Consumer complaint received 2022-08-31
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: GA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Closing an account
Sub-issue: Funds not received from closed account

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX My wife and I were cut off all access to our funds from Bank of America who we have been banking with for over 18yrs. This nightmare all started when I attempted check my account on my online mobile app and was repeatedly denied access. So, I then called the bank and was immediately routed to a closing agent which has never happened before who was very rude to me and stated that the bank has decided to close our accounts. I then asked why because I could not for the life of me figure out why this could be happening, and he simply stated that they did not have provide me with any sort of explanation. I then asked to speak with a manager and my request was denied and that this is simply a business decision by the bank. And this could not have come at worse time because this was a pay week for my wife and I and we get paid every 2 weeks so when our deposits hit, we have to pay a lot of our important bills like our Mortgage, childcare, tax bills, food, gas etc. I was so frustrated and mentally anguished that I dropped everything that I was doing and just had to leave work immediately to see if I could somehow get this sorted out. I then went inside one of their banking institutions to see if they could provide me with any answers and they could not they just provided me with the number to their risk dept. And to make things worse I was supposed to go back into work that same night for a much-needed overtime project that I was depending on to make some extra money but was unable to due to being cut off from my finances. Not being able to purchase gas. So, my wife and I repeatedly call the bank over the next two days talking to different representatives to see if we could get some sort of answers and they all told us different stories every time wed call. One representative told my wife that this is happening because our account has been flagged for fraud which took us completely by surprise because both me and my wife are law abiding citizen that are respected in our community and we have never participated in any type of fraudulent activities. All funds in our account can easily be sourced to our paychecks via direct deposit every two weeks and we do not have any type of questionable transactions. The only thing that I could think of was because of our disputes which were 100 percent completely legitimate. So, I called the next day to see when will our account be completely closed so we can regain access to our funds and was told by one representative that they dont have any type of time frame to give me and that It can possibly take at a minimum of 45 business days and up to 90 business days as long as we have active claims going on. Knowing that I could not afford for that to happen I felt that I had no other choice but to withdraw my legitimate claims, because I could not afford to have my funds held up for that long over around XXXX $ worth of claims so it would be in my best interest to eat that loss in order to prevent further damage and risk not being able to pay my bills. We even called today on XX/XX/XXXX because we were told that we would be possibly be able to get some of our funds due to hardship and today was completely denied. I have no gas to go to work this is my second day having to take off putting my job and livelihood at risk. We have no money to feed our young children and have even expressed this to the bank and we are continually denied and told we have to wait, how is this legal what are our rights as a consumer. The mental stress this is causing gets more unbearable by the day especially not being able to feed my kids and being denied access to monies we worked hard for and already had to wait on. Having to endure public humiliation by having to pay for gas with loose we had to scrounge up around the house is embarrassing especially knowing that you have funds in your account. This ordeal has already cost me over a XXXX dollars worth of damage just from me missing work having to withdraw my legitimate claims and potential late fees. I feel like this should be illegal and I pray no one ever has to endure what me and my family are going through now especially from an institution that we thought we could trust to protect our money but instead holding our money hostage. Sincerely 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