Consumer complaint received 2021-10-04
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Government benefit card
Issue: Problem with a purchase or transfer
Sub-issue: Charged for a purchase or transfer you did not make with the card

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2021, I walked to my local Bank of America ATM next to XXXX  XXXX 's to get some cash to buy food. I requested {$130.00} and the transaction was denied. I then pressed the button for balance inquiry and nearly died when the screen said {$25.00}. What happened to the XXXX of CA EDD funds that should be in my account? 

I would NEVER take out huge sums of money via ATM from this account -- which is why I've set up a bank transfer link when this account was first opened. 

My first action was to go to my online account and see the transaction history. At the same time, I immediately called the number on the back of the card for assistance ( XX/XX/XXXX, at XXXX ). The person answering the phone told me this is the Claims Department ( not XXXX ) and that her department would file a claim for me, # XXXX. I asked her how long it would take for my money to be replaced and she did not give me a clear answer. We need these government benefits to live on as I don't have any other government assistance like SNAP ( food ) or CalWRKS ( cash aid ). The only solution they offered was to immediately replace the current card. 

Please be advised however that my card was never lost nor stolen ; it is still safely secured in my wallet. So how did these transactions occur? This program with EDD/Bank of America was stated to have " ZERO liability. '' Otherwise, why not just use for own bank account for direct deposit? We are suffering without this money BECAUSE of being UNEMPLOYED since the start of this pandemic. That is why we get this money in the first place. And yet, Bank of America has thrown it away. 

When I looked at my online transaction history, I saw the four fraudulent transactions that led to my account being drained. They took place on XXXX and XXXX of XX/XX/2021 : two of them were " balance inquiry '' actions at two different XXXX XXXX branches I never use. The other two transactions were Bank of America ATM withdrawals : one for {$980.00} in " XXXX '' XXXX XXXX which I have never used nor been to ( we live in XXXX XXXX ), and another {$600.00} withdrawal in XXXX on a day when I was in XXXX XXXX, California. 

This is all very weird. On the XXXX, the person went to a XXXX XXXX to get a balance inquiry first, then to a Bank of America ATM for the withdrawal, and repeated this same process on the next day ( XXXX ) in a different city. A total of {$1500.00} now stolen from my account. 

After that conversation with Claims, I asked to be transferred to the " Fraud '' department and this person wasn't helpful either. She said the only thing she could do was to " block '' my account -- which I clearly told her NOT to do because after that, I wouldn't be able to use my account in the future. 

As of this writing, there has been no further communication from Bank of America concerning this situation or when I can expect replacement of these stolen EDD funds.

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