Consumer complaint received 2019-07-31
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: AL
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Opening an account
Sub-issue: Didn't receive terms that were advertised

Complaint:
Numerous times I had seen ads for Bank of America offering a {$100.00} bonus for opening a new checking account. I was not interested in the hassle of switching my deposit banking to Bank of America because I've always been happy with my local credit union. I did however have a Bank of America credit card. On XX/XX/XXXX when I used online banking to check my credit card transactions an advertisement shown offering a {$300.00} bonus " just for me '' if I opened a new qualifying checking account. There was then a button to click to proceed to the account application. This offer was too good to pass up, so I decided I could make the switch for the {$300.00} reward. No promotional code was required and there was no place in the application to indicate any other process to enroll in the promotion. I copied down the terms and conditions for the {$300.00} bonus to make sure I could keep track of and meet the requirements. The main conditions included : being a select Bank of America customer without an existing checking account who saw the offer in online or mobile banking, opening the account before the end of XX/XX/XXXX, and getting direct deposits totaling at least {$4000.00} within 90 days of account opening. The ad no longer appears when I log into online banking, and the promotion page with the offer details doesn't show up anymore at " XXXX XXXX   XXXX '', but a nearly identical page now shows at " XXXX XXXX  XXXX '' I applied for and was approved instantly for the new account that same day and was provided confirmation number XXXX. Opening the account caused some problems at first because Bank of America no longer gave me access to the same online portal I had been using to manage my credit card, so my external account with the credit union was no longer linked to pay my credit card bill. After a couple phone calls about this I was told how to link the external account in the new portal. The next electronic draft ( to pay my Bank of America credit card ) from my credit union checking account got duplicated resulting in overdraft charges that Bank of America refused to pay. I dealt with the hassles reminding myself that it would be worth it when I got the {$300.00} bonus. I met the required terms of the bonus offer on XX/XX/XXXX after getting total employer direct deposits of {$5300.00}. The terms of the offer stated that the bonus would be deposited within 60 days of meeting the requirements. Near the end of the 60 days I had not received the bonus and became concerned because there was no confirmation from Bank of America concerning the offer, and the bonus offer didn't appear anymore after I opened the checking account. I called at XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX to inquire about the bonus. Due to long hold times I elected to get a call back. They returned the call at XXXX XXXX. The initial representative escalated the call to someone who could deal with promotional offers. The new representative confirmed the bonus offer details which matched those I had copied down. He reminded me they had a full 60 days to deposit the bonus. He also gave a special number for additional details regarding new account promotions. He said the general number would be insufficient for future inquiry because the new account promotion was only associated with particular customers and not common knowledge for general customer service staff. I called this special number ( XXXX ) on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX. The number only allows 2 options. Option 1 for customers redirected back to the same general customer service line with 30+ minute hold time. Option 2 directed to a line with a shorter hold, but which is only for Bank Associates ( the reps there are unable to help customers ). I redirected back to the general customer service line and verified my account using the mobile app and had my husband wait on hold for over 30 minutes. He was told by the customer service rep that I needed to be on the line to verify account ownership again. My husband put the call on hold to get me on the line, and the call was terminated. He called and went through the automated phone tree again at XXXX XXXX  and elected to get a return call rather than wait on hold. The return call came at XXXX from XXXX XXXX XXXX graciously said he would forgo transferring the call to avoid further problems maintaining contact in the face of long hold times, so XXXX put the call on hold while he inquired with an advertising rep to get the status details of the bonus offer. XXXX returned to the call to state that the advertising rep said there is no indication on their end that any such offer is associated with the account and that there is no way to link any offer to the account, so there will be no bonus forthcoming. I was dumbfounded and feel completely scammed. The only reason I went through the headache of switching my checking to Bank of America was because of the advertisement and link they showed on their online banking site for my credit card. The 60 days has now passed and no bonus has been received.

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