Consumer complaint received 2020-05-28
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: NY
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Card was charged for something you did not purchase with the card

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX, {$11000.00} worth of fraudulent charges were processed on my Bank of America credit card account across 8 separate transactions. This card had no legitimate spending on it since XXXX and was completely paid off with a XXXX  balance on XX/XX/XXXX. I was notified of the unusual spending by a third party financial app ( the XXXX XXXX  by XXXX ) on XX/XX/XXXX, as opposed to Bank of America itself, which I feel was a real oversight on their part given the unusual spending pattern ( any other bank would have put a stop on the card! ). Nevertheless, I immediately contacted Bank of America to report this as fraud and they subsequently provided a temporary refund for the charges on XXXX while they completed their investigation. According to Bank of America, in between the time period of when I paid off the balance of the card in XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, Bank of America had allegedly sent a new card to me as the old one expired. However, I never received this card in the mail or activated it. It was determined that the card must have been stolen and somehow activated by the same individual who fraudulently made these charges. At the same time, I realized several new credit cards were opened in my name around the same XX/XX/XXXX time period ( I was getting credit card notifications in the mail from various companies ). In total, 7 new accounts were opened in my name with various charges. It became clear I was a victim of identify theft and I immediately contacted each credit card/financial institution to file claims. With the assistance of XXXX XXXX XXXX ( a service through MasterCard services XXXX XXXX ) I also froze my credit with all three credit reporting agencies, place a fraud alert, and filed a report with the FTC on XX/XX/XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, Bank of America sent a letter notifying they had completed their investigation and resolved the dispute in my favor and all charges, plus interest, would be credited to my account. On the same day, I received a second letter notifying me the claim was actually denied and Bank of America subsequently placed all charges back onto my account. Once receiving these conflicting messages from Bank of America, I filed a second dispute to reopen the investigation given the conflicting letters and the charges being placed back on my account. After 5 months, with interest and late payment fees accruing the entire time, on XX/XX/XXXX Bank of America denied my claim a second time. 

All other financial institutions where fraudulent charges and accounts were opened in my name determined that these transactions were not me and resolved the claims in my favor. Bank of America continues to deny the claim without providing sufficient proof that it was me who made these charges. I am running out of options in terms of resolving this dispute with Bank of America and can not afford ( and should not be liable ) to pay the {$11000.00} in fraudulent charges. Thanks to late fees and interest over the course of their 5 month long investigation, the total balance has grown to {$11000.00}. I have done everything I was supposed to as a consumer in terms of notifying the crediting agencies and filing a report with the FTC noting this was fraudulent activity. I have a stellar credit history, which is now being put in jeopardy as a result of Bank of America 's gross negligence. The financial hardship is even more pressing given the current stresses of the current COVID-19 pandemic. It has been a hassle to even speak with a helpful representative at Bank of America throughout this whole process. As a loyal customer for over 4 years, I feel deeply betrayed and misguided.

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 monetary relief