Fifth Third Bank says most former Comerica customers can now log in to their accounts, five days after a botched conversion left many customers locked out.

But for some, the fix came too late.

Susan Goldfaden, who banked with Comerica for decades, said she couldn't access her new Fifth Third account and spent hours on hold before giving up. She walked into a branch, closed her account, withdrew her money in cash and opened an account at another bank.

"I've been in corporate America my whole life, and I've never seen an unmitigated disaster of this merger," Goldfaden told WDIV Local 4.

She said the switch will mean extra work, including moving all her auto-pay and recurring payments to a new bank.

Fifth Third completed its technical conversion of roughly 600,000 customer accounts and 293 banking centers on Tuesday, Sept. 8, the day after Labor Day, according to the Detroit Free Press. The changeover covered branches in Michigan, Arizona, California, Florida and Texas, finishing an integration that began when the two banks merged on Feb. 1.

Customers in Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills reported login failures and long wait times, while other customers, including in Oakland Township, said their bill-pay data didn't migrate, according to WDIV Local 4 and the Free Press.

Birmingham resident Robert Erlandson, a professor emeritus of electrical and computer engineering at Wayne State University, tried to resolve his login problems at a Fifth Third branch in Birmingham on Tuesday, Sept. 8 and found roughly 20 customers already waiting, the Free Press reported. Every teller window was occupied.

Fifth Third Michigan Regional President Steve Davis told WDIV Local 4 on Sunday, Sept. 13 that his team had worked through the weekend and planned to work overnight again. He said most customers already have access to their accounts.

In a Sept. 10 interview with WXYZ 7 News Detroit, Davis apologized, saying customers had not had a great experience and that the bank wanted to resolve the problems.

Goldfaden also faulted the bank's communication, saying customers were left frantic and some feared their money was gone.

Customers still experiencing problems can call Fifth Third directly or visit a local branch. The former Comerica location at 188 N. Old Woodward in Birmingham is now branded as Fifth Third.