Consumer complaint received 2025-12-04 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Deposits and withdrawals
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: AZ

Complaint narrative:
I am a XXXX XXXX Checking Account customer of Bank of America. I've had my business account with BofA since XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  and I've been a personal account holder with BofA for over XXXX  years. My small business deposits multiple checks each and every month in XXXX amounts from my clients, who are major corporations. There are no personal checks involved in this. I deposited XXXX checks under one single deposit slip XXXX  days ago. The XXXX checks were for approx. {$26000.00} and XXXX for {$11000.00} respectively, from XXXX completely different clients, both of which are major established corporations, and the deposits were made in person with the teller in my personal branch. Again, this is completely typical of my business activity and deposits that I've been making every month for XXXX years straight. After returning to the office after the deposit, the BofA online system posted that my XXXX deposit checks were going to be placed on hold for XXXX business days with no explanation. Attempts to get a reason from Bank of America customer service staff yielded only robotic answers that there was some reason for concern, and since the XXXX checks were deposited together, they are applying the hold to both checks. Then XXXX days after my physical deposit, they indicated that they were NOT going to stand by their XXXX hold, and bump it up to 10 days, a full XXXX weeks without anyone at BofA able XXXX tell me specifically why they were holding my hard-earned business income for XXXX weeks, after they had initially promised to release after 5 days. In XXXX years of depositing, I have NEVER had BofA place a 10 day hold on my deposits. This is an unfair Penalty that my business is being issued with absolutely no verifiable reasoning behind it. I have spoken with the XXXX XXXX Customer Service folks, and the local XXXX  Account Rep, as well as now the Branch Manager of my home branch, and NONE of them are able to give me any reasonably justifiable explanation for why my business is being penalized. Holding {$37000.00} of my money for XXXX weeks has a tremendously significant impact on my business 's cash flow and our ability to pay our subcontractors who are also waiting for the funds in these XXXX checks, only one of which is reportedly problematic. It should be reasonable to expect that the Bank identifies specifically which check caused the red flag, and which did not, and to release the funds from the other. The Bank specifically confirmed that the hold had 0 % to do with our company status, and completely had to do with XXXX of our client 's checks, however, they can't even tell me which one, which prevents me from being able to confront my clients. In the past, Bank of America has had a procedure to apply for a Hold Review and to get full or partial release of the deposit hold, but in the past few years, Bank of America has eliminated all pathways that used to exist online or via phone to submit for submit such a request. Every single person at the Bank I've talked to say they hear this complaint every day, yet Bank of America continues to get away with this gross mistreatment of their business customers. The fact that they change their commitment from 5 days to 10 days is also deplorable since we communicated that 5 day expectation to our subcontracting consultants, only to have the Bank subsequently fail to fulfill that promise and then double the timing, after we've already communicated to our consultants. Finally, there should be no reason that simple verification of corporate funds should take a full XXXX working days to complete. Nobody at the Bank has given me a satisfactory answer for why it takes a full 10 days to simply verify funds on a check. Again, these are not personal checks. These are major multi-million dollar corporations who are paying for my professional services. Having any banking institution withold my money, in this case {$37000.00} for XXXX whole weeks after I deposit with no satisfactory justification, or ability to review or adjust is simply unacceptable. Nobody in their right mind would open a checking account with a banking institution with the knowledge that they would hold their regular deposits for XXXX weeks, with absolutely no recourse or even simple answers. This is but another example of the denegration of customer service from what used to be one of the finest financial institutions in our great country. Now, it's so out of touch that it's blindly applying penalties towards their customers that are damaging our ability to do business and damaging our long honed reputation with our consultants. Bank of America should absolutely not be able to get away with this. They should do no harm to their customers, nor their customer 's business by imposing unreasonable penalties with no acceptable justification. I am left with nearly no remedy but to find another company to handle my banking business, and to let every possible person and social media outlet know about the unfair policies that they can expect to receive from Bank of America. After over XXXX  years, its a tremendous shame on Bank of America that they treat their loyal customers like this, and they should not be able to continue these damaging practices without public disclosure.

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