Consumer complaint received 2024-02-29
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Problem using a debit or ATM card
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (CA)

Locked XXXX called on hold for XXXX  mins to verify transactions




My email on XXXX


Restricted again and Im in a rough area. This could harm me and put my life injeopardy. Now Im sitting here on my phone in an unfamiliarplace with a very high crime rate. The debit card is restricted again so heres another example. Its still not fixed. Of course you guys are experiencing a high call volume as well so Ill probably be late and now this has affected my life yet again. I will email every time I get restricted so you can see

XXXX

Hi XXXX,

Over the weekend my card was flagged over XXXX XXXX. I had to stay on the phone with the representative for XXXX  mins and even she had issues unblocking. My card is currently blocked yet again even after verification. I am waiting on a call back between XXXXmins from now but mind you I cannot use my card until I get the call back so no gas, no lunch today due to this. This is what happens all the time. Just letting you know a bit about my life and banking experience.

XXXX  
XXXX,
I have contacted you several times leaving voicemails and by email, I have yet to receive a response. Unfortunately this morning my son is late too school and I am sitting here at a gas station and my card is declined yet again. I am going too file a new complaint with the financial protection Bureau due too the fact that you have yet too contact me and I have attempted several times, and the fact that my son is late today. If you check your email I think I sent about XXXX  emails in a XXXX  day period where my card was locked. I am still on hold btw, and this is just ridiculous too say the least. I am not willing too settle for an apology at this point. Also my claim still has yet to be reopened and it was time sensitive for my appeal, you assured me you would take care of it and nothing has happened yet.


Still no word from XXXX XXXX except that my appeal for my claim was denied she initially sent me this email 

Ms. XXXX,
Thank you for contacting Regulatory Complaints of Bank of America. As your Resolution Specialist I welcome the opportunity to address your concerns.
I am your point of contact until this matter is resolved.
Please note that if we are unable to reach you to discuss the resolution to your concerns, we will be responding in writing via a secured email or standard mail. Please follow instructions in that email to access our response. If you need additional assistance, please contact me at the number below and I or one of my colleagues will return your call within 48 hours.
Thank you,

XXXX XXXX 

This is was last contact I had with her I called and left voicemails every other day for 2 weeks I wrote her multiple emails and no response only written response when claim was denied she does not c address my flagged card or why Im getting blocked so much.






XXXX went to use my card at the ATM after XXXX  XXXX and card declined I did not use it since I called to unlock and it continues to decline I had to transfer fund to another acct and withdrawal that way. 

I am on vacation I told Bank of America I was on vacation but I know its still going to get blocked. Me and my XXXX  want dinner we sit down and my card is declined we go to pump gas and my card is declined. Ice cream? Forget it card is declined I have to call almost every time I make a transaction because the alerts although set for my phone do not go to my phone they make  me call BofA and most the time Im waiting  put embarrassing XXXX  mins I call an average of 4 times per day to unlock my card. My kids do not want to spend time with me c anymore because my card locks they get embarrassed. 

This is a reflection of my character and now I am unreliable. 

I take a client out to lunch how does it look when my card is getting declined trying too close a marketing contract. Believe it or not my card has been declined while at a business lunch I offered to pay for. Do you know how it feels to explain my banking issues to a potential client? Its horribly embarrassing! 

I have submitted over 10 complaints over the phone, and contacted the financial protection bereau and the lady from Bank of America did nothing but the same thing I filled my claim Its like a long about. I filed a claim of unauthorized charges and the lady contacted me I told her that the guy had sent me other verifying messages stating he was going to take me down and he offered me extra work admitting fault so I was sure too get my money back, and Shannon said she would get all that from me when time comes and she just declined it and never reached out again. I contacted Shannon each time my card was locked that north she ignored me and I emailed her over XXXX  times and that was towards the end of the month. She never returned calls or emails. Shes very rude and did not get my concern resolved. 

XXXX

Locked again XXXX went to use my card and it was declined yet again so now I am going to call them didnt have my phone with me and I am on vacation its at the room so I have to leave my family sitting at a table while I rush back to the hotel and grab my phone. Sometimes myself and my family like to put our phones away and vow not to use them, this is teaching my children we have to rely on technology which was an argument I had with them. I always told them that it was not good to always be attached to a thing (a phone) I said they could live without it, I guess my argument failed since I have to rely on it daily because my card Is always locked. 

My card is locked again. I was at the ATM pulling out my money and it says transaction invalid. Tried again with people behind me and there patience Wearing thin. The transaction declined and I realized it was locked again. Unlocked it took 12 minutes this time

At XXXX XXXX my husband went to go get food. He arrives and orders waits in line for 10 minutes and goes to pay. The card is declined he texts me and I call b of A there is a high call volume so now I wait and he is waiting away from us for longer because of the card locking.

