Consumer complaint received 2021-01-28
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: NV
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Government benefit card
Issue: Trouble using the card
Sub-issue: Problem using the card to withdraw money from an ATM

Complaint:
Hello, hope all is well. I am writing this as a last resort, I tried everything in my power to fix this issue. I am having this issue with Nevada Debt Unemployment Benefit card which is issued and managed by Bank Of America. This issue began around XX/XX/XXXX, I encountered an issue withdrawing money, I withdrew {$500.00} from an ATM, all five bills were individual {$100.00} bills and when I tried depositing them I was told one of the bills was counterfeit, so I called Bank Of America, after 3 hours on the phone they filed my claim, and a day later my entire BOA account was Frozen this was due to reporting the situation, they automatically locked me out of my account and ability to receive weekly unemployment funds. All this after reporting that I received a counterfeit bill from their network ATMs. Had I known this wouldve caused such a major issue for me, I wouldve just taken the loss. I then tried to make a rent payment with my BOA UI debt card, as I usually do only to find it was locked, I called the customer help line on the back of the card and was told to contact NV XXXX  to resolve the issue, I had to wait an entire week to be able to call since their office was closed due to the holidays. Finally on XX/XX/XXXX I called the Nevada Unemployment Office and was told to email a copy of my ID and Social Security card for ID validation, I did so immediately. That was on Monday, XX/XX/2021, a few days later, on Thursday XX/XX/XXXX, a representative from the NV XXXX fraud Department called me to validate my identity. After confirmation she stated everything necessary is done on my end and the documents will be sent to Bank Of America for approval and my account should be reinstated after 7-10 business days. I called Bank of America a few days later and they satiated they have received nothing yet to unlock my account, and stated I call NV XXXX  to confirm the documents were sent, I did so and NV XXXX stated it was in fact sent and the issue is no longer in their hands, that at this point only Bank of America can do something to unlock my account. Ive since called Bank of America to try expedite the process but they claim they cant do anything as of right now that I must wait, even though theyve stated in the past, my account would be unlock in 7-10 business days, I has now been 25 days. In addition Ive also been told to contact NV XXXX  because the issue in their hands not BOA, but when I do call NV XXXX  they claim only BOA can unfreeze my account, I keep getting the run-around and finger pointing. I dont know what else to do, I can not received benefits, I have overdue bills, no food, no money to my name. This situation has caused me severe XXXX and distress, Im behind on multiple payments, facing late fees, and for the first time in my life missing card payment which will affect my credit score and in turn affect my future ability to rent or buy a home, the ramifications of this situation are just beginning. Not just for me, but many others across the country who are using BOA to receive and use their UI benefits as Ive heard of multiple people in the same dire situation. I am in talks with multiple people in XXXX group to come together and with an attorney in the Nevada XXXX  who will assist us on filing a lawsuit as the final resort very soon.

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