
Bank of America Reviews
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About Bank of America
Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bank of America is one of the largest banks in the U.S. and offers a range of banking products, such as checking and savings accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs). Customers can also use Bank of America for financing through various cash-back credit cards, personal loans and home and auto loans.
- Savings, checking and investing options
- Accounts for students
- AI virtual assistant
- Account fees might apply
- Low APYs
- Required account minimums for checking accounts
Bank of America Reviews
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Reviewed May 3, 2009
I received a new BOA Billing Rights Statement on 5/2/09, reading that as of June 1, 2009 all ATM advances, balance transfers, bank cash advances, cash equivalents, check cash advances, direct deposit, cash advances and wire transfer purchases will be assessed 4% of each transaction (What idiot thought this up?) with a minimum fee of $10. How ridiculous! To charge the people who are keeping them afloat is such a stupid scheme and to think they will get away with it. Not with me, they won't. I truly hope that this information gets to President Obama and to Secretary Gaitner quickly. Hopefully, someone in Washington with common sense will move to throw the bums out of BOA or let them drown in debt of their own making.
Reviewed May 2, 2009
I had mailed my postdated rent check as I have done so for six years. The landlord deposited the check in their bank two days early and it was accepted. My bank took out funds and I had money transferred from savings and was hit with a fee. Both banks say it's not illegal to deposit postdated checks. When did this happen? Speaking by phone with bank employees was an exercise in futility. I did get fees deleted but am confused. The bank takes a check with any date now?
Reviewed May 2, 2009
Reviewed May 1, 2009
After many overdrafts charged against my account due to the bank not posting transactions in a consistent, timely manner, I decided to talk to the bank manager and she stated that there was nothing she could do. Business postings are sometimes delayed until the next business day. Finding this out, we pulled up my account while at the bank and we both went through the day to day transactions. The account stated we had a balance but it did not because the bank has not yet posted all the business for that day. What I did find was that Bank of America is quick to charge a $35 overdraft when in reality they caused the overdraft to happen. Fraud! I need help on this as I see many others who write to you have the same similar problems. This is ruining our credit and costing us money when it is totally out of my control. My next step after writing to you is the State Attorney General. This must stop!
Reviewed May 1, 2009
My daughter has a student checking and savings accounts. Her current balance on checking is -$680. Her paycheck usually gets directly deposited, but her last paycheck (she is no longer employed) was mailed to her. Her account had a -$350 balance and she used her debit card at the bank's ATM and was able to withdraw money three separate times equaling $190. This all happened before she lost her job. The point is why was she able to withdraw more money in an already overdrawn account and a student account at that.
Reviewed April 30, 2009
I have been a Bank of America customer since 1978. I have placed my trust and safekeeping of hundreds of thousands of dollars in their care. Here is the latest slap in the face. I had one personal Visa credit card zero balance, credit limit $24,000. One business, $16,000 credit limit, Visa balance $1,900 due to a recent car repair. I always paid on time minimum $100-$500 per month depending on expenditures. On my March statement, everything was fine. On the April statement, Bank of America demanded $450 cash payment and dropped the credit limit to $500. I have been on the phone with them now for 65 minutes and have learned that both credit cards have been cancelled and I am out, period.
Who does Bank of America think they are? They are owed by the depositors and now we own them through the government bailout, and they cut off credit at will without prior notice. This is 4/29/09. I just received a mail about the disclosures to customers after the fact, between end of March and end of April to cover their actions. I have never been political but I certainly have a change of heart. I think anyone dealing with Bank of America should pull their money out! Since they own the Countrywide fraud scam, they are using all measures to cover their interests at the hard working customers' expense. I'm through with them, just like some of the rest of you.
Reviewed April 30, 2009
Yesterday, my checking account was in the positive. All of my big charges for bill pay showed processed and there were no items pending. I transferred some of the money from checking into my Bank of America savings account. When I checked my account today, two of the bill pays that showed processed yesterday now show as posted. And now there are five lines of charges, all under $5 putting me in the negative. I called BOA to inquire about it and the rep was very rude. I asked for a supervisor and was told, "Well, processed doesn't mean that the charges had been processed yet." She said that the charges posted at midnight.
Now, I am being charged overdraft fees of $35 for each posted item that came in after that. She refused to undo those overdraft charges. I told them that I would close all of my accounts and hung up in frustration. I called back to the business banking center about my business account. I found out that they charged me for overdraft fees on pending items that never posted negative. I had transferred money into the account before the charges posted. The rep says the business department does it differently, that the residential department and they charge for overdraft on pending charges. Wicked company. I hope the government close them down.
Reviewed April 29, 2009
BofA customer service is among the worst I have ever encountered. Thankfully, we have parted ways, but I am compelled to provide visibility for the benefit of other victims. My credit union Visa is managed by BofA. I lost my wallet in mid-March and reported cards missing - it was found later and no card issues but never got a new Visa credit card from BofA, only a debit card from my CU. I checked the account right after losing the card and made an online payment of my balance via electronic draft. BofA late charged the account $30 on the same day I paid and posted my payment the following day - quick $30 profit for redecoration! Despite having no new card/account, BofA posted a recurring charge to my account, which should have been closed due to lost card.
Eight days after charging, they added another late fee. On top of that, I get a flunky on the phone who tells me he is a manager (right!), defends the charges, and says he cannot remove the late fees. I told him BofA could stuff their charges and told him to close the account. BofA can close an account in minutes but cannot post a payment for 1 or more days. I would really have preferred to keep the card just to give them a cost to maintain an account, which gives them no revenue. On the other hand, I am so happy to be free of these cheaters, liars, and robbers - BofA and its employees. Is anyone surprised they have such big problems? Given their low marks for customer service, things may get bad enough they go out of business - a good thing in my book!
Reviewed April 29, 2009
I made a deposit by ATM on 4/27/09 and my account balance was $1,272 on the ATM receipt without the deposit applied. When I went to log in a couple of hours later, the account was locked out. I called the automated line and it said I was $887,615.99 negative. When we called them back, the representative that initially answered said they were having system errors and that a lot of people had been calling in regards to that, but he transferred us to someone in customer protection department. Upon speaking to her, she said they had decided to close our account and that they could not tell us why but that we would receive a letter in the mail in regards to the closing date.
So, I asked them if I could just go and draw out the money I had in there and she said no. I couldn't believe that they can withhold your money from you. There is no valid reason to their closing the account and now I cannot access my money. Even better, when I called today on 4/29/09 to check if they had cleared my checks that I had previously written, I had an account balance of $601.40 and out of that, $280 was taken out in NSF fees for their system error bringing my account over 800 thousand negative. I am furious. I am a single mother and now I have no way to buy gas to get to work or feed my kids because they won’t give me my money.
Reviewed April 29, 2009
Reviewed April 28, 2009
On 4/20, I made a deposit of $300 cash into my checking and then immediately withdrew $280 and some of my bills were rejected by the ATM. So, I grabbed them out and tried to put them in the ATM to no avail. It didn't work. I then learned the next day that my account had been sent to Risk Management team at Bank of America and they were accusing me of tampering and ATM abuse. Therefore, they were closing my account immediately. I am a developmentally disabled individual and can understand some stuff but some situations make it hard for me to understand. I then called the Risk Management center for Bank of America, only to be rude and disrespected and discriminated against.
I don't appreciate this and why close my account for something I didn't do, which is tampering or abusing the ATM. I can understand the immediate withdrawal of funds but to make me not have a bank account at any institution is very wrong and to be rude to me every time I make a phone call to the Risk Management team. I even had my branch manager try to speak on my behalf and basically, you told her to shut the heck up. I am being treated unfairly as the bank has a hold of some $85.
