Consumer complaint received 2020-12-12
Product: Credit card or prepaid card — Government benefit card
Issue: Problem with a purchase or transfer — Charged for a purchase or transfer you did not make with the card
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (CA)

Unauthorized charges drained my Bank of America controlledXX/XX/XXXX EDD debit card. The card does not have a chip, and BOA has been widely criticized for using chipless cards that have resulted in massive amounts of fraud to EDD accounts across XX/XX/XXXX this year, and they have denied nearly all claims by the unemployed victims of fraud without providing explanation. The three charges posted to my card were {$2600.00} to XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX in XXXX,XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, {$2700.00} to XX/XX/XXXXin XXXX,XX/XX/XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, and {$2000.00} at XX/XX/XXXXin XX/XX/XXXX leaving XXXX in my account. I discovered it when trying to use the card on XX/XX/XXXX, and immediately attempted to report it, spending nearly three hours on hold before BOA closed and disconnected me. I reported the fraudulent charges the next morning XX/XX/XXXX, and BOA cancelled my card and filed my claim, # XXXX. A few days later I received notice by mail that they had temporarily credited my account with the missing XXXX. This is the last communication initiated by BOA. Without notice, they withdrew the missing funds on XXXX and denied my claim. Since they did not communicate this I did not know about it until XX/XX/XXXX when I was checking my account balance. I immediately called and spent many more hours on hold until I was able to get my claim " escalated ''. The representative I spoke with looked into the charges and told me that she could see that they were not made online. I told her that I did not leave the farm I live and work on on any of those three days and that I have never been to XX/XX/XXXX and haven't been to XX/XX/XXXX in years. She assured me that my claim should be honored as the charges were clearly not mine. I continued to call BOA for updates multiple times per week, and each time was told there was no update yet. Finally today, XX/XX/XXXX, I spoke to five different representatives at BOA until being told by the last one that my claim had been closed on XX/XX/XXXX and the dozens of representatives I had talked to had " not wanted to give me the bad news ''. She said she has to give this news to many people everyday as these BOA EDD cards have been repeatedly hit with fraudulent charges. She also advised me to withdraw all newly deposited funds immediately, that my money was " safer under my mattress than it is in a BOA EDD account ''. My claim is now under it's " final reconsideration '' with BOA, and I still have never received any notice that the claim was closed, nor been provided with the legally required explanation for it's denial. I have just sent three witness statements to BOA claiming I did not leave my farm in XX/XX/XXXX on the three days purchases were made IN XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX I have also sent them this description and the claim I filed with the FTC. I will be attempting to file police reports in the morning. I am unemployed and will continue to fight to get back these funds until I succeed. If denied again by BOA, I will take legal action. Do not use Bank of America. If you have an unemployment ( EDD ) card controlled by them, withdraw all funds the day they are deposited. A quick search of the internet will bring up countless articles about fraudulent charges, and they are denying nearly all of them. If CFPB allows, I will update this description as things change.