Hold on MY money!

[my reality]

I must say, USAA should stop running their commercials showing happy family members because my family members are not happy. I am a 26 year-old female veteran and bought a house two last Wednesday thinking that the monies I received from my closing would clear my USAA account in time for me to move. My family is unhappy that we are not able to move into our new home after renting a small apartment for so long. USAA put a hold on both checks and explained that my account history was the reason for my checks being held. Please tell me why I should have to wait for my money when I have a family to take care of and feed. After this is cleared up, I am done. Usaa seems to care more about members who bring in the big money every month. I am appalled at the explanation that I was given by Rapheal, the executive resolution officer. He had the nerve to tell me that my current account was overdrawn last December. Then when I asked him to give me the mysterious details about this, he wanted to place me on hold again to research the information. For the life of me,no don't know why I am being treated like a criminal ahead of time because he needed to find an excuse as to why my own money could not be release until a week from the day that I mobile deposited those checks. Thanks USAA, for killing the dreams of a family looking to move into their first home.

[DSTEXAS]

The reality is that the money isn't yours until the check has been cashed.  If the money is made available to you when you deposit the check, then the bank is fronting the funds until it has been received by the bank who issued the check.  If the check is returned as unpaid (which can take longer than a week), then you will be liable for all the funds immediately.  If you don't maintain a high enough daily balance in your account to cover the check, and/or you have had account history issues before, then you fall into a higher risk category and they probably will not front you the funds.

You agreed to the banks hold policy when you opened your account.  It is prudent to plan for the hold or  cash the check at the bank that issued it.

From the Depository Agreement:

Remote Deposit Capture and Similar Services
The availability periods described in this section do not apply to funds submitted through FSB’s USAA Deposit@Home, USAA Deposit@Mobile, USAA EasyDeposit, other remote check deposit or remote deposit capture services, ACH debit transactions (where FSB drafts funds from (debits) a non-USAA account for deposit into your FSB account), or other similar services. FSB will hold the funds for up to seven business days from the date of deposit. In some instances, funds may be available sooner than seven business days based on such factors as credit worthiness, the length and extent of your relationship with FSB and its affiliates, transaction and experience history, and such other factors as FSB, in its sole discretion, deems relevant.

[Angela Caban USAA]

Dear Member,

I can empathize with your situation. I would like to get a specialist in contact with you to see what can be done. If you could please email us at  socialmedia@usaa.com with your member number and the details you provided above, we will be in touch. Thank you for posting in the community.

[John8]

I would just get a new bank. I received a check fr

[John8]

I would just get a new bank. I received a check from my mom to help us bc I don't have a job and the put a hold on it for 10 days. Now I'll have bills bouncing and Ussa will make money off me because of over draft fees. I have car insurance, renters insurance, credit cards, and a checking account. Been a member for 6 years. Thinking now might be the time to change banks. I called Usaa today to see if they can shorten the hold and the guy told me no because federal laws allow them to hold my money. He said I should go to UPS to deposit my money instead of mobile deposit.

[Soontobexmember]

The sad part is that people keep on trying to justify this. Like, so what? We are being put in a position where we don't have our money and udaa is going to rip us in nsf. Why even have it available for people if you are going yo hold it for a week? Let us cash it somewhere else. I'm done with usaa. They are really screwing people over. It's a multitude of people facing the same issues and nothing is being done.

[Briana Hartzell USAA]

Dear soontobexmember,

Before making such a drastic change, we would appreciate the opportunity to talk with you about our hold policy.

The holds placed by USAA are done so as means of protecting our members and USAA Bank from fraud and loss. During this time, USAA will confirm the funds are good and make the funds available after the hold time frame. This is a common practice among financial institutions.

The best option to avoid deposit holds is the use of direct deposit from a payroll provider or wire transfers from another bank. USAA accepts direct deposit from your payroll provider at no cost. If you are depositing a check or transferring funds from an external bank, you can utilize a wire transfer, which is not subject to holds. USAA also does not charge you for incoming wire transfers.

We encourage you to call us here at 1-800-531-8722 to talk about the reasons behind your holds. Thank you.