Some Comerica customers are venting frustration after officially transitioning to Fifth Third Bank — reporting login issues, long hold times, and hours spent trying to sort out their accounts.
The branch switchover became official this week, and while many customers have had a smooth experience, others say the process has been anything but easy.
Susan Goldfaden, who banked with Comerica for decades, said the experience was unlike anything she’d seen in her professional career.
“I’ve been in corporate America my whole life, and I’ve never seen an unmitigated disaster of this merger,” Goldfaden said.
After running into trouble logging into her new account and waiting several hours on hold, Goldfaden decided she had seen enough.
“I just went up to the counter, closed my account, took my money out in cash and walked out and went over to another bank and started,” she said.
Goldfaden acknowledged the switch will create more work for her down the road.
“Is it going to cause me problems? Yeah, it is. I have to switch over all my auto pay, and all of those other things,” she said.
Goldfaden is far from alone. Complaints have been pouring in online from customers sharing similar experiences.
Fifth Third acknowledges the issues
Fifth Third Bank Michigan Regional President Steve Davis apologized for the inconvenience, acknowledging that the bank experienced technical problems as hundreds of thousands of customers moved online simultaneously.
Davis said his team has been working around the clock to resolve the issues.
“We’ve worked all weekend. We were working overnight last night. We’ll work overnight again tonight. We’ll do whatever we need to do to get our customers over to the other side,” Davis said.
He added that most customers already have access to their accounts and the new benefits that come with the transition.
“I do want to reassure people: your money is safe, like you’re going to be fine. We’ll get you access as quickly as we can,” Davis said.
Customer says communication fell short
For Goldfaden, the apology comes too late. She also raised concerns about how the bank communicated — or failed to communicate — with customers during the chaos.
“My question is, he had to answer it to you. The minute they had problems, they should have been saying, ‘Dear customer, we are experiencing higher call volumes.’ There were people that were frantic. They thought their money was gone,” she said.
Customers experiencing issues are encouraged to call Fifth Third Bank directly or visit a local branch for assistance.
