Consumer complaint received 2022-04-03
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: MA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Problem using a debit or ATM card

Complaint:
Last month, I attempted to pay my monthly cell phone bill. However, my account was temporarily locked. According to Bank of America, it was due to suspicious and unusual activity on my account. I had not logged into my Bank of America mobile app since XX/XX/2022 when I made my previous monthly cell phone payment. So I was naturally curious to discover the problem and resolve it as best as possible. 

I opened my online account and discovered that there were unauthorized charges made from XX/XX/2022 to XX/XX/2022 on my checking account by someone outside my jurisdiction ( XXXX, MA ) that I had no knowledge of. It turns out I had been hacked. This resulted with a majority of my funds being depleted from my checking account by total sum amount of {XXXX} during that five day span. I was neither given an opportunity by the bank to dispute the charges processed online on my own nor could I get a hold of a representative with the fraud hotline number provided on the banks website. 

I went to my local Bank of America branch to dispute these unauthorized transactions that I was unable to dispute online by myself. I spoke with a customer representative that handles fraud and guided me with the process to file my claims. 

I stated my whereabouts around that time when these bogus charges had been made and explained to them how all these charges were not authorized by me. There were charges made from numerous places such as gas stations, casinos, restaurants, online gambling websites, food delivery apps, and ride-share apps. I reviewed my bank statement and found that these establishments were located in the XXXX, XXXX, and New Jersey areas. I was never present in any of those areas around that time frame. There were multiple transactions occurring from these settings simutaneously which is humanly impossible to do. 

On XX/XX/2022, I received an online letter from Bank of America with their decision regarding my claim. They refused to reimburse my stolen funds because they believed that I authorized myself or gave permission to someone else to make these purchases despite the compelling evidence and statements that contradicts that. 

On XX/XX/2022, I returned to the same local Bank of America branch to speak with a representative that handles fraud. I spoke to a phone representative named XXXX to inquire about my claim and they stated that the charges on my account were not unusual, therefore legitimate, and thus they refused to reimburse my funds. They claimed that I authorized myself or someone else to use my account to charge my account which is completely false. 

I will attach my recent bank statement which highlights the unauthorized transactions I attempted to dispute and Bank of Americas most recent decision for my claim below. 

Here are the establishments, number of charges, and total amount : XXXX ; XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX 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 monetary relief