On XXXX XXXX XXXX I started my period and it was around XXXX I had a meeting at XXXX  no big deal. I drive to XXXX  to get XXXX and my card declines besides embarrassment I would be a bit late, I called bank of America and they were experiencing a high call volume. XXXX  minutes I was on hold. At this point I am very upset, and the woman on the phone was very rude to me. I told her that my card was always locking and it was causing me problems and she ensured me she would take care of it. Well she says she needs to do a verification call and she goes to call me and it hangs up. I was furious. I told her all charges were mine, so I tried my card again and it declines again. I was hopeful that she unlocked it after hanging up. She didnt call me back and I had to go to work without XXXX. Do you know how humiliating that is? To walk around with toilet paper stuffed in you because your card is locked and you cant reach anyone to fix the situation. Mind you I put an average of XXXX per month in my account from investments, and employment. I have also been a customer for XXXX  years. 

Today me and my sons want to go to lunch. We are all together my kids are XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. We all decided to have a good day and eat on the lake. That was short lived when I went to ATM (I use the atm for fear my card declines this is a hassle) I try to take money out and it declines. Mind you I unlocked it already before we left. I sit on hold and high call volume so I wait and wait and wait XXXX  minutes later my kids Are now fighting and my oldest is upset. He says mom I just want to go home I dont want to do lunch anymore This broke my heart and killed the whole mood. My XXXX year old said he hates going places with my because its embarrassing. This is reflecting on my character. This is making me unreliable. I am losing time with my children, I cant get this back. I saw on XXXX  that by the time your kids turn XXXX  you would have spent 90% of the time you will ever spend with them. This is heartbreaking enough but now my kids remember me as unreliable. I have been late picking them up from school and I have been late taking them to school because my card. I cant get gas in the morning. I am sick of letting my kids down because of my debit card being blocked. 

Tonight I wanted to watch a movie with my XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. I went to pay for the movie and again it was declined. I tell the boys I need to make a call and I was very sorry. SO I walk downstairs and start to call bank of America. XXXX  mins later somebody takes my call. As I am verifying transactions I already verified today I hear my son scream at the top of his lungs, I go check and my XXXX  is holding him, my XXXX XXXX XXXX opened the door and it hit my other son in the head and he had a goose egg knot on his head. This would not have happened if my card was not locked. We would be watching a movie. 

Today I broke down in tears. I went to pay for my items at XXXX XXXX and I had cash but I was like XXXX  short. I have money in my account so I go to pay and of course declined. I start frantically looking for change and of course looking like a complete loser the lady behind me gives me XXXX. I start to cry, and then I broke down in tears. I looked completely ridiculous, and I will never go into XXXX XXXX again. I got in my car and drove off while crying because of the embarrassment.

This has caused me a massive amount of XXXX. I am scared to go to grocery stores now I dont even want to go out because of it and its causing me issues I cant even explain. These issues are now a battle daily for me.

I went with my best friend to the casino and to dinner. Do you think I had fun? I did not. My card was locked for 80% of the time. My phone was left at home and I had my sons phone. The First Lady did not unlock because I didnt have my phone this was after being on hold XXXX  minutes. The second lady did it but had to wait on the phone with me to make sure they didnt flag me again and they didnt but my night was ruined. 

XXXX XXXX XXXX

Went to pull money out to spend time with my son and husband for the XXXX XXXX XXXX event and of course my card was locked was on hold for XXXX  mins the representative unlocked my card. I went to atm and it was again locked. 

Same day XXXX XXXX

Card locked on hold for XXXX  mins sitting in car at atm then the recording said we had a problem and cant take your call then hung up

On hold now again for another XXXX  mins still waiting for a representative to answer still at atm machine night is pretty much ruined because of this. 
Now security at the ATM is pressing me because Ive been sitting here on hold for XXXX  minutes. 


I am spending money in a different way because it makes me wait I miss out on opportunities often because I cant invest or take money out and there are things that are time sensitive. 

My rent has been late, my bills have declined I almost lost a storage with sentimental items because the charge got declined and I didnt know about it. Its declining not because of no money it declined because a fraud alert was placed on a charge thats recurring. How does that make any sense.

Then when I do dispute a charge that was valid you deny it. The merchant provided a fake contract not signed by me and Ive never seen. I sent XXXX  thinking I would get a car and they said car was sold at auction this is a valid dispute reason and its denied. Its ironic how you can flag for recurring transactions but you dont approve valid disputes. 

Car company called me today and threatened to repossess my vehicle because my card was restricted at the time the payment processed . I look very irresponsible and they look at me as a high risk now. They told me my account has been flagged due to the decline. A decline that should not have been declined 

My storage unit is up for lien sale. The bank locked my card again and i thought it was paid this was 2 months ago it failed the past 2 payments due to the lock. 

XXXX

Today I was at XXXX  and i had to get declined i just put XXXX  in my act and card was declined

got alert on my phone and approved the charge saw it was all good and then thought i could v use card with confidence but that was not the case i had to call back they kept me on hold for XXXX  minutes after the initial XXXX  mins and had to have her unlock again. I was late to my doctors appt. had to reschedule and now i cant get in for another XXXX  months. I left early and planned ahead but how can i plan for the bank to do this to me. how much time? locked again had to call wait XXXX  mins for call back than an additional XXXX  mins trying to get my card unlocked. on the phone it was locked 4 times when unlocked. the representative said i would need to go into a branch i sat at the atm for XXXX  on the phone no one could fix it. finally got card issued. had too find branch open saturday. could not check into hotel and we missed the show we drove out for.

These are a few examples of how my life is affected.