Consumer complaint received 2016-04-22
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: NJ
Product: Credit card
Issue: Billing disputes

Complaint:
On XXXX XXXX, 2016, I used my Bank of America Credit card at a XXXX XXXX to purchase a refrigerator. But before I completed the transaction, I changed my mind and used my XXXX credit card instead. XXXX assured me that the charge on the Bank of America card never went through, and I did not see any receipt come out of the register, so I believed them. 

The next day I had to cancel my order because I realized the refrigerator was too big for my kitchen. XXXX card refunded my sears charge immediately and never billed me for the charge. 

A couple of weeks later, I was surprised to see the XXXX charge on my Bank of America statement. I called to dispute the charge and explained exactly what happened. I then called XXXX XXXX to see if they had any record or receipt to evidence the transaction between XXXX and Bank of America for that day. I was told there was none. I called Bank of America again and relayed that information to them. I thought Bank of America would call XXXX and learn that I never took that refrigerator and that there was no record of the Bank of America charge. Instead, two weeks later, I received a letter from Bank of America asking me to resubmit the facts I had already conveyed over the phone, and documents to prove that I paid for the refrigerator by some other means. I did not have the receipt for my XXXX card because they never charged me and I never got the refrigerator. But, I completed the form and submitted it as instructed. 

A few weeks later, I received the same type of notice, again demanding I provide proof that I paid for the refrigerator by another means. I called Bank of America and expressed frustration at their failure to resolve this issue and their insistence that I prove that I did not authorize the charge. I asked for proof that this charge was ever authorized by me, which I knew they could not produce, because there was none. I asked if they contacted XXXX. They said that they did, but did not provide me with the results of that communication. I asked for proof that they paid XXXX anything on my behalf, for which they were charging my account. They provided none. 

On XXXX XXXX, I received a final letter from Bank of America informing me that they " were unable to determine that a billing error occurred based on the information or documentation available to us. '' They did not provide any factual basis for that conclusion, nor did they outline the steps they had taken to investigate the charge, or the specific results of that investigation. 

It is beyond ridiculous that a credit card can present a consumer with nothing other than a statement by them claiming that a charge took place as the sole evidence that a charge is legitimate and actually authorized. Furthermore, it is outrageous that once a consumer has disputed that charge and clearly and unequivocally stated that they never authorized the charge or received the product or service that the consumer be required to prove a negative as opposed to the credit card providing evidence that the transaction was legitimately authorized and took place. 

It turns all logic and reason on its head. I can only conclude that Bank of America operates in such a fashion in a deliberate effort to defraud its customers of monies they never spent.

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