Reviewed April 27, 2009
I hate this bank! I had been with BOA for years without a problem. For Thanksgiving 2008, I went and deposited my check on a Wednesday. When I got there, they said that my workplace put a hold on my check and it wouldn't go through until the following Monday. I thought that was weird, but I just went along with it. On Monday, I got to work and I asked my manager about the hold. She said that there was no hold put on the paychecks. The bank lied! They actually put a hold on it, not my company. Anyway, before Christmas, I deposited my check on a Tuesday (none of these days were holidays or even close) and once again, they told me they would have to put a hold on the check until Monday! I told them that I was switching banks that day. The worst part is no one at the bank could tell me why there was a hold on my check!
Reviewed April 27, 2009
Reviewed April 24, 2009
Reviewed April 24, 2009
We applied for a debt consolidation loan. We were first quoted that it would be at 8.99%. We got the bill and it is at 18.99%. We called about it and they said we would have to first make two months payments and then to call back and it would go down. We made those payments and we're going on four months. We just called today, 4/24/09, and another person says that we have to wait 6-9 months before it will go down!
Reviewed April 24, 2009
I have checking and saving account with Bank of America. The savings account is used to provide overdraft protection for my checking account in case I am short a few dollars. After checking my account balance this morning (4/24/2009), I noticed two charges by Bank of America: $10 fee for transferring money from my savings to my checking, and another $35 for insufficient fee to my checking account. If the bank had not charged me for the transfer of money from savings to my checking, I would have enough to cover the next charge of $27. This is not the first time Bank of America is charging my account for these fees. I've been banking with Bank of America since 1986 and every time this happened, I would call and go through a number of people and by end of the day, they would state this is their policy.
I am requesting an investigation from your office for the bank's practice. Bank of America claims they have 46 million customers. If they are charging only 10% of them, it comes to about $116 million a month at least. Recently, they were also helped by our government receiving billions in bail out money, which came from all the taxes I have paid. I am outraged, angry and believed betrayed. There must be some kind of control to ensure these banks are doing business in fair and honorable manner. By the way, all this happened within one day. The next day, I had money in my account from direct deposit.
Reviewed April 24, 2009
On 04/09/09, we discovered that one of our bank accounts was reading -$693.00 and was labeled correction. I placed immediately a call to BofA, questioning what this was for. I was told by a customer service representative that she could not see what the correction was for and that an investigation would have to be done. She advised that it would take 7-10 business days. I told her that this was far too long, so she said she would put a priority on it, and we would be advised within 24-48 hours. That period came and went, so I called the bank again, only to be told the same thing.
A third call was placed, and I was advised that a $7 check had been cashed out for $700. On that same day, I received a notice from the bank with a copy of the front and back of the $7 check. Printed on top of that page were some typed numbers supposedly showing that the check was cashed out for $700 (actually, it shows only that a teller keyed in $700). I placed an immediate call to my husband, who stated very emphatically that he remembered the check and that there was no way that he received $700. He was very angry and wanted proof of this, just as I did. I decided to visit a local branch to see if they could find out more about this.
I visited the branch on Friday, April 17th with the letter in tow. Even though my husband and I know that this check was cashed in the drive-through window at the Mount Vernon, WA, branch of Bank of America, the representative at the branch was unable tell where it was cashed, because the normal imprint that is placed on all cashed checks by BofA was (for some unknown reason) illegible on this particular document. She did everything she could to try to magnify the imprint, but she was unable to read it. She found this to be highly unusual, so she placed a call to Customer Solutions, which is a step above and beyond the department that the average consumer can contact (Customer Service).
Because I told her where the check was cashed, she also placed a call to the Mount Vernon branch, inquiring if they were out of balance on 01/06/09, which was the day the check was cashed. They were not out of balance, which, again, she found to be very unusual, since they certainly should have been out of balance. She explained that when there is a situation like this (provided the teller reports the out-of-balance), the bank always charges any over/under back to the teller, not the customer, and then does an investigation, but that process was not implemented in this case, since the teller did not report the out-of-balance. She took my number, and told me that she would call me once she received an answer from Customer Solutions.
Due to the fact that I had not heard back from her since the day I visited the branch on April 17, I stopped by the branch, again, on Wednesday, April 22nd, and asked her about it. She said that they still had not responded to her request, and that when she was off the teller line, she would contact them again and would let me know what she found out. I have not heard back from her, as of this writing.
We have asked BofA, on 4 separate occasions, via phone call, and in writing, to provide proof that my husband was actually given the extra $693, but they have refused to provide anything further than the copy of the front and back of the $7 check, which simply is not sufficient evidence. When you combine this with the lack of a readable imprint on the check and with the fact that no teller reported an out-of-balance that day, it does appear that possibly a BofA employee took the money (and did a fairly good job of covering their tracks). Even the BofA employee that assisted me feels that this is a distinct possibility, as does every third party I've polled, including other banks (I did not reveal what bank I was dealing with, I simply posed the question along with pertinent facts).
In addition, this particular check was cashed on 01/06/09, but the correction wasn't made to my husband's account (I do have legal access) until 04/09/09, fully 3 months after the supposed fact. I, along with my husband, feel that BofA must reverse this situation, deposit the money back into the account they took it from, reimburse that account for the overdraft, and reverse the cash advance from his attached credit card, along with any associated interest charges or additional fees. They waited more than 3 months to correct this supposed error, yet they did not even attempt to notify us that there was any kind of problem. They simply took the money. In any other situation, this would be considered stealing.
Bank of America should have tapes of this transaction, and the representative at the local branch even mentioned it to the Mount Vernon branch. We should be able to view the teller counting out all of that extra money. I suppose the tape from that day is somehow missing, as well.
Reviewed April 23, 2009
I went to the doctor on Monday afternoon. When I checked my account, I had over $110 in it. My co-pay is $20 so I used my debit card. I then went to the pharmacy and spent $55 and then an additional $25. I should have had plenty of money in my account to cover all of this, but my doctor's office (according to BOA) put a hold on $85, which then made the two debits I made at Walmart overdraft my account. The man that I talked to at Bank of America told me that there was no way I could have known about it. Now they are hitting me with two $35 overdraft fees, a total of $70. My husband is waiting for a liver transplant and is not able to work. I am the only one who is working, and I don't make much. So it just hurts that they are taking this much money, in essence stealing from my family.
Reviewed April 23, 2009
I have been a customer of Wachovia for over 3 years. My company, my wife and I all have accounts there. I make deposits at the branch at Weslayan and Bissonnet frequently and they know me very well. Today, I offered a check for deposit at this branch. The maker of the check made it out to Bob Connor and Associates instead of R.J. Connor, Inc. They refused it. I went to another location of Wachovia Bank and they gladly accepted it. I think that this employee was being too strict.
Reviewed April 22, 2009
On Tuesday, April 21, 2009, I opened my e-mail as usual. I notice I had an alert from BOA, insufficient funds. I went to my account and everything looked good, no overdraft, the insufficient funds were in a pending status to be posted at midnight. I have 2 checking. The pending payments were in one account and my funds were in the other account so I transferred the money and everything was okay so I thought. On Wednesday 22nd, when I looked at my account, the funds I transferred to pay my bills were short, BOA took $35 x 3=$105.00 in overdraft fees. I went to the bank and explained I had the funds in another account. Furthermore, the transactions were not cleared yet - how could you charge overdraft when the account was not, it was pending but the merchants were not paid yet. I did transfer the funds before it cleared the bank. They refused to refund my money.
Well I am unemployed and $105.00 is a lot of money for me. The $105.00 they take will now throw my account into insufficient funds when my utility bill get cleared which I had already sent out prior to everything that had happened.
