Consumer complaint received 2024-12-03 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: AZ

Complaint narrative:
Let me start by saying that we are desperately trying to rectify a situation that we have no control over. 

On Saturday, XX/XX/XXXX we received a text message from B of A at XXXX XXXX  stating : B of A Security : Your debit card ending in XXXX was used at : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, {$430.00}, Declined XX/XX/XXXX Did you authorize this activity? Reply YES or NO I replied : No Then on Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX we received another B of A Security alert : Your debit card ending in XXXX  was used at : XXXX XXXX XXXX, {$1500.00}, Declined, XX/XX/XXXX Did you authorized this activity? Reply YES or NO. 

I replied no. 

If we were notified about both of THESE transactions and the text message stated Declined and I replied with the answer of NO to both when asked if they were legitimate charges why did they go through? How did they get approved when it said, Declined and the response was NO???? 

Then on XX/XX/XXXX, we called XXXX ( the number on the debit card ) and spoke with XXXX. He took all the information and gave us this claim number : XXXX. He said we should expect a temporary credit in 24-48 hours. He just kept sayinghow can this happen, this is such a shame, why do people do this? He was the only one we spoke with that felt empathy for our situation. 

Then on XX/XX/XXXX, we called again and spoke with XXXX from Arkansas. It took him a while to find our case, as we had to leave home in urgency due to a death in the family. We didnt bring the claim number with us. He eventually found it by my social security number. At that time, he told us that the claim for {$470.00} to XXXX, XXXX had not been entered along with {$88.00} to XXXX XXXX, so he entered those into the claim and gave us this number XXXX again assuring us that there would be a temporary credit within 24-48 hours. ***** Interestingly enough, these two claims that were added on were accepted???? ****** WHY???? 

Not seeing a credit, I then went to the B of A branch in XXXX XXXX, XXXX  ( XXXX miles away from XXXX, Arizona  ) on XX/XX/XXXX and spoke with XXXX XXXX, Senior Banker, Assistant Vice President. I sat at her desk and disputed all the transaction we had filed the claim for and she was told that it should be resolved by XX/XX/XXXX with a temporary credit. This claim number was given at that time : XXXX. 

When no correspondence was received from the bank and no credit in the account, a phone call was made and we spoke with XXXX from Arkansas  who was not very helpful or compliant when I continued to ask her to slow down on her reading the letter we had not received denying our fraud claim. She transferred me to supervisor XXXX who explained something about biometrics which totally confused us, because the card ending in XXXX had never been set up with biometrics for anything. EVER! But, coincidentally, in XXXX of XXXX another fraud had taken place on my card and that card was cancelled and the replacement card of XXXX was enabled. We were told by XXXX that this biometric whatever had been in use since then. That is a real puzzler? XXXX then gave us this claim number : XXXX and asked us to go to a branch to send a statement that the transactions were not ours. Our question about the biometrics is : Can you not see an image of the biometrics? How can we prove it wasnt one of us? The only biometric ability we have for B of A in on the cell phone and the only face that can open it is my wifes. And that phone has always been in our possession and the only purpose she uses biometrics is to open the bank account to check the balance. So, where would someone have the ability to use biometrics with our business bank account? 

We then drove the XXXX miles back to XXXX XXXX XXXX and spoke with XXXX XXXX again where another phone call was placed and she spoke with XXXX XXXX XXXX with her pleading that these charges obviously couldnt be ours and was told that within 24-48 hours it would either be approved or denied in the amount of {$4000.00}. A letter was faxed over at the time, hastily written at the bankers desk. This claim number was then given : XXXX Now, here we are on Monday XX/XX/XXXX and nothing has been resolved. We are writing this time not in haste. 

The charges we are disputing are as follows : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX- {$1500.00}. My company does not have a XXXX account. Can the fraud department not check into whose account at XXXX it was? Would that not be a clue as to who made these fraudulent charges? Plus why did we get a fraud alert on this and were told it was declined and yet it was processed even after we filed a claim? 


XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX MO XXXX XXXX XXXX - {$290.00} We are not even sure what XXXX  is. Would any of those numbers lead you to the person who paid that bill? 

XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  TX - {$740.00}. We are not sure what this is? A tax bill? Would not the numbers associated with this also show that it is not our transaction. After all, we live in Arizona, not Texas. 

XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX {$110.00}. We dont live in Texas XXXX why would we be paying a water bill there. If you look over the transaction for the last 20 years on our water account we have paid our local water company for our water in the usual amount of $ XXXX and that is always in a check. This just doesnt make sense. 

XX/XX/XXXX XXXX A purchase in the amount of {$210.00}. Again we dont even know what XXXX is. 

XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX- {$560.00}. Neither my company nor I have ever heard of or had an account with this bank. The only banks in XXXX XXXX in Arizona, besides credit unions are Bank of America and XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX 

XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX- {$99.00}. We have never paid a XXXX bill on this account we do not have a XXXX account. The only account we have for cell phone service is with XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX- {$84.00} XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX- {$8.00} As with others, no XXXX XXXX account. Never have had. Never have had transactions with any other the other charges on this account that we are disputing. 

All that said, why would we drain our account? We never have. We have worked years to build up that balance that we had in order to serve our customers needs. Also, in order to have a balance to pay our quarterly taxes and yearly income taxes. Why would we drain our account at all? Why? Now we are dead in the water. Nothing in our account to move forward and yet, from minute one, we have disputed these charges on the phone by text message, on the phone speaking with a representative, and in person with the VP of B of A XXXX XXXX, Arizona. 

We have been totally upfront with the legitimate charges and those should be easily enough to prove and they are ones that occur on this account regularly we do not regularly have or ever had transactions with XXXX, XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX or XXXX whatever that is. 

Please consider all these when making your decision. We have had a business account with Bank of America since they had a branch in XXXX, Arizona, XXXX and have never had any trouble. Our business at this time is suffering terribly as is our health, trying to deal with the stress of all of this. How in the world are we supposed to prove it wasnt us that made those charges, except by way of stating those transactions have no history in our bank account nor do we have any accounts with any other the businesses that transactions were made.

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