Consumer complaint received 2024-06-19 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Problem using a debit or ATM card
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: FL

Complaint narrative:
I'm going to be as brief as possible well also being as thorough as I can so that there is no confusion : i have been a Bank of America customer for several years- probably close to XXXX I believe. I am a XXXX adult who is on a fixed income of Social Security that I receive deposited directly on the XXXX of every month. Every single time I use my debit card, the card gets flagged and or blocked for potential fraud. Every single time I swipe my card regardless of if it's a routine purchase or a merchant I frequent or with a chip or with a pin- it doesn't matter. So like it does every single time this happens I get a voicemail, they post an alert the top of my online banking page, and prompt me with the option of clearing it up in the app by reviewing and approving the transactions. On some occasions I have to call the XXXX number and it allows me to approve the transactions with the automated system. All very irritating but doable. Almost the entire month of XX/XX/year> my online access was completely restricted unbeknownst to me because my deposits come in on the XXXX so it wasn't until that next deposit came on that I was alerted to the fact that it was restricted. I called over and over and spoke with more Representatives than I could really count or recall and was ultimately told that I needed to go in person to a branch to have the account unlocked. Of course being a XXXX adult with other issues, I have no vehicle or dedicated transportation and and all of my money is being held by Bank of America which is of course refusing me access to my account. Anyway I finally got into a branch in XXXX XXXX Florida and realize my identification was expired so service was refused to me with the exception of a {$100.00} withdrawal the bank claimed was a courtesy/emergency teller withdrawal so that I may go and renew my license and cover transportation back to the branch. So I went I understand the expired ID thing, I renewed it and went back to the branch at which point one of the bankers was happily able to issue me a new debit card and pin number, assure me that the account was no longer restricted and walks me over to a teller to complete the cash withdrawal. My surprise you can imagine when I get home and try to log into online banking only to be told that my account is restricted and given a phone number to call. So I call and the representative verifies my phone number or email or something and unlocks the online banking. When my new card finally arrives with the new PIN number I go into the app to activate it and begin using it just fine -- except every transaction gets flagged and blocks me from using my card. At that point I'm referred to the app to verify the transactions which are never anything substantial : {$5.00} at XXXX, {$10.00} at XXXX, {$1.00} online used for simple verification, etc. Well in the last week all of a sudden Everything Has Changed and I am no longer allowed to verify transactions through my app, I have to instead call Bank of America and be transferred around and spend XXXX to XXXX minutes on average with a phone rep verifying and unblocking the card : multiple times of the day sometimes for the same transaction. So like I said something in the last week has changed and it is now XXXX at night on XX/XX/XXXX and I am in a parking lot of XXXX trying to have my card unblocked so that I may order an XXXX home. Well whoever in the fraud department at Bank of America is refusing to unblock my card and insisting that I go in person to a financial institution for verification. Of course tomorrow being a holiday the branches are closed and all they can tell me on the phone I've Bank of America is that they're sorry but that's what the note in the computer tells me. So I dig a XXXX XXXX and find out that this isn't a system thing flagging my account and requiring me to go to a branch, instead this is some kind of manual hold or flag that Bank of America employees have put on my card/ account notes. The representative explains further that an attempt at verification was made and failed and that's why I'm being directed to a branch however that's a complete lie I have never once attempted to been verified and failed : whether it be a outbound phone call to the number on file or a security text message code for calling from the app or whatever, there has never been a failed verification attempt. So I hang up and I look on my account for anything I can see that might be helpful and call right back. I have other friends and family who use Bank of America and occasionally they have the same issue with their card being blocked however never not once has anybody been told they needed to come into a branch to unblock their card when they're sitting outside of a gas station at almost midnight stranded. This is the most infuriating discriminatory illegal action I have ever witnessed a financial institution allowing to happen. I was just in a branch last month verifying myself to have my card unblocked and the bank is requiring it once again a month later and on the eve of a holiday when they're closed the next day and all they can tell me is sorry about your luck?

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