Consumer complaint received 2021-05-08
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: TX
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Credit card debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Sub-issue: Debt was result of identity theft

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX I received a notification to my XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX 's XXXX shopping center. I was asked to verify if this was an authorized purchase made by me and I immediately responded " NO ''. I was then prompted to contact Bank of America and that my credit card would be restricted to prevent further unauthorized transactions. After contacting BofA 's fraud department, my current credit card was cancelled and a replacement was mailed to me. They also informed me that the charge of {$2700.00} would be removed from my account while they investigated the matter. 

However, on XX/XX/XXXX, I received a notification from Bank of America that my fraud claim had been denied and that the transaction of {$2700.00} had been restored to my account. Their justification for denying my claim is that the " chip '' for the card was read, and the merchandise was signed for ( without my personal signature ), making the purchase valid by their terms. 

I would then contact Bank of America to question why the charge was reinstated and their Fraud Department explained that a written " Fraud Statement '' could be filled out to formally deny that the charge was made by me. This form was sent to me by mail and completed with my personal signature disaffirming the fraudulent transaction. The form was then mailed back to the Fraud Department for further evaluation of my claim. Again, however, I would receive another letter from Bank of America dated on XX/XX/XXXX that their decision had not changed concerning my fraud claim and that the transaction was still considered to be valid. 
After this occurrence, I made another call to their XXXX Department requesting that the investigation be re-opened to verify with the merchant XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX that their security cameras captured the transaction when it was made to verify my identity. While they did honor my request to re-open my claim, I would still receive another letter dated XX/XX/XXXX that their stance had still not changed and that the {$2700.00} transaction made to my account was valid. 

To compound this matter, on XX/XX/XXXX, I received a notification from my employer that on XX/XX/XXXX an attempt had been made to withdraw unemployment benefits in my name from the government in the amount of {$7800.00}. This would be confirmation that I was a victim of identity theft, which prompted me to file a report with the XXXX Police Department and a fraud claim with the Texas Workforce Commission. 

As a result of these on-goings, I have cancelled my account with Bank of America out of fears that this occurrence could transpire again and they will refuse to grant me protection from any unauthorized transactions associated with my account. 

While the {$2700.00} charge remains on my account, Bank of America has not provided any evidence directly to me to support their claim that this was a valid charge authorized by me and by law I should only be liable for {$50.00} of a fraudulent transaction. 

Bank of America has now proceeded to report this occurrence to the Credit Bureau, citing that they have " resolved '' the matter and that I disagree with their claim. This has significantly downgraded my credit score ( below 700 ) which was 800+ prior to this ordeal.

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