Consumer complaint received 2023-08-29
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CA
Product: Prepaid card
Sub-product: Government benefit card
Issue: Unexpected or other fees

Complaint:
I applied for an Employment Development Department card and received a benefits card in XXXX through Bank of America. I made transactions from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, I checked the balance of my card of {$4700.00}. After this day, I decided to stop making transactions and let my benefits accumulate for the purpose of using the money for another payment in the future. I did not check on any statements, because I entrusted that Bank of America would have secured my benefits and notify me of any suspicious activity or fraudulent charges. My card expired on XX/XX/XXXX and I renewed the card. I received the new card on XX/XX/XXXX. Upon activating my card with my credentials, I discovered I had a balance of less than XXXX dollars. I filed a claim with Bank of America on XX/XX/XXXX to dispute any unauthorized transactions and requested a copy of all transactions. During speaking with a Bank of America representative, I was asked if I had received the renewed card. I was frustrated in the moment and forgot that I had the new card in my possession and said I never received the card because I was attempting to dispute the fraudulent transactions, not whether I received the card or not. I was frustrated, because my identity was stolen, and my benefits were stolen and wanted to just dispute the transactions. When receiving the document via email, I saw 43 fraudulent transactions totaling up to {$5400.00}. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received through the mail, a letter from Bank of America stating that my claim was denied because I renewed my card using my credentials and that the card was mailed to my address. On XX/XX/XXXX I called Bank of America again requesting to reopen the claim and filed a complaint with Bank of America. I stated that the issue was not whether or not I received the card but that there were fraudulent charges on my EDD card. I was asked to verify my identity via fax. On the same day, I faxed a photo of my government issued identification card and on XX/XX/XXXX I filed a police report documenting the unauthorized transactions and faxed it to Bank of America, along with my government issued ID and photos of the new/expired EDD cards in my possession. Therefore, I am making a complaint about Bank of America. I believe they were negligent and culpably indifferent towards my claim. I entrusted them with the security of my money/benefits and entrusted them to notify me of any fraudulent transactions and or suspicious activity, which they failed to do. I also entrusted them to reimburse the money/benefits that is stolen from me. If only they had made a thorough investigation of my claim by comparing my transactions from XXXX to XXXX to the unauthorized transactions I am disputing, they would have discovered that all of the fraudulent charges I am disputing were made outside of my area of residence, out of state, and internationally.

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