Consumer complaint received 2022-10-26
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Problem with a lender or other company charging your account
Sub-issue: Transaction was not authorized

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I was attempting to pay for my dentist appointment but my card kept declining. I opened my bank app to find both my checking and savings at XXXX. The most recent transactions were XXXX XXXX XXXX  for {$5000.00} ( checking ) and {$1100.00} ( savings ), and another XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  for {$120.00}, all taken 2 days prior on XX/XX/XXXX. Now completely in a panic and on the hook for a {$1000.00} dentist appointment XXXX cant pay for, my reflex is to call my bank XXXX Bank of America ) because surely theyll clear it up, right? Wrong. After sitting in silence, not on hold, literal silence, for 40 minutes while the operator tries to figure out whats going on with the entire dentist office staff staring at me waiting for an answer on how Im going to pay, he finally comes back with Your account is under review and we have no further information for you, wait for us to contact you. I, of course, object because you cant take all my money and tell me nothing, right? Again, wrong. After numerous attempts at anything even slightly resembling information, I finally realized I was getting nowhere and gave up. The only thing I was able to gather from the call was that the department that put my account on review was the Accounting Fraud department. I tried calling 2 more times over the next day only to get the exact same long silence, then same stupid scripted response each time. The last call, XX/XX/XXXX, I insisted that they transfer me to that department so I could speak to them myself. I started the call an hour before I had to be at work, and I was still sitting in silence ( barring a few periodic Im still working on finding that number for you, just give me another second ) as I was clocking into work and forced to hang up. I get a call back and she says she has the number for me, so I run to the bathroom, and as she finishes reading me the number, I realize it is LITERALLY the number that pops up on XXXX when you type in bank of America phone number. Aka the most generic, basic customer service number they have. I tell her this, and she says, Lo and behold, to give her another second. I tell her I cant because Im now at work and if she finds the actual number to call me back. The voicemail I got back basically said that if I go to a branch, an employee can let me talk to them there but there is no public number she can give me to call myself. So as per her instructions, I take time off work to go into a branch, I get there, and I tell a worker the situation. He goes and talks to his manager then his manager gets on the phone. After another 30 minute wait, he walks over to me and I get hit with ANOTHER Your account is under review, we have no further information, wait for us to contact you. I ask about talking to the Accounting Fraud department, relaying what the operator told me in the voicemail, and insist I get a copy of the order or at least the phone number attached to it. He says there is no phone number on the order and that department cant be reached by customers, whether theyre in a branch or not. I still havent heard anything to this day, and that was all the money that I had. Bills are piling up. And still not a modicum of information on why/how this happened. I seriously doubt its legal to give away every PENNY to someones name without giving them any sort of heads up, or at least any information after the fact.

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