Consumer complaint received 2024-04-19
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Foreign currency exchange
Issue: Incorrect exchange rate — 
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (FL)

I called Bank of America Customer Service as I was having trouble with a wire transfer. I was told the problem I was having was probably because I needed to go into a branch because of the amount I was trying to send. I tried calling the branch to ask if I needed an appointment and there was no answer. I took time off work to go into the branch as I needed to do two separate wire transfers. When I arrived, I sat in the lobby and was greeted by who I presume is the branch manager. It appears a Branch Managers job is strictly to greet customers now and show them where to go? I was told no one was available to help me do the transfer and that I could do it on my own via the BOA application on my phone. I was taken aback by this because this same employee had helped me do a wire a transfer a few years back. She either expected me to leave or expected me to start the wire process in the lobby area. I literally had to ask to be seated in a quiet location. As I've never done a wire transfer on my own before and the information requested is something you bring in and have jotted down somewhere and you have to ensure you enter it correctly. Plus, I had questions about the currency exchange rate. That's when she said the app would tell me what the rate is there and then. There were a total of two wire transfers I needed to do. The first was for XXXX XXXX pesos. When I went to make the wire transfer I presumed the options to do it in XXXX pesos ( no bank fee charged for this ) was the best option. However, to my surprise, I noticed that the amount I needed to wire was over XXXX XXXX dollars more than what I had calculated ( {$4800.00} to be exact )! Though this option was advertised as being free, Bank of America was actually paying way less for the exchange rate. I didn't know what to do. I may not have enough money in my account to cover these wires and the wires were for a closing transaction. Then I noticed there was an option to send the wire in dollars for a {$45.00} fee. I decided to send it that way, as I had checked the exchange rate online for {$3.00} XXXX pesos to the dollars was at about {$59.00}. This would equal to about {$63000.00} not {$68000.00}!! To add, days later, I noticed Bank of America offers an option to find out how much your foreign currency is worth in U.S. Dollars. According to their website, that same amount I was being charged {$63000.00} to send is only worth {$59000.00}! This is a huge difference and the only ones benefitting from this are the banks! That day at the bank, I went through the steps and the first wire for the larger amount went through. I then proceeded to make the second transfer for the smaller amount. That night, I received confirmation the second wire for the smaller amount had already been received. But, I am still waiting for the larger amount to show received and its been two days. At this point, I am very concerned as the funds were sent for the purchase of a second home and this is our life savings! I may also loose the sale if the seller does not receive the funds in her account by Monday, XX/XX/XXXX. I've been calling Bank of America every day since, and they can only say everything looks okay on their end. I asked if they ever speak to an actual person on the other end and was told its all via a system. I feel like Bank of America has cut so much corners when it comes to customer service. Nowadays, they even want you to conduct your own wire transfer and if something goes wrong the customer is who pays the price. All that advertising about being FDIC insured seems false as there is no accountability. It is very disappointing. I have been with Bank of America for 23 years. After this ordeal I will be looking for another financial institutions that can be more accountable for what they do.