Florida Blue auto-pay glitch wipes out some customers’ bank balances

May 02--Health insurer Florida Blue is scrambling to fix an auto-pay glitch that drained bank accounts of some of its customers on Monday.

Instead of a single deduction for their May health insurance premium, customers logged into their checking accounts and discovered multiple withdrawals.

The company, which was plagued by a series of glitches earlier this year, said it has shut down its electronic payment system and plans to refund money to customers for any improper withdrawals or late fees.

Spokesman Doug Bartel said Monday the company was researching the issue and didn't know how many of its customers were affected.

Lisa Moore, a Jacksonville resident, said she got a text alert Monday morning informing her that her checking account had been overdrawn by $44,000.

"I've got my bank account set up to send me an alert anytime my balance drops below a certain amount," she said in an interview. Logging on to her account, she found more than 100 charges for $400 each.

"I can't use my checking account now. I'm on vacation, so it's been a pain."

In Orlando, an area attorney told the Orlando Sentinel that she discovered 71 withdrawals for $2,000 each -- a total of $142,000.

Similar stories were recounted on the company's social media accounts.

On Florida Blue's Twitter account, an Orlando customer identifying himself as "Bobby" said he was charged 69 times.

A Miami customer, Andres Estevez, said his account was charged 50 times.

On the company's Facebook page, Jeff Griesemer said, "Thank you Florida Blue for erroneously withdrawing nearly $5,000 from my bank account. Such a nice way to wake up on a Monday."

Representatives of Chase and Bank of America said they were aware of the situation and would make sure their customers aren't charged any overdraft fees resulting from the glitch.

Late Monday, Wells Fargo spokeswoman Michelle Palomino said by email that the bank had reversed charges for impacted customers "and no fees will be assessed for these transactions." Asked how many customers were affected, Palomino said that information was "proprietary and confidential."

At around noon, Florida Blue posted a message: "We're sorry! We're working to fix an issue w/the payment system ASAP. Please email us at socialmediasupport@floridablue.com so we can help you."

Shortly afterward, Florida Blue issued a statement saying the issue was caused by one of its vendors.

"We are working to identify all overpayments proactively and refund them promptly," the statement said. "We will ensure that only the appropriate amount is deducted and excess deductions are refunded. In fact, we have already begun processing refunds for some customers."

"In addition, any overdraft fees charged to customers will be reimbursed," Florida Blue said.

Meanwhile, the company has shut down its electronic fund transfer system and stopped further automatic payments "until we understand the issue and ensure it is corrected," the statement said.

No policy will be canceled for non-payment until the issue is resolved, the statement said, adding, "During this time, we will ensure that people who need care are able to get it, even if they are unable to make premium payments as a result of this issue."

A Florida Blue customer in Davie questioned whether the glitch was limited to auto-pay customers. Sheldon Shapiro said he had scheduled a one-time payment of $621.99 for his wife's policy, then discovered 50 identical withdrawals totaling more than $30,000.

Asked about this, Florida Blue spokesman Bartel said he hasn't heard of any reports that customers not on auto-pay were impacted by the glitch, but that he would check into it.

Earlier in the year, the company was the subject of hundreds of customer complaints to the state Division of Consumer Services.

Plan members said their accounts were flagged as cancelled when they tried to make doctors appointments or pick up prescriptions, even though they had made payments and received ID cards from the company.

Between Jan. 1 and Feb. 16, Florida Blue customers filed 524 complaints with the state division, compared to 177 complaints during the same period the previous year, a division spokeswoman said in late February.

At the time, the company acknowledged the issues affected thousands of its customers and that they stemmed from difficulties associated with absorbing the high volume of consumers transferring to the company after Aetna and UnitedHealthcare pulled out of Florida's healthcare market before this year's open enrollment period.

rhurtibise@sun-sentinel.com, 954-356-4071, twitter: twitter.com/ron_hurtibise

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