Reviewed April 22, 2009
I made an $86.00 mistake (one payment that was overlooked) that would have resulted in 6 Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF) fees on my account. However, Wachovia saw fit to determine that the largest debit was the most important one and structured the debit postings so as to charge my account 13 NSF fees. They refunded only 15% of the fees and told me that the new overdrawn balance included 6 more items awaiting posting against my account, and that a pending Automated Clearing House (ACH) deposit would prevent any further NSF fees associated with those 6 items from posting to my account. But they charged me the 6 new NSF fees after the deposit posted anyway!
Reviewed April 22, 2009
I was a target for fraud on my Bank of America account twice. I filed a complaint, Bank of America agreed, and said they would refund the loss from the fraud of a credit protection company I did not sign up for. But two days later, they closed all my accounts and are now holding up my funds and will not assist me. There was no warning, no "Come get your money, we don't want your business." It is not my fault that someone robbed me. I need a bank account and my money. I work paycheck to paycheck and need to pay bills and buy food.
Reviewed April 21, 2009
Please be careful with Wachovia. They are absolutely terrible. On April 20, 2009, we received a letter from Wachovia that they had taken out a temporary binder for homeowner's insurance and we would be charged 3 times what our homeowner's insurance is (which was paid and receipt in hand). They also stated in this letter and in their customer service answering machine that you will be billed for any time lapsed for this insurance. I immediately called Wachovia at the insurance department (1-800-445-1466). They did not care.
The next morning April 21, 2009, I called the main office of our home insurance in Michigan (1-517-323-1200), Auto Owner's Insurance. They confirmed there was no lapse in the policy and the policy was paid in full and effective until April 11, 2010. I then called our insurance agent, The Nation Group (352-732-3881), and asked them to once again fax the cover sheet of the policy to Wachovia. This happened to us in October of 2008. The sad part is, we are never late with our mortgage payment or insurance payment or tax payment, yet we are constantly harassed by this poorly-run bank.
I do not intend to pay any charges to Wachovia as my home insurance was paid in full and there was no lapse in coverage. I suggest everyone stay away from this failed institution. It seems they are trying to make illegal monies off the backs of their customers. I am more than upset and will be sending a letter to Barney Frank of the Financial Committee.
Reviewed April 21, 2009
I have a HELOC with Wachovia and a first mortgage with another bank. I'm trying to refinance my first mortgage with the other bank and they have approved me with a 1% reduction in loan interest rate. However, in order to complete the refinance, Wachovia has to allow it, but Wachovia will not allow the refinancing. The debt to Wachovia remains the same. I'm not taking any cash out, and the overall risk reduces because my mortgage payment decreases, but Wachovia does not want to help. They even took $100 to review my application prior to telling me they couldn't approve the refinance, because it's not their policy!
Reviewed April 21, 2009
I ordered a product online, a free two week trial, and didn't receive it until the day before the trial was up. I then cancelled the membership that day. Several days later, I was charged $90 on my debit card. When I called Wachovia, I was told to cancel the debit card. They sent the paperwork to me, which I filled out and faxed back immediately. Wachovia did not send out my new debit card for two weeks. During this time, my card was charged by this company and Wachovia refuses to reimburse me. Now two months later, I found that I am being charged a monthly debit from this same company (under a different name) and they are using my old debit card number, which Wachovia is allowing them to do!
I've called and spoken to a CSR and was told that I need to cancel my new debit card now. When I asked how these people were able to use the card with the cancelled number, I was told that I should have cancelled my checking account number (which they don't even have) and open a new one. Well that's what I'm doing, with another bank. My other gripe about Wachovia has to do with them putting small charges on hold for a week while they wait for the first of the month when my mortgage payment is due, so they can put the biggest one through first since it's the most important. Then if I'm short in the account, they can bounce and charge me $35 for every charge instead of just the mortgage.
I can't believe I was actually told by a customer service rep that they consider the larger transactions as being more important than the smaller ones. Who the hell gave them the power to determine which charge was more important than another one?
Reviewed April 20, 2009
On April 15th, I took my son to the airport to fly home to Miami. US Airways charged a $15 baggage fee, which I paid for with my BOA check card. I then stopped by Wawa on my way to work from the airport and spent $5.28. When I got to work and checked my checking account (the 15th was also my payday), I saw that the $15.00 transaction and the $5.28 transaction were already in a posted status. I have three checks that I wrote on April 13th to pay for magazine subscriptions. When I checked my checking account this morning (April 20th) to see if any of them had come in, I saw that one of them had, but instead of my balance being $52.65, which is what it was when I balanced my checking account, it is $37.65! I checked the transactions because I hadn't made any over the weekend and saw the $15 that US Airways charged me on the 15th had been moved from being posted on 4/15/09 and re-posted on 4/17/09! This means BOA charged me twice for the one $15 transaction - once on the 15th and again on the 17th!
Reviewed April 18, 2009
BOA is at it again. Their NSF system is devious and particularly meant to confuse consumers. First of all, they processed a postdated check a day early and charged me NSF fees. When I asked about this, they explained that the electronic system had no way to check for a postdated check. Marcela, the supervisor (she sounded more like a lawyer), mentioned that the date is a customer practice and the bank never approved of it. This, to me, shows how disconnected banks are with customers. I was told the date was for reference only. Most of all, I was particularly irked by the supervisor Marcela's arrogance.
Reviewed April 18, 2009
After receiving my April statement, I discovered the Bank of America had charged me a $15 late fee and $1.50 finance charge on a balance of $55.94. I called and spoke to a rep about the late fee which showed a deposited date of 3/12, the payment due on 3/11. I found this amazing that it would take a letter mailed from Pennsylvania to Delaware 8 days to arrive when both states border each other. I questioned the rep about the posting date and requested to see the postmark of my billing payment. Instead, she referred me to write to some PO Box address to request the information. This has happened in the past a few times also. The rep said they would reverse the late fee but when I then received the billing as in the past, the late fee was never removed. I even received a letter from Bank of America rep lecturing me about how the post office works 24/7 and suggested that I talked to the post office.
I then became suspicious about the late fee and did some investigating. The payment check to the local Verizon phone company and Bank of America were both mailed on March 5, 2009. The Verizon payment went to Dallas, Texas and was deposited at our bank on March 9th, 2009. The Bank of America was mailed at the very same day and was deposited on the 12th. Now my finance charge is up to 47.13% and I'm thinking I would get a more competitive rate from organized crime. I think that bank of America is intentionally sitting on mail to collect late payment fees.
Reviewed April 18, 2009
A company auto-drafted my checking account in error. Bank of America had pending check card transactions that were pending for 4 days prior to the auto-draft. Of course, Bank of America runs the auto-draft ahead of the 4-day old transactions in order to accumulate 11 overdraft fees, giving me the insulting answer of how they want to run the large transactions first because they would probably be the high priority items. The company who auto-drafted in error told me it would take at least 5 business days for the credit to reflect in my account. If Bank of America would have simply put the transactions through according to when they occurred, I would not have received all the overdraft fees. But I guess accumulating fees is Bank of America's goal.
The only thing more insulting than Bank of America's dishonest reasoning is the way they are allowed to do business like this. Not only do they get to rip me off, they also get my tax money from the bought off politicians (probably from fee money collected) to continue to do it. My recourse is to change banks but what I really wish is that something could actually be done to stop Bank of America from ripping off the people who can least afford it. In some of the worst economic times I've seen, Bank of America has to be the most ruthless and dirty dealing business I've come across.
