Consumer complaint received 2019-06-08
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: FL
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Deposits and withdrawals

Complaint:
Bank of America ( hereinafter BofA ) refuses to transfer my retirement pay ( Social Security/Pension ) from my old checking account to my new checking account. Reason  being : Allegedly I owe to BofA {$6900.00}. This amount resulted from various fraudulent transactions without fault of my own. It was BofA who allowed these fraudulent transactions to happen. Eventually, BofA shut down my accounts because of fraud. No monies were allowed to go out of my checking account, only deposits were allowed to go in. That's how and why my retirement pay got frozen in my old checking account. As such, BofA deprives me of my livelihood. 
On or about XX/XX/2019, unbeknownst to me, two amounts {$480.00} and {$660.00} were taken out of my bank account, leading to insufficient funds of - {$860.00}. There was no reaction, no questioning, no warning and no shutting down of my checking account by BofA. 
On or about XX/XX/2019, unbeknownst to me, the two checks of {$480.00} and {$660.00} were returned. Again there was no reaction, no questioning, no warning of fraudulent transactions and no shutting down of my checking account by BofA. 
On or about XX/XX/2019, unbeknownst to me, two checks of {$4000.00} each were deposited via online banking into my checking account. Again there was no reaction, no questioning, no warning, no shutting down of my accounts by BofA. 
On or about XX/XX/2019, unbeknownst to me, there was a second attempt to withdraw from my checking account {$480.00} and {$660.00}. Again no reaction, no questioning, no warning because of fraud and no shutting down of my checking account by BofA. 
On or about XX/XX/2019, unbeknownst to me, 15 or so Bill Pay To Accounts totaling approx. {$48000.00} were added to my savings account. I believe it was at that late time that BofA allegedly shut down my accounts. But no warning to me about fraud. 
On or about XX/XX/2019, unbeknownst to me, the posted checks of {$480.00} and {$660.00} were returned a second time. Again no reaction, no questioning, no warning of fraud. 
On or about XX/XX/2019, unbeknownst to me, the two {$4000.00} checks were returned unpaid and deducted from my checking account. Again no warning to me. 
On or about XX/XX/2019, I went to the BofA branch financial center at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, XXXX XXXX, Florida XXXX and saw Mrs. XXXX XXXX of BofA. She pulled up my account, saw that my accounts were shut down because of fraud, opened a new checking and savings account, gave me a new temporary debit card and ordered new checks for me. She also transferred from my old bank account {$6900.00} to my new checking account and {$500.00} to my savings account. Allegedly on XX/XX/2019, my old accounts were supposed to be shut down because of fraud. Mrs. XXXX XXXX never indicated to me that the transferred monies do not belong to me, nor did she warn or tell me not to spend these monies. She confirmed that {$6900.00} is rightfully my credit in these new accounts. 
During the week of XX/XX/2019, every day for hours on end. I was on the phone with BofA to request that the Bill Pay Link be attached to my new checking account and that my retirement pay that, in the meantime, was deposited in my old checking account be transferred to my new checking account. But in vain. For a whole week I was bounced from one department to the other. It was during this week that I became aware what had happened that there was a fraud flagon my old accounts because of Bill Pay Fraud and Check Fraud. 
On XX/XX/2019, I went back to said BofA financial center to ask XXXX XXXX for assistance to transfer my retirement pay to my new checking account, but in vain. Mrs. XXXX XXXX, on the telephone with XXXX of the Fraud Dept, advised that my retirement pay of approx. {$3600.00} remained frozen and could not be transferred to my new checking account. Mrs. XXXX XXXX advised me at the request of XXXX that my old checking account also was {$3200.00} in the negative. XXXX XXXX confirmed, however, that I was not responsible for this amount. I reiterated my position that I am not responsible any amount because I did not cause this situation and that I was acting in good faith. It was I that is the victim of fraud. At the end of my conversation, however, Mrs. XXXX XXXX retracted her earier assurances that I was not responsible. This in itself was a false and contradictory representation of an employee of BofA. It appears that BofA wants to hold me responsible for these fraudulent transactions.

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