The Bank takes
  seriously its obligation to fully investigate complaints.
  It is our understanding The Bank's Servicing Relationship Manager, Donna ******, spoke with you and sent a
  follow up letter the same day you submitted your complaint to the BBB. Enclosed is a copy of the letter mailed
  to you on November 25, 2022, outlining what was discussed. We appreciate the opportunity to provide this
  response to you and trust our previous actions have resolved your complaint. If you have any outstanding
  concerns, we invite you to contact Donna at the number provided in the letter.
  Sincerely,
  Colleen *****
  Complaint Management Team
  Enclosure: Response Letter from Donna ******, SVP/Servicing Relationship Manager

• Initial Complaint

  04/11/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I received a mortgage loan in 2009 from South State Bank. I was never late or missed a payment. I wanted to refinance the loan because it had an adjustable rate 1% above prime with a floor of 6%. I paid 6-6.5% for the entire loan. They weren't able to refinance to a fixed rate because the loan was on a mobile home. I was able to find a different lender that will give me a fixed rate but south state bank would not release the title to the mobile home unless it was payed off. I had the money to pay the loan off in their bank in a savings account. I tried to get them to put a hold on my money and release the title but they wouldn't do that. I decided to pay the loan off with my money but now they will not release the title to the mobile home for 30-45 days. They couldn't tell me why a car title is typically released in 14 days but the mobile home title will take 30-45 days. This delay will cause me to miss my new closing date and likely cause me to receive a higher interest rate and cost me thousands of dollars

  Business response

  04/13/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/04/13) */ Dear *****, On April 11, 2022, SouthState Bank, N.A., (the "Bank") received your complaint filed with the Better Business Bureau ("BBB") regarding the payoff of your mortgage and subsequent release of the collateral title. The Bank takes seriously its obligation to fully investigate complaints. Please accept this letter as our response. When a payoff is made, it is the Bank's policy to delay the release of loan collateral until funds from the paying bank have cleared. The title(s) is then mailed via the USPS and the entire process is estimated to take 30 days. In your case, since the payoff was made via a transfer from an internal account, the processing of the payoff typically occurs even sooner. Out investigation found that the titles for the collateral of the doublewide mobile home were mailed yesterday, April 12, 2022, to the address of record. We trust that this response addresses your concerns. If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact the Bank's Customer Care team at (XXX) XXX-XXXX or mail to P.O. Box XXXXXX, Charleston, SC XXXXX. Consumer Response /* (2000, 12, 2022/05/09) */ Their initial statement they made to me was that it would take 30-45 days and it was "out of their hands" on that time frame. Then in their response to my complaint they stated, "When a payoff is made, it is the Bank's policy to delay the release of loan collateral until funds from the paying bank have cleared. The title(s) is then mailed via the USPS..." This reasoning doesn't apply in my case because the funds were transferred directly from my account with THEIR bank. However, after I filed this complaint we received the titles in about 10 days. I'm thankful to the BBB for helping me resolve this matter. The complaint has been satisfied.

• Initial Complaint

  04/08/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  We started the mortgage/construction loan process with SouthState Bank 8/2020. It took our builder well over 16mos to complete construction. SSB had well enough notice that we would be converting our loan. After dealing with several loan officers and being passed from one to the other, we were finally able to sign our final closing documents on 3/10/22 paying $2933.01. The process was very unorganized. The Seneca location had no notice of our closing but was able to accommodate. After confirming with the loan officer our mortgage and interest payments. we were contacted by a loan officer stating they misquoted the amount and owe yet another interest payment. We feel as if the negligent actions of South State bank is causing us to pay unnecessary interest payments and no one seems to be concerned. We moved into our home January 27th, this loan process should've been completed by this point.

  Business response

  04/14/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/04/12) */ Dear ****, On April 8, 2022, SouthState Bank, N.A., (the "Bank") received your complaint filed with the Better Business Bureau regarding dissatisfaction with the construction loan process and specifically the amount of interest due on your loan. It is our understanding The Bank's Director of Construction Loan Administration spoke with you the same day you submitted your complaint, and that your concerns regarding the April interest payment due amount were addressed to your satisfaction. We appreciate the opportunity to provide this response to you and trust this resolves your complaint. Consumer Response /* (2000, 7, 2022/04/14) */ (The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)

*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. ↩