Consumer complaint received 2022-07-26
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Problem using a debit or ATM card

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX I alerted Bank of America ( " BofA '' ) regarding 7 fraudulent charges on my Business Advantage Fundamentals checking account. My debit card was used in 3 different states and funds were immediately released from my checking account. A fraud claim was opened for the charges. The 7 fraudulent charges totaled {$25000.00} and the charges were made in NY, DC, and TX. My home and work are both based in California and I have no prior transactions outside of California with this account. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received " temporary credit '' on 3 of the fraudulent charges adding up to roughly {$7000.00} within 4 days. I received a letter from BofA informing me of the temporary credit. This is the only piece of communication and correspondence I received from BofA since XX/XX/XXXX, 47 days since I reported the fraud charges. No emails, no phone calls, no letter updating me or asking for additional information to help them with their research. 

I called BofA 's fraud line several times, always demanding to speak with the supervisor. BofA confirmed that the claim was opened on XX/XX/XXXX for the 7 charges and I was told that I would see a temporary credit on all charges within 10 days. I also submitted a formal complaint to the Bank for not contacting me regarding these suspicious out of state charges. My address is in CA and these charges occurred in NY, DC, and TX. Additionally, the only outgoing transaction I ever made from this account was to pay for my XXXX federal and state taxes for my business. I also submitted a formal complaint that my " secure message '' center was empty and it did not have any information regarding the fraud claim. 

When I was only given temporary credit on the 3 charges, I called BofA and was told that they would have the remaining 4 charges resolved by XXXX. When nothing happened by XXXX, I called BofA and was told that a new claim had been opened for the 4 charges because the bank needed more time to look into them. A new claim was opened on XX/XX/XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I went into the local BofA branch and met with the branch manager who said there was nothing she could do regarding the fraud charges and proceeded to call the same BofA fraud number that I had called numerous times. She was told that the claim will be resolved by XX/XX/XXXX and that I should expect to see the credits on my account no later than XX/XX/XXXX. 

As of today, XX/XX/XXXX, there have been no credits and absolutely no communication from BofA regarding the outstanding {$18000.00} missing from my Business account. I called BofA on XX/XX/XXXX and found out that BofA 's ruling on the claim had been unfavorable to me and that the claim had been closed. I was never informed of the claim closing, in fact, I was never provided any information since XX/XX/XXXX when I reported the fraudulent charges. The fraud specialist, XXXX from TN reopened the claim on XX/XX/XXXX for me and told me the Bank had another 45 days to investigate this and if found unfavorable, I would not receive my money back. I again submitted a formal complaint that I had not received any correspondence from the Bank regarding this investigation and that my " secure message '' center on my online banking platform was empty and never posted any message or correspondence regarding the fraudulent claims. BofA did not provide any information to me since XX/XX/XXXX to date, XX/XX/XXXX, which is 47 days. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, after speaking with BofA, I called one of the merchants who had processed one of the fraudulent charges. There is a {$5000.00} fraudulent charge for {$5000.00} to XXXX Bank. I called XXXX Bank today and spoke with XXXX, one of their supervisors. He was able to track the transaction with my BofA debit card number ( now null number ). He was not able to provide any information on the account but explained that BofA would " simply need to contact them and report it as fraud and request for a return of funds ''. It was clear from speaking to XXXX that BofA had not even contacted XXXX Bank regarding the {$5000.00} fraudulent charge, money that was transferred from my account unauthorized. 

In 47 days BofA has done nothing regarding my fraudulent claims, has not provided any communication, and chose to simply close the claim on their own matter without providing any explanation to their consumer. I have been a loyal BofA consumer for 24 years. The way they have mishandled this situation is absolutely disappointing and financially stressful. I was out of $ XXXX since XX/XX/XXXX and after their temporary credit of {$7000.00} on XX/XX/XXXX, I have been out of $ XXXX in cash since XX/XX/XXXX due to fraudulent charges that BofA has refused to look into responsibly.

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