Consumer complaint received 2021-01-25
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: IL
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Problem using a debit or ATM card

Complaint:
Major areas of concern as a consumer Fraud Investigation, Customer Service, and Security Summary - Fraudulent activity occurred on my Bank of America checking account that Bank of America is refusing to investigate in detail. In the second half of XXXX, I had several ATM transactions occur on my account that I did not initiate. I filed a claim with Bank of America for each of the three ( 3 ) transactions as soon as I noticed them on my statement. 

Bank of America is classifying the fraudulent activity as not valid based on two details ( PIN number used and CHIP present ). Bank of America states that because both a PIN and CHIP were present, my physical card had to be used at the ATM. 

Information I submitted to Bank of America to prove I did not make the fraudulent transactions : I did not initiate any of these transactions I rarely use my Bank of America debit card ( a majority of my purchases are placed on a XXXX credit card ) I am home 99 % of my time ( due to the ongoing pandemic and working from home ) I rarely use out of network ATMs My historical use of my Bank of America debit card would show I do not use out of network ATMs and I do not use my Bank of America debit card on a regular basis I filed a police report with XXXX XXXX ( Illinois ) police department on the most recent two fraud cases ( police report number is XXXX. The police report number was provided to Bank of America via a phone call in XX/XX/XXXX. 
My property ( both old and new ) are within a 5 minute walk to a Bank of America branch Both debit/credit cards never left my possession Ive spent 20+ hours on the phone with multiple departments at Bank of America and I have not had success in resolving the issue. 

These are the dates of the fraudulent activity and the timeline of my correspondence with Bank of America. 

XX/XX/XXXX XXXX EFT XX/XX/XXXX # XXXX WITHDRWL EFT XXXX XXXX IL ) - {$93.00} XX/XX/XXXX XXXX EFT XX/XX/XXXX # XXXX WITHDRWL EFT XXXX XXXX IL FEE ) - {$2.00} XX/XX/XXXX XXXX EFT XX/XX/XXXX # XXXX WITHDRWL EFT XXXX XXXX IL ) - {$120.00} XX/XX/XXXX XXXX EFT XX/XX/XXXX # XXXX WITHDRWL EFT XXXX XXXX IL FEE ) - {$2.00} XX/XX/XXXX XXXX EFT XX/XX/XXXX # XXXX WITHDRWL EFT XXXX XXXX IL ) - {$130.00} XX/XX/XXXX XXXX EFT XX/XX/XXXX # XXXX WITHDRWL EFT XXXX XXXX IL FEE ) - {$2.00} XX/XX/XXXX XXXX EFT XX/XX/XXXX # XXXX WITHDRWL EFT XXXX XXXX IL ) - {$170.00} XX/XX/XXXX XXXX EFT XX/XX/XXXX # XXXX WITHDRWL EFT XXXX XXXX IL FEE ) - {$2.00} Total value of fraud = {$530.00} Claim Timeline Claim # 1 Claim # 1 ( XXXX ) is opened on XX/XX/XXXX Claim # 1 ( XXXX ) is closed by Bank of America on XX/XX/XXXX Claim # 1 ( XXXX ) reopened the first week of XX/XX/XXXX with my fax submission requesting the case be opened. I reopened the case because Claim # 2 and Claim # 3 are identical ( same transaction type and I did not initiate the transaction ) Claim # 1 ( XXXX ) is closed by Bank of America on XX/XX/XXXX Reason closed by Bank of America is the PIN is used and the CHIP was present when the transaction occurred. Because the customer stated the card was in their possession, we are deeming this as a valid charge ). 

Claim # 2 Claim # 2 ( XXXX ) is opened on XX/XX/XXXX Claim # 2 ( XXXX ) is being investigated but I was verbally told on XX/XX/XXXX that the claim would most likely be closed and not paid because it is similar to Claim # 1 ( PIN and CHIP used ) Claim # 3 Claim # 3 ( XXXX ) is opened on XX/XX/XXXX Claim # 3 ( XXXX ) is being investigated but I was verbally told on XX/XX/XXXX that the claim would most likely be closed and not paid because it is similar to Claim # 1 ( PIN and CHIP used ) Its worth noting that Bank of America issued a new debit/credit card after Claim 1 was submitted. I was NOT advised to change my PIN. 

Whoever is able access my account details was able to access my new debit/credit card number and initiate identical transactions in XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. 

Dealing with the Bank of America fraud department has been a terrible experience so far. Ive been told contradictory things by different reps in the department and Ive been lied to several times. Bank of Americas fraud department has no interest in identifying the root issue and they alluded that in order for me to make any progress with the matter I would need to escalate the matter externally ( submit a letter to the Attorney General of Illinois, file a complaint with CFCB, open a small courts claim ). 

I submitted a complaint to Bank of America on XX/XX/XXXX based on a experience I had with a Bank of America Fraud Department rep on XX/XX/XXXX. 

I've talked to the following departments at Bank of America during the past couple of months to find a resolution to my issue. 

- Fraud Department - General Customer Service - Local Bank of America branch - Preferred member customer service Each department was limited in what they could do to resolve the issue because the final resolution is managed specifically with the Fraud Department.

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