Consumer complaint received 2023-01-18
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Problem using a debit or ATM card
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION ()

I am a 28 year Bank of America customer. I am a XXXX and retired XXXX XXXX recipient. I receive monthly benefits paid directly into my account which is my sole source of income. On XX/XX/22 I made an online purchase. At the end of the session I was asked suspicious questions. To be prudent, based on previous bad experience, I immediately cancelled the transaction and contacted Bank of America to request a new debit card. In my 28 years as a BOA customer, it has never taken longer than 72 hours to take delivery of a replacement card, including the last three times since moving overseas, which were all sent overnight per XXXX  at their expense. I was erroneously told to expect the replacement within 4-6 business days. After 10 business day I called back to let them know that I had not received the card and to demand they send me a replacement overnight as they had done in the past, per XXXX. They told me they had a new two step verification system requiring a 10 digit mobile phone number, which no one has who lives outside the US or XXXX, and doesnt subscribe to a US phone company. My mobile number here in XXXX has 13 digits which their computer software can not accommodate. I then asked if they could use my email address as the second step in two step verification process as they had done the previous three times since I moved overseas. They said no, so I assumed that that was due to their ineffectual software update. They then told me that because I didnt have a 10 digit number that it would take another 16 business days. I waited another17 business days and called again to request a new card because I was afraid it was stolen. It finally did come several days later, but was no longer valid because the new card had been ordered. 
It was now after XXXX and I had not had access to my money for two months. The third card never showed up, so I was forced once again to request a new one under the same crummy conditions of having to wait another 16 business days. It came after some 20 or so business days, but because I feared, that being overdue, that it had been stolen having trusted Bank of Americas word. I have now had to order a new card for the fifth time, and have now waited 13 weeks without access to my own money. Business day XXXX  was last Monday and it is now Wednesday the XXXX of XXXX over three months later for a replacement card that shouldve taken no more than 3 days. I missed buying friends and relatives XXXX gifts, and have not even been able to go shopping at the supermarket down the street, not being able to access my own money paid by Social Security, which is my sole source of income. All this because some XXXX software engineer has not figured out the simplest solution, which would be to XXXX all the XXXX country codes to determine how many have 3 digits like the US, how many have 4, or how many have 5 etc. ; and to ascertain the range of digits for phone numbers in each country, probably from 6-12 digits. And finally a quick interface redesign to accommodate the new range of digits. Now, if someone like me can figure that out, why cant some well paid chief software engineer paid XXXX XXXX XXXX a year do the same?