Consumer complaint received 2021-05-19
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: MO
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Funds not handled or disbursed as instructed

Complaint:
I am the representative payee for my mother. Her social security and pension are paid into a rep payee account. ( See SS website if you don't know what that is : https : //www.ssa.gov/payee/faqrep.htm ). 
She is NOT suppose to have direct access to the money in this account. Her SS check, when it was issued in paper, was made to me for her. For her check to be sent direct deposit, her account needed to be set up as a representative payee account ... so she can not access the money directly. 

Her account is with Bank of America ( Just to be clear, the account is link with MY other accounts. I am the ONLY one should have access to the account. ) On several dates she was able to go into the bank and withdraw cash from the account with a deposit slip from a live teller. ( She then used the cash to buy gift cards she sent to a scammer. ) Dates and amounts are listed below : XX/XX/2021 {$140.00} XX/XX/2021 {$340.00} XX/XX/2021 {$500.00} XX/XX/2021 {$200.00} XX/XX/2021 {$350.00} XX/XX/2021 {$310.00} XX/XX/2021 {$160.00} XX/XX/2021 {$500.00} XX/XX/2021 {$200.00} XX/XX/2021 {$150.00} I called BoA fraud line- because I couldn't find a more appropriate number to call. They lead me to believe it was a joint account. ( Which confused me. ) On XX/XX/2021, I went to the BoA branch where she made the withdraws. ( At the time, I had only spotted the last 3. ) After further confusion, we were told the account was already a Rep payee account and the withdraws should not have been allowed. The bank manager gave me her card. 

Since then I have heard nothing from the branch. I tried to email both the bank manager and the associated I spoke to on XX/XX/XXXX. The bank manager 's email was 'undeliverable ' and there was no reply from the associate. Calls to the branch are not answered and the phone number on the business card dose not lead to either of them -- or anyone at the branch. That branch is currently closed for an unknown reason so it may explain the lack of response. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called BoA help line agin. I kept being transferred to different departs and none of them seemed to know anything about 'Representative payee ' accounts. 
Several told me I needed to go in in person ( which I have already done ). I asked what I was suppose to ask for in-person. At least 2 people told me my mom 's name needed to come off the account. I told them this wouldn't work and if they were incapable of managing a Rep Payee account they needed to tell me ( I can't being told it wasn't their department ). No one was able to tell me how to ensure my mother could not make further cash withdraws. ( They are treating it like a joint account. ) At one point I was transferred to the fraud center to submit a claim. The rep in the fraud dept said it would likely be deigned because my mother 's name was on the account. ( I have not yet filed a claim. )

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