Consumer complaint received 2022-08-25
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: MT
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: International money transfer
Issue: Other transaction problem

Complaint:
I initiaI initiated an international wire from my Bank of America online account. I have a personal checking account and indicated in my online banking account that the recipient was a business ( a local car dealership in XXXX, where I live and work for a XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX implemented by my employer XXXX XXXX, an XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ). I initiated a wire transfer on Friday XX/XX/XXXX in the amount of {$14000.00} for the purchase of a vehicle. I was notified by BoA that same day that my wire was successful. After 48 business hours, the wire had still not been received by the local bank in XXXX. I then began the long process of trying to get in touch with Bank of America. My first call was on XX/XX/XXXX, for 41m39s, most of that on hold and being transferred to different departments. On Thursday XX/XX/XXXX, the LOCAL bank contacted me and showed me the XXXX XXXX  report, which showed an error on line XXXX, which was obviously NOT my error as the sender, but rather an error on the part of remittances transfer provider ( Bank of America ) ; somehow BoA had changed the recipient bank account number to XXXX ', which is obviously a system mistake, and the responsibility of BoA to amend. The same day I attempted to call BoA, during which I spent 27m38s on hold and being transferred to different departments, again with no resolution. On XX/XX/XXXX, I tried calling 5 times ( 30m39s, 55m3s, 15m26s, 48m16s, and 53m51s, respectively ) each time I was either cut off, transferred into a 'black hole ', or spent so much time on hold that I eventually had to hang up to attend to other matters. I never received a clear response, and each time I had to go through the exact same process of explaining from zero my situation and what I was trying to resolve. On XX/XX/XXXX, I called the direct number to the BoA foreign currency wire department ( 8m58s due to all the automated options and transfers ) but received a message saying they were closed. I called again the next day, Monday XX/XX/XXXX 3 times ( 46m46s, 47m15s, 34m46s, respectively ) and finally was able to get through to someone who told me that yes, they could put in an amendment to the wire. I gave them the correct local account number and assumed that finally my problem was resolved. The very next morning, the local bank called me and said that the complete IBAN number needed to be included. Since the representative the day before did not ask me about the complete IBAN number, I felt the need to call BoA bank and make sure the amendment was correctly reflecting the complete IBAN number. So I called BoA again on XX/XX/XXXX ( XXXX, XXXX ) and was unable to connect before I had to hang up to attend to a work meeting. On XX/XX/XXXX, I tried yet again to get through to BoA ( 14m44s ) and was finally told by someone in the international wires foreign currency department that because my account was a 'Dodd-Frank account ' ( first time I have heard this term, although I opened my BoA account in 2007, years before the Dodd-Frank act ) that they could not process any amendment. I had to attend a work matter, so I had to hang up and could not ask to speak with a supervisor to understand the matter. That night I researched the implications of Dodd-Frank on my international wire transfer, and my understanding of the governing regulations ( which I found on the CFPB website ) is that if the error for a wire is the fault of the 'remittances transfer provider ' ( BoA ) and NOT of the sender ( me ), then the provider is responsible for resolving the error ( through amendment of the XXXX XXXX, in this case ). My final call to BoA was on XX/XX/XXXX ( 34m33s ), and after being transferred between departments and to a team leader, I was eventually told that there was nothing they could do to amend the wire, and that they would be requesting that the local bank return the wire. In total, I spent 7h, 58m, 39s on the phone with BoA over the course of 11 days, either waiting on hold, being transferred between department, and waiting to hear back from the representative. This has been almost a traumatic experience, and I have been profoundly mistreated by BoA. They have NOT fulfilled their obligations under the Dodd-Frank regulations, and should have amended the wire, as I had requested, as it was THEIR error which resulted in the incorrect account number being used. This shouldnt happen to anybody, and I feel the CFPB should be aware of this situation, which from what Ive heard from others who have dealt with BoA, not uncommon. I have call logs to confirm the call dates, times, and lengths above, which I would be happy to share/publish.

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 non-monetary relief