Consumer complaint received 2018-02-05
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: WA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Privacy issues

Complaint:
Summary ( detailed notes below ) : XX/XX/2017 : I discovered that Bank of America issued a credit card to somebody I do not know and linked it to my account. The other person incurred roughly {$800.00} in charges that were tied to my account. BoA told me this was a case of credit card fraud and reversed the charges. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I received an e-mail that the new credit card I requested was on the way. I had not requested a new card. The e-mail stated the card was being mailed to the same address as the previous card. A supervisor first told me BoA never sent me this e-mail and it was a phishing scam. After proving ( with a XXXX tracking number ) that the bank did send me this e-mail and was mailing out another card, I was again told this was a case of fraud. I was advised to call the police in XXXX, Illinois, where the cards were being sent, and ask them to investigate. After I called the police, BoA then called me back to tell me it was actually their mistake and they had issued a card to someone with the same name as me. They assured me the issue was resolved. 

At this point, my banking information had been shared with a stranger, and I was given access to all of that person 's credit card purchases, phone numbers, e-mail address, and mailing address. I also requested confirmation that the other person involved be given a thorough and accurate information that this happened. 

I asked to speak with someone who could explain how this had happened. In numerous phone calls, I was passed from department to department. Nobody at the bank has been willing to give clear answers to my questions. On one occasion, a supervisor told me someone from their digital services department had attempted to call me and had left a voicemail. She verified the number to which this supposed call was made was my number. I never received this supposed voicemail ; furthermore, according to my phone company records, there were no incoming calls made to my number on the date and time BoA claims it called me. After going through these records, the supervisor who insisted someone had tried to call me changed her story and said she could not understand his notes and wasn't sure whether he called or not. She assured me that the issue of mistaken identity had been resolved. When I asked how the bank could issue a credit card without cross-referencing a social security number, she referred me to another department, which has failed to follow up. 

XX/XX/XXXX : After being assured this case had been adequately handled, I discovered that for the third time, a stranger 's phone number and e-mail address had been added to my account. 

In follow-up calls to BoA, supervisors have been dismissive, constantly passing me off to other people in other departments. I have asked for a detailed explanation as to how this happened and what specific steps they had taken to ensure this will not happen again. They have not answered my questions other than to say, " Oops, we had a computer glitch! '' In XX/XX/XXXX, a BoA supervisor recommended, before it was discovered this was the bank 's error, that I sign up for two years of credit monitoring. Bank of America has now acknowledged this was the bank 's fault. I am requesting they pay for this service, and also provide me with thorough information on how this happened, what information the other party involved ( the credit card recipient ) has received ( as it is important he knows a stranger was given detailed access to his financial information ), and what specific steps they have taken to ensure this will not happen again. I find it particularly disturbing that I was reassured on multiple occasions that the situation was resolved, only to see it happen again a few weeks later. 

I feel Bank of America has been negligent in its handling of my personal information, and dismissive in responding to my requests for information. I have had to repeat this entire, very long story multiple times to new supervisors because each time I speak with somebody, they do not follow up, and the bank has told me it is not possible for me to speak with the people I have spoken with about this previously. 

( Please see attached file for more thorough details. )

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