Consumer complaint received 2021-04-09
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Government benefit card
Issue: Trouble using the card
Sub-issue: Trouble using the card to spend money in a store or online

Complaint:
The short version : I was shorted {$10.00} when making a withdrawal from a BofA ATM. When I submitted an ATM error claim, BofA : XXXX. Closed the claim the same day or no more than two days later as " fraud or suspicious '' without investigating the claim. 
XXXX. Declined my grocery store purchase ( this was the way I found something was wrong since the claim denial letter arrived much later ). 
XXXX. Closed or froze XXXX depending on which rep at BofA gives the info ) all of the funds XXXX had paid me via the BofA prepaid ATM card. 
XXXX. When I tried to escalate the error, the supervisor refused to talk to me and told the phone rep to tell me " BofA has nothing to do with it and I need to contact the sponsor '' XXXX XXXX XXXX. 
XXXX. Prevented access to all of my XXXX funds for almost three months. 
NOTE : XXXX confirmed that there was nothing wrong with my claim or account and sent me payments BofA refused because they closed/froze my account via paper checks. They continued to pay me via check until my claim ran out of funds. 

All of the details : On XX/XX/XXXX I went to a Bank of America ATM to withdraw {$250.00} in cash. The last {$10.00} bill was stuck in the ATM and retained. A few days later I called Bank of America and told them I was shorted {$10.00}. 
A few days after that I attempted to use my XXXX ATM card at a grocery store and the transaction was declined. I didn't have time to call about it at the time because I was in the process of moving. 
I received a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, most likely the day I filed the claim, stating " Your claim has been closed because we believe the account or claim may have been the subject of fraud or suspicious activity. '' Since I made the withdrawal I assume this means they're accusing me of fraud? 
On XX/XX/XXXX I spoke to the prepaid claims department and they informed me that not only do I not get my {$10.00} back, but in addition, all of my funds had been frozen ( she originally told me the account was closed ) and they returned already delayed credits XXXX sent to BofA for the month of XXXX and XXXX totaling {$3200.00} back to XXXX. I couldn't believe all of this happened because of a {$10.00} ATM error claim. However, the phone rep made it sound like its quite normal and happens with almost every claim they receive for XXXX accounts. And there's nothing they will do about it. When I demanded to speak to a supervisor I was told after a lengthy wait that the supervisor refused to speak to me because it has nothing to do with BofA and I needed to speak to " the sponsor ''. 

I must say that I truly experienced the inequity in how people are treated by BofA, especially on that last call. By the way the situation was handled and how I was spoken to, I really felt Bank of America thought I was trash and not worth their time. Ironically, later that same day XXXX received a " Thank you for being a Preferred Rewards for XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX' email from BofA with a video summary of the past year ( for my Business Account that is! ). 

I spent countless hours from XX/XX/XXXX through XXXX on the phone with BofA and XXXX, most of it on hold at BofA, trying to get access to MY FUNDS. Everyone Ive spoken with at XXXX says there is no problem on their side with my claim and there is nothing I need to do for XXXX to get access to MY FUNDS in BofA. This is evidenced by the fact that they continued to pay me by paper checks after BofA returned my {$3200.00} in back payments to XXXX. 

Until XXXX, I didn't have have access to MY FUNDS in BofA. That may be incorrect, because the first person I spoke to on XX/XX/XXXX told me that the account was unfrozen on XX/XX/XXXX and I needed to talk to Tier 2 to get my ATM card working again. However, the Tier 2 rep I was transferred to after a long wait on hold very rudely told me that I was wrong because the account has a fraud block on it and I need to talk to Fraud Risk about that. She transferred me and after a lengthy hold I was disconnected. Total time of the XX/XX/XXXX call was XXXX mins XXXX sec. I decided that I had once again wasted too much time getting nowhere with BofA and instead of calling back I would call and close my business account, which BofA paid me {$700.00} to open in XXXX of last year. 

After calming down from the treatment I received on XX/XX/XXXX, on XXXX I called BofA again and FINALLY got a fraud risk phone rep who cared enough to actually figure out what was needed to free up my funds. After passing enhanced ID ( because, of course, BofA didn't have any idea who I was ... despite sending me this a few days earlier : https : XXXX? XXXX & XXXX & XXXX & XXXX XXXX, he released the block on the account and I immediately transferred the entire balance of {$970.00} to my account at XXXX XXXX. 

I am very fortunate in the fact that I did not need the money from XXXX. Whats much more important than resolution for me, and something that infuriates me every time I think about it, is the fact that many people are desperately in need their XXXX payments to feed and shelter themselves and their families. I cant begin to XXXX the pain, stress, and suffering they and their families experience every day. Its inflicted on them as a result of Bank of Americas actions and inactions and I will no longer support such a company with my business ... but I still want my {$10.00} back! 

NOTE : I destroyed the XXXX ATM card after I transferred all of the funds out of BofA. I've entered my BofA XXXX XXXX card on the next page for identification purposes.

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