Consumer complaint received 2025-12-04 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Other banking product or service
Issue: Managing an account — Banking errors
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: FL

Complaint narrative:
XX/XX/XXXX that last piece in and give you one clean, final version you can paste into the CFPB form. 

You can still tweak dates/amounts/account details, but this is ready to use as-is. 

-- - I am a Bank of America premier banking customer and a survivor of XX/XX/XXXXXXXX. I am filing this complaint because Bank of America has completely failed to protect my accounts from obvious, ongoing fraud since XX/XX/XXXX, and has effectively blocked me from even filing proper fraud claims, despite my repeated requests and my status as an identity theft andXX/XX/XXXX victim. 

On or about XX/XX/XXXX, I called Bank of America to stop an unauthorizedXX/XX/XXXX transfer of over {$3500.00} that was actively leaving my account. This transfer was only stopped because I intervened in real time and insisted it be blocked. During that call, I explicitly warned Bank of America that I was experiencing identity theft and financial abuse connected to XX/XX/XXXXXXXX. Bank of America locked my accounts and gave me a written password. 

At that time, I was fleeing aXX/XX/XXXXXXXX situation with my XXXX children. In the chaos, I lost the written password and my debit card. When I went into Bank of America branches, staff refused to help me because I did not have my physical debit card, even though : * I had valid identification, * I had already reported active fraud and identity theft, * and I told them I was in a XX/XX/XXXXXXXX crisis. 

Instead of working with me as a documentedXX/XX/XXXXand identity theft victim, Bank of America repeatedly turned me away and hid behind rigid policies that made it impossible to protect my account or even file proper claims. 

Sometime after this, my address was changed on my account to an address inXX/XX/XXXXwithout my consent. I have never lived at or authorized this address. Later, when I tried to call in about fraud on both my checking and credit card accounts, Bank of America used that unauthorizedXX/XX/XXXX address as a security factor and refused to speak with me because I could not identify an address that I did not authorize and do not recognize. 

Branch staff also told me I had been banking with Bank of America since XXXX. That is impossible. In XXXX I was in XXXX grade. My parents never opened an account for me at Bank of America to my knowledge or with my consent. In reality, I have been banking with Bank of America since around XXXX. This statement by staff raises serious concerns about how my identity was used or opened in the past and why this was never verified or addressed. 

From the day I opened my current accounts in XXXX up until this fraud began, my checking account never had a XXXX or negative balance. My accounts were well-managed and my credit cards were never maxed out and never late. I always paid on time and usually more than the minimum. I was also a business gold customer with typical balances of {$10000.00} {$20000.00} in my accounts. I was, by any reasonable standard, a strong and responsible customer. 

Once the fraud andXX/XX/XXXXXXXX issues started, things changed dramatically : * My account was driven to a negative balance of approximately {$500.00} due to fraudulent and unauthorized activity. Despite everything that was going on, I still brought that account back from negative to a {$0.00} balance through my own efforts. 
* Even after I brought the account current and spoke with Bank of America about fraud, they still allowed additional transactions to post and continue draining my account. 
* Bank of America claims to have placed stop payments or blocks, but transactions kept posting anyway, including duplicate charges, strange cash advances, and recurring or multiple credit card payments to merchants I have never used. 
* These transactions and patterns are completely inconsistent with myXX/XX/XXXX profile and past behavior and should have triggered obvious fraud alerts and manual review. 

There is also a significant issue involving unauthorized XXXX payments, including multiple ACH transfers supposedly sent to XXXX XXXX and other creditors. XXXX XXXX has confirmed to me that many of these XXXX payments were never actually received on their end, even though they were debited from my Bank of America account. When I tried to dispute these XXXX debits with Bank of America, the bank simply handed me a form and told me I only had 24 hours from XXXX initiation to dispute them. This is completely unreasonable and contrary to consumer protection rules. If the XXXX transfers are not authorized by me and are not even being received by the supposed payee, there is no way I could know within 24 hours that they occurredespecially in the middle of an identity theft and XX/XX/XXXXXXXX crisis that Bank of America already knew about as of XX/XX/XXXX. Instead of helping me and opening investigations, Bank of America used this arbitrary 24-hour excuse to shut down my ability to dispute obviously fraudulent XX/XX/XXXX activity. This is a direct violation of their duties under Regulation E and a blatant failure to protect a single mother who had always maintained a good banking relationship. 

