Consumer complaint received 2021-03-11
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Problem using a debit or ATM card
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (VA)

On XX/XX/XXXX, my Bank of America account was charged by XXXX for a meal kit delivery with an expected delivery date of XX/XX/XXXX. The morning of XX/XX/XXXX, this package showed no indication of even having left the warehouse, much less being in transit for delivery, and following a pattern of this behavior by the merchant, I contacted XXXX to inquire as to my order status, which they were unable to provide. At this point, I cancelled my account with XXXX specifically due to nonreceipt of the merchandise for which I had paid. I then contacted Bank of America to dispute the transaction, and spoke with an intake agent as the app would not permit me to file the dispute online. I explained, in detail, that this dispute was because I did not receive my merchandise. This was the singular reason for the dispute of this transaction. The agent informed me that the dispute had been filed and no further action was expected from me at that time. Following this conversation, I received the following message from Bank of America : " We've issued a temporary credit for {$110.00} while we conduct our research on your claim. 

What you need to know The temporary credit will post to your account on or before XX/XX/XXXX. 

What you can expect We'll contact you if we need additional information for our research. 
You'll be notified when your inquiry has been resolved. 
If you receive a credit from the merchant for the disputed transaction ( s ), the temporary credit will be reversed and will be reflected on your statement. 
We're here to help '' The next communication that I received from Bank of America was on XX/XX/XXXX, which read : " here 's an update on your claim. 

We are unable to assist you with your dispute at this time, since you have indicated that you do not have proof of payment by other means. If such documentation is provided to us, your claim can be reconsidered. 

For updates on your claim We're here for you every step of the way. It's easy to check the status of your claim by visiting the Online Banking Message Center at bankofamerica.com. 

Thank you for being our client. '' I immediately called Bank of America, as my dispute was never about payment by other means, nor had I received any request from Bank of America for these nonexistent documents. The agent I spoke with said she was taking down the information I provided her regarding the actual nature of my dispute and sending an escalated case for review. She set an expectation that the error caused by the first agent in filing the case under the incorrect dispute reason would be corrected and the dispute pursued with the merchant. However, on XX/XX/XXXX, I received the following message from Bank of America : " here 's an update on your claim. 

We are unable to assist you with your dispute at this time, since you have indicated that you do not have proof of payment by other means. If such documentation is provided to us, your claim can be reconsidered. 

The credit ( s ) for {$110.00} that was applied to your account will be removed on XX/XX/XXXX, along with any credit XXXX s ) for fees related to this claim - You'll see the adjustment ( s ) on your monthly statement. 

For updates on your claim We're here for you every step of the way. It's easy to check the status of your claim by visiting the Online Banking Message Center at bankofamerica.com. 

Thank you for being our client. '' I again immediately called Bank of America and spoke with another representative, who said that she could see the escalated case and that the charge would not be placed back on my account, despite the message that I received. I ended the call under the belief that the escalation of the case was effectively under review and that I had nothing to worry about. However, on XX/XX/XXXX, my account was re-billed for this transaction, in direct contradiction to what I'd been told in my most recent contact with Bank of America. I called and spoke with yet another agent, who tried to give me the exact same response as the previous agents regarding an escalated case being in progress and that " we have to wait for the merchant to respond. '' There's no chance that the merchant had yet been contacted as the credit pending the merchant response would've reflected on my account, rather than having been removed, so it was clear that the agent was attempting to tell me whatever it took to end the call without making a genuine attempt at resolving my concern. After a contentious back and forth wherein the agent refused to escalate my phone call to anyone, stating that she had no manager to whom she could escalate calls, the agent said that her manager was escalating the case for immediate review and that I would have a response in 2 business days. After this period of time had expired with no response or change in the claim status, I called Bank of America once again on XX/XX/XXXX. This time I was cold transferred all over the place and finally landed in fraud, where an agent said that a ) the previous agent who said there were no supervisors to receive escalated calls was lying and b ) that she was reaching out to her specialty team who would contact the escalations team for a response in 1 to 2 days. We are now nearly a week out from that last contact and still I have heard nothing from Bank of America. They have refused to perform a reasonable investigation into my dispute, refused to examine the claim or call initiating said claim wherein the agent filed completely erroneous information, and refuse to respond to my repeated attempt to seek resolution. I never received my merchandise ; the merchant was paid for merchandise they never delivered, and Bank of American has failed to provide even remotely adequate consumer protection every step of the way. They've left me with no choice but to file complaints with authorities that may be able to prompt a response.