Consumer complaint received 2019-11-05
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: NC
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Problem using a debit or ATM card

Complaint:
I have been a dedicated, loyal Bank of America customer for 11 years now. I am an honest, sincere, hard-working head-of-household and expect to be treated as such when I report a claim to Bank of America. I fell ill with XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX & was taken to the local ER for evaluation. At that time, all of my credit cards & my Bank of America debit card were left at home inside a locked safe/lock box. ( It is a routine habit for me to keep all cards/personal info in a safe place, as I was a victim of identity theft in XXXX when someone fraudulently filed a large IRS return using my name & info ). I was admitted to the observation unit of the hospital on XX/XX/XXXX, with what was deemed an XXXX XXXX & XXXX XXXX XXXX. From there, I was transported to the hospital 's specialized XXXX center from late XXXX XXXX XXXX for further XXXX testing & monitoring. The evening I returned home from the hospital on XX/XX/XXXX, I logged into my Bank of America online account, as I had been expecting two deposits and an auto-draft to occur on XX/XX/XXXX. What I discovered was overwhelming -- someone had breached my safe at home and used my Bank of America debit card excessively to make ATM withdrawals and a few store purchases, as well as made large online purchases with two of my credit cards. Note that I did not receive text notifications from Bank of America while I was hospitalized that there was activity occurring on my ATM debit card -- if I had received proper notification, I would have called the bank from the hospital to cancel my card..I am set up to receive notifications for ALL activity on my card, and the store purchases -- which absolutely should have triggered alerts -- did not come through on my cell phone either. All totaled, I lost {$740.00} due to fraudulent use of my ATM debit card. I called Bank of America immediately on the evening of XX/XX/XXXX and notified them of all fraudulent charges -- I explained that I had been hospitalized, and that my card had been left inside a safe during my absence ; they initiated an investigation, but did not issue me a temporary credit.They canceled my card, and issued a new one -- I changed my PIN immediately upon receipt of the new card, and am keeping it inside a new safe. I fax'ed the bank a letter on XX/XX/XXXX, along with a copy of my hospital discharge papers ( both enclosed here ), detailing my situation. On XXXX, I received an alert in my bank 's online message center that the claim was already closed due to " all charges being authorized and properly posted to the account. '' It's as though they never even read my letter or considered the facts, as it was closed so quickly..I again fax'ed a letter to the bank on XX/XX/XXXX ( enclosed ), asking them to re-open this case -- which they did not honor. How can I possibly be held responsible for charges that occurred while I was hospitalized having a XXXX XXXX, and while my ATM debit card was left secured in a safe? Safes are used to keep belongings secure -- how can the bank deem these charges as " authorized '' by me when someone broke into it during my absence from my home? This is clearly a case of theft & fraud -- I did NOT " authorize '' ANY use of my debit card from XXXX. Someone aware of my perilous situation stole my card from my safe & fraudulently used it to obtain money without my knowledge or consent. Yet Bank of America closed the claim almost immediately, despite absolute proof of my whereabouts during this time period. I do not need any more added stress after coming home from the hospital after an XXXX  XXXX XXXX, but Bank of America needs to protect & help its consumers better than this in ALL cases of theft & 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 monetary relief