Reviewed April 18, 2009
Since the beginning of this year, I have been calling my mortgage company (i.e. Wachovia) for a loan modification. The Customer service department first told me that Wachovia does not process loan modification but can process a refinance loan, which was not what I asked for. I have called all the 1-800 numbers I was given by different departments within the Loan departments but no one wants to help me. I am also aware that the government has given Wachovia and other lending companies bail out money to help people reduce their interest rate, but even at this moment Wachovia is not willing to help me and I have been a loyal customer since I purchased my home in 2003. If someone or anyone is out there, please I need help. I cannot afford to pay my next mortgage since the rates are too high and I also had a family medical emergency and as a result of this, I am unable to afford my upcoming bill for the first time since I purchased the loan in 2003.
Reviewed April 17, 2009
For the last few months, I have been hit with some type of overdraft charge. I'm a single parent with one income. They hold pending transaction for three days. Then to top it off, even if you have the money in your account to pay incoming transactions, they still overdraw your account. Another problem I'm having with them is that every month they give some crazy reason why my account overcharged at some point. It is like they are robbing the everyday working people to pay their stimulus package back. The customer service rep never gives you the same story. You ask to speak to a supervisor, they give you some smart remark like, "You cannot balance your own account." I had the customer service rep Sleina, who is a supervisor, tell me that, "You are not telling me you keep a check register on your account because your balance should reflect that in your statement." I really believe if you have money in other accounts, they watch that and try to find a way to get you some form of a fee.
Reviewed April 17, 2009
On April 14th, I used my debit card at various vendors. At the end of the day, I checked my account and had a positive balance. On April 15th, I made a deposit to my account to way more than cover my transactions from the previous day. I logged into my account today and noticed that I had $105 of NSF fees. I called the bank and they explained to me that the transactions made on the 14th put my account in negative standing, although most of the transactions had not been withdrawn from my account and were pending.
When I logged into my account on the 14th, my account showed there were sufficient funds. The individual I spoke with at BOA told me there was nothing that can be done. I then asked to speak to a supervisor who gave me the same runaround. What I don't understand is how they can charge you with the possibility of over-drafting. My account never went negative because the transactions were pending. I made a deposit on the 15th to ensure everything was covered and when I made the deposit, those transactions still did not hit my account. Today is April 16th and the transactions are still pending. I have enough to cover them in my account, but I'm still out of $105.
Reviewed April 17, 2009
Bank of America decreased my credit limit without notice from $13.5K to $500. I have not missed a payment and had actually paid off the balance. Beware everyone.
Reviewed April 16, 2009
I made an error in my register and had two debit card purchases that overdrafted my account. I had no problem with that it was my own fault. I got charged three $35 overdraft fees however. I had made an online purchase of $25+ and I had a $35 balance. My husband spent $11+ on the same day. Okay, now here is where it gets confusing. The $11 was held as an authorization but did not clear my account for 5 days. The following day, I purchased $15 for gas. Of course due to my error, I thought I still had a few dollars.
I went online to check and discovered my mistake and accepted that it had cost me $70 for the two overdrafts. On my next payday a few days later, I went to check my balance and found that I have been charged for three overdrafts. I called B of A to tell them there was a mistake. According to them, there is no mistake, I had $35 so they applied the $11 auth. (hold) first bringing my balance to $24, then applied the online purchase of $25+ (1 overdraft) then the gas purchase $15 (2 overdrafts). Now I am in the red and they charged for the two $35 fees. Then five days later, the $11 charge actually posted and they charged me $35 for that. I am lost at this point. If I write a check, it is posted to my account for the date on the check. It is posted the day it is presented at my bank from an individual or another bank. This made no sense to me. I felt that they shuffled the charges so that they could impose another fee.
Reviewed April 16, 2009
I asked to have my federal income tax refund check cashed. The teller told me she could not give me cash, that it had to be deposited because it was a refund check. She also would not deposit it into my personal account because my husband's name was on it, telling me that he had to be present in order to have it deposited into an account without his name. The reason given for this was because Arizona is a community property state. I then went next door to Wells Fargo, whose teller promptly cashed my check with no questions asked. My main concern is not being given my money in cash on request.
Reviewed April 16, 2009
I had gotten payday loans from three different companies, but Payday Loan Yes put a transaction in before the due date. After this, I incurred NSF charges. After I saw this transaction and some other ones that were made on my statement, I contacted them. When the loan companies put the money in the bank, instead of them entering in my checking account, they put a hold on this and charged me for a transaction, $35 NSF charge for a $30 transaction that could have been paid that same day.
Payday Loan Yes entered my checking account early for payment and sent in two transactions, one for $60 and another for $50. Bank of America paid this and charged me $70. When I went to the bank, I voiced my concern and a dispute was put in. I asked the bank on two different occasions to put a freeze on my account because I could not get in touch with Payday Loan Yes and they kept sending transactions in for payments. The second time I asked the bank to do this, my account was over $500 and their policy was that they would pay up to $500 but because I had put the dispute in about the early withdrawal payment, the bank was not paying anything, just sending items back and charging me NSF charges.
The bank finally put a freeze on my account when it was over $1,000. I was furious because I had no idea that from 1/09 to 2/09, Payday Loan Yes would just continue to hit my account like this for payment. There were other transactions from other companies but not like Payday Loan Yes. I went to the bank again and the manager at the bank called Bank of America and got a department where someone by the name of Zachery told us that if we could get a letter from Payday Loan Yes showing that they made an error that he would adjust my account and he gave us a fax number to fax the information and we did.
After the fax, nothing was done so I decided to call the bank and I got the Risk Department and they told me that they would not be able to do anything about the charges but give me credit for the two transaction and two NSF charges that I incurred when Payday Loan Yes got the payment early. I was told that I would have to pay the NSF charges of over $1,000 or maybe $2,000. I feel that Bank of America took advantage of a situation and did not handle this issue in a timely manner. Therefore I am left with no other choice but to complain about both companies and try to get this matter resolved because it is unbelievable for a bank to tell me this and they did not pay anything and they allowed this situation to get out of hand.
They want me to pay for their mess up when both companies took advantage of me for a payday loan for $200. This is damaging my credit and I know that something can be done about this on both ends. I have documents if you should need additional information.
Reviewed April 14, 2009
On Friday, 4/10/09, I deposited a check from Principal Financial Group for the sum of $8,624.53. When I deposited the check, I received a receipt that stated the deposit effective date was 4/10/09. Over the weekend, I wrote several checks and set up other withdraws from my account knowing I had just deposited the check. On Tuesday morning, I found out the check I deposited on 4/10 would not be available for me to draw from until 4/21/09. I found this out when I went to the ATM to withdraw $20.00. I was unable to as my account was overdrawn by over $700.00. This includes a $245.00 unavailable funds fee placed on my account by Wachovia.
Customer service was of no help. All they told me was that the deposited funds are subject to a hold up to 11 days. No one told me my funds would be on hold when I made the deposit and since the deposit effective date was 4/10/09, I assumed that meant the funds would be available. The customer service rep told me that is not the case. I asked her how I would know there was a hold on the deposit and she had no answer, just stated Wachovia's policy of any deposit is subject to a hold. I have never had a hold on any other deposit I have made to that account since I opened it 3 years ago.
Reviewed April 14, 2009
I became behind one payment. I began getting harassing, demeaning collection calls to my cell phone. I said I would pay but not over the phone. I asked for written communication only. Access to my online account was denied. They sent me repossession notice. I immediately paid per phone consecutively for three months with arrangements to pay off the amount in arrears as soon as I received my income tax refund. I contacted the BBB about harassment and threats. Last payment dated direct from my checking account 3/3/09. Payment is scheduled for the 15th of each month. I received notice of proof of insurance needed by cell phone calls and mail during March. My insurance company of 15+ years faxed then after another phone call. I gave the rep my insurance agent's direct phone number.
