Consumer complaint received 2021-04-12
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: VA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Card was charged for something you did not purchase with the card

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX, while checking over credit card transactions online and while I continue to be in a place where I am working long hours and have no cell phone service when I get home, I discovered two fraudulent transactions totaling {$190.00}. These transactions were in a state two states away from me and several hundred miles, and both fuel transactions, which is unlikely because it was more money per transaction than I ever use to fill a tank and also the two transactions occurred right around the same time meaning I wouldve filled the tank twice. 

I attempted to file a claim online and discovered that the bank wanted me to call. Since I couldnt call I found some advocacy sites that listed customer service email contacts. I emailed them to no avail. I then went on and found 45 XXXX  contacts. After a couple of emails, one person there got back with me saying that she had passed it on. 

In the days since, the bank sent me an email describing how I can go online and file a claim ( which was the same system that said that I have to call ). They also sent me an email saying that there was suspicious activity on my account and that I needed to verify transactions, to which I cooperated with only to find that I was being asked to verify a limited number of very recent transactions that werent fraudulent. After I went through the prompts on this, it reactivated my card. 

For lack of other options, I went online again and filed claims on the card based on saying that it was that I didnt get what I paid for instead of saying that it was a unauthorized transaction. In the text of the claims, I mentioned that these were unauthorized transactions. ( Unlike the unauthorized transactions claims, this type of claim can be done without phone calls XXXX. I received both mail and email confirmation of the claims. Strangely though, they just said that they were looking into it instead of saying that they had taken swift action to secure the card from further use by a fraudster. 

I also received an email from someone claiming to be in the Bank of Americas regulatory relations department, saying she was dealing with the issue. Though like everyone else, she did nothing substantive to deal with the issue as she hasnt taken any action to shut off the credit card and issue a new one or prosecute the claim for fraud. 

The bank also sent me an email copy of a letter they have sent me in the mail, asking me to proceed with the credit card claim by mail. Even though the credit card is obviously compromised and in the hands of fraudsters, they asked me to send them a claim by mail instead of taking action on the information they were given. 

47 people at Bank of America, including the XXXX XXXX department, executive customer service department, CEO, and other executives, have been notified of this matter and have taken action that has resulted in Bank of America replying ( and thereby confirming the receipt of these notifications XXXX. Yet more than a month after a claim was filed, they have done nothing to refund the transaction or even disable the credit card from being able to be used again by whoever has compromised it. 

Additionally, Better Business Bureau has been made aware of this issue and the bank has not responded to that complaint because theyre probably waiting right till the end of the 30 day window to reply. Instead of taking action that they were notified via yet another channel of fraud and a credit card that is at risk of further 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