Despite all of this, Bank of America has : 1. Failed to meaningfully investigate or stop obvious fraudulent activity. 
I clearly stated I do not use tap-to-pay, phone purchases, XXXX or XXXXXX/XX/XXXXXXXX, XXXX, or similar services. I do not allow anyone else to use my card or accounts. Yet my accounts show transactions that are completely inconsistent with my usage patterns and stated preferences. There are transactions that appear connected to my abusers ( XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX. I have an active restraining order against XXXX XXXX XXXX issued XX/XX/XXXX ). My abuser had access to similar phone numbers and illegally accessed my personal and business information both before and after the restraining order. UnderXX/XX/XXXXXXXX protections and fair banking practices, any transactions linked to my abusers should be scrutinized and reversed where appropriate, and aXX/XX/XXXXfocused fraud review should have been triggered. None of that has happened. 

2. Refused to accept or process my fraud and Regulation E claims on unreasonable technicalities.

I have repeatedly asked for a Regulation E investigation for the unauthorized electronic transfers and withdrawals, including the unauthorized XXXX payments. I even sent a written letter specifically requesting a Regulation XXXX investigation. I have never received a meaningful response. Instead, Bank of America has told me they can not assist because : * I do not know the last XXXX digits of an old credit card that has been compromised; * I can not verify aXX/XX/XXXXaddress that I did not authorize; * My ID on file is an old, expired passport, even though I opened the account with a XX/XX/XXXX drivers license and my current identification; * I supposedly missed a 24-hour window to dispute XXXX debits that I never authorized and could not have known about. 

These are not legitimate reasons to ignore clear fraud and identity theft. They are excuses that have allowed the bank to avoid its obligations under Regulation E and other consumer protection laws. 

XXXX. Ignored my status as aXX/XX/XXXXXXXX and identity theft victim. 
I informed Bank of America on XX/XX/XXXX, that I was fleeing XX/XX/XXXXXXXX, that I was a XX/XX/XXXX mother, and that there was active fraud on my accounts. They never reached out. They never added meaningful security protections. They never assigned a case manager or specialist to help. Instead, they continued to allow unauthorized activity to devastate my accounts including accounts for which I did not even have a physical card. They have never initiated a XX/XX/XXXXrelated fraud review or internal escalation despite clear notice that my abuser likely had access to my information and devices pre- and post-restraining order. 

4. Allowed my accounts to become severely delinquent due to fraud, not my conduct, and continue to bill and collect anyway. 
Prior to this situation, I had a spotless history : no late payments, no maxed-out cards, no negative balances. Now my accounts are 23 months behind, solely because Bank of America has refused to properly process my fraud and ACH claims and has blocked me from meaningful access to their fraud department. The few claims I was able to file were decided in my favor, which proves that fraud was occurring. Yet Bank of America continues to send me bills and collection notices demanding credit card payments as if everything were valid and undisputed, while at the same time refusing to fully investigate the fraud, refusing to open a Regulation E case tied to theXX/XX/XXXXXXXX and identity theft, and refusing to correct obviously fraudulent activity. They are actively trying to collect on balances that are inflated by unauthorized, uninvestigated, and disputed charges. 

5. Failed to provide basic account access and documentation.

I have spent over 30 hours calling Bank of America and visiting branches, simply trying to obtain my credit card statements so that I can properly identify and document the fraudulent transactions. Despite being a premier banking customer, I still can not even get full statement histories printed or provided to me so I can review them. There has never been any proactive outreach or correspondence from Bank of America unless it was initiated by me. The burden has been placed entirely on me, a single mother and XX/XX/XXXX survivor, to chase the bank for help while they let the fraud continue. 

I am asking the CFPB to review Bank of Americas actions and hold them accountable for what feels like a blatant breach of their duty of care and fiduciary responsibilities, as well as violations of : * Regulation E ( Electronic Fund Transfer Act ) regarding unauthorized electronic transfers and XXXX debits and the banks duty to investigate and resolve them, * Fair treatment obligations under federal consumer protection laws, including the requirement to assist XX/XX/XXXXXXXX and identity theft victims rather than trap them behind procedural barriers. 

Specifically, I am requesting that the CFPB require Bank of America to : 1. Immediately conduct a full Regulation E and fraud investigation across all my affected accounts ( checking and credit cards ), including : * reviewing all tokens, terminals, device IDs, unique payment IDs, IP locations, and XXXX trace information for the disputed transactions ; * isolating and reversing all transactions inconsistent with my documented usage ( no tap-to-pay, noXX/XX/XXXX noXX/XX/XXXX, etc. ) ; * flagging and reversing any transactions connected to my abusers, including those linked to the individual I have a restraining order against. 

2. Remove all fees, interest, and negative reporting caused by the fraudulent transactions, unauthorized XXXX debits, and the banks failure to act, and restore my accounts to the status they would have been in had the fraud been promptly handled. 

XXXX. Correct any negative credit reporting that resulted from the fraud and the banks refusal to process my claims, and stop all collection activity on disputed, fraud-inflated balances until the investigation is complete.

4. Provide me with a safe, workable method to verify my identity and manage my accounts as a XX/XX/XXXXXXXX and identity theft victim, without relying on unauthorized addresses or compromised credentials, and with appropriate DV-related safeguards in place. 

5. Explain why I was told I have been banking with Bank of America since XXXX, how those accounts were opened, and whether my identity was used without my knowledge when I was a minor. 

6. Provide complete, accessible copies of all my credit card and deposit account statements for the entire period in question so I can fully review and document the fraudulent activity and ACH debits. 

Bank of America has wasted countless hours of my time, as a XX/XX/XXXX mother fleeing XX/XX/XXXXwhile my accounts were drained and my credit destroyed by fraud they were notified about back in XXXX. Their refusal to properly assist me, despite my repeated attempts to report identity theft and request a Regulation E investigation and a XX/XX/XXXXrelated fraud review, is unacceptable, harmful, and, in my view, unlawful. 

I am asking for the CFPBs assistance to force Bank of America to finally investigate and correct this situation, protect me as a DV and identity theft victim, and restore my accounts and credit to the condition they were in before this fraud began. 

I also have a list of transaction types and reasons why they are invalid Date Amount Description Reason Flagged XX/XX/XXXX {$270.00} Reversal of Provisional Credit Should not occur before full investigation ; bank violated EFTA provisional refund rights. 

XX/XX/XXXX {$960.00} ATM XXXXXX/XX/XXXX No debit card access at time ; location consistent with prior fraud pattern. 

XX/XX/XXXX {$52.00} XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX contact ; person under XXXX XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX {$75.00} XXXX XXXX XXXX Unauthorized associate of XXXX XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX {$90.00} XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

XXXX identified in fraudulent transfers ; connected to XXXX XX/XX/XXXX 

XX/XX/XXXX {$400.00} XXXX XXXX XXXX withdrawal while user lacked ID access. 

XX/XX/XXXX {$150.00} XXXX XXXX XXXX Only authorized {$25.00} one time ; higher transfers unauthorized. 

XX/XX/XXXX {$270.00} XXXX XXXX Reversal ( duplicate ) Improper reversal without investigation per Regulation E. 

XX/XX/XXXX {$3900.00} Attempted XXXX XXXX XXXX ; clear fraud attempt. 

XX/XX/XXXX {$250.00} XXXX XXXX Transfer Not consistent with user business or spending pattern.

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