Repossession dated 4/5/09, Sunday at 5pm. Tow driver was patient and said I would get it back as soon as I paid up payments since Wachovia allowed 30 days before picking up repossessions. I called Wachovia immediately the next day. I was told total balance only. No negotiation? I was given another number to call, so I called. Rep said I brought this on myself because I contacted the BBB. Rep was very demeaning, rude and just plain mean. Balance in full due is not negotiable. They refused to let me speak with supervisor or manager. They said I could call the office of the president, gave me the number and hung up on me.
I called back to get the name of who I spoke with, which is Paula. The vehicle is no longer worth what is owed due to economy. You can buy a brand new one cheaper. I received letter requiring my signature on 4/9/09 stating vehicle to be sold at auction on or after 4/17/09. No time to find money for pay off. This is a 2008 Expedition. I told the first harassing rep that I was at work. My cell is my work phone. He stated I was 31 days late. I asked for written communication only. Co-workers heard my words to the rep and clapped when I got off the phone.
I paid diligently for a year before becoming late. My problem began the same time Wells Fargo bought out Wachovia. The company website is dealer-oriented. I have bought and paid for six Ford dealership financed vehicles in my lifetime. Never have I experienced such! I am ruined. The vehicle is in my name only. I am selling everything possible to pay the balance after auction. My husband's paycheck goes automatic into our bank account too. Our expenses are autodraft. I am scared to death. The equity in our home is not sufficient. My income is not worth garnishment. I am having problems coming up with funds. I require a vehicle for my job. I am so scared.
Reviewed April 13, 2009
I opened a checking account with Wachovia in summer 2003. In 2007, it went into overdraft for which I had a payment plan for, for a total of $240 (they charged me $35 each for two $1 charges among other items). I wasn't working and couldn't make the payments on time but did try to let them be aware so they did not think I was just not trying to pay it off. The account went to collections, but not before they started reporting it to check recovery systems.
I made the last payment on it in March of 2008 to the collections company. I tried opening a bank account in March of 2009 and was denied because check recovery systems is still showing an unsatisfied account for me. I have been to the local branch of Wachovia in an effort to resolve and on my last visit was told even if they get a letter from the collector (who she called while I was there and who is in fact faxing that letter to her), Wachovia cannot report to check recovery systems saying that the account is satisfied because the account was sold to collections. I was also told she is not arguing with me and in her 32 years of being with Wachovia, they have never reported to check systems saying an account is satisfied.
I am not arguing that they sold the account to collections. What I am disputing and what has me so upset is that they placed negative information on my credit profile and are the only persons who can remove it/correct it but they do not do that. No bank will accept a satisfaction letter for a check recovery reporting but with a bank like Wachovia, they are telling you to do it yourself and tough luck. Has anyone else been in this situation and how did they resolve it?
Reviewed April 13, 2009
My daughter is a student at Berklee College of Music. She accidentally "overdrew" (by $50) her account before going on spring break (out of state). When she finally found out, BoA had charged her over $2,000 in overdraft fees, froze her savings account, applied her 2 deposits (work checks) towards the overdraft and threatened to "hold hostage" her $1,500 in her savings till the account was settled. I'm not sure how many checks she wrote that "bounced" costing her more fees. She is a student living from pay check to pay check. She goes to school full time and works full time to make ends meet. She had money in her savings but did not have over draft protection. So instead of "freezing" the $50 overdraft, they continually charged her about $50/day till she settled the account. Consequences are, after a lot of tears, BoA "settled" for $650 in fees. $650 to a student in college is devastating and is equivalent to a month's salary. This is just wrong!
Reviewed April 10, 2009
I overdrew my checking account by $7 and I have no problem paying the $22 fee for my mistake. However, it appears that Wachovia has recently started doing some very unethical, and possibly illegal, bookkeeping. I had a $36 balance with no holds. I made a check card purchase of $34 at 7-11, then a pre-authorized online bill payment of $12 posted. They claim that both items bounced, which is impossible. If there is $36 and items of $34 and $12 are presented, then one should have been paid and one would have bounced. The mysterious thing is that after all transactions have been paid, I was charged one NSF fee on the $7 account deficit, and the $22 NSF fee which left me with a balance of negative $29, which was fine with me. However, a full day later, without any transactions having taken place, they re-ordered the transactions and added another $35 NSF, and claimed that both transactions bounced.
After getting numerous explanations from different reps, their final reply was the following: "You had $36 in your account. You made a check card purchase of $34. 7-11 put a hold on the funds which made your balance $2. Then, the $12 Autopay arrived and put your account into a deficit balance. Then, we processed the $34 7-11 transaction, and because your account was in a deficit, you incurred another NSF fee."
So, they deducted the $34, claimed it was on hold, and then claimed that the hold was not a hold, and they held onto the hold until my account was in a deficit. This entire situation reeks of illegal action. It appears to me that this electronic banking stuff is just a big scam to trick people and rack up huge fees. Wachovia has lost a customer.
Reviewed April 9, 2009
We opened an account with BofA in Pasadena for our son who has enrolled in the Art Center there. The reason we did this is that BofA has been our bank in Arizona (and still is). At the time we opened the account, we requested that there should be overdraft protection on the account. We were assured there would be. Then one day we found out that this promise was never kept. There was no OD protection set up and we were charged $100.00 for overdrafts. We spoke with ** who apologized and was very helpful in refunding this amount and promised that the OD protection would be set up within 2 days. Sadly only three days later, we found out that this was also not true.
We then charged $280.00 for overdrafts. We were then refunded about half of this money by **. This account by the way is meant for our son who is really a poor student at the Art Center in Pasadena. Now my prior good feelings about BofA have suffered a crushing setback. If the Bank of America has to take money from a really poor student to survive, then it really is in a bad way indeed. It has accepted billions in bailout money and yet has to literally steal $188.00 from a starving student to keep going. Now I am thinking of pulling all my accounts out of the BofA. They are bad businessmen who do not realize the worth of a long term customer. Therefore, they cannot last.
I do not think this bank will last very long if it has to live on a poor student's money! It really is a sad day for America when one of its institutions has to do this to survive. They really are scraping the bottom of the barrel! Perhaps we should let them have the money just like we give to beggars around the world and on street corners. Consequences: missing meals, textbooks and classroom supplies for my son the student and $188.00 is a big loss for someone who has no income.
Reviewed April 9, 2009
I was the custodian for my daughter's UTMA account at World Savings. When it became Wachovia, I continued to bank with them. We selected the term of the CD so it would mature 5 days before her 18th birthday. The original documents stated that the funds would be delivered to her on her 18th birthday. Nine days after her 18th birthday, we went to the bank to withdraw the funds. We were told that they don't mail checks and the funds were put in a CD with a .08% interest rate for 15 months and that we would be charged $73 to take the money out. I asked them how they came up with $73 fees and was told, "That's just how much it is."
I showed them the paperwork and asked why the CD was renewed when it was no longer mine and the information was incorrect. My 18-year-old daughter was with me. I explained that it was a bank mistake and showed them the court orders. They had also made a mistake and listed the beneficiary on the account as the custodian! They didn't care. I made the following comment to the manager, "It's no wonder that Wachovia was taken over by another bank with this kind of service." The manager stood up and ordered me out of the bank. I couldn't believe she was serious and asked why. She said, "I will not be spoken to like that, get out now." This lady was really scary. I said that we wanted our money and she said, "Leave now, I'm calling security." She stood up and picked up the phone to call security!
My daughter could stay to collect her money. I had to leave the bank and my daughter had to stay in there alone. My daughter has zero banking experience, has never worked, has no business knowledge and does not speak up for herself. I had carefully managed her UTMA account for several years, and now I had to sit in the hot car for 20 minutes wondering what was going on in there. I had no cell phone to check with her. They deducted the money from her CD and she came out with her check. I can't even believe this happened. How is a bank manager not able to handle a complaint?! I was treated like a criminal while they ripped off my daughter for $73! Stay away from this bank. They make mistakes, break court orders, and have poor public relation skills. We will never go near that bank again! That lady has no business being a bank manager.
