Consumer complaint received 2017-09-22
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: FL
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: Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement

Complaint:
CREDIT CARD FRAUD or INTENTIONAL BANK NEGLIGENCE? 


Dear friends, A new client retained me to provide professional services on website development. He paid over the phone in four ( 4 ) installments using credit cards that later turn out to belong to other people and were apparently used without their knowledge and consent. Note : using different credit cards is not unusual in my experience and, though they had different zip codes, they were all under my clients name. 

Bank of America, the bank Ive used for about 20 years, successfully processed and approved these transactions but then reversed the latest one due to unauthorized credit card charges. During the last week, I was contacted by the cardholders of the credit cards used for the other three payments inquiring about such charges because they did not recognize them. 

At this point, it looks like I was subject to a scam. My clients gain was that he got me to pay, on his behalf, the graphic designer he hired by depositing directly into the designers bank account, also with Bank of America, given that he could not receive payments online ( {$5000.00} in total ) This is not only a frustrating situation but a financial drawback that can not come at a worse time. I engaged the police department and the FBI not only to report a crime but because this problem goes far beyond what happened to me. In my view, it is not right for a financial institution to serve as a facilitator of criminal activities instead of working to minimize/prevent security risks for their customers and then dumping the responsibility and losses on us, the business that use their big platforms to process payments, and that is exactly what they did. 

I hope the documents submitted along this description provide all the information and details needed to illustrate and support my complaint. Such documents include : 1. A chronological list of the interactions with the person I believed to be a legitimate client ( as requested by the Police Dept. of XXXX XXXX, FL ) as well as a description of what took place in each one ( though rare, his requests were not totally unusual ; Ive dealt with pretty difficult and weird clients throughout my long professional career but never before was I subject to a fraud ). 

2. eMail chains with client ''. 

3. Invoices : - to client '' - from the client 's designer to me. 
- quote for a 2nd website " client '' requested. 

4. eMessage chain ( except for two phone calls and a few emails, most of our conversation was through eMessages ).
5. Screenshot of Merchant Transactions. 


I will certainly appreciate any advice and help you can provide in order resolve this situation or to point me in the right direction to seek legal action against Bank of America, including possible class actions that you may know are already being advanced against them regarding this type of what I would describe as deceiving and predatory financial practices. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX

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