Consumer complaint received 2025-11-13 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement — Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: WI

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/year> around XXXX, I was walking on the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX MSOE ) XXXX campus from my office located in the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX WI XXXX ) to the XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX WI XXXX ) where I park my car on campus. On the way there, I stopped to get a drink at Discourse Coffee ( XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, WI XXXX ). 

After grabbing my drink, I continued walking on the east side of XXXX. I was stopped not long after by XXXX men who were asking for donations. They said they were from a non-profit organization and that they were collecting donations for a family who had a young son who was murdered walking on his way home from XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX. They stated they needed donations because the family could not afford to bury the child and have a funeral. I first asked if they accept cash donations and they said that they couldnt since they were a non-profit organization. They said that they could take donations via debit or credit cards. I said that I could give them {$5.00} using a credit card. XXXX of them asked me to take out my phone and asked for me to search for XXXX XXXX on my search engine. He then said that he needed to log in to his account on XXXX XXXX to get the money from my credit card, so I gave him my phone. I handed another XXXX of the men my XXXX credit card. He began tapping the back of his phone with it. He then said it wasnt working, so I gave him my Bank of America credit card. While those XXXX men were doing things, a third man was having me fill out these XXXX separate printed sheets with my information, such as my name, my email, and how much I donated ( {$5.00} ). The third man was also chatting with me a lot. 

Eventually, the man with my Bank of America credit card gave it back to me and I also received my phone back. I said goodbye to the men and started walking back to the XXXX parking garage. However, almost immediately, I noticed a notification from Bank of America that my credit card had been charged {$2000.00}. I went on my Bank of America XXXX app and realized that were XXXX new {$2000.00} transactions from a merchant called XXXX XXXX XXXX. I also realized that the XXXX transactions made my credit card balance go over my {$8000.00} credit limit by more than {$4000.00}. I also checked my XXXX account on their mobile app and did not see any new pending transactions. However, I did see that there was a notification on the top of my account saying that my card was locked and that I needed to call XXXX. 

Once I got to my car, I immediately called the Bank of America fraud department. I explained to the associate what had just happened and that I had not approved the new transactions. The Bank of America associate filed a fraud claim for {$12000.00} as well as closed my credit card and requested to have a new credit card mailed to me. I drove home and then called XXXX XXXX XXXX to file a report with them. XXXX XXXX XXXX encouraged me to call the XXXX Police Department, which I did once I got off the phone with XXXX XXXX XXXX. The XXXX on duty with the XXXX Police Department discouraged me from making a report that day because he said the odds of them being able to find the perpetrators were very low. Further, he said that ultimately no harm had been done because I had already notified my credit card company that the charges were fraudulent and so the money would not be released to the scammer, so I desisted. 

However, on XX/XX/year>, I went to the XXXX Police Department XXXX XXXX to insist on filing a police report in-person, given that my initial fraud claim was denied. XXXX XXXX was able to file a police report for me that day with a case number XXXX. I gave my case number to XXXX XXXX XXXX since they had a more detailed and contemporaneous report, and they also have XXXX evidence of me interacting with these XXXX men. 

Returning to XX/XX/year>, after talking to XXXX XXXX XXXX and the XXXX Police Department, I called XXXX to see how I could unlock my credit card with them. I explained to them what happened, and they denied the charges, cancelled my credit card and issued me a new credit card. Although none of my other credit or debit cards were involved in the incident, I also called the XXXX XXXX XXXX, where I have various accounts. I explained the situation to them and requested new debit and credit cards. I also changed usernames and passwords on various financial accounts to make sure to cover all of my bases. 

On XX/XX/year> I was sent notice that my fraud claim was denied. 

On XX/XX/year>, I saw the notification and immediately called the Bank of America fraud department to figure out why the fraud claim for the {$12000.00} was denied. The associate said that the claim should have been a billing claim rather than a fraud claim because the card was not stolen and I was present when it was being used. The associate said that they would transfer the fraud claim to a billing claim. The associate also gave me a number to the billing disputes department ( XXXX ) at Bank of America along with the mailing address for XXXX XXXX and the fax number. They said that I could send information related to my claim by paper mail or via fax. They also encouraged me to call the billing disputes department every day to verify that the disputes were transferred over to billing claims, given the large sum involved. Additionally, this associate said that the perpetrators actions were so egregious ( e.g. mocking me in the name on the charge, XXXX XXXX XXXX ) that he was going to file a scam alert on the merchant. 