Reviewed April 8, 2009
Bank of America kept charging me NSF fees when I used my debit card and the funds were insufficient. I asked them why they did that and I was told it was done as a courtesy to me, so I wouldn't be left stranded. Stranded? In a restaurant? That wasn't the only debit of course; there were many more. They didn't pay the big prearranged debits, just the $2 to $10 ones. I'm trying to live on $737 a month Social Security and they've taken it all but $20.67 so that I have nothing to pay for my utilities, gasoline or groceries until payday a month from now. Isn't this crooked? Can nothing be done?
Reviewed April 8, 2009
I was charged $70 in overdraft fees for 2 charges - $11 at Barnes & Noble & $15 for gas. At the time I made these charges, my account balance was positive $50. Suddenly, 2 days later, I see my account has been charged 2 overdraft fees of $35 ea. I called to inquire about this as it must clearly be a mistake and was rudely told it was not a bank error and that there was nothing they could do about it. I asked if they would allow a courtesy refund for the charges as I had never requested this before, but I was told that because my account had been charged overdraft fees before that my account did not qualify.
I once again asked if they would at least now honor the courtesy refund since we had never been extended that in the past and the representative told me that my account was not in good standing. I was then transferred to a supervisor but not before the rep I was talking to had a chance to explain her side of the story first. Basically, the supervisor repeated everything the rep said but found a way to be even more rude. I am genuinely & utterly disgusted with BOA! I can't believe they are still allowed to operate. The only reason we bank with them is because this is the bank my husband's job banks with and it made cashing the checks easier. But after this, I will be switching to another bank that offers free checking with direct deposit!
Reviewed April 7, 2009
Our house burned downed a year ago and Wachovia is our loan holder. We have had nothing but trouble with this company getting our drafts sent to us and having the runaround in the Customer Service dept. They promised us a draft and, 3 weeks later, it has not arrived and then we were told it would be overnighted to us. Guess what? It is not here. This has been going on for quite a while.
Reviewed April 5, 2009
I have blogged my whole experience in detail. Below is the beginning of the problems and has escalated to a total of $1,680 in fees in 3 months. Wachovia did refund me $400, but has left me to deal with the remaining $1,280. Wachovia has put a 5-day hold on my paycheck. I do not have direct deposit as my employer does not offer it. Due to this, my account has been in disarray and I have been feeling guilty and worse, out of control in my cash flow. I have a budget; I have a mortgage payment that is automatically deducted every other week; I pay my rent in NYC (on top of my mortgage); and my expenses are low. I have finally figured out the cause of my issues with my cash flow.
Since January, I have incurred $1,575.00 in fees due wholly to the 5-day hold on my paycheck. I have felt like a failure and have been in a state of panic due to my inability to understand what has been going on with my bank account. Wachovia has been kiting my money! It is illegal for a bank to put more than a 3-day hold on a check. And oh, the bank that issues my paycheck is TD Bank (across the street from my bank) and this could have been cleared in 24 hours.
Reviewed April 4, 2009
Bank of America has a policy of placing a hold against your checking account for the amount charged when you use your check card. This means that your available funds are decreased by that amount, even though the actual payment or collection of funds has not yet been completed. Subsequently, the charged are listed as pending until such a time that the vendor completes collection of said funds, at which time the the bank posts it to your account paid. If at the time of posting your account does not have enough funds to cover payment, then the account holder is charged a $35 overdraft fee per transaction that posted that day.
I have been a BOA customer for years and I am sure that this has affected me negatively in the past, but this recent situation opened my eyes to the loophole in their policy which allows Bank of America to charge me overdraft fees for purchases that I have made and paid for while having the funds. Recently, I made purchases with my BOA Visa check card. A few days later, I had tire trouble on the highway and had to buy a new tire. I used my card to pay for the tire and that put me over my limit. That day, four of the previous transactions that I had made were posted to my account - each triggering a $35 overdraft fee.
Reviewed April 4, 2009
I had a balance of approx $17 in my account when I made a deposit of $464 in cash. The available balance on the online bank shows my deposit. I had a debit of $9 and $6 outstanding (which also showed on my online banking statement as posting). I paid my cable bill online and was charged $70 in NSF fees for the $9 and $6 even though I had the funds in my account and showing as available. When I called the customer no-service number, they simply explained that this was the way they do business. Stay away. This bank is in financial trouble and they are raping their customers trying to recoup funds.
Reviewed April 2, 2009
I opened a business checking account about 14 months ago. At the time, I was told that it is a free checking account. I used the checking account a few times for payment to sellers I bought goods from for my business. After a while, I did not need to use Wachovia account but I left about $130 in the account. For a while, I even forgot about my checking account. Recently, I received a notice from the bank that stated the balance was negative and I was required to make an immediate payment of $14.23; otherwise it would be reported to my credit history. I found out the reason that my account balance went from $130 to negative $14.23 was the monthly $15 charge started 4-5 months after I opened the account that supposed to be free. I requested a refund but it was refused by manager Melody ** at the branch.
Reviewed April 2, 2009
They sent me checks for 3.99% interest if I transferred a higher balance credit card balance to them. I did so. When I got my statement, they had charged me $39 late fee, $39 over the limit fee. The interest rate was APR of 46.42%. They also charged me $186.38 for credit protection plus. They said I owed a balance of $10.40 since 2007. I had not received any kind of statement for this. I paid it off in 2007 according to the statement they sent me. The transaction for the transfer was posted on 3/4/2009. This was my first statement since the transaction. With all the late fees and the rate of interest and the huge amt. of credit protection that I did not ask for, it ran the total transaction to over the limit. I called and they refused to do anything about it. I told them I was retired and trying to live on SS. I had also treated my dog for cancer for several months and it ran my credit card up tremendously. I feel as if they are taking unfair advantage of me. I have thought about consulting a lawyer if they do not want to reimburse me for all these extra charges. Any advice you can give me will be a great help. Thank you.
Reviewed April 2, 2009
On 3/30/09, I went to my bank with a cashier's check of $15259.66 to put in the bank and before I put it in, I asked if I would be able to get a portion of it the next day. I was told $5000 of it would be available after midnight and I said fine. So after midnight, I did some transactions. When I checked the account, I was minus over $600. I called the bank and was told it would be fixed the next day. I waited and it was not fixed. I again called and was told again it would be fixed and I waited and again I was minus even more on 4/1/09. I then called the next morning and a rude supervisor told me there was nothing he could do and I had to go to the bank I made the deposit at. This was where I was told it would be in my account after 12 am; it was not there. At 6 am on 4/3/09, some of the pending checks were paid but they made my deposit negative again. What do I need to do to get my money today and put it in another bank now?
Reviewed April 2, 2009
I went to the bank to make a withdrawal, assuming that a check in my account had cleared. When I gave the teller (Debra **) my withdrawal slip, she was immediately rude. After checking my account, she told me that the check had not cleared. She then proceeded to question me about who gave me the check and asked me why it was given to me even though I felt it was none of her business. I said it was a personal check given to me by a friend. She replied with, "Are you sure it isn't a fraudulent check?" She then continued to tell me that BOA was holding the check for another week because they felt it was fraudulent. When I asked to speak to a manager because of these comments, she told me she was the manager.
I found out later that this was a lie; she is only a senior teller. She also lied when she said that they were holding the check for another week. My funds cleared at 5 pm the same day. I have been a BOA member for over 5 years, and I have never had any fraud problems. I also have the same amount of money deposited into my account, by the same person, every single month for the past few years. I filed a complaint through BOA. This incident occurred on 04/01/2009.
