Consumer complaint received 2023-07-21
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: MO
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Problem caused by your funds being low
Sub-issue: Non-sufficient funds and associated fees

Complaint:
To Whom It May Concern : Starting in XXXX Bank of America has had inconsistent practices related to when it posts ACH transactions, paper checks, and pending deposits. These inconsistent practices have created two weeks of issues for me making it almost impossible to conduct business. We will start with transactions from last weekend. 
Most Recent Events XX/XX/XXXX : Balances are checked every morning to ensure funds are available and pending transactions are consistent with positive balances. Note, these were not captured through screen shots so there is no way to prove the statements made. If funds are required they are sent over, as seen on Friday XX/XX/XXXX and Monday XX/XX/XXXX. Funds are transferred based upon what is expected to clear as seen per the bank balances. 
On Tuesday payroll tax funds pulled by ACH by XXXX on Friday XX/XX/XXXX were returned to the provider as there was insufficient funds to cover them. 
o On Friday XX/XX/XXXX there were sufficient funds to cover these fees. 
o By Monday XX/XX/XXXX three checks posted to the account as of Friday. 
Check XXXX was given to the vendor on Thursday XX/XX/XXXX and cashed as of Friday XX/XX/XXXX. It did not show as pending on Friday. ( Figure 1 ) Checks XXXX & XXXX were issued on Friday XX/XX/XXXX and given to employees on that date. The employees were working and unable to go to the bank and cash the checks, yet they also posted on Friday without showing. ( Figure 1, 2, 3, 4 ) On Monday morning the bank is showing insufficient funds and a transfer is made to ensure funds are available. ( Figure 1 ) On Monday XX/XX/XXXX at noon the bank sends a notice of potential insufficient funds. Funding in the account at this time is sufficient to cover all expenses. ( Figure 5 ) On Tuesday XX/XX/XXXX the funds are returned to the payroll provider. The payroll provider assesses a {$300.00} fee and a request for immediate wire transfer of funds. ( Figure 6 ) Events XX/XX/XXXX : Balances are checked every morning to ensure funds are available and pending transactions are consistent with positive balances. Note, these were not captured through screen shots so there is no way to prove the statements made. A call was made to Bank of America on Monday where a statement was made that the funding should clear out ok by the end of the day as there was enough funds incoming to cover the outgoing expenses. 
On Tuesday payroll tax funds pulled by ACH by XXXX on Friday XX/XX/XXXX were returned to the provider as there was insufficient funds to cover them. 
o On Friday XX/XX/XXXX there were not sufficient funds to cover these fees. Money needed to be transferred from another bank and I was told via phone that the pending credits and debits would wash out on Monday. This was not the case. Everything cleared but the payroll taxes. 
o By Monday XX/XX/XXXX two checks posted to the account as of Friday. By Monday morning the funds had been slotted for return despite a transfer of money Monday morning. ( Figure XXXX ) On Tuesday a second call to Bank of America confirmed there was insufficient funds with no explanation regarding the late processing of payments with little to no notice and the subsequent deposits being made to clear the account. 
On Wednesday XX/XX/XXXX a call was made to XXXX with an explanation of what was occurring. Their suggestion was to change payroll dates so fund pulling no longer occur over the weekend. They would put in a request for a refund of the fees but no promises. To date they also state they have done nothing wrong and it is either my fault for not having enough funds in the account or the banks problem. They also refuse to allow me to send the funds early to prevent any issues occurring over the weekend. 
On Wednesday XX/XX/XXXX a conversation with one of the business managers at the bank met with similar responses. They suggested using one bank account to consolidate all pending funds with no explanation nor assistance with the lack of notice for late posting items. Essentially no response or explanation of how funds can post to a previous date with little to no notice to the account holder. The blame was placed on the XXXX system provider, XXXX, for not sending fund requests prior to cut off periods. 

At the end of the day the inconsistent practices of pulling funds and applying deposits is causing considerable harm and a lack of ability to remedy the situation in a timely manner. If funds are pulled and applied to a day without adequate time to react to the posting there is little way to remedy the balance situation. In addition, Bank of America does not allow me to setup sweep accounts the way larger corporations are allowed to. This also hinders my ability to utilize cash balances across all accounts. 
We just purchased a second business and funds are a bit stretched. It is uncomfortable but manageable. This means we dont have excess cash to leave lying around to account for inconsistent practices by the banking institutions. We are exploring new options for banking and payroll services. 
In addition to the practices of Bank of America, XXXX is also utilizing inconsistent posting of funds deposited and pulled. This inconsistency is being further hampered by overzealous fees. An insufficient funds fee of {$300.00} is excessive and predatory. 
As a nation that prides itself on small businesses who are the largest employers these practices ensure small business continues to struggle and fulfill their obligations to their employees and to the general economy. 
Whatever is decided this letter gives you the option and data to do what you feel is appropriate. For additional reference all bank statements are made available. 
Regards,

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