Consumer complaint received 2020-05-24
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Government benefit card
Issue: Problem getting a card or closing an account
Sub-issue: Trouble getting, activating, or registering a card

Complaint:
I am waiting for my Bank of America EDD Government Prepaid Debit Card ( State of California Unemployment ). My card was sent out on XX/XX/2020 according to Bank of America. I understand things are behind from Covid19. I was told the card would arrive in 10 business days. I really need some cash to live I have none right now. I was told by The state that I could if i pay a fee have emergency funds transferred to my personal bank account for a fee. I had to call Bank of America to do this. Bank of America when I called on XX/XX/2020 said the system was temporarily down and I should call back the next day. I did call back on XX/XX/2020 and then was told that they are not doing emergency transfers anymore. The State of California Unemployment and The Bank of America EDD list of fees both still have that option listed on their websites. 

I have had an account with Bank of America for 10 years and I thought perhaps cause its the same bank handling both accounts they could easily manage a transfer so i asked again and they could not. 

So the days passed and I had read about an option that Bank of America EDD offers for people who do not wish to wait the 10 days and plan on transferring money to their checking account. That sounded perfect. So I again called to inquire how to do this on XX/XX/2020. I spoke to XXXX he answered he was not informed how to get a digital card and asked his supervisor. I then was told that if I logged onto the site and I chose the option to replace my card that I would be presented with the option to choose another physical or the digital option. I tried it said I needed an account username and they had informed on the site to call customer service for that info if there was no email sent upon request for the username. I did this then was told that there is no way to help me log in or to get a username. I am so confused and no help is provided but the site directs me to call them. 

All that said I was able to choose to finally replace the card without the username providing my social security and my zip code. As I feared no option for digital card was offered. I then called back the the Banks customer service XX/XX/2020 and was told by a male agent that I need to receive the physical card first to receive the digital card. I managed to get expedited delivery of this new card but that is still 5 days out and I have been waiting 10 days. And have been given no help at all actually I been strung along and now delayed to wait longer and I am not receiving any help. 
I now have a new card now coming in yet another 10 days. 

I am going to include the excerpt from the FAQs on the site, https : //prepaid.bankofamerica.com/eddcard/Program/FAQ # q2 " 2. What is the EDD Digital Card? 
The digital card is a Visa prepaid debit card, similar to the physical card option we offer, except you will not receive a physical card in the mail. Digital cards are ideal if you prefer to just transfer the funds directly to your personal bank account. Once you certify for your first payment, the EDD will instruct Bank of America to send you an email with a link to access your digital card. You can then set up a recurring transfer to your bank account through the Bank of America EDD Debit Card website. This way you don't need to wait 7-10 business days for a physical card to arrive in the mail after you certify for your first payment if you just want to transfer funds to your bank account. If you enroll in recurring transfers to your bank account, funds will typically post to your bank account within 1-2 business days after the EDD deposits the funds to your Digital Card. '' If not an option why is it listed and why are the agents and supervisors uninformed and providing information that is vital to their customers financial stability. I feel this is very unfair on the individual who is already going through a lot. I understand covid19 is a unexpected and terrible thing that we are all dealing with but this as I just stated is an awful thing we are dealing with all of us I am being patient and taking extra care to be understanding of delays and needs of the Bank and their employees yet the Bank is not really being very understanding of the consumers needs by not providing the emergency funds transfer which is a service they claim to provide on the site or listing a feature such as digital card that no one knows about and caused further delay to accessing the funds in my account. This is something very unfair and bad practice and I do not understand a call center that everyone i speak to has different information to provide. 

Does this sound ok? I have my phone about to be turned off. I have an account that is now entering collections and I have just XXXX cents in my checking account and in the same Bank I have my unemployment account that has {$5000.00} sitting that I have no access to. According to to the banks website I should have some sort of way that i could easily access my benefit. I am only acquiring more issues each time i call customer service for a remedy. 

After working in customer service for many years I was always under the impression that as an agent my duty and my priority was my customer and I was there and being compensated to come up with solutions for their concerns. I do not think I am in anyway being unreasonable. I been a Bank of America customer for 10 years. This is not anything like the customer service I have come to expect from Bank of America. I been with this institution because always they have gone above and beyond to be sure I am well taken care of and always have been very kind and understanding. This is very disappointing.

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