Consumer complaint received 2018-09-25
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: AK
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Card was charged for something you did not purchase with the card

Complaint:
This is a copy of the last letter I sent to the credit card company, Bank of America. It details completely my efforts to dispute 2 charges from the same company that can't justify the charges, and BofA 's unexplainable reason for upholding the charges : XX/XX/2018 To : Bank of America, fax XXXX Re : XXXX charges re-added to VISA # XXXX ( removed from this post ) Reference # s XXXX & XXXX Dear Bank of America, I am writing to you regarding two charges that I have been disputing for over 2 months now. Both are from XXXX XXXX, for {$100.00} and {$19.00}, originally claimed on XX/XX/2018. I called you and disputed the charges as soon as I saw them on my statement, around XXXX, 2018. 

Before I called in, I called XXXX at the number listed on the BofA statement ( XXXX ). The XXXX rep had no information about me in their files. She asked that I send her the statement showing the charges. I faxed her the relevant page from that statement on XX/XX/2018. I never heard back from anyone at XXXX. 

When I called you to dispute the charges, the BofA rep called XXXX with me on the line and asked what the charges were for. The XXXX rep ( again ) could not locate any charges or info about me in their files. 

I received 2 letters from BofA on XX/XX/18 issuing provisional credit for the charges, posted to my statement on XX/XX/18 and XX/XX/18. On XX/XX/XXXX, I saw the charges re-added to my account, with no letter or explanation. 

When I called in again on XX/XX/2018, I was routed to XXXX in your claims or dispute department. He asked if I had received a letter stating that BofA had heard back from XXXX saying the charges were valid. I told him that I had not received any such letter from BofA. 

I also asked XXXX two questions : 1 ) what information did XXXX give that supported their claim that the charges were valid, and 2 ) could XXXX be a parent company for something that I did legitimately charge? XXXX responded well, they really didn't provide any other information. I told him that the burden should be on XXXX to show SOME sort of evidence to both myself and BofA that I had agreed to be the charges. 

XXXX then said, well, the problem is that you should have responded to the letter of denial we sent you, because now it's past the deadline for us to do anything. I again said that I had never received any such letter or email or any communication from BofA regarding denial of these disputes. 

XXXX also said that after XX/XX/2018, VISA changed the rules and I would have to cancel the card to file a fraud dispute for these 2 charges. I told him that 1 ) I have other charges that I have disputed after XXXX that were credited back to my card, without me having to cancel the card ( ex : case # XXXX ), and 2 ) I am only disputing this vendor, not that my card was lost or stolen. I have numerous auto-pay charges from many vendors, utilities, etc. that have been going on for many years with no problems. The card is fine ; the vendor is suspect. 

Please look into this more deeply. The burden of proof does not seem to have been justified by XXXX  for these charges. I disputed these 2 charges immediately after I noticed them back in XXXX. I have called in several times to follow through with this dispute, and waited to hear from XXXX with any information. They have never responded to me. Apparently, they have never provided you with any evidence of any services provided to me, nor any authorization by me to charge this card. 

XXXX has prolonged this situation by apparently claiming that the charges should stick, even though they provided no documents or support when asked. BofA 's actions in accepting a vague, unsupported claim by XXXX to deny my legitimate dispute, have exacerbated this situation unnecessarily. 

The longer this drags on, the more questions are raised : Am I now supposed to be satisfied with a shrug of the shoulders and a sorry about that? 
Should I have to bear the resultant loss? 
Where is the letter of denial that was supposedly sent to me a week ago? 
If the letter had time-sensitive informations or conditions, was it sent certified? 
Was XXXX hoping to hide what at best is gross inefficiency and at worst is intentional and unlawful wrongdoing? 
Was XXXX or BofA waiting until some statute of limitation ran out for me to receive the credit? 
What more am I supposed to do besides continually calling and writing you to dispute this charge? 
Why are there no messages about the denial of my disputes in my Message Center, especially if there were time-sensitive conditions to respond? Other messages about these disputes are there ( e.g. the provisional credits ). 

These are some of the questions that will be addressed if we are forced to arbitrate or pursue legal recourse to protect my finances and avoid possible damage ( s ) to my credit. 

XXXX 's action ( or lack of ) appear on the surface to be indicative of sloppy or non-existent accountability. BofA 's handling of the case to date has failed to resolve this valid dispute, and continues to add unnecessary stress to me personally. 

Although I have been very happy with this credit card and BofA 's service for decades, this latest departure from your normal due diligence does not demonstrate good customer protection and service. 

I do not accept your position that you can not credit back these false and suspicious charges. XXXX has not provided a satisfactory response to my dispute. BofA has not satisfactorily verified these charges. Although there is ample suspicion of XXXX 's actions, you have not taken substantive and adequate responsibility in verifying them and protecting me from XXXX 's inability to justify their charges. 

This matter is not going to disappear. I am aware that the statute of limitations is running on legal recourse and will not allow it to do so without taking further action. If I do not receive adequate proof that these were legitimate, authorized charges for services received by me, I will consider it an invitation to take this matter to arbitration and/or the courts. 

I trust that I am being reasonable in my insistence on justification of your actions and XXXX 's, and hope this can be resolved easily so that we can continue with our long-standing credit relationship. 


Sincerely, XXXX

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 monetary relief