Consumer complaint received 2023-01-26
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Cashing a check

Complaint:
On XXXX XXXX XXXX my husband wrote, signed, and endorsed a check to move {$7000.00} from our shared XXXX checking account to his XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX account. The check was mailed out on XX/XX/XXXX in an envelope along with a XXXXXXXX XXXX Contribution Voucher, which included the relevant check number, amount, and date. The checks memo was explicitly written as XXXX  [ ACCOUNT NUMBER ] and was signed and endorsed on the back by him. 

On XX/XX/XXXX we received an envelope from the Postmaster of XXXX, XXXX XXXX, containing the opened envelope, which no longer contained the check, along with a notice that we, may have been the victim of mail theft or identity theft. We went to our local XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX, XXXX ) and were told that that on XX/XX/XXXX, the check had been deposited into a Bank of America account. The text Pay to the order of : XXXX XXXX had been written in someone elses handwriting underneath my husbands signature in the endorsement section of the check. We picked up a Declaration of Unauthorized Endorsement or Altered Item form from the branch. On the same day, we also reported the mail theft to the XXXX XXXX Police Department ( XXXX XXXX, Badge # XXXX ; Case Number XXXX ). We also called Bank of America and were told to file our issue with XXXX, who would then contact Bank of America when necessary. 

On XXXX XXXX XXXX  we called the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX at XXXX to file a claim ( Claim Number : XXXX ). On this day we also submitted our completed Declaration of Unauthorized Endorsement or Altered Item at our local XXXX branch. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I received a letter from XXXX requesting additional information to complete their research. We faxed all relevant documents to them. The next day, I called to confirm that they had received the faxed documents. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I called XXXX and were informed that on XX/XX/XXXX, they had sent our claims information to Bank of America to request a reimbursement, with a response expected in 60 days. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I called Bank of America and was told that processing the claim ( XXXX ) would be finished in another 60 days. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I called XXXX and was told to expect a response from Bank of America in an additional 30 days. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called Bank of America and was told that the case should be resolved by XX/XX/XXXX, a total of 90 days since they received an inquiry from XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email from XXXX that Bank of America had denied their request to reimburse us. I called XXXX, who told us that Band of America had denied our claim since the signature in the endorsement section was real. I called Bank of America ( XXXX ), who asked me to call XXXX ( XXXX ) to re-file the claim with Band of America as a case of altered check endorsement. After calling XXXX, I was told by XXXX that they would not refile a claim, as, anyone can modify the endorsement section of a check to include pay to the order of and deposit it into another account if a signature is present. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a call from XXXX XXXX from Regulatory Complaints of Bank of America ( XXXX ) informing me that I need to contact XXXX and instruct them to contact Bank of Americas Fraud Department to resolve this complaint. This conflicts with the statement I previously received from XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, which informed me that Bank of America had assessed the information provided to them by XXXX and elected to not reimburse me for the check. She told me that resolving issues associated with this check is XXXX responsibility, as the check originated from a XXXX account. This conflicts with information from XXXX, who insist that the bank at which the check was cashed is responsible. She also informed me that Bank of America would not be able to investigate the account to which our check was deposited unless a law enforcement agency contacted them regarding this case. She also insisted that she could not understand me and, when I asked to speak with her supervisor, she insisted that they were not available and that regardless of who I spoke with, the answer would be the same. I informed her that I would file another complaint regarding our unresolved check issue with the CFPB. 

Bank of Americas official response to the CFPB complaint was : At Bank of America, keeping information secure and confidential is one of our most important responsibilities. Please understand that our privacy policy does not allow us to disclose any details about accounts at Bank of America that you do not own. Our records do not reflect that you are an authorized signer on the Bank of America account referenced in your inquiry. As such, we are unable to release any account information to you.

We must suggest that you work with your financial institution directly to settle this matter. We regret the circumstances that led to your inquiry. Rest assured that we will fully cooperate with any law enforcement agency if we are contacted about a fraud investigation.

This response is not satisfactory, as my previous complaints proposed fair resolution did not include release of Bank of America account information to me. Additionally, the response does not address how an inability to release private account information to me, personally, prevents a reimbursement of money fraudulently deposited via a clearly altered check. Money from my XXXX account was deposited/cashed into this Bank of America account with disregard for the checks signature, listed payee, and memo, which explicitly noted the intended account as being an XXXX along with the XXXX account number, but I fail to see how reimbursement would compromise that accounts privacy. Again, this conclusions insistence that I work with my financial institution directly also conflicts with the statement I previously received from XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, which informed me that Bank of America had already received and assessed the information provided to them by XXXX and elected to not reimburse me for the check. 

I called XXXX ( XXXX ) on the same day, talked to XXXX, and was told that the responsibility for the checks fraudulent deposit rests with Bank of America, which deposited/cashed the altered check without sufficiently assessing its validity. XXXX instructed me to file another CFPB complaint regarding this incident with XXXX listed as the relevant institution so that they could reopen the case on their end.

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