Consumer complaint received 2023-09-22 00:00:00
Product: Prepaid card — Gift card
Issue: Trouble using the card — Trouble using the card to spend money in a store or online
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: MD

Complaint narrative:
First, I reported the following : As happened in XXXX, I received a prepaid Visa card from XXXX XXXX because I am a part of a study they are running on behalf of the XXXX. This time, I received twocards, not just one. I tried to set up the two card per Bank of America 's instructions, and at first I was sent to an account I already had on their prepaid card site, and when logged into my account there, I was offered no option of adding these two new cards. Instead, I had to set up two more accounts, one for each of these new cards.So, once again Bank of America is working as hard as it can to deny people the ability to use these prepaid cards. For a total of {$50.00}, I now have three Bank of America Prepaid card accounts, with individual usernames and passwords. Seems like intentional obfuscation to me. Oh, and for that first card that they tried to charge me for activating, despite the fact that their system wasn't even working properly at the time, they continue to send me spam emails, reporting that there has been no activity on a card that I exhausted the available balance well over a year ago, heading towards two years now. Please, hold these XXXX accountable for pulling these kinds of stunts. If I had a credit card with Bank of America, which I once had until I closed because of the bank 's predatory practices, it was easy for me to set up a single account for my checking, savings, and credit card account, which amazingly were all associated with one and only one account. Bank of America should be required to do the same for these silly prepaid cards. If they are allowed to sell these items into the marketplace, they should be required to make it easy to both manage them and use them. And for the record, they should not be allowed to issue one-time use, plastic cards. If they are going to issue plastic cards, those cards should be required to be ones that people can add value to if they want to do that. That would be in keeping with good environmental stewardship, which the US federal government should be promoting. Finally, I want to thank you folks for holding Bank of America accountable for all the XXXX fees it was charging people. Now, they no longer charge if someone needs to call in to activate one of these silly cards. So, there is progress here ; but not enough. Too Big to Fail Bank of America is still taking advantage of consumers with its prepaid cards, and that needs to be stopped. I am also on a drug trial at XXXX XXXX, and amazingly I get a prepaid card from those folks every month. I don't have to set up an account to use those XXXX cards, and itis easy to find out the balance left on them online. So, if one company can do this, Bank of America can do it too. I now have three accounts on the Bank of America prepaid card site, all with distinct usernames and passwords. I was forced to offer Bank of America security question answers three times now. That is total XXXX, and should not be allowed. That is abuse of consumers, period, end of sentence. 

After I reported that to the CFPB, Bank of America did something to make it impossible for me to use either of the two cards. I had a balance of {$4.00} on one and the full amount of {$15.00} on the other, and now I can't use any of that money. I know, because I tried to move the money from the cards to my gift card on XXXX, and the transactions were blocked by Bank of America, despite the fact that I registered both of the cards. 

I just got off the phone with a Bank of America representative, who called as I was on hold, waiting to speak with an IRS agent about another matter ; and all that person was doing was calling me to " establish communications. '' He also claimed to know nothing about my two cash cards being canceled.

Also, folks should know that the CFPB doesn't allow a person to update complaints. They will now cancel my first complaint, and I will start all over again, with some XXXX from Bank of America calling me to " establish communications. '' I'm really over both the predatory practices of big banks in the US, and with my federal government treating my time and energy as of absolutely no value whatsoever. CFPB, you have a lot of work to do to make yourselves " consumer friendly, '' so maybe you should take a look in the mirror and change the way you interact with the public.

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