Consumer complaint received 2019-07-12
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: PA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Closing an account
Sub-issue: Company closed your account

Complaint:
Bank of America, despite promising that if I submitted and succeeded on a claim to their Deposit and Payment Claims department, would not take adverse action against me for an ATM error, closed my account without cause and falsely reported me to two bank " blacklists '' XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

On the night of XX/XX/2019, I approached a Bank of America ATM machine in the XXXX International Airport to make a US {$1500.00} cash deposit. After entering the correct PIN and choosing to deposit, the machine started to make a grinding sound. The door of the machine never opened. The screen of the machine advised that a malfunction occurred and requested that I enter the amount of money I attempted to deposit. Since I did not deposit anything, I typed 0 and enter. The machine would not accept a numerical zero and required I enter an amount. I hit cancel but the machine would not cancel the dialogue. Because I attempted to deposit {$1500.00}, I entered that amount. The machine then reset. It provided no receipt. I then attempted to complete the transaction a second time. The machine again attempted to open its door, but made a grinding sound. The machine went through the same sequencing. However, this time it provided a receipt stating that an error occurred and that the machine credited my account {$300.00}. 

I immediately called Bank of America 's fraud division because I received an email about a transaction that it considered suspicious. I reported that I authorized the suspicious transaction and I conveyed the incident listed above. The representative stated he could not access my account because it was being reviewed by a different department. He stated that the trigger was automated and that the department was closed until Monday, XX/XX/2019. The representative provided the telephone number. 

I checked with the online system and learned that Bank of America credited two transactions of {$300.00} to my checking account. 

On XX/XX/2019, I called the number provided, which was the account closure department. The representative implied that I made a false deposit. I explained what occurred. The representative stated that they would close my account unless I contacted the claims department and submitted a claim about the two transactions. The representative stated that if the claims department sustained the claim, my account would not be closed. 

In the morning of XX/XX/2019, I contacted the Deposit and Payment Claims department and lodged a dispute as instructed by the account closure department. The claims department stated that they would conduct an investigation and reverse the erroneous transactions. 

On XX/XX/2019, I received a letter from the Deposit and Payment Claims department stating that they removed the erroneous transactions and closed the dispute. 

Nevertheless, and despite the representations of the account closure department, on XX/XX/2019, Bank of America sent a letter stating, We've closed your account listed above and enclosed a cashier 's check for the balance. Bank of America enclosed a check for {$4800.00}. 

Despite Bank of America refunding me for the credit balance on my account, on XX/XX/2019, the bank sent a letter to me stating, We have informed a consumer reporting agency about a late payment, missed payment, or other default on your account. This information may be reflected in your consumer report. 

Indeed, Bank of America falsely reported that I had an unpaid claim with them and that a fraud transaction occurred. This was reported to XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

This reporting is false. As shown by the documents attached, my account always maintained a positive balance, my claim was confirmed by the claims department, and all errors that occurred were the sole fault of Bank of America, its poorly trained account closure investigators, and its faulty ATM machine network. 

This erroneous and false reporting by Bank of America cause a third-party bank to refuse to open an account for me. It has significantly impaired my ability to conduct business and consumer transactions.

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 non-monetary relief