Consumer complaint received 2020-02-25
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: TX
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Problem using a debit or ATM card

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, a total of five unauthorized charges were made to my debit card. I missed the two made on XX/XX/XXXX, but the three made on the XX/XX/XXXX ended up draining my bank account and causing an overdraft fee. Bank of America is refusing to pay me the money back even though I provided sufficient proof that I did not make these purchases. 

These charges were made at different XXXX grocery stores, all approximately 30 miles from my house. On the XX/XX/XXXX, the thieves who made off with my card made two purchases at a single location, a XXXX at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, TX XXXX. XXXX XXXX is about thirty miles southeast of my home in XXXX. They spent {$150.00} and {$120.00} on the same day. I suspect that the only reason they couldn't spend more was that Bank of America suddenly put a hold on my card and kept them from spending more. 

I did not notice these charges at the time, but two days later, I saw a security alert put on my account when I was trying to use my debit card and had it rejected. I was given a list of suspicious transactions, which was just a list of all fifteen or so transactions I had made in the last several days. Since only XXXX was listed ( and not the location of the XXXX ), and I do shop at XXXX, I mistakenly approved these transactions. 

The thieves later tried to use my card again on the XX/XX/XXXX, and this time they went to XXXX and drained my account at two different locations : once at XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, TX XXXX, where they spent {$120.00}, and then twice at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, TX XXXX, where they spent {$110.00} and {$44.00}. Again, I should note that XXXX is thirty miles west of where I live. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I went on a work-related trip to XXXX, and so these transactions were carried out while I was on a plane over the Pacific Ocean. I didn't find out about them until I landed and was able to use Wi-Fi again and finally received the notification that my bank account was empty. It took me about a day to authorize international calling with my carrier, at which point I was able to report the fraud to Bank of America and get the investigation started. 

Because I was in XXXX, I didn't file a police report immediately. By the time I returned about a week later, they had already credited my account. This is my first time having to deal with a fraud claim, and I assumed that Bank of America would keep in contact with me about the progress of the investigation. I assumed that if they needed me to do anything that they would contact me about it. Therefore, since it was a week after the incident had happened and they hadnt gotten back to me except to credit my account, I wrongly assumed that filing a police report would be unnecessary. 

Bank of America did not contact me any further about the investigation until XX/XX/XXXX, eighty-four days after I filed the claim, when they suddenly took the money back out of my account and claimed they couldnt pay me. I didn't notice it at first because I wasnt expecting it, and it was only on XX/XX/XXXX, when I was looking through my account to plan my budget for the next month, that I noticed the withdrawals. I should have known better about the process, but this is the first time Ive ever had to file a fraud claim and I was honestly mistaken. 

When I called the fraud claims line and talked to a representative over the phone, they claimed that the two problems Bank of America found with my claim were the following : XXXX claimed that whoever used my card had used my PIN and thus refused to hand over the security footage at the locations ; and later, when I called a second time, I was also told that the spending habits of the thieves did not match a typical fraudulent purchase, since they did not immediately drain my bank account and instead waited nine days. That said, I also received conflicting information from a bank representative that making multiple purchases at the same location *is* suggestive of debit card fraud, and at two of the three XXXX  where the thieves used my card, they used it twice in a row. 

I was told I could appeal the finding by sending Bank of America a faxed letter. So I wrote a letter, and in the meantime I also filed the police report. 

I explained that I wasnt in the country during the XX/XX/XXXX transactions, including a printout of the ticket for my flight at XXXX XXXX  and photos of my passport and passport stamp. I also explained that the reason the thieves didnt immediately drain my account was that there had been a security alert placed on my account, and that I mistakenly let the charges through because I only noticed the XXXX portion of the purchases in the security alert. Unfortunately, since past Bank of America alerts only last for 60 days inside the notifications center, I couldnt send a screenshot of that and instead sent proof that my debit card had been rejected on XX/XX/XXXX ( the day Bank of America put a security hold ) and then proof that my debit card was approved several minutes later. 

I was waiting for the police report to arrive in the mail so I could fax that over as well when I checked my account on XX/XX/XXXX and saw that they had rejected my appeal. I've called the fraud hotline again and confirmed that there's no way to speak to a representative now. I should note they waited 84 days out of the maximum 90 to reject my claim and take the credited money back out of my account, but only 17 at most out of the maximum 45 days the second time around to reject my appeal and decide not to give me my money back *after* I provided proof that I couldn't have made these purchases. 

This issue by no means is " resolved ''. I'm still out {$560.00} of my own money because some thieves spoofed my card and used it at a bunch of different XXXX  30 miles away from my house. This is *my money* that I was saving up for so I could get a secured credit card after getting my first job back in the United States after living three years abroadmy money that I was going to use to build up my credit score. 

Bank of Americas two main arguments to me have been that 1. ) a PIN was used for these purchases, and 2. ) the thieves spending habits were inconsistent with card fraud, since they did not immediately drain my bank account on the XX/XX/XXXX. I have already provided plenty of proof to explain these things, and the fact that I was out of the country when the last three purchases were made should override any flimsy arguments about PINs being used. 

The excuses Bank of America has given are all only explanations as to how I could have used the debit card, while my arguments explain why I didnt use my debit card. 

Naturally, XXXX has been in the wrong too. Theyre supposed to check for ID when you use credit and debit cards, which they clearly didnt do. They are the ones who came up with the they used a PIN excuse, as if that cancels out the fact that I was halfway across the world for several of those purchases. However, whatever XXXX claims, in the end it is Bank of America that decided to refuse to pay back money to a customer who certainly didnt make these purchases. It is Bank of America that managed to catch the XX/XX/XXXX fraudulent purchases, but completely missed the XX/XX/XXXX transactions and let them go through, despite the fact that those were even *more* suspicious. 

I'm attaching the two faxes I sent to Bank of America after my claim was rejected ( with the photos I inserted in one of the letters taken out and attached separately so as not to exceed the 10MB size limit ), the pictures of my passport and the plane tickets, and pictures of the physical payment notifications I got on XX/XX/XXXX to prove my story that I accidentally approved a security hold put on my debit card because of the XX/XX/XXXX 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