Consumer complaint received 2023-08-04
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Problem using a debit or ATM card
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (AL)

My husband died in XXXX of XXXX and so I bought some property in XXXX of XXXX and I allowed a family friend and his fiance to move in with me under the guise that they were helping me get some of my rental properties available to rent out so I could have some income coming in over the course of about three weeks both of these family friends stole my debit card numerous times and used my banking information to open cash app accounts in my name and send themselves money they then stole my phone and the girl was acting like me to the bank he was swiping my card at random places in a different state and then coming back putting my card back on my counter I was not even made aware of this until my lights got shut off at my rental property and it threw me for a loop because there should have been plenty of money in that account and when I looked the account was empty and it was because he and her had been draining the account steadily over a three-week period of time so I immediately notified my bank and told them what was going on I immediately went over every single transaction with them on the phone let them know that I would be contacting law enforcement and would pursue from there this was in the beginning of XX/XX/XXXX Bank of America took the maximum allotted time to deny my claim two times in a row I filed my first request for reconsideration on XX/XX/XXXX and it read as follows I'm writing this letter in regards to claim number XXXX that was filed on XX/XX/XXXX for the amount of {$7400.00} and I'm asking you guys to review your decision to not pay the claim based on the fact that as soon as I got off the phone with you guys on the XXXX of XXXX I then contacted the XXXX County Sheriff 's Department to file a police report with them because my card was taken and used on numerous occasions spending over whole month of XXXX without my permission I've been immediately informed the police of the names of the people involved I know for a fact they did this because they were on camera using my card at a store in another state with me not present I then went on to explain everything I just mentioned previously I have reviewed the transactions and I am actively working with the Sheriff 's Department to pursue charges against both of these individuals to the fullest extent of the law would that being said I did provide you guys with the original case number on the XXXX of XXXX when I called back and it should be in the notes about my case so I will not include it here but please reconsider this claim because this is crazy if you guys have any more questions or comments or concerns please do not hesitate to get in touch with me thank you after I sent that note on XX/XX/XXXX Bank of America then took 90 days to deny the claim a second time and so then on XX/XX/XXXX, after receiving no response from Bank of America for months I've been received the response that it was denied again it just said unable to pay they did not ever provide me any reason why they denied the claim so here we are now going on six months out that I had almost {$8000.00} stolen from me the one of the people is passed away that is responsible for this the other one is on the run I have fully cooperated with law enforcement I have fully cooperated with anyone who's ever asked me anything about it Bank of America seems to be the only people who do not realize that I'm the victim of a criminal act the second layer letter that I finally sent on XX/XX/XXXX read as follows I'm writing to express my deep concern and disagreement with the recent decisions made regarding my claim for fraudulent transactions amounting in over {$7000.00} it is my understanding based on our previous correspondences that my claim has been denied twice I strongly believe that this decision needs to be reviewed considering the circumstances and evidence that I have provided during a five week. I was the victim of unauthorized transactions using my debit card these fraudulent activities were committed by an individual who was living with me at the time these individuals had unauthorized access to my phone and my pin number but I wan na make it clear that at no point did I ever get permission for this individual or anyone else to use my card or access my personal account details the discovery of this fraud only occurred when my power bill payment was declined due to insufficient funds as soon as I became aware of these unauthorized transactions I immediately notified your bank and filed a dispute to further address this issue I've also reported this matter to local law enforcement and am fully cooperating with their ongoing investigation I've provided the case number and all pertinent information related to the criminal investigation in previous letters and phone calls to you guys 's field office. Despite my prompt action and willingness to assist in any way possible with Bank of America I'm disappointed that my claim has been rejected yet again adding to my frustration Bank of America took the maximum allowable time to communicate each of these decisions with me resulting in a period of over five months since my initial report of this issue interestingly though I have received merchant credits amounting to {$200.00} this while a relief is only a fraction of the total fraudulent transactions I find it perplexing that the merchant could recognize the fraudulent activity and issue a credit yet my claim was denied by my own bank the financial burden caused by these unauthorized transactions is significant and adds to the personal hardships I am currently facing I lost my husband in XX/XX/XXXX and this incident is added to the load of challenges I am now dealing with I'm struggling to comprehend the denial of my claim especially considering my status as a victim of a criminal act I implore you to reconsider these decisions as they seem incongruous with Bank of America 's commitment to protect its customers and their financial security i request that the person tasked wit ... .ns behind the decision making process. Please provide me with a detailed explanation of why my claim has been denied twice now and what further steps I can take to rectify this situation I am eager to resolve this matter as quickly as possible and am willing to provide any additional information or documentation that may assist in the reconsideration of my claim and it being handled as soon as possible I am having detrimental financial setbacks from this amount of money being missing out of my account and I am losing things and damaging things that are irreplaceable you guys are supposed to be my banking on my side but yet you're laughing in my face calling me a liar when I was robbed. I also wan na make it known that I have contacted Bank of America a couple of times a week every single week since XXXX when this originally happened I have constantly gotten the run around never once been helped by anybody constantly told to call back to a different department they couldn't transfer me I had to call in to a different number that they only took claims they couldn't dress existing claims that there is no number for the existing claims department that they're they do their review and then they'll make a decision I can't speak with them and I also wan na make it known that no one has ever called me and never asked me anything about this no one has ever called me or wrote me any letter about this no one has ever gave me any explanation whatsoever as to why they denied my claim twice