Consumer complaint received 2024-04-03 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Problem making or receiving payments
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: KY

Complaint narrative:
I am XXXX XXXX XXXX, President of XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, and have had a checking account with Bank of America for 30 years. On XXXX XXXX I noticed suspicious activity when monitoring my Online Banking and sent an email reporting it to XXXX. Nobody responded. I have used Online Banking for over 20 years and had never made any XXXX XXXX or set up any ACH payments. On XX/XX/XXXX, there was an unauthorized ACH transaction, a payment to XXXX XXXX. I called the fraud department and spent 2 hours on the phone. They changed my username, password, cancelled Debit card and reissued a new one, and told me to change my email, and remove XXXX, all of which I did. The next day 2 ACH transactions to XXXX for {$1500.00} each appeared as " processing. '' I called again and was told they would put a stop payment on this transaction. One was blocked, but the other one was paid, so I filed a ACH Unauthorized Transaction form ( the claim was paid ). The unauthorized ACH transactions have continued since then. I have called BofA fraud department every business day from XX/XX/XXXX until XX/XX/XXXX and spent many hours on the phone with them trying to stop these unauthorized transactions. They assured me they put stop payments on these ACH linked transactions that showed as " processing, '' but they went through and I had to file 10 claims to recover them. Finally, after innumerable hours on the phone for two weeks and having to close our linked XXXX account, which we have used to pay employees for over 25 years, on XX/XX/XXXX an associate told me the only solution was to put my account in " Credits Only '' status and open a new account into which the balance ( $ XXXX ) and new debit card could be transferred into the new account. I spent 5 1/2 hours on the phone that day, including 2 hours with " Sales '' to open the new account and was assured it would only take " 2-3 business days '' to be set up. An hour later I received an email saying they could not set up the new account until I personally went into a BofA financial center to verify my ID. I am XXXX XXXX XXXX and a snowbird who lives in XXXX XXXX from XXXX until XXXX and there are no BofA branches there. I scanned and sent BofA my U.S. passport, driver 's license, and XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX ( all photo IDs ), the XXXX XXXX checkbook, old and new BofA debit cards, and the incorporation papers. I have contacted the representative with whom I made the application four times requesting either ( 1 ) a XXXX video call to verify my ID or ( 2 ) I would personally go into the XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX, which has an affiliate/correspondent relationship with BofA, XXXX verify my ID. She has not responded. Since XX/XX/XXXX there have been 10 more ACH unauthorized transactions and one XXXX XXXX transaction on which a stop payment was issued, and despite assurances that nothing would be paid, my balance is now {$520.00} and I keep receiving overdraft and insufficient funds transaction alerts. In order to be able to pay my employees on XX/XX/XXXX, I had to send a wire transfer to my employee in Kentucky so he could pay them using his personal XXXX account. I received an email from the hacker saying that if I paid him {$3000.00} he would leave me alone. I can not operate my business without a secure bank account so my clients can make direct deposits to pay their invoices and I can pay my employees. Can you help me? Thank you. 
XXXX XXXX

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief