Consumer complaint received 2019-07-23
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: IA
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:
On XX/XX/2019 a pop-up came up on my computer screen that warned me that my personal data was at risk and to call the toll free number and not attempt to leave the page. I called the number and after several questions the man told me that my computer was compromised but that he could take care of the problem. After instructing me to go to different sights he was able to gain remote access which I didn't realize was his intent. He showed me a screen that XXXX foreign hackers were attempting to get into my personal information. Another screen showed that my XXXX components and my virus protection had been removed but that he could restore them. He warned me that this could happen again but that he could offer me lifetime support with security for {$2900.00}. I didn't agree right away because it was a large sum but I was worried enough about my personal information being at risk that I agreed and gave him my Bank of America credit card number. He submitted it and I had to okay the charge on my XXXX which I did. I told a couple of my computer savvy friends about it that afternoon and they advised me that I had been scammed and to contact my credit card company right away and reverse the charges. I called Bank of America two hours later when I returned home. I also wanted to request a new card and to cancel the current card. Because it was a Sunday I was informed that I would need to call back on Monday during regular business hours to change cards. I called Bank of America on XX/XX/2019 and asked them to reverse the charges on my current card and to issue me a new card. I was told that they couldn't do anything about the charge until it posted which could take a week. I called back twice after that to see if it had posted and finally it had. I asked them to reverse the charge because it was a scam. I was told that I would have to file a dispute which I did. In the meantime I contacted my personal credit union where I bank and reported the problem in order to get a new debit card issued in case the scammers had obtained that information while on my computer. I was connected to the fraud department of the credit union. I filled her in on what had happened and she advised me to not have any more contact with the fraudulant company and asked if I would like to speak with a representative of XXXX. She connected me to a representative and I repeated everything that had happened. She also advised me to have no further contact with the fraudulent company and to let her know when I heard back from Bank of America about the dispute. Both the woman from the fraud department and the woman from XXXX advised that I take my computer to a reputable company and have it cleaned which I did. They found access points and no virus protection and repaired those issues. I was contacted by Bank of America by email and I filled out information online and tried to explain the situation to the best of my ability. A few days later I received postal mail from Bank of America asking for a list of items that I should send to them. I filled those papers out to the best of my ability and included substantiating papers and sent them by mail on XX/XX/2019. I received a letter from Bank of America dated XX/XX/2019 stating that they concluded that my dispute was not valid and that I needed to pay the amount in question I was out of state at the time so when I returned home I contacted my representative at XXXX and we placed a conference call to Bank of America where we were connected with a dispute agent. After explaining everything to him he felt that not everything had been considered in the dispute and he opened a new dispute on XX/XX/2019. On XX/XX/2019 I received a letter from Bank of America that stated " regrettably we're unable to obtain credit to your account from the merchant. '' Against the advice I had gotten I finally called the fraudulent company on XX/XX/2019 and asked them for a refund. I explained that I felt that I had been scammed and that I wanted to cancel my subscription and issued a refund. She said that was not possible because it was past the 30 day cancellation period. I informed her that no one told me on the phone or in an email that they had a 30 day cancellation policy and that I had not requested their services since our initial contact so I had not taken advantage of their services and that I wanted a refund. She said she would discuss it with her manager and call me back in 1-2 hours. I never received a call. I have done business with Bank of America for 43 years and yet they would not support me in this obvious case of fraud.

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