Consumer complaint received 2024-12-09 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Problem with a lender or other company charging your account — Transaction was not authorized
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
I was charged 5 unauthorized transactions, 2 of them being on XX/XX/XXXX and the other 3 charges on XX/XX/XXXX - when the first 2 transactions happened, I did not call the bank right away because for many years for some reason Bank of America did not offer me the option to get a card added to my apple wallet ( I have called them as well multiple times regarding this matter ), and considering this is the only bank account that I have and I was traveling at the moment, I decided to call when I got back from my trip considering I needed a card to travel -- I had rather keep my physical card and call after my trip since I could afford not having the {$120.00} dollars that the fraud charge was, than calling the bank and not having a card for days ( considering I was never in the past able to have a digital card ). 

When I saw the other 3 charges on XX/XX/XXXX, I decided to call the bank because all 5 charges added up to {$800.00}, and I couldn't go to my trip without this money -- they gave me a temporary credit and luckily I was with a friend and my mom, so they let me make them zelles and I could use their card, considering I didn't have a card to use. Later on, they took back the temporary credit and I asked them why, they said that I would log in on my Bank of America and they just said that they took the decision it was me because " I was authorized to use the card ''.. I was talking to a representative, he repeatedly told me he couldn't help me open up the case, that I could just sent them a fax, I insisted so much that it escalated to the supervisor and suddenly they were able to open up the case again to review it again. To support my claim, I sent evidence to the bank.

To give background story about the charges -- the first 2 fraud charges are from a very sketchy merchant " XXXX '', and the other 3 fraud charges in my account are from XXXX XXXX and all 3 say the state " MO '', as in Missouri, when I do not live nor have ever visited that state. As well as in the 7 years that I've been a client in Bank of America, I have NEVER made a purchase at XXXX. To show evidence the first time I asked for the claim to be reopened, I sent screenshots from my XXXX showing that I was in the state that I live during the time the fraud charges were made. Also, another point that I had was that all charges were made online, meaning the PIN was not required. After I sent this evidence, they got back to me saying that it was my fault because " I logged in on my Bank of America app many times before calling to make the claim ''.

I called the bank after I got this answer, saying that it was not fair because as long as I know Bank of America
has a 60-day policy for fraud charges and I called within those dates. I reiterated that since I was not able to have a digital card in the past and I was traveling, it was not convenient nor safe for me to be without a physical card nor a digital card, mostly considering they are the ONLY bank I currently have an account with. I decided to keep my card and logged in my account because I was sending zelles because I was avoiding using the card, in case they could use that agaisnt me when I called about the fraud charges.. funny enough, that is exactly what they ended up using agaisnt me. After I sent them a second letter showing evidence, the only reason they gave me for denying my claim again was " We denied your claim because we decided you are responsible for these transactions ''. I do not believe this is a valid answer considering I sent evidence multiple times and none of the answers they have given me respond to any of them. I also mentioned that I gave them full permission to use my social security to see if I was tied to any address in Missouri, or if they could check where the packages were sent, etc... I gave them EVERYTHING to find solutions, and none of their answers were valid.

Also, when I called the first time, the representative said that it was very common to be a victim of " Card Skimming '' -- considering I made purchases online, she told me that is probably what happened.

Another thing to add, the ONLY charge they gave me back was the one that was only for {$3.00}, they kept the rest.

I want to reiterate it is crazy and even disrespectful that a bank that I am supposed to trust actually makes it harder for me and looks up any excuse to make it impossible to give me back my money, and I find it absurd that I sent evidence that clearly shows I did NOT make the charges. Also, it is absurd that this has been going on for over 4 months.

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