Consumer complaint received 2024-01-17 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: FL

Complaint narrative:
I am writing to complain about a Bank of America Business credit card account. I opened my account in XXXX I have maintained this account in good standing until this incident. The last payment that i have made on this account as of this writing was on or around XX/XX/XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX 

Towards the end of XXXX I received in the mail a letter, allegedly from Bank of America Fraud Department. The letter was dated XX/XX/XXXXXXXX XXXX  and had my first and last names spelled incorrectly. My misspelled name put me on alert for potential Phishing. Upon further review of the letter, the letterhead on the documentation included had a pixelated Bank of America logo. The letter had almost my entire account number ( missing last 4 digits ) and a case number. It stated that Additional information is needed to complete our investigation of possible fraudulent usage on the account listed above. I was to fill out the enclosed form and send it to a XXXX XXXX XXXX This form is two pages and requested personal information like name, address, birthdate, SSN, government issued identification, phone number, etc. I did not report any fraud, and this was the first contact that I received about potential fraud. The letter did not indicate any information on the fraud complaint, who complained, or the issue indicated as fraud. Since this looked like phishing, I ignored the letter. 

A few days later, I attempted to access my account and, while I could login successfully, the system said there were no accounts to be displayed. I called the Customer Service number on my bill on. Upon authentication via the phone, i was directed to the Fraud Department where I was connected to XXXX. I explained receiving the alleged letter, with my misspelled name, from the Fraud Department and not being able to access my account. He was not interested in the Claim number listed and agreed that the letter seemed to be a scam. After some digging, he then told me that my account was closed. At some point in the call, he asked if I or the other borrower on the account couldve called. To that I responded, what other borrower? There should be no one else on the account. He mentioned someone named XXXX. He gave a last name, but I do not recall it. I told him that I do not know who that person is. I asked, when was XXXX added to my account and why was I not notified of an additional person being added. XXXX told me that he was having trouble determining when XXXX was added to the account. I asked when the account was closed, XXXX responded XX/XX/XXXX. I thought that was suspicious since the fraud letter I received was dated XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX was still not interested in the letter or the Claim number. He did confirm that XXXX was never issued a credit card and confirmed no fraudulent transactions on my account. As he could not give me any additional information on that call, he stated that I would get a call back within 24hrs from him or 2 other people which he named. He was going to see if my account could be reopened. 

I received a call back on XX/XX/XXXX from XXXX where he told me that my account would be reopened within a few days. I had to prompt him for additional information on XXXX and how he was added to my account. There was still no answer on when XXXX was added to my account or why I received XXXX notifications. XXXX did say that XXXX was added to the account in an odd way, stating that he was added as a Borrower instead of a Co-Borrower. He also indicated that it was XXXX who initiated the Fraud case. Again, no explanation on why I was not notified of the fraud case. When I asked again about the letter I received, XXXX stated that the letter was fraudulent and I could ignore it. I asked if I would be reissued a new credit card, XXXX was unsure, but said probably. 

I waited a few days, but still could not access my account. I waited longer ( over a week, probably close to two ) and eventually I was able to access the details of my account online, but it looked odd. It was very different from what I was used to seeing online. There were no fraudulent transactions and things seemed fine, however, my current credit card was still declining transactions and I had not been sent a new card. I waited longer, still no card. 

Later, I received another letter in the mail, dated XX/XX/XXXX. This letter also had my name misspelled the same way, with almost my entire account number ( missing last 4 digits ) and the same Case number as the previous letter. This letter stated We completed our investigation of the fraud claim on the above account. It stated that the fraud claim was denied due to The card and the statements were mailed to your current address. You will be responsible for payment of the account listed above as stated in your Account Agreement. At this time, we consider the claim closed. If the first letter was fraudulent like XXXX said, why did I get a second letter? My next plan of action was to walk into a branch to talk to someone directly. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I walked into the Bank of America branch, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, FL XXXX, where I was able to speak with someone who handled business accounts. As this is regarding a credit card, she should not see much, but she could see that my account was STILL CLOSED and that XXXX was STILL ON THE ACCOUNT. All she could do was call the Fraud Department for me and spoke on my behalf. I was eventually left to speak with the lady, I cant remember her name, and that lady confirmed that the Case number on the letters i received was indeed the only case they had on my account. Why my name was misspelled, no one could answer. A lot was said on the phone, but basically, she stated that the account was closed because a fraud claim was made, and it would not be re-opened. My only recourse, at this point, would be to re-apply for a brand new account. That made absolutely no sense to me since I did not open the fraud claim in the first place. The lady on the line said that I should have responded to the letter, but I had no way of trusting that. When I called on XX/XX/XXXX, no new claim was created. There was no response as to why XXXX was still listed on the account, and she could not give me any answers as to when he was added, how he was added, and why I NEVER received any correspondence about XXXX being added or about the account being closed. She said that I was obviously hacked. I wasnt, but even if I was, Bank of America should have some record of how and when XXXX was added to my account. The lady had no response to that. Eventually she, quiet rudely, hung up on me. 

The lady in the branch office called customer service again. I was informed that they sent a message to the supervisor of the lady who hung up on me. When we got someone on the call again, the second lady confirmed the same, that the account could not be re-opened and that I would have to contact a different department to re-apply. At this juncture, I am no longer interested in having an account with Bank of America, so I will not be re-applying for anything. A supervisor was requested, and all this second lady could do was put in a request and I would have to wait 24-48 hours to receive a call back. There was nothing left to do at the branch, so I thanked the people there for trying to help me and I left. 

I did receive a call from a supervisor within an hour of me leaving the branch. The supervisor had no additional information to give me, except to say that he was submitting an internal complaint on my behalf. I asked him who filed the fraud complaint, his response was someone on the account. If it wasn't me, it must have been XXXX and XXXX should have never been on the account in the first place. I asked about another claim to have XXXX removed from the account and he declined to open that. 

At this point, I am left with a pointless account that I can not use. The only thing I can do is pay the bill, but I dont want my financial information mixed up with an account that has someone elses name on it. My concern now is my personal information at this institution. No one can give me an answer as to when, or how XXXX was added to my account. I am supposed to continue to pay them a balance on an account where his name is still listed. They didnt even move my account to a new number or anything. I can not see, with my access, that XXXX is still listed, but the lady at the branch could see that. Bank of America is not willing to correct this wrong on their end and it has caused me great inconvenience over this time. What a horrible customer service experience and an even more horrifying financial experience as someone could be simply added to my account, in secret ( as no correspondence of this change was sent out ). The person is then able to have my account completely shut down with no form of recovery. The institution created a claim, on XXXX behalf, sent me letters with my name horrendously spelled incorrectly, with no indication of why the claim was opened, and refuses to open any claims on my behalf as the actual account holder. All this on an account that I have held in good standing for 16+ years. 

Something has to be done about this.

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