Consumer complaint received 2025-05-06 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: PA

Complaint narrative:
I filed a fraud dispute with Bank of America after a charge appeared from a business name I didn't recognize ( and failed to notice in my previous bank statement ) based on incorrect information from a XXXX representative. Later, I confirmed the charge was valid and paid the merchant again. The merchant never received the original funds, but BOA is still charging me for it- meaning I've now paid for it twice. It does not appear as though I paid twice on my bank statement as the owner changed the name he used XXXX to XXXX XXXX XXXX, to ensure he gets paid. I did not receive any type of service from XXXX XXXX XXXX. I paid twice for the same service. I've requested that BoA reverse the charge and or investigate, but I've received no resolution. I'm stuck with a duplicate payment and need CFPB assistance to get that resolved. 

Background details : I booked a vacation through XXXX. A name came up XXXX. I didn't recognize the name, so I called XXXX and spoke with someone on XX/XX/year> who told me XXXX is not in relation to my vacation, suggesting I should report it as fraud. 

XXXXI called Bank of America. Bank of America agreed I should report this as fraud, so I FILED A DISPUTE reporting the charge of {$370.00} and {$120.00}. 

XXXX The owner of the property rental contacted me saying I owed him this money ( XXXX and XXXX ) XXXX I called XXXX to reconfirm if this was true. Speaking to someone else, they said XXXX is the name of XXXXXXXX XXXX business ; I owed him the money. 

XXXX Understanding the connection of XXXX with my vacation rental, I had both disputes reversed, * * * being charged {$120.00} and XXXX {$490.00} * * * XXXX I paid the exact balance due for this transaction totaling {$490.00}. 

Communication between me and the owner by texting : XXXX XXXX contacted me saying he did not receive his money. I explained to XXXX they said it could take up to 45 days to receive his money. 
XXXX XXXX said he was never going to see the money after I reversed the reported fraud case. 

His company XXXX XXXX sent him this as a part of a message, " From the perspective of the card networks, failure to submit evidence for a dispute is considered functionally equivalent to explicitly accepting liability for the dispute or agreeing with the reason for a dispute. In most cases, you will not win a dispute in which evidence wasn't submitted. This applies even in cases where this might seem unintuitive- for example in instances when the cardholder withdraws the dispute. Most of the time if evidence isn't submitted, the issuing bank 's assumption will be that you believe the dispute should stand ...... even though the cardholder 's bank may have closed the dispute and re-billed their cardholder, the funds are still sitting with them waiting to be collected ; this is because the lack of evidence translated to an " accept dispute '' response. In order to recover the disputed funds, you have the option to either recharge the customer by sending them a one-time invoice or your cardholder will want to get in touch with their bank and ask that they push the disputed funds back to us. If you can let us know when the cardholder has done this and provide their confirmation from their bank, we'll be happy to revisit the case. '' ~ XXXX XXXX XXXX I went to Bank of America on XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  and was consulted by XXXX XXXX XXXX call the fraud department to have XXXX XXXX money lifted so he could get paid back. XXXX said the fraud dept. has to handle this, not the bank. I called the fraud department that evening and spoke with XXXX from XXXX. XXXX said he had paperwork to fill out regarding this, and he would call me between XXXX that day to let me know the details. XXXX never called me back. 

XXXX I reached out to XXXX explaining the issue is between him and the bank. I already paid the {$490.00}. I encouraged XXXX to contact the bank directly. 

XXXX texted me " Good Afternoon XXXX XXXX, I tried calling the number you provided and have received no response back, nor has the funds been returned to us after waiting the 45 days. We went ahead and reprocessed the payment that was due since no payments have been returned to us nor any other means of collecting the money was possible. So, we are all squared up, thanks! '' NOTE : XXXX changed the name of his company to XXXX XXXX XXXX as though I received new services requiring a payment. 

XXXX Employee XXXX : Filed Billing Dispute for the total of {$490.00}. XXXX said she was contacting her direct manager to get the date XXXX received his money. XXXX said she'd have them call me within 3 business days for the exact date XXXX received his money. She said the back office will reach out to XXXX 's bank. 
I put a stop payment in place for XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX. I also closed out my current credit card. 

XXXX I waited 3-4 days, and I never received a call from the bank confirming that XXXX received his money. I kept my phone on me, answering every call that came through. My question Did XXXX receive his money from Bank of America? Where did the money go? 

XXXX I received a letter from Bank of America said they were unable to approve my recent claim. 

XXXX I have now paid the second charge of {$490.00} as required by BoA, only this time it is from XXXX XXXX XXXX  ( A Charge I never made, nor did I receive services to be charged that amount. ) Again, XXXX rebilled me under a different name due to not receiving his money from BANK OF AMERICA. 

Request : I am requesting : 1. Immediate reversal of the charge {$490.00} from XXXX XXXX XXXX. 
2. A full investigation into how the dispute was handled and why the funds were not released properly to the merchant.

3. Written clarification of BoA 's findings.

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