Consumer complaint received 2025-01-13 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Problem making or receiving payments
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
My complaint is centered around the deceiving overwhelming practices handled by Bank of America and its partners of the offset or " back room. '' Here is my story : On Friday XX/XX/year> I did not receive my total check deposited by job. I called at around XXXX to find out what happened and through BofA app I was connected with a live agent ( XXXX XXXX. According to XXXX, she was looking into the notes and those notes stated that it was NOT BofA that withheld the funds, but it was my " depositor '' aka employer that was trying to retrieve those funds and that I should check with them and ask them why they were trying to do so. THIS WAS A LIE. I checked later on in the morning and they clearly showed that the funds had been completely deposited and they had NO return of funds to them. 

I had to call back during my work day again to who actually took the funds. The good workers of BofA are put into awkward positions by the bank and the system it runs. They are forced to lie and leave customers like me with hope that they will help when they know they can not. This is a poor business model and is deceiving beyond all measure when it comes to hard working people. As a veteran, I am currently going through some tough financial time so when I am told something, it affects and means more to me than others. When I called back later that morning I was told by another agent, who finally told me what happened. I was the victim of a scam last year and I was paying back the bank in installments. The bank would automatically take out XXXX every month around the 4-6. I was never told to use another method to pay back and I specifically asked when I had the arrangement set up, would I need to call in and they assured me no UNLESS they took more than that amount. I saw earlier in the month that they took an amount and I went ahead and spoke to the agent and I asked should I be worried that they are going to take more. She clearly said, no but if they do, you can have them refund them and it won't be a problem. THIS WAS A LIE. Fast forward to Friday, the XXXX  lady said that for some unknown reason the bank did not take out the amount in the last 2 months ( XXXX and XXXX ) despite having the funds available for it. However, they still took out XXXX for XXXX XXXX which I made sure to set aside for it AND the money from my deposit. 

So after talking to the another agent on Friday, I finally got to a supervisor. The supervisor was professional and was trying to help. After explaining my situation and showing by my bank statement that I had the funds and they were not taken by the system for an unknown reason which I was never given, I was told we would fix it by doing the following : 1. I would be set up on a NEW payment plan through my checking account instead of my debit card. The supervisor said its better than the card because " sometimes this system may not do it. '' I agreed to have it on my checking account. 2. She would put in a request for refund minus the 2 months agreed upon. I agreed that would be fine. 3. She would call me back in a few hours to let me know the funds were on the way. 4. Finally, the new date would be XX/XX/year> for the same amount agreed on of XXXX. I took all these people at their word because I believe in giving people the benefit of the doubt, but once again. THIS WAS A LIE. It was more than a few hours, I tried finding out what happened, when I spoke to the next agent, she confirmed that a refund request had been submitted but there had been a " Mistake or missing some items '' and it had to be resubmitted but it was pending and again I took them at their word and hung up. I called one last time and spoke to a gentleman who helped me the best way he could. He sounded like he was leaving for the day so I couldn't really understand most of his words since he was grabbing stuff and it was somehow interfering with his words but finally he said, there was nothing he could do, that is something the " back office '' handles. When I asked him who is the back office, just said its a department that handles things its the off set department. I asked who is in charge and they said they dont know, nor could they look up who was in charge. Also, the offset department does not take any calls at all. One more reason not to be trusting since I can not even get a name to contact. 

Today XX/XX/year>, I followed up in the morning to see the status of the refund. I advised them that I needed my funds immediately. I had been more than patient before but I needed that money deposited immediately. I have payments that must be made immediately and I am trying to get my funds so that I can pay them. After explaining my frustration to the agent I was transferred to XXXX XXXX. XXXX said that after reading the notes, the " offset '' or " back room '' decided since I broke the agreement. I was responsible and they were allowed to take all the funds back on top of what they took already! Once again, I HAVE BEEN LIED TO. I explained to XXXX everything in the previous paragraph and she had NO answer for it. She just sounded robotic and uncaring about my situation. She said they had already made their decision when I didn't even know that a decision needed to be made other than to just decide how soon they would need to pay me back. I am completely broke and I have bills due that can not wait. I need to pay them ASAP. XXXX refused to give me the name of the person in the off set department or in the back room. She said the only thing she could do is place another request for refund. I pleaded her to please do so for me. She said to call back in 3 hours that would be XXXX PST. XXXX contradicted everything I was told previously, she said no one is authorized in their department to make decisions for refunds. She also stated that she doesn't know why I was told they would call me back to tell me my funds were being refunded, and when I asked her why would I be put on a payment plan for XXXX if the plan all along was for me to pay back only XXXX that were left if they kept the entire amount. Again. LIES! LIES! and more LIES! I need my money and I need them to be held accountable for the pain and anguish caused to me and my family. I did not fight for this country to be treated like this. Its completely unfair.

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