Consumer complaint received 2020-03-17
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Deposits and withdrawals
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (CA)

On XX/XX/XXXX, I wrote a check from my XXXX XXXX for payment of taxes to the U.S. Treasury. The check was stolen out of the USPS postal box. The thief changed the name of the payee and on XX/XX/XXXX cashed the check and took the money out of my account. The same theft happened the same day in the same manner with a check written by my spouse on our personal account for payment of our property taxes. On XX/XX/XXXX, we filed a claim with the United States Postal Service, with our local police department and finally with our bank, Bank of America. As it was two separate accounts, Bank of America required that we file two separate claims ; it was the same claim filed twice. We did file both claims with Bank of America, and Bank of America provided temporary credits to both accounts. On Friday, XX/XX/XXXX, without notice to me, Bank of America withdrew from my small business account the temporary credit it had provided. On Monday, XX/XX/XXXX when I discovered the funds missing, I contacted Bank of America to find out why. Bank of America Check Fraud Unit finally told me that their branch personnel made a mistake when they filed the claim for the small business account but not a mistake when the filed the claim for the personal account on XX/XX/XXXX. As a result of the mistake made by branch personnel, my small business check fraud claim had been denied and the money was withdrawn from my account because of the conclusion reached by the Bank of America analyst based on the mistake by the Bank of America branch personnel. A supervisor at the Check Fraud Unit told me that I had to file a renewed claim to confirm their personnel made a mistake, and that they would not return my money to me until they confirmed that I had filed a new claim to establish that Bank of America made the mistake that Bank of America already admitted that bank of America made. The supervisor XXXX said that he was " escalating '' the claim so i would get my money back in three days. That was on XX/XX/XXXX. So i did not receive the claim form from Check Fraud until XX/XX/XXXX. Though I received the claim by e-mail, I had to have the form notarized and returned by fax. Bank of America would not accept an online notarization nor would they permit me to return the form in the manner received. I called twice to ask for permission in this time of the pandemic, as I am XXXX years old and suffer from XXXX issues, but was denied each time. So on XX/XX/XXXX I ventured first to XXXX for a notary and then to a packaging company for fax transmission. I looked at my account on XX/XX/XXXX and saw no money back as represented by XXXX. I checked on XX/XX/XXXX and saw no money had been returned to my account. So I called Check Fraud to find out what was happening. The first person, XXXX, told me that the fax of XX/XX/XXXX had not yet been logged in, so the three business days ( no longer 3 days ) did not start until the fax was logged in. I asked for a supervisor and was transferred to XXXX, who told me the three business days was actually three to five business days that started after the analyst accepted by claim as true - a fallacy in itself because my claim simply supported that Bank of America made a mistake but there is a chance that Bank of America will not acknowledge that Bank of America made a mistake. So I asked for XXXX 's supervisor and was transferred to XXXX. XXXX told me that he would " temporarily '' transfer money back into my account under a " PC '' ( provisional credit ), but that it would be withdrawn from my account if the analyst determined my claim was not accurate. I asked for notice before the money was taken and he refused to promise pre-taking notice but said I would get a notification " if I wanted '' of the analyst 's decision. Again, I am baffled at how Bank of America can tell me that the money was withdrawn from my account on XX/XX/XXXX based on a mistake by Bank of America personnel yet there is a likely risk that Bank of America will deny my claim caused by their mistake. It baffles me that Bank of America has a system in place that allows a temporary credit to be withdrawn without advance notice - perhaps a hold placed on the account while notice occurs would be more civilized? It baffles me that Bank of America can admit to an internal mistake yet require the depositor to bear the absence of liquidity until the depositor " proves '' what Bank of America already knows - that its branch personnel made a mistake. Is not their admission all the proof they should require? It baffles me that at a time of a national pandemic that it does not have the flexibility to allow its customers to utilize less public options, especially vulnerable citizens. It baffles me that Bank of America wants part of ( most of? ) {$1.00} XXXX from the federal government but fails to provide its customers the option to communicate with it by e-mail. Perhaps the CFPB can ask that the executives donate 1/100 of their bonuses to allow Bank of America the operating flexibility required to modernize its communication systems. And, while Bank of America requires payment for each moment that someone has not repaid all money borrowed and fees incurred, neither Bank of America or any other oversight agency will ever pay me for the losses I incurred as a result of vendor payments I tried to make on XX/XX/XXXX and which were rejected by Bank of America without notice to me and without activating my overdraft protection because of Bank of America 's mistake. Bank of America stole my money, admitted to stealing my money, and then refused to return my money until after I put my life at risk to comply with 20th century protocols. Then, after I complied with all these draconian measures, Bank of America continued to use excuse after excuse to hold my funds just a little while longer. I'll bet Bank of America did report to its insurer, the FDIC that it gave me a provisional credit on XX/XX/XXXX for my fraud claim. I am equally certain that Bank of America did not yet report to FDIC that it recovered its money from my account on XX/XX/XXXX.