This woman was speaking loud enough for everyone in the crowded bank (employees and customers) to hear her comments. She accused me of fraud, harassed and questioned me about my money, and basically told me that her company, BOA, thinks I'm a crook trying to commit fraud. By doing so in front of all of those people, I felt extremely embarrassed and humiliated. I felt like she judged me by appearance, and assumed that I couldn't possibly have that much money. It made me very uncomfortable to be asked questions about my personal matters in front of others. It also hurt me to be accused of being a dishonest person, especially since I have been a loyal customer. I will be changing banks due to this incident, which will cost me time and money. I'm very angry that she lied, and kept me from speaking to a manager.
Reviewed April 1, 2009
I started as a client of MBNA, which was recently absorbed into Bank of America in and around 1995. I recently opened my statements and saw that the interest rate is 19.98%. Being that I have some other credit cards with much lower interest rates, I decided to call and see I could get it lowered. As someone who works in the insurance and financial service field, I have a pretty good understanding of personal finance and this is a very common practice. The first representative informed me that although she could not make that decision, based on my payment history (never having paid late and the length of time as a cardholder), there shouldn't be a problem. The next individual I spoke with did not see that same information. They looked at my total revolving credit amounts and stated that they felt it was too high and could not reduce the interest rate.
I called about two years ago and at that time was informed it was due to my credit score (which I know now is in the mid 700s). Apparently, their criteria has changed. 60% of my revolving credit is with BOA. I explained that I am thankfully not experiencing many of the financial hardships that other Americans are facing. I was simply looking for a more equitable interest rate for someone who has been with them for a long time. She stated that she couldn't do it. She then reviewed my account and stated that they would be reducing my available credit by $11,000, in effect making that particular card maxed out, which will now adversely affect my credit score.
As a small business owner, I traditionally had a level of credit needs to run my business - at times to make payroll, purchase advertising, supplies, etc. It was my understanding that the financial industry received our tax dollars to help free up the credit crunch and yet that does not appear to be the situation. The financial industry has repeatedly been asked by the government and citizens to work with us to help all of us out of the financial mess that we are in, yet they continuously fail to act. The actions that Bank of America has taken towards its clients are horribly irresponsible at best and criminal at worst.
Reviewed March 31, 2009
I sent a check payment for my roommate to avoid any penalties in his behalf in the amount of $8,400.00, and BOA only credited his account for $84.00. After he called them, he was assured that they would waive the penalty fee if he paid the difference. At that time, I wrote him a check for the difference of $8,316, which he deposited in his account and mailed a check to them. When my roommate received his new billing statement a couple of days ago, he noticed that he had a very large credit and called them right away. It appears that they re-applied my original check of $8,400 (they had already credited his acct. for the original error (BOA's) of $84.00) and then processed my roommate's check for approx. $7,200.
I have incurred a service charge from my bank to cover the difference in my account due to this overdraft. My roommate called BOA today, and they have remitted him a check for the $7,000+ but that does not cover my service charge for an overdraft. I have two CCs with BOA and am totally astonished and disgusted with this huge of a mistake on their part. I know that times are really tough/tight these days (I was laid off last year after 16+ years and am 62 yrs. of age), but I have never defaulted on any payments nor ever would.
It's amazing that someone could make this stupid of a mistake (don't blame it on computer processing as someone??? actually hand wrote on the memo line of my check my roommates acct. number, so how the heck did they process a check for $8,400 for $84???) I’m totally disgusted with having to police anything to do with long-term, well-respected?? corporations any more. I will more than likely never hear from anyone from BOA or anyone on their behalf but needed to vent my angst.
Reviewed March 31, 2009
Reviewed March 30, 2009
First, I found that Boa was charging my customers a fee for cashing my business checks... I think it was around $5.00. So I canceled my account with them and opened an account with a bank that does not do that. Next, I received two letters saying I could write checks on my accounts (which I have never used) for 0% interest for a year. I decided to take the money as an interest free loan. When I called them to set up a wire transfer to my bank... was I surprised. Not only did they refuse to transfer the funds, but they canceled one of the accounts. I then told the person I was talking to that she could cancel the second account. She said, "Alright, but I am also going to reduce the limit on your third BOA Card."
This is a fairly poor business practice. They initiated the contact and made the offer and then reneged on the offer and CANCELED one of the accounts. I am fairly put out with this treatment. Canceling one account has a negative impact upon my credit rating. I am waiting for a reasonable time to pay off the third credit card so it will not impact my credit score.
Now I am going to contact my Internet mailing list to tell them what happened. The result will be that a lot of accounts will be canceled. This will not put BOA out of business, but will put a dint in their business for the next few years. Maybe the rest of you should let others in your circle of friends know how you were treated and encourage them to take their business somewhere else.
Reviewed March 30, 2009
Reviewed March 30, 2009
My husband and I have had checking, savings, mortgage, auto loans and credit card accounts with the Bank of America for over 20 years in good standing. We are current on all of our accounts and have had an excellent payment history. We pay all of our bills through their bill pay service and have not had an incident until January. Then all hit the fan. We had established automatic re-occurring payments for the credit cards, mortgage and basically anything that we paid on a monthly basis. For some reason, they canceled payments to Harley Davidson and a Chase Credit Card, and one of their own credit cards that resulted in late fees and a sharp increase in interest charges.
Prior to them canceling the payments, the payments were shown to be scheduled for payment on the due date. And there were more than sufficient funds in our account to cover these payments. Since we were NEVER late before with any of our accounts, we were able to rectify the late fees and interest with all three of the creditors that they canceled payment on. I called BOA to find out why they canceled the payments, and they said they were canceled through Bill Pay. We never canceled or changed anything through Bill Pay and had these payments scheduled and paid this way for years. Since there were no consequences for this, I just let it go and started watching the Bill Pay much closer.
In February, on the same BOA account that they canceled the January payment, the payment was due on the same date, was scheduled by the automatic bill pay re-occurring payment plan. This date was a Saturday. The payment was deducted from our checking account on Friday and posted as pending. The credit card was not paid until Monday, once again resulting in late charges and spiking the interest to 25%. There happens to be a $32K balance on this card and a minimum payment that went from $600 to $1,100 a month.
I called the bank to inquire as to why the payment was pending (deducted from our account) on Friday and not paid until Monday. Their explanation was that they do not pay bills on weekends or holidays. I explained that we have several accounts with them including a mortgage that are and have been current. They said there was nothing they could do on the account since it posted late twice. I was very upset. The rep at the bank offered to assist me by calling the credit card division and explaining the late payment and she did try, but the cc representative was uncooperative. She then referred me to the Debit Management Department.
I explained that the interest rate was too high and the payments were unaffordable at $1,100 a month. She did not have any solutions or suggestions. I inquired if we could transfer the debit from this account and put it in another account. She looked at our accounts with BOA and made the decision to close all of our credit card accounts and referred me to Consumer Credit Counseling. My husband and I had 5 credit card accounts with BOA totaling $45K (2 cards were 0). We have never been late or had any problems with any of these accounts. We have excellent credit at this point and are afraid that we will not be able to make minimum payments.
Since closing all of the accounts, they jacked up the interest on the other 2 cards with balances from 5 and 8% to 16%. What I don't understand is why they are accepting bailout money from us (the taxpayers), and they are trying to ** their customers by not working with them, and they are getting away with it! Suze Orman says to call your creditors and to try to work with them. Don't listen to her when it comes to BOA. They won't work with you!! We are currently trying to honor our debits, but we are forced to move all of our accounts out of BOA. As of now, we are refinancing our mortgage and consolidating our credit card debit with other companies in order to maintain our credit score. WE JUST WANT OUT OF BOA!!
