Consumer complaint received 2024-05-24 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Deposits and withdrawals
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: NC

Complaint narrative:
My partner and I opened a Bank of America joint Adv SafeBalance account ( # XXXX ) online on XX/XX/2024. I was able to authenticate and access the account online ; however, my partner XXXX XXXX XXXX ) was unable to for unknown reasons. When trying through both the app and the website, neither would acknowledge his social security number as associated with the account. We contacted customer service via phone and were told to wait a few days and/or until the debit cards arrived for him to try again on creating his profile online. On the afternoon of XX/XX/2024, I also lost access to the account online and was told I had to go into a financial center to regain access to the account. No explanation was provided at that time. 

On XX/XX/2024, we visited the XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, NC ) to regain access to the account. Upon speaking with XXXX bankers, we learned that the account had been frozen/closed due to suspected debit card fraud or apparently failure to properly authenticate the owners. I can only assume this was somehow due to my partner 's information not being associated with the account despite him being a co-applicant or some other operational error on BoA 's side. In any case, we opened another joint account at the financial center which would have been the end of the issue. However, prior to losing access to the original account, I had transferred into it {$250.00} and that is where the problem continues today. 

While at the XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, the banker stated that he had initiated a process whereby the frozen account would be closed and a check would be mailed to me within XXXX business days. As of today XX/XX/XXXX, after having visited that same financial center again, the {$250.00} remains in the frozen/closed account. I told the manager of that branch today that I really needed access to those {$250.00} and requested that I be given a {$250.00} cashiers check, and that BoA could just keep the funds in the closed account. The manager essentially told me there was nothing he could do and that I would just have to wait for the check to be sent to me. Neither he, the banker I worked with directly, nor the representatives they had on the phone today could tell me when I would be getting the check, even though it's already been nearly XXXX weeks since first trying to resolve this issue. 

This has been an incredibly frustrating experience, and I left that XXXX XXXX  today feeling like Bank of America did not care about me as a customer needing access to their funds or really even as a person taking time out of their day and visiting a branch ( for the second time ) trying to resolve a problem that was no fault of their own. I requested that the second account be closed, but I really would just like my {$250.00} so that I can move on.

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