Consumer complaint received 2024-08-07 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems — Problem with rewards from credit card
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
I am writing to file a complaint against Bank of America for their disproportionate and unfair action of stripping away millions of reward points from my credit card accounts due to a failure to notice their request for confirming my customer data. 

I have been a customer of Bank of America for approximately 10 years, using both personal and business checking accounts and credit cards. In early XX/XX/year>, while I was vacationing in XXXX, my accounts were frozen due to a legal requirement to confirm my information, such as name and occupation. Although Bank of America sent notifications, I did not see them. When I reviewed my messages, I did find generic text and email messages. In a busy life, a generic message like that can easily go unnoticed, especially if it does not convey the severe consequences, such as permanently closing credit card accounts and losing millions of reward points.

There were no prominent alerts or messages within the Bank of America interface. Given the harsh consequences of not confirming my information, I would have expected a prominent pop-up or a clear alert in the messaging area of my profile, explicitly stating that I must confirm the information to avoid my credit card accounts being shut down. There was no clear indication in any correspondence about these severe consequences. 

Upon returning and verifying my data, my accounts were unfrozen, but all my personal and business credit card accounts were shut down, resulting in the loss of millions of reward points. Despite multiple attempts through calls, branch visits, and discussions with supervisors, I have been informed that these points can not be reinstated. 

This loss is incredibly frustrating as these points hold substantial value ( I estimate tens of thousands of dollars ). While I understand the legal requirement for the bank to know its customers, the notifications I received were not sufficiently clear or prominent to convey the severe consequences of not updating my information. The data they required confirmation of had not even changed. Generic text messages and emails that blend in with regular correspondence do not effectively communicate the critical nature of this issue. The points accumulated over nearly 10 years are of significant value, and losing them due to inadequate alerts is deeply concerning. 

Even if Bank of America 's actions are legally justified, the punishment is grossly disproportionate. Stripping away reward points accumulated over nearly a decade because of a missed notification is an extreme measure. It is unreasonable and unfair to penalize a long-term customer so harshly for an oversight. 

Bank of America argues that they sent correspondence, but my personal information had not changed, and I did not need to update anything. To take away all my reward points and refuse to reinstate them is an excessive and unreasonable punishment. The practice of stripping away reward points accumulated over many years due to insufficient notification is deeply concerning and warrants your attention. I simply don't understand why Bank of America is so insistent. It is as if they used this as an opportunity to remove the credit card points. Otherwise, there is no reason to not return them. It feels like they want to punish me in the harshest possible way. Even branch managers at Bank of America confirmed to me that this is excessive and they have not seen anything like this. Why be insistent on " No, we don't reinstate the points ''? Why? It doesn't make any sense other than they realize the value and consider this a coup. 

This approach by Bank of America has irreparably damaged my trust in the institution. Their punitive actions without clear and sufficient warning are unreasonable and disproportionate. I urge you to investigate this issue as it represents a significant failure in customer communication and fair treatment. 

Thank you for your consideration.

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 non-monetary relief