CFPB Complaint System Succeeds In Shutting Down Zombie Bank Account

The complaint portals at the newly created Consumer Protection Bureau might really be helping people.

On Thursday, Consumerist.com posted a story from "Samantha," who had been trying for years to close a bank account that she had originally opened with Mellon Bank. Samantha thought she closed her account with Mellon in 1999 but discovered more than 10 years later that instead of closing her account, Mellon had just transferred it to Citizens Bank, which had bought Mellon in 2001.

She filed a complaint through the CFPB's newly created Complaint Portal, and the agency succeeding in shutting down the account, something Samantha couldn't do on her own.

The CFPB started accepting complaints for bank accounts on March 1.

Bank accounts that never close, or "zombie accounts," can end up costing a lot of money. Stu Straus of West Orange, N.J., was charged $1,555.61 in overdraft fees after Wells Fargo brought a zombie bank account back to life, according to the New Jersey Star-Ledger.

Have you tried using the CFPB's complaint portal? Send us your stories at money@huffingtonpost.com.