Comments on: BrioDirect High Yield Savings Plus Review: 4.85% APY (Nationwide)

By: JtAlmond

JtAlmond — Fri, 04 Aug 2023 13:53:35 +0000

In reply to Warren C`. I didn't get scammed when I took out the Brio 12 month CD. It was easy to fund, not so easy to navigate after I ACH'd my funds however. There was no further communication with Brio once they got my money. I complained to the BBB about my problem with Brio. Shortly thereafter I was contacted telephonically by the bank. The bank rep assisted me in setting up my online banking and its been clear sailing since then.

By: Charles Wangler

Charles Wangler — Wed, 21 Dec 2022 16:37:58 +0000

BrioDirect suspended my account 15 days ago. I cannot withdraw any of my money. I may need to wait 3 or more months to get access to my money. BrioDirect will not allow me to close my account. I have filed a complaint with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. I hope the OCC will help me get my money back.
My advice: Don’t make any deposits to BrioDirect.

By: Warren C`

Warren C` — Sun, 22 Mar 2020 05:44:40 +0000

Do not use BrioDirect. I went out of the country for work and they never set up my account so I could transfer money in. I called and the first man was not helpful. He said he would “tell the BrioDirect people.” Did I not call BrioDirect? The women I spoke with was awesome and unlocked the account so I could log in from a foreign country and transfer money from Japan. Then I transfer a sizable about of cash into the account, and the day it should have cleared, the app once again needs me to call the customer service number, but of course they are closed. DO NOT USE BRIODIRECT. Sterling Bank is a scam. They hold you money and do not have goo customer service. The US government needs to take Sterling Bank down.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 04:05:05 +0000

What I experienced in the last 24 hrs is essentially exactly what MattR described. This is clearly a scam and when I expressed concern about disclosing even MORE personal info to the customer service person (after calling to figure out what happened to the acct I supposedly opened but could not access), he was aggressive and rude, which just confirmed it. Not how a legitimate enterprise would operate. What an awful experience. It’s upsetting that it’s so easy for these operations to get “A” and “4 star” ratings and mislead consumers with no consequences. Can we get Elizabeth Warren on this?

By: Cheryl McGovern

Cheryl McGovern — Sat, 18 Jan 2020 17:33:42 +0000

I am in tears. I put my life savings into abrió Direct because of the 4 star rating. I need my money to
close on escrow purchase of house and I can’t get money. Ack!!!!!!!! They said they could only use regular U.S. Postal Service to send out the check. I had to wait 10 business days before they could reissue me a check. They required I use their stop payment form, get it notarized, and I spent $49 to send it overnight via UPS. I called and confirmed the form was delivered at 10:30 EST to their office and tried all day to get them to reissue the check and mail it overnight FedEx with signature required. The supervisor said he had to escalate the overnight request to “managers’. No answer by the end of the day. It’s now Saturday and Mondsy is a holiday…..I now have to wait until Tuesday!!!! I feel like flying to NY to get my money. BrioDirect makes getting your money easy but delays getting you your money meanwhile they continue to use my money to make money for the bank and save money by delaying reissuing the check that should have been sent FEDEX OVERNIGHT SIGNATURE REQUIRED!!!!!!!!!! Demand this from them if you choose to give them your money. Extremely unprofessional.

By: MattR

MattR — Sun, 20 Oct 2019 06:58:26 +0000

Looks like Kathryn Matthews experienced something very similar to what we did. A cautionary tale on what appears to be illegal bank fraud by Brio/Sterling National Bank, in collecting a litany of very sensitive, personal/private information from people under the false premise that a new savings account has been opened.

But then customers discover that the bank does not even want them to fund the account, be able to use or maintain the account, or, as in our case, ever access the account online! Then the bogus “account” clocks out because it is unfunded, preventing any receipt of the come-on promotional interest rate!

The scam appears to be a ploy to obtain very sensitive information from members of the public who are duped, and resultantly give away enough information that would allow identity theft by third parties.

In our case, Brio/Sterling wanted the private pass codes to other bank accounts, as well as myriad personal information in the guise of answers to ten personal security questions (this was furnished under the false promise that it would allow me online access to my blocked account), on top of all the standard personal identity information provided in the initial online application.

I feel extremely violated, and continue to worry about where and to whom this information has already been transmitted. Why is there no oversight of this bank to protect members of the public?

I wish you, Kathryn, and other affected consumers of Brio/Sterling’s misconduct a safe, secure resolution, if at all possible.

By: Echofro

Echofro — Wed, 16 Oct 2019 13:51:58 +0000

Was able to eventually get the account set up. The website didn’t work well and I did have to call. Made 2 transfers into the account and then they locked it. At first the said they needed my ID which took long phone calls to figure out. After that it was still locked. Now they are saying they need a statement from my other bank. I would not recommend this bank.

By: Sangtich

Sangtich — Tue, 08 Oct 2019 19:03:01 +0000

I consider myself a rate chaser and I have opened a few high yield online savings accounts. However, opening an account with Brio Direct was the most problematic of all online accounts I have ever opened. After going through a series of questions and giving my personal information (which is normal), the system could not find my bank even after I typed it in on the search button. So I decided to call customer service, and I can conclusively say this bank does not have the best customer service. On each occasion, I waited on line for more than 10 minutes. The first customer service rep. was not helpful at all, he seemed not to have clue. The second CSR was a little helpful. Since I was not being helped by humans, I decided to start the application afresh and this time I used a different bank and it went through. The next step was the enrollment process with Sterling Bank and I just transferred the minimum required, because I am being cautious. This bank’s process was the most tedious I have every dealt with in an online savings account!

By: JimB

JimB — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 12:47:55 +0000

I opened a Briodirect account – no problems. I transferred money from 3 other accounts – no problem. Briodirect only credits interest every 3 months but the interest is compounded daily – that could be a problem for some people.

By: Kathryn Matthews

Kathryn Matthews — Fri, 20 Sep 2019 19:14:13 +0000

Brio Direct Update (9/20/19) — day 5 with no indication of account closing and transfer of funds. 3 phone calls today (over 5 hours) and still waiting to find out what the ACH issue is. Apparently the issue was not with the ACH dept but somebody didn’t complete all steps to send it to ACH so it “was in limbo”. My last customer service rep says he will follow through and make sure it is taken care of.