Consumer complaint received 2023-02-20
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: TN
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Other banking product or service
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Banking errors

Complaint:
This is a complaint about on-going problems with customer services and account management at Bank of America XXXX Without consulting me or, apparently, my financial advisor at Merrill, my Merrill financial advisor was named my baking, mingling banking and investment services. The problems have grown worse over time and bank of America and Merrill have been unresponsive. I have discussed the problems with my financial advisor on numerous occasions. This is a complaint about Bank of America/Merrill not my financial advisor. He is as frustrated as I am and claims there is nothing he can do. He has been very helpful in the past and I have a very long history with him. There is a long list of problems. First, it is impossible to obtain reliable account information on-line. Account information does not update, and various screens do not agree with one another. On multiple occasions I have had millions of dollars erroneously credited to my accounts. Only when I have called to report this has this been addressed. Other simple transactions that I should be able to complete online, like a simple transfer of funds to a third party, are impossible and have required intervention by the staff in the office of my financial advisor and they have had problems. I have attempted to use a donor directed charitable account and find that I not only have to populate information about the intended donation, when I have entered correct information the gift is delayed because the " managers '' of the account have used outdated information and have asked that I " correct '' the information. This has consumed enormous amounts of my time and that of the intended recipient. This particular account has also lost 20 % of its value over time, when there was no need to have it invested with any risk. In the past year my mother passed away and I transferred her trust account to a new account for her beneficiaries with a new EIN. The EIN was provided on a timely basis, but the new account was not set up effective on the date of her death, which should have been done. This has resulted in the need for additional tax work that would have been unnecessary had the account been properly and timely created. " Work arounds '' should not be necessary to solve problems created by Bank of America/Merrill 's incompetence. Finally, tax reporting is consistently delayed, and the delay grows worse every year. This year I still do not have consolidated tax reports for either my own accounts or the trust account I manage for my mother 's beneficiaries ( it is now XXXX XXXX ). I have deadlines of my own that I need to meet that require I receive timely information. I have complained about this routinely and have also been clear that I do not wish to be invested in any company that is unable to meet tax deadlines ( I believe this is material information about the overall quality of management of a firm in which I am considering an investment ). Despite my complaints and my requests for information the delays persist, and my financial advisor indicates he has no ability to influence these problems.

Whether Bank of America/Merrill has complied with regulations is not material. As the client I have a reasonable expectation of minimal service performance and I pay a fee for timely and competent management of my accounts. I have never been asked whether a delay in tax reporting would be acceptable, nor have I ever been provided an explanation or a date certain when tax information would be available in the event of a delay. Occasional needs for exceptions arise, but the delays have become routine and occur with no useful information that would be helpful. The litany of problems has grown over time despite my complaints. I am certain that at least some of these problems, such inaccurate account information and delayed tax reporting are widely shared. I have suffered damage : financial, unnecessary time and effort, and emotion distress. I will likely move my accounts elsewhere, but the problems remain for others and seem likely to persist beyond the time I am able to move my accounts because I will continue to require some information from Bank of America/Merrill for tax purposes into the 2024 year.

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