Consumer complaint received 2021-06-18
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: NV
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Government benefit card
Issue: Problem getting a card or closing an account
Sub-issue: Trouble closing card

Complaint:
Dear CFPB, et al, I have been unable to receive my unemployment benefits under the Disaster Declaration Act for Nevada which is supposed to provide relief for citizens of Nevada. The lack of compliance by XXXX and the Bank of America has put me in the poor house and made me practically destitute, begging from friends and family for survival. My car is close to being repossessed and my roommate is ready to kick me out for not paying XXXX rent. Holding my money back seems to me to be a violation of my Civil Rights. I want to know when these two agencies will allow me to have my money that I am entitled to. Ive worked hard as a XXXX XXXX ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) for 30 years, and I put money into the system which allows me to draw from it during times like this. 
There has been absolutely no fraud on my account, per XXXX. Yet, Bank of America CLOSED my account ( as opposed to frozen ) on XX/XX/2021. I went to the bank and spoke to the branch manager, XXXX XXXX, who seemed bothered that I had even asked for help. She tried to open my account by verifying my identity, but to no avail. She said it was XXXXs fault. She said XXXX told them to close my account. Subsequently, the payment that was made to me on XX/XX/2021 which says paid was taken back out when the account was closed. XXXX XXXX said that XXXX took it back, and that this money was now in their possession which was owed to me. 
Obviously, my next step was to call XXXX and tell them what Bank of America purported. I recorded this call and an unemployment rep said there was no problem with my account, and that there had been no reports of fraud or overpayments in regards to my account with them. They said they CANT CLOSE my account ; that only the bank can do that which makes absolute sense. They said they didnt take my money back out. They said that they dont have that ability. XXXX said that they just issue the money for the claims, but the bank is the serverso to speak-that handles the flow of the money. They said the bank had the payment for XX/XX/2021, and that they took it back out when they closed my account. XXXX further said that Bank of America did this to them 8 months ago too, when they closed thousands of accounts for non-specific reasons. It took some people over half of a year to resolve it. During this time, there were accounts of many people committing XXXX and becoming homeless because of the banks actions, and dying from illnesses, i.e., Covid, etc, because they couldnt afford hospitalization. The proper lack of communication between the bank and XXXX left many people in very unfortunate ways. Is anyone considering this? So not only did Covid kill Americans, but so did our system. XXXX also added that I needed to contact the bank to open my account. I went to the bank again, and they blamed it on XXXX, again. I called XXXX back. They blamed it on the bank, and so on and so forth. 
Finally XXXX put a XXXX hold on my account pending resolution. When I saw this appear on my account 3 weeks ago, I called XXXX again. They said they put that hold on my account because the bank had requested it. They gave me a link to submit my ID and social security card, and I did. They also told me to continue filing my weekly claims which I have done. I filed for XX/XX/2021 ; XX/XX/2021 ; and ( by the time you receive this ) XX/XX/2021. In summary, they owe me 4 payments of which one of them is in never-never land, who knows where. The later payments are not showing up as paid on my account. My remaining XXXX balance available to me is currently {$11000.00}. 
Then on XX/XX/2021, I received a letter from Bank of America that said my account was now in FROZEN status. I called the bank and a rep told me that was different then CLOSED. However, when I call on the card, it still says closed. 
Now to make matters even worse, XXXX is rolling out a new card called XXXX XXXX XXXX which I havent even received and its doubtful I will, considering the status of my account. It will take the place of the Bank of America debit card on XX/XX/2021. I heard this information on the local news channel. 
Ive called XXXX ( XXXX unit ) at least 2 dozen times to resolve this matter. I get the same answers each time. They blame the hold on Bank of America, and tell me to WAIT. Some reps say it could take months to resolve, if not longer. This is unacceptable. 
Ive written to you today to ask for help. I am desperate. I am XXXX. This is going to destroy my life. So I made it through Covid, and now Bank of America and XXXX are going to be my demise? Are you kidding me? 
My cell number is XXXX, and my name is XXXX. Can you help me please? I dont know what to do next since neither agency can fix it. This is just an example of government red tape where the right hand doesnt know what the left hand is doing. Does it make you think that there is some funny business going on, i.e., missing money, etc, on the banks part? I think someone is either stealing it, or making interest off of mine and many other peoples money that is being withheld. Moreover, I got furloughed at the same time as some other guys from my union hall and the same company. Their accounts are also CLOSED, on exactly the same date as mine. Dont you find this odd? 
Thank you very much for your time. 

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 non-monetary relief