Consumer complaint received 2020-07-13
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: ME
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Unauthorized transactions or other transaction problem

Complaint:
I had contacted Senator XXXX XXXX office and she instructed me to get in touch with you and that you could get in touch with Bank of America and help me get this resolved Below is the letter that I sent to the CEO of Bank of America which XXXX XXXX office encouraged me to send also : XX/XX/2020 Mr. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, NC XXXX From : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. Maine XXXX Subject : Incorrect information causes XXXX loss to customer I was advised by the office of Senator XXXX XXXX to get in touch with you and that you could help me get this item resolved. I have been a customer of Bank of America for 16 years.I have always been pleased with the customer service and support until now. Attached is the letter that I sent to Senator XXXX. My shih tzu XXXX XXXX of 10 years died unexpectedly, and I was devasted. I had contemplated getting another shih tzu dog, So, I decided to start searching for a shih tzu puppy. I made a list of the breeders from online because I could not find anything locally. I came up with about 12 different breeders online to check out. 

Finally, I thought I had found a puppy. Boy, I was wrong, the so called breeder that I chose, told me that I would have to pay the XXXX up front and that I would have the puppy delivered to me between 24-48 hours, but they said that the money would have to be transferred to them by way of XXXX and that it would have to be two XXXX transactions. So having never used XXXX before I wasnt quite sure how it worked, so I called Bank of America for guidance. I got on the phone to Bank of America on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX and talked to XXXX for 9 minutes I explained to her that I was thinking to getting a puppy, that they wanted XXXX upfront and that they wanted me to transfer it to them by way of using XXXX. I asked her if it was a scam, which I didnt think it was, but if it was, would I be able to dispute it and get a credit back immediately until the investigation was completed She said yes if it was a scam that there wouldnt be a problem with it being credited back to me immediately. I asked her how Bank of America would be able to recover the funds, she said she didnt know, but it would get turned over to the proper people and they would take care of it, I told her if it wasnt covered I would not purchase the puppy she reassured me that I could dispute it if need be So I went ahead and made the transfer thru XXXX it was strange that they want it in two transactions of XXXX, but I went ahead and did it because I knew that I could do it because worst case scenario I knew I could always file a dispute if I had been scammed. I let the breeders know that I had completed the transactions and asked them if they were going to send the puppy out that afternoon, they said No that it would be the next day. So, the next day I got in touch with them to see if they were sending out the puppy and they said the only way they would send the puppy out was if I would rent a temperature controlled crate and then they would send her out. I told them that was not part of the deal. After going back and forth for a couple of days, I told them that I wanted a refund or the puppy and they have ignored any correspondence that I have tried to have with them. So, when it seemed that I was not getting any results from the scammers I knew that I had to file a dispute So, on XX/XX/XXXX I called Bank of America and explained everything to them and how I had been told by XXXX that I could file a dispute and get the money credited back to my account immediately while an investigation was taking place. The first time I called I got an employee who told me the customer service rep made a mistake and I was out the XXXX. I called back and was then told by XXXX from Tennessee that I could file a dispute on anything but a XXXX transaction and I told him if she told had me that I wouldnt have gone through with the purchase and because she didnt give me the right information due to lack of proper training and i am the one that is paying the price for it and it costing me XXXX. I feel this isnt right. 

So now I am out the XXXX, I dont have a puppy and my husband who has been recovering XXXX  XXXX has to have XXXX again, to get a permanent XXXX XXXX. 

I do have a letter that i sent to Senator XXXX XXXX, a screen shot of my phone of when I talked to your employee when she told me that I could file a dispute on a XXXX transaction and a voided check from where the 2 debits of XXXX came from Thank you Sincerely, XXXX XXXX

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