Consumer complaint received 2022-02-20
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Closing an account — Can't close your account
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (CA)

A federal judge on Tuesday prohibited Bank of America from freezing accounts for California unemployment benefits based solely on an automated fraud filter and required it to do a better job of responding when jobless people say their benefits were stolen. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX issued a preliminary injunction that was sought in a lawsuit by XXXX jobless Californians who are among thousands whose benefit debit cards were frozen. Bank of America negotiated the terms of the order to prevent the unfreezing of debit cards on thousands of claims it or law enforcement has determined to be fraudulent. 
The courts order provides substantial and immediate relief to hundreds of thousands of unemployed Californians, XXXX XXXX, an attorney for unemployed people who sued the bank, said in a statement. The order prohibits the bank from freezing accounts based on a flawed fraud filter, requires the Bank to reopen unauthorized transaction claims it summarily denied, and requires the Bank to comply with the law by investigating those claims and providing provisional credit. About XXXX weeks ago the XXXX certified and remitted an unpaid final unemployment benefit totaling {$750.00} to my BofA XXXX debit card account. I need assistance from XXXX to liberate my funds that have been unfairly blocked immediately. I have been victimized by a heinous fraud perpetuated by BofA that uses an automated fraud detector not an actual investigation. BofA violated the federal XXXX Funds Transfer Act '' by automatically denying claims on the unsubstantiated pretext of fraud without a good faith investigation. I went to a BofA XXXX XXXX but they refused to help me and transferred me by phone to the same XXXX assistant that blames XXXX my sponsor. The assistant XXXX called the XXXX service number and connected with same rehearsed XXXX finger pointers. Their line is that its up to your sponsor to prove your account can be reignited. Irrespective that on Wednesday and Thursday this week XXXX XXXX claims specialists and a supervisor have contacted the BofA to pave the way to reopening and reconstituting my balance by sending discrete emails that unfortunately dont show up in the system of record for my XXXX portfolio. This is the most heinous example of BofA failing to assume their true ownership of responsibility by pointing to the XXXX that admittedly is in chaos stating the resolution of frozen accounts comes under the XXXX purview. The XXXX line is that once the beneficiary certifies their benefit week and the XXXX deposits the funds in the public trust their role is done. The money can not be reclaimed by the XXXX irrespective of it was obtained fraudulently. It is not the job of BofA to identify fraud because the money once issued and transferred is spent. There is not a XXXX way XXXX XXXX. Its XXXX way. If the bank freezes the funds it doesnt give it back to the XXXX. It keeps it in a slush fund and earns massive interest to offset the low interest rates offered by the Fed. To date even though my issue that has been reported on a daily basis BofA has refused to give me access to my benefits to live off. Is Bank of America too big to obey XXXX laws and the injunction of a XXXX XXXX?