On XX/XX/year>, I called the Bank of America billing disputes department, and the associate said that they saw a pending status on the billing claim and encouraged me to call back tomorrow. 

On XX/XX/year>, I called the Bank of America billing disputes department to verify again that the billing claim had gone through, and they said that they see a billing dispute open now. 

On XX/XX/year>, I noticed that I had not received anything via email or on the Bank of America mobile app saying that a billing dispute had been opened, so I called the Bank of America billing dispute department just to verify again that the billing dispute was open. The associate I talked to said that a claim had not been opened. This associate said that they could initiate individual billing claims for each of the XXXX {$2000.00} transactions. They mentioned that I should be getting emails and physical letters in the mail saying that billing claims have been opened. They also said the agent working on my claims would get in contact with me so I could electronically upload any documents I want to share with the agent and that I would not need to fax or send documents via physical mail. 

I called the Bank of America billing disputes department a second time on XX/XX/year> because I only received XXXX emails saying that a billing claim has been opened on a {$2000.00} transaction when there needed to be XXXX claims/emails. With the second call of the day, I told the associate that I needed to make a claim on the sixth transaction. However, before they could create the claim, I was told that the fraud claim I requested on XX/XX/year> had not been canceled when the fraud department transferred the case to billing and that it needed to be closed before these new billing claims could be considered, saying that because of the ongoing fraud claim, the XXXX billing claims have duplicate claims on them and they will be cancelled. I got transferred to fraud claims and the billing claims associate explained the situation to the fraud claims associate. The fraud claim associate said that they would switch my previous fraud claim to XXXX billing claims. I requested to cancel the fraud claim. 

On XX/XX/year>, I got an email from Bank of America saying that my fraud claim was cancelled. However, I did not get an email about initiating a claim for the sixth {$2000.00} transaction. I called Bank of America billing claims to make a billing claim on the sixth transaction. The associate crosschecked the other billing disputes with the XXXX transactions to make sure they didnt make a dispute on a transaction already being disputed. They were able to make the sixth claim, and I eventually got an email the same day. 

On XX/XX/XXXX through XXXX, 2025, I uploaded XXXX documents to the Bank of America Message Center for each of the XXXX billing claims. The XXXX documents were the front page of the Crime Victim Resources page given to me by the XXXX Police Department after filing a police report, a three-page letter I wrote to Bank of America XXXX and a summary of the description of the incident from the report I filed with XXXX XXXX XXXX. I also uploaded XXXX documents again for some of the claims because they asked for additional information more than once. 

On XX/XX/year>, I called Bank of America to make sure they received these documents. The associate I talked with said that the XXXX documents have been uploaded and received for each of the claims. 

On XX/XX/year>, I called Bank of America because only XXXX of the XXXX transactions under dispute have been removed from my balance. My bill that is due on XX/XX/year> indicates that I still owe the disputed {$12000.00}. The associate I talked to said that XXXX of the XXXX claims have been charged back, which is why I see XXXX temporary credits on my account. However, the associate said that I will not have to pay the {$12000.00} while it is being disputed. The associate also said they are going to add notes to help encourage a charge back on the other XXXX transactions. 

On XX/XX/year>, I was notified that XXXX of my billing claims for {$2000.00} was denied. I called Bank of America XXXX claims immediately to understand why it had not been approved. My wife accompanied me on this call. I talked to an associate named XXXX who was able to reopen the claim, but she was unable to explain why the claim was denied. This associate also said that I am not allowed to speak with the people making decisions about these claims, that I am only allowed to speak to customer representatives. We asked to talk to a XXXX to get a better understanding of why the claim was denied. The XXXX, named XXXX, said that he was a supervisor with Bank of America credit card claims. He said that the claim was denied because I did not provide a {$5.00} sales receipt to prove that I was charged the wrong amount. We explained to him that I did not receive a receipt because the men that I interacted with on XX/XX/XXXX scammed me. He continued stating that for these claims to be approved, I need to provide documentation that the transactions were in the wrong amount through a receipt or sales order. He suggested that we handle this situation outside of the bank but did not give us any advice on what that would look like. After that conversation with Bank of America and on the same day, my wife called the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) to see what our next steps would be. The person we talked to suggested that we file a complaint with them and gave us the number for the XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

I filed billing dispute claims for each of the XXXX {$2000.00} transactions since I did not approve any of these transactions. I interacted with these men in-person in hopes of donating {$5.00} for a good cause. Additionally, there is no way for me to contact the merchant because I was not given a receipt or invoice for the intended donation by the perpetrators of this scam.

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