Consumer complaint received 2024-01-15
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: NY
Product: Credit card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement

Complaint:
Please refer to the attachment Letter to B of A XXXX for a detailed recounting of the chain of events resulting in the XXXX to which I fell victim. The following are the specific sequence of events pertaining to my direct interactions with Bank of America about the situation : On XX/XX/2023, at XXXX pm, I called Bank of America ( B of A ) at XXXX to verify the {$8000.00} purchase I was led to believe had occurred for the unauthorized purchase of child XXXX ( refer to the attachment Letter to B of A XXXX for details ). I believe I reached someone in the fraud department at that time. I was told that no {$8000.00} purchase had been made, so I canceled my credit card. When I told her about the {$2500.00} in purchases made at XXXX, the B of A woman I spoke to said that the easiest way to take care of the problem would be to allow the charges to go through and to then dispute the charges. I received no case number from this woman. When I called a week or XXXX later to check on the status of the case, the woman I spoke with at that time said that there was no record of my earlier phone call. She took a lot of detailed information about the incident and did issue me a case number ( XXXX ). 

I received XXXX letters/notifications from B of A dated XX/XX/2023 ( Credit issued letter XXXX XXXX and Credit issued XXXX XXXX XXXX ). Both indicated that a temporary credit had been made to my account of {$500.00} each. Each letter had a different claim number ( last XXXX digits XXXX and XXXX ). 

I received a letter from B of A dated XX/XX/2023 ( Claim acknowledgment letter XXXX ) asking for detailed information about the scam incident including sales receipts, if the purchase was made in person, etc. This letter indicated that the information should be either faxed or mailed to B of A. Due to the holiday mail rush, I received the letter close to the end of the XXXX deadline set by B of A. I called them and explained that I had the information compiled and ready to be sent and I faxed it to them on XX/XX/2023. I also mailed a hard copy. My letter which was included with the B of A mailing is attached herein ( Letter to B of A XXXX ). 

Next, I received a letter from B of A dated XX/XX/2023 ( Action required letter XXXX XXXX ) pertaining to claim XXXX and listing XXXX separate {$500.00} disputed charges. The letter asked for much of the same information that I had sent to B of A on XX/XX/2023. This letter allowed the information to be uploaded so I uploaded my XX/XX/XXXX letter along with the receipts associated with the case. 
Later, I received a letter dated XX/XX/2023 ( Credit issued letter XXXX XXXX ) indicating that a temporary credit had been made to my account of {$500.00} for claim XXXX. 

Next, I received a letter dated XX/XX/2023 ( Action Required Letter XXXX XXXX ) asking for information for claim XXXX that I had both faxed and mailed to B of A on XX/XX/2023 ( see above ). Now I called B of A and spoke with XXXX from Texas, part of the XXXX XXXX, at approximately XXXX pm on XX/XX/2023. She indicated that the paperwork I submitted XXXX not have been received when this letter was issued XXXX days after I had faxed it to them, basically that they had crossed in the mail. I also asked why I keep getting requests for the same information over and over for different claim numbers when they all pertained to the scam/fraud case # XXXX. She indicated that each separate {$500.00} charge was being handled as a separate claim even though theyre part of the same case. 

I next received a letter dated XX/XX/2023 indicating that claim XXXX for {$500.00} had been denied ( Claim denied XXXX XXXX ). 

A XX/XX/2023 letter ( Claim acknowledgment letter XXXX ) again asked for the information Id previously submitted without referencing any particular claim. I therefore called B of A again on XX/XX/2023 and spoke with XXXX in Tennessee to ask why I keep getting asked for information Id already faxed, mailed and uploaded to them. He indicated that he would make a note in my file that information previously submitted should be used to process any additional claims. I also asked XXXX why Id been denied reimbursement for the disputed charge for claim XXXX. He said that the merchant, XXXX, refused to reimburse because the purchase had been made in the store, and that gift cards are non-refundable. I explained that Id been a B of A customer for more than 30 years and believed that B of A could dismiss the charges themselves because they all pertain to the same scam/fraud case ( # XXXX ). He said that if B of A dismissed the charges, it would be in violation of banking regulations. When I asked if the other claims were also likely to be denied, he indicated that they most likely would be. At that point I told him that I would be filing a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 

Just a note : on the day the scam occurred, I filed a report with the Federal Trade Commission ( FTC # XXXX ) and this report included specific details and phone numbers that were used by the scammers. Unfortunately, I do not have a copy of this report. 

I included herein a photo of the fake computer scan that the alleged " XXXX '' conducted with the information about child XXXX having been purchased with my credit card ( XXXX ) ( Fake Computer Scan ).

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