Like a lot of folks right now we are struggling and have let our HSA account run down. Then my wife read that you can make a one-time transfer from your IRA to your HSA--trustee to trustee. Perfect, she thought--we've had some unexpected medical expenses--mainly my recent bout with Lyme disease.

She contacted our US Bank HSA. "will it be a problem that the next month's fee will put the account $1 and change in the negative for the few days it will take to refund it, since I want to do the maximum transfer from our IRA?" "Oh no, that will be fine" they assured her. (The $3.40 monthly service charge was about to come due.)

Then the fun started--notarized forms, checked everything three times, money left her IRA and then US Bank HSA customer service people started lying to her. When she called to see if the money had arrived she was told variously "it's on hold" and then was told that her HSA account had been closed at the "customer's request."

"Would it make sense for me to close an account that I was about to fund" she asked?

"We'll have to do an investigation," they replied. By email, not directly!!!!

ABSOLUTELY no one had the authority to check directly with the bank, no direct contact was allowed from customer to the bank and the only contact was filtered through some off-shore "Customer dis-Service Center".

Since this was an IRA disbursement the tax implications were grave if there was a screw up & even this was not enough to force them to allow direct contact or get an immediate answer.

(As good luck has it, her IRA trustees called to let her know the money had been returned two days after it was sent.)

Four full business days after she contacted US Bank HSA to see that the transfer had gone through (and 5 days since she had confirmation that it had left her IRA), and many aggravating phone calls, broken promises for returned calls, a flat refusal to let her deal directly with US Bank HSA operations, a flat refusal to provide direct numbers for any of the so-called "supervisors" at the "Customer dis-Service Center" and repeated attempts to claim that she had authorized the account to be closed, the money was 'on hold" etc, etc--the results of the "investigation" have nowbeen reported.

The US Bank HSA account was closed because of a "negative balance." The service charge went through July 31st and they must have closed it instantly--no notification, no warning , no phone call --- and while the transfer was already underway and after she had been assured that the small negative balance for the few days it would take for the wire transfer to complete WOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM!

So if you are thinking about an HSA--go anywhere other than US Bank. In my 50 years of being a sentient consumer I have never witnessed such a colossal customer service disaster.

The final joke--the rep that called to report the results of their "investigation" provided a number at US Bank HSA so we could reopen the account.

When h*ll freezes over was my answer.