Consumer complaint received 2016-09-08
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CA
Product: Bank account or service
Sub-product: Other bank product/service
Issue: Account opening, closing, or management

Complaint:
I was offered a deal through Bank of America XXXX which promised {$75.00} cashback when completing two transaction at XXXX XXXX XXXX as per the terms ( deal terms attached and pasted to the bottom of this text box ). Three weeks elapsed without any receipt or acknowledgement that the terms of purchase were completed. 

Attempted to e-mail Bank of America regarding this issue - no e-mail solution was offered. Attempted to chat Bank of America regarding this issue - chat was busy without the option for a queue ( and from previous experience was not available XXXX times when needed ). Called Bank of America and was placed on a callback hold lasting anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour. Did not receive a callback for another 1 hour and 20 minutes as recorded by my call log. 

I was rerouted to the appropriate department and clearly explained my issue regarding the deal terms. Representative placed me on a brief hold and later stated that according to them, the terms and conditions on their end required me to purchase the product through the phone or through in-store channels and was not available through online purchase. In other words, their terms of purchase were completely different than what was displayed to me on my end. The representative stated further that he would escalate the dispute but expressed that my chances of a successful claim was slim. He suggested that I go to a Bank of America branch to show them the terms of purchase as shown on my end and that a branch associate would be able to place a call on my behalf. 

A few hours later, I entered into the Bank of America branch on XXXX and showed the associate my terms of purchase and that per my terms, I completed the transaction as requested. After a few minutes, the associate contacted Bank of America to be rerouted to the correct department. 

After navigating the phone tree, he was placed on hold and directed me to another table to remain on the line while he assisted other customers. 

So I stayed on hold in the other table. I gave my friend the phone to hold while I grabbed XXXX next door. When I returned, he was still on hold. At this point, we were on hold for 30 minutes. My friend gave me back the phone and ran around doing errands while waiting for his sister to finish class. A whole 40 minutes later, and I was still on hold and my neck was sore. I was literally sitting in the middle of a Bank of America branch drinking XXXX with a XXXX phone on my shoulder and browsing the internet on my phone. 

So after enough time waiting, I called my friend and asked if his sister was done. She just finished. I placed the phone back on the base and without a word, left the branch. 

I would attempt to contact Bank of America further regarding this issue, but unfortunately I do not have another 5 hours of time to waste. 

Deal Terms as stated on my end : -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Click here to earn {$75.00} cash back when you switch to XXXX! 
Earn {$75.00} cash back when you make XXXX transactions with XXXX XXXX XXXX using your eligible card associated with this offer. Also, see how you can get up to {$650.00} in credits from XXXX XXXX XXXX! 

Call XXXX, visit XXXX or come into an XXXX XXXX XXXX store today! 

Offer expires XXXX/XXXX/2016. Offer valid one time only. Must make XXXX separate transactions with XXXX XXXX XXXX on wireless products or services of at least {$15.00} on the card associated with this offer by XXXX/XXXX/2016. Your {$75.00} cash back is earned within 30 days after making your second transaction. See details on XXXX offers. Taxes, fees, other charges & restrictions may apply. 
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- My terms of purchase clearly gave me three avenues of completing my transaction : " Call XXXX, visit XXXX or come into an XXXX XXXX XXXX store today! ". Purchases completed on XXXX/XXXX/2016 ( total purchase of {$21.00} ) and XXXX/XXXX/2016 ( total purchase of {$16.00} ) as provided in the following screenshot.

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