Consumer complaint received 2021-05-20
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: IL
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: Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement

Complaint:
I would like to bring to the attention of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau the actions of Bank of America, my creditor institution with whom I hold a credit card. Their actions appear to have violated various stipulations of the Fair Credit Billing Act ( FCBA ) in multiple instances.

The actions of Bank of America that potentially violate the FCBA, include, but may not be limited to : 1. Claiming to not have received evidence pertaining to a transaction dispute when, in fact, such evidence had been received multiple times by Bank of America 2. Denying a requested chargeback despite having been provided numerous pages of evidence demonstrating an extended and repeated effort to return unwanted duplicate merchandise, and despite the fact that the merchant had provided no documents or evidence in any form pertaining to this matter 3. Failing to provide, despite repeated requests, the evidence considered when determining the outcome of the disputed transaction Please find below a chronological account of the matter : On XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, I attempted to purchase a XXXX XXXX. an online vendor. I was charged for two laptops, and immediately attempted to contact Merchant cancel the duplicate order. Unsuccessful, I continued to repeatedly contact the Merchant and requested a cancellation over the course of two weeks until and after it was shipped on XXXX XX/XX/XXXX. These attempts were documented and collated, altogether constituting dozens of pages, which shall be referred to as Buyers Evidence. In light of Merchants conduct, I disputed the transaction of {$460.00} using Bank of Americas online banking portal. 

On XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, Bank of America adjusted the disputed transaction so that it on longer appeared on my balance as a credit charge. 

On XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, I received a request for evidence from Bank of America regarding this case. I thus attempted to provide Buyers Evidence using the Bank of America online banking portal. However, a technical error occurred that rendered it undeliverable. That same day, I emailed Buyers Evidence to XXXX, an email address for Bank of America that I have been told is operational by Bank of America representatives. 

On XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, I called Bank of America to report the technical problem that had occurred when sending Buyers Evidence. They advised me to visit my local Bank of America branch, which is located at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX, IL, to submit Buyers Evidence. That same day, I did so. For the second time, I also emailed Buyers Evidence to XXXX. The only response from Bank of America was an adjustment to the disputed transaction so that it again appeared on my balance as a credit charge. 

On XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, Bank of America closed the dispute in favor of the Merchant. That same day, I called Bank of America. A representative informed me that they had received three pages of evidence from myself. Note that, at that point in time, I had emailed Buyers Evidence, which consisted of at least 18 pages of evidence, to Bank of America on two separate occasions, and delivered Buyers Evidence in person to a Bank of America branch on one occasion. During that same call, a representative told me that my dispute had been reopened, and that the case number was XXXX. 

On XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, I called Bank of America regarding the dispute. They informed me that my dispute had not been reopened, and said that the number XXXX referred to something else, which was not made clear to me. They also claimed that Bank of America had not received Buyers Evidence from me the day prior, and advised that I return my local Bank of America branch to again submit Buyers Evidence. 

On XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, I received a message on my Bank of America online banking portal stating that my attempt to dispute the transaction was declined. That same day, I called Bank of America and requested that they send all evidence that they had considered in determining the outcome of this dispute, which I will call Merchants Evidence, as guaranteed to me under the FCBA. 

On XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, I called Bank of America and informed the representative that I had not received Merchants Evidence despite my prior request, and then placed a second request for Merchants Evidence to be mailed to my home. I also requested that a complaint be filed regarding this matter, noting that a potential FCBA violation could have been committed. The representative stated that they would file a complaint. 

On XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, I called Bank of America and inquired as to the status of my complaint. The representative stated that, even in cases where the customer believes their rights are being violated, Bank of America as a policy does not respond to customer complaints. I then specified to the representative the dates on which I had requested Merchants Evidence, and that I had still not received Merchants Evidence. I also requested that Merchants Evidence be faxed to my local Bank of America branch so that I could receive Merchants Evidence in person. 

On XXXX XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX, I visited the Bank of America branch and received three pages of documents from MsXXXX XXXX , an apparent manager of the branch. Two of these pages were Fax Cover Sheets, and one page was a letter of one sentence in length that read, Weve enclosed a copy of the documentation you requested on the account listed above. The absence of any additional documentation seemed to indicate that Bank of America had received no evidence from Merchant. I informed Ms. XXXX that she was legally required to give me all documents pertaining to this matter. She responded that those were the only three documents she had. 

As of XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, no evidence has been received by mail.

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