Consumer complaint received 2023-04-02
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CA
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: International money transfer
Issue: Money was not available when promised

Complaint:
To whom it may concern, My name is XXXX XXXX XXXX @ XXXX. I reside in XXXX XXXX, CA and bank with Bank Of America. On XX/XX/2023, my brother from the XXXX wanted to send money to my bank account. I had called Bank of America customer service to ask which details I would need to provide to him so he can send it directly to my bank account. He asked if the money was going to be transferred internationally. I said yes. And so he provided me with instructions on which details to provide to my brother. I had specifically asked him Do I use my Routing and Account Number or do I have to use the Wire Transfer number? ( Since there were two options and I didnt know which to use ). And he had specifically told me that just my routing number and account number would be enough. So I did what was asked. And my money arrived within 3 days. 

However, fast forward to XX/XX/2023, my brother wanted to send me money again. Since the method of transferring it from the first time was successful, he had used the same process ( my bank account number + routing number ) to send me the amount of XXXX USD. And I waited for 3 days - the money did not show up. I waited for another week, thinking maybe it was delayed - money was not there in my bank acc. A month later- the money NEVER showed up in my account. While waiting that entire time, I had tried going calling the bank, even going to a branch and talking to the manager to see what was up- they kept saying nothing was showing on their end. The manager had told me that I was not supposed to use the routing number. And then I told her one of their bank reps SPECIFICALLY TOLD ME it was okay to use that number and I mentioned to her this was our second time using that same method and that the first time was sucessful. I asked her If the money showed up when we used this same method, why wont it show up this time? She had replied with ( her words exactly ) I know the first transfer was sucessful because Im seeing the transaction is reflected. But it should not have been successful in the first place ( since she said I should have used my wire transfer number instead ). I asked my team about this and we have no explanation as to why the money even showed up for the first transfer. We do not have a solution to this problem. So I then proceeded to ask So my money just disappeared into thin air then? and she said Yes. What kind of bank does this? They cant even take responsibility for this. 

My brother had also contacted his bank and they had said that the money has LEFT from their end and that it was now a problem from Bank of Americas side. His bank had tried contacting Bank of America to resolve this matter and there was absolutely NO RESPONSE from BOFA. To me, this looks very suspicious of BOFA. This is the amount of XXXX USD that just seemed to disappear into thin air that the bank takes no responsibility of. They keep saying that theres no money showing and that they cant do anything about this matter. They make it seem like it was my fault for not using the Wire Transfer number and that that was why the money is now showing up. When in reality, it was THEIR bank rep that had SPECIFICALLY told me it was OKAY to use my bank routing number and account number. So if this is the case, it is really THEIR fault for giving me wrong information.

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