Consumer complaint received 2022-07-28
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I attended my California XXXX XXXX certification renewal exam at the XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, CA, at XXXX am. On my way to the exam I got gasoline at a XXXX, CA XXXX station where I used my credit card. After the exam, I attempted to pay for PARKING at the XXXX XXXX XXXX, with their in-lobby parking payment machine, which didn't work- the hotel staff then had the attendees pay for their parking at the parking lot exit. 
In XX/XX/XXXX I scanned my XX/XX/XXXX credit card statement prior to paying my bill. I noticed a suspicious charge, on XX/XX/XXXX, the same day I was at my XXXX  exam. I immediately called Bank of American and reported this as fraud. 
The BofA fraud investigator informed me that : *an actual card had been scanned inside of a physical store, in the physical city of XXXX XXXX CA XXXX 
I informed the investigator that at no time was I ever in the city of XXXX. I have never been in the store listed as the location of the purchase. I did not make that purchase. I informed that I have not been to the city of XXXX for any reason since XXXX. I informed them at at no time was my credit card out of my possession or in any other person 's possession, that day, or ANY DAY EVER. No one has ever had possession or use or access to my credit card, and at no time has my credit card been lost, or out of my possession, or available in any way for another person to surreptitiously use - I live alone, I lock my doors, I was in an exam all morning. Afterwards, I drove straight home to resume WORK. 
Bank of American has egregiously attested that I - a customer who has paid my entire balance literally every month of my time as a customer, which has been decades of good standing - that I made the charge - that I must have granted someone permission to use my card - and despite requesting a second review, and unambiguously and emphatically stating I have never set foot inside the store in question, BofA has denied my claim and forced me to pay this fraudulent charge, despite the fact that THEY viewed it as FRAUD, and THEY cancelled and replaced my credit card in light of THEIR assessment and admission that it was a fraudulent charge. 
I am defenseless against this- I can not prove to them that I wasn't somewhere they choose to claim I was. All I have is my decades ' long reputation, and the fact that the charge is very small should weigh in my defense- I had to update all my various accounts that are paid by credit card- it is a ridiculous assertion that someone would put themselves through that trouble to claim a small charge as fraud. 
Bank of America makes it incredibly difficult to contact them- to speak to anyone who can be helpful- they require you spend literally HOURS waiting on-hold, twice they disconnected me while I had already been on hold for hours, they pass you from department to department in a circular fashion where one person will say that you have to speak to someone at ( XXXX ) XXXX. And then when you call that number and wait an hour on hold, that person will tell you that no, you have to call ( XXXX ) XXXX. When you call that number the person will tell you that you have to call ( XXXX ) XXXX which was the original number you call, so you've gone in a complete circle, wasted hours and have had no help. 
If this charge had been larger, I would be in really big trouble- this is UNETHICAL of Bank of America. I did NOT MAKE THIS CHARGE and should not be forced, as I was, to pay the charge or face penalties and financial consequences. I request your assistance resolving this egregious treatment by Bank of America.

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 explanation