Consumer complaint received 2022-03-25
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Deposits and withdrawals
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (FL)

On or around the middle of XX/XX/2021, I opened a Bank Of America checking account, online in my maiden name because that is the only way that I could pass the online authentication to open the account. I had a friend of mine cash a check for me a few days prior because I didnt have a bank account, I had been using XXXX XXXX. I opened a BOA account because she had one too and she said she could just XXXX  me the rest of my money and that it would be a piece of cake! I went into the branch a few days later with a check she had written me in my married name, and I had her XXXX  me XXXX to cover the opening deposit for the checking account. When I met with a branch manager there, instead of being able to use my married/maiden names, he said that he could not cash my check and as a matter of fact there was a problem with the accound due to possible fraud because of the multiple names being used and the account would be suspended until I could provide a certified copy of my marriage certificate. So I left the branch, without any money, and with my account suspended and no access to my funds whatsoever. I went to thje clertk of court and paid XXXX for a certified copy of my marriuage certificate. When I went into the branch I was informed that my account had been closed due to the fraud hold and that there would be a check mailed out to me for the deposit that I made via XXXX, or that I could open a new account and he could correct everything for me on the new account and that my funds would be automatically transferred now that he was clearing the fraud hold. again, i am working with a branch manager and so I believed that he was competent and knew what needed to be done. When I left there, I had opened another account and was told that within 7 to 10 business days my funds would post one the fraud hold was lifted. Over the next few weeks, I call BOA customer service and its not until 2 weeks later that I call and am told that this account was also closed and that the funds never made it into that account either. So at this point I go back into another branch, talk to yet another branch manager and he tells me that when fraud is suspected for any reason that if the account is closed, any XXXX  transfers would go back to the original sender, and so I called my friend while she was at work and she confirmed she had not received the money back in her account either. He told us that he could not do anything with her account on the phoine so we would both have to come into the branch together and that we would get it resolved. I had already taken so much time off to try and handle this situation, plus its for XXXX dollars not a small sum of money, and i just had a newborn baby in XXXX and i really needed this monehy to get a house. So we scheduled another day off from work to go to the bank together, upon doing so when we spoke to the branch manager she informed us that we would have to make a claim with XXXX, because she confirmed that the money did not go back to either one of our accounts so she said putting in a claim would issue a trace on the money and we would be able to get it back, and that at this point the money had left my account and that in order to get my money back, my friend would be the one who had to file the claim and then she would have to return the money to me, which in my mind was completely backwards. She sent me the money. the money was depositted into my account. BOA put a hold on my account because of fraud suspicion, then closed both my accounts because of an issue with my credit report, which was completely unrelated to the fraud hold. BOA never gave me my money back! when we received correspondence from XXXX they said that our claim was denied because according to tgheir records, they sent the money to my account as directed and there was nothing else they can do. This is completely unacceptable. This has been an absolute nightmare. My family and I are staying in a hotel right now, trying to find an affordable home, my husband just had a XXXX XXXX last month and we had a new baby in XXXX and despite the fact that i deilligently made my best effort to get our money back, we basically got scammed by XXXX and BOA because they just point fingers at each other and no one takes responsibility. To top it off, apparently millions of people have been scammed through XXXX and other top dog Banks including BOA, XXXX XXXX, etc. and they were tricked into sending their money to XXXX from their bank and hackers, who initiated the phone calls to the victims in the first place, basically scammed innocent people into believing they were calling from their bank because someone was trying to get into their account when really once they moved the money to XXXX, the hackers would then gain access to the funds..and despite the fact that this happened to thousands upon thousands of people, all oif the claims are being denied. This type of bank corruption and greed needs to stop, I want my money back!