Consumer complaint received 2023-12-04
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: IL
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Closing an account
Sub-issue: Funds not received from closed account

Complaint:
Dear Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, I XXXX XXXX XXXX is requesting an investigation to be conducted on behalf of myself and Bank of Americas BOA clients. Based on the interactions with BOA Representatives, I believe this business is engaging in unethical practices and unlawful discriminatory behaviors resulting in clients economical inconvenience and further financial hardship. On or around XX/XX/XXXX, I submitted a check via mobile device into my business checking account and it appeared to be available for use after approximately a week. I attempted to pay for a bill and was unsuccessful. I contacted the Bank of Americas customer service to investigate the issue. BOA Representative communicated that my account was scheduled for closure and that the bank will issue a check with the remaining account balance. BOA Representative stated that the check will be sent by mail. During my customer service call, there was an authentication process. I provided my passport number, email address, and a secret code that was sent by the BOA Representative only to be told that I needed to go into the bank to be further authenticated. I understand the need for authentication process, however, believe after giving a social security number, passport number, an access code provided by BOA Rep should be sufficient information to discuss account with client. I submitted a complaint with BOA to implement a process improvement plan for their authentication process. Furthermore, I was given inconsistent information regarding the status of my account by a representative. The Representative stated that this is information that was provided to them in their database. I updated my mailing address by phone with BOA Representative ( XXXX ) XXXX XXXX XXXX  On or around XX/XX/XXXX, I met with BOA Business Advisor ( XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX, XXXX. We discussed my account and BOA closure account representative was contacted. I learned that BOA committed an administrative error and sent my check to the wrong address. I was told that the check was cashier check and they had to wait until the check was returned and they will issue a new check after 121 days. I asked if they could cancel the check and reissue a new check. I was told no. I asked if they could expedite this issue for faster resolutions and I was told no. BOA Representative stated that they could only issue a new check after 121 days which is around XX/XX/XXXX. It is unfortunate that I could not resolve this matter at the bank level with first point of contact representatives or even with next in line leadership. Im extremely surprised that this bank does not have a strong sense of urgency and an escalation process to resolve these kinds of issues quickly. Holding, freezing, and ceasing clients funds cause economic inconvenience. Customers are unable to pay their bills and use funds for personal use until there is a resolution which could take several months. There should be something in place to resolve cases quickly to mitigate risk with a service level agreement with clients. The actions by BOA Reps clearly show some operational inefficiencies along with unethical practices in place. At one point, I was invited to BOA secret advisory panel to help them improve their operations and customer service processes. I was extremely busy with other board commitments and could not add another committee. I want my grievances to be investigated and leadership need to move forward with corrective action immediately. There should be a way for them to send my money faster than 121 days. Coaching needs to be issued up to termination for this administrative error. Im sure employees want their salaries and wages issued on the day their employers committed to paying them. We dont want any payroll issues. Furthermore, everybodys bank accounts should not be frozen until this issue gets resolved. This is the kind of behavior that causes people to understand economical inconvenience. This XXXX XXXX behavior is triggering and should be concerning regarding the public safety and the public money homes. Please investigate this issue and let us know if we need to keep our money in a Mesopotamia shoebox again and set up food shelter in our basements. 

Respectfully submitted, XXXX XXXX, XXXX Founder and CEO, XXXX XXXX

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation