Consumer complaint received 2025-12-04 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Closing your account — Company closed your account
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
I am submitting this complaint regarding the permanent closure of my XXXX credit card account by Bank of America in XXXX 2025 following an identity verification request. 

Bank XXXX XXXX written verification instructions explicitly required submission of a signed tax return along with government-issued identification. Before sending the documents, I also contacted Bank of America by phone to confirm whether a signed tax return would be sufficient, and was not informed that an XXXX tax transcript was required, nor was I told that a self-prepared return would be rejected. 

Relying on : The banks written instructions, and the banks verbal confirmation by phone, I submitted both : A signed copy of her tax return, and ; Official government-issued identification, together in the initial verification packet, exactly as instructed. 

Despite Bank of America already being in possession of : The requested signed tax return, and ; Valid government-issued identification, the bank permanently closed the account and later stated that the tax return was self-prepared and therefore unacceptable. At no point prior to closure, either in writing or during our phone call, did Bank of America inform me that an XXXX tax transcript was required instead, nor was I given any opportunity to submit XXXX or cure the issue. 

This placed me in a misleading and harmful position where : I followed the exact written instructions provided by the bank ; I verbally confirmed compliance before submission ; I submitted all requested documents in full ; The bank then rejected the same document type it instructed me to provide ; The account was permanently closed without warning, appeal, or opportunity to correct or supplement documentation. 

I do have a valid Social Security Number, and I was fully willing and able to immediately provide : An official IRS tax transcript ; Any additional verification documents requested. 

However, Bank of America refused to accept any further documentation after the closure and provided no appeal or reconsideration process. 

I am concerned about : Misleading and contradictory documentation requirements ; Verbal confirmation that conflicted with the banks later justification ; Denial of a reasonable opportunity to cure ; Abrupt permanent closure without procedural fairness ; Potential improper or harmful credit reporting ; I respectfully request that the CFPB require Bank of America to : Provide a written explanation for why the verification request stated signed tax return, why this was verbally confirmed as sufficient by the bank, and why the document was later rejected ; Confirm in writing that this account was not closed for fraud, criminal suspicion, or identity theft ; Confirm in writing that the account is reported to all credit bureaus solely as closed by XXXX XXXX with no negative payment history ; Review and correct internal compliance procedures so other consumers are not misled in the same way ; In reliance on the validity and continuation of this account, I spent nearly {$3000.00} on the card within a short period in order to meet the minimum spending requirement for the promotional points bonus, and I also believe I paid the annual fee associated with the account. The abrupt permanent closure of the account after I fully complied with all verification requests caused me to lose the expected promotional benefit and rendered those expenditures and fees effectively forfeit, which I believe compounds the financial and emotional harm caused by the banks contradictory verification process. 

This situation caused unnecessary financial and emotional distress due entirely to unclear, contradictory compliance requirements and total lack of procedural fairness, despite full cooperation with all identity verification requests.

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 explanation