Reviewed March 30, 2009
Reviewed March 29, 2009
My first mistake was to call Bank of America instead of writing. Anyway, I called many times and spoke with 3 account supervisors. They raised my rate on the $7,500 balance to 30.99 percent interest. My minimum payment shot to $272 - over $179 every month was interest only. I have good credit and I pay everything and never defaulted. Then the bank admitted they illegally implied the default rate to my account. So they claimed to have lowered the interest rate to 15.99. But I find that the cash advance rate on $1,600 is at 27.99. This money is called a cash advance because of the overdraft protection money is considered cash.
I have had suicidal thoughts and I am seeing a therapist. I can't even see straight; I am so angry. My heart is going to explode. I wanted a copy of my statements from the inception of the account, and they dared to say it would cost me $190. I can't even afford to eat because of their lies. I am trapped. It is a designed prison. Predatory and illegal acts have taken place. I want a refund of the illegal interest.
Reviewed March 29, 2009
Reviewed March 28, 2009
I have bill pay set up on my account. First off, in December (over the holidays) they paid all of my bills a day early causing overdraft. Of course, more fees to them. Then following the holiday, BOA made a note at the bottom of the bill pay that they would pay early if holiday and/or weekend. Now my payments are pretty regular and come out every other Thursday (payday) as directed. This week, 03/26/2009, however, there were 4 payments that posted the day before they were supposed too causing yet again $140.00 in overdraft fees and a spiraling downward. I called the bank and was told that I should have the money in the account 5 days before this date that I asked for the payments to be made.
Why have bill pay then? The purpose was to pay my bills on a regular basis. They agreed to pay back one of the fees. I feel that all of the fees should be paid back and the inconvenience for waiting on the phone 1 hour for resolution. They mailed the payments, not me. I set the date for the 26th not the 25th or whatever other day they set because of them mailing payments out too early. This is a bank. It is called electronic bill pay. What's up with the checks anyway? I was trying to avoid check writing.
Reviewed March 28, 2009
My wife Lynda authorized me to apply for an offer sent to her by Bank of America in February 2008. We believed the loan had a 1.99% interest rate for a term of one year. The bank now claims it did not but the 13.99% rate applied for the entire year. Evidently we took $36050. I drive a truck and never saw the monthly statements and was unaware of the rate being charged. I didn't find what we were being charged until a year had passed and I called to see if the rate could be lowered. I made a complaint and the bank replied with a letter, I feel, id full of inaccuracies and relies upon the bank's own internal records. No written records of the transaction exist.
I have offered to pay the bank off less the interest I don't feel we agreed to if the bank won't harm our credit. The bank refused. They claim they are required to report if we don't pay the balance in full but they failed to disclose that they put us into a product we neither applied for nor understood. I don't feel we owe them the additional interest.
Reviewed March 28, 2009
Reviewed March 28, 2009
Reviewed March 27, 2009
I have a savings with BOA. It's a rainy day fund that I use to transfer money into my credit union checking account. By payroll deduction, I transfer $1,600 per month into this account. Two weeks ago, I withdrew $100.00 from a non-BOA ATM machine. I rarely do this but I was shopping and realized I had left my credit card at home. I was looking at my account today and see that the bank where I withdrew the money charged me $2.00 for the transaction, but BOA charged me $2.00 for using a non-BOA ATM.
What I can't understand is how BOA has the audacity to charge me a fee. They are not incurring any charges… so why gouge the account holder? What a scam they have going! I just think in the current economic climate, they should not be gouging customers with silly fees. It's not my fault they practiced bad financial management.
Reviewed March 26, 2009
Bank of America, in association with Yoursavings.com (a company with no name, no address, and with unhelpful phone number 877-820-7107) have conspired to charge their customers $1.00 each month for unclear and unauthorized service. When I called to complain to the complaint department of Bank of America, an independent organization said that Yoursavings.com is associated with Bank of America, although the latter denies it. There was no way to contact the fraud company Yoursavings.com. Bank of America refused to refund any money withdrawn without authorization prior to 90 days.
Although the amount is little, but if Bank of America and that company take a dollar a month from 3 million customers, they would be making 3 million dollars a month illegally. The bank and that unnamed company should be put on notice for abusing their customers and conspiring to defraud them with such a little amount of money that only a few of us would realize. Bank of America should send letters of apology to all their clients who were victimized by such fraud.
Reviewed March 25, 2009
Bank of America has not issued a discharge summary for a loan from 2003 to the county clerk's office. I have been trying to get a discharge document for 2 months. We cannot get a home equity credit for an addition to our home until a discharge summary is made.
Reviewed March 25, 2009
Reviewed March 23, 2009
On or about January 30th, 2009, I went to my bank to put a stop payment on a check and also put a freeze on my account. I also asked that the account be close. I opened up a new checking account. It's been almost 2 months and Bank of America is still allowing activity on that old account. I have told Tyra ** that I wanted the account closed. It's becoming frustrating. I had to start using another bank. I ended up opening an account with a new bank. I feel that I was misled by Bank of America. On a few occasions, I was charged overdraft fees on an account that was supposed to be close. I was reimbursed my money, but was very frustrated with the whole ordeal.
Reviewed March 23, 2009
Reviewed March 22, 2009
I have a Gold Option Loan through Bank of America. I am always on time with my payments and still have over $6,000 worth of available loan money to use. Since I am currently looking for work, my family and I only use this money for emergencies. However, after contacting Bank of America, they have now informed me that I am not eligible at this time to take out any more of the money that I am entitled to for a loan that I have already been approved of.
I feel that this is outrageous and unjust. That is MY money, to use at my discretion. I have pretty good credit. I pay my monthly Bank of America bill on time every month. I have also paid DOUBLE the monthly amount on one or two occasions. Yet, they feel they have the right to block me from that loan money that I already signed for and was approved for. We get tight a little bit, with my wife being the only one employed, as I am currently seeking employment. This money would have provided a little breathing room for my daughter, my wife, and I. However, now we are really going to struggle financially after the end of this month.
Reviewed March 22, 2009
On 3/13/09, I verbally accepted an offer of $15k at 14.99% for 60 months, at $378 per month, from Bank of America. This was a Gold Option Loan account offer. After agreeing to this and what was to be paid, on Friday, 3/20/09, I happened to look up my account online. To my surprise, I had a balance of $11k on my new account. Three credit cards were paid with the remaining balance deposited in my checking account. I was confused as to why I was told $15k but got $11k. So I called BOA and talked to Erin. She was also surprised that Robert had changed the terms of the agreement and lowered the amount by $4k. I told Erin I didn't agree to this change and didn't accept this offer of $11k. I didn't even know until Erin told me that the new monthly payment was $351.
I quickly did the math and found that I was going to be paying only $1,620 less for $11k than I would have for the $15k, and the reduction of monthly payments of only $27 for $4k less. Then I figured out that my original monthly payment for these three cards was $167. Now, with what BOA has done, my payment has nearly doubled to $351. This is absurd. I would have never agreed to such a thing. BOA has misrepresented themselves, offering one thing and then doing something else that was not authorized. Erin told me the record showed that they tried to contact me, but they did not leave a message on my voicemail. Nor did I receive an email or letter asking if I accepted these new terms, which anyone who can do math could figure out is a SCAM. I am very distraught over this action. I have been on the phone for over eight hours trying to resolve this mess.
Erin told me that BOA couldn't reverse this error that was made by them, and that I would have to contact my credit card companies for them to reverse this. Well, I tried and they said NO. What can be done so that my credit is not ruined because of BOA? I cannot afford to make this payment, along with the other bills I still have that would have been paid off with the $4k that I was promised and didn't receive. Erin also said that the transfer fees would be taken off if the credit card reversed the transfer. Well, I see BOA took the money back from the transfer for the one BOA cc, but they didn't reverse the fee. My credit