Consumer complaint received 2017-03-16
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: RI
Product: Bank account or service
Sub-product: Other bank product/service
Issue: Account opening, closing, or management

Complaint:
My husband opened a health savings account with Bank of America Benefit Solutions. When he died in XX/XX/XXXX there was a substantial balance in the account, and I, his wife, was the beneficiary. I knew that IRS rules provided that the named spouse beneficiary " assumes the account. '' However, when I called to discuss the situation I was told the account would be closed and funds sent to me. I specifically said I did not want the account to be closed. I followed this up with a letter the same day reiterating my wish that the account not be closed and asking that someone contact me about the proper handling of the account. I heard nothing. When I followed up with a phone call, I was told the account was closed and a check was on the way to me. I spoke with several people, all of whom told me the account had to be closed. However, I knew IRS publication XXXX indicated that upon death of account holder, the " account is treated as the spouse 's HSA. '' The major problem with their closing the account was that they did it around XX/XX/XXXX -- against my wishes -- and at a time when the value of investments in the account had plunged. These investments soon rebounded and even gained in value. However, I missed out on these earnings. I filed a complained with the BBB and the bank restored opened an account in my name and cancelled payment on the check to me. However, the bank has refused to provide me with information about the value of the account as of the date of my husband 's death and the holdings in the investment accounts as of his death and as of the date they sold the investments. As the law says I should " assume '' this account, I am entitled to this information. I have attempted to get the information from the bank but they refuse. I have no way to know if they restored the correct amount to the account. The bank later made a cash deposit to the account, apparently correcting some error. However, I have no information to assess what they have done. In effect, the bank erroneously made the only investment decisions for the account until I sold the investments in XX/XX/XXXX as I prepare to move the account to an HSA administrator that is more professional. The bank 's website information about the treatment of HSA accounts upon accountholder 's death has changed more than once since my husband 's death and now says the bank has discretion about the treatment of accounts upon death. Are accountholders subject to the whims of a bank clerk? I believe the bank has callously violated my rights and that I have suffered a financial loss as a result. Without all of the required information, it is difficult to assess the damage, but I believe that if the account had simply been changed to my name there would be several more thousand dollars in it than there is now. To make matters worse, this debacle occurred when I was already struggling with the effects of my husband 's death. While other financial institutions were careful to provide detailed information accounts and options, Bank of America ignored my request for information and closed the account without any consideration of the effect it would have on its value. I believe they are mishandling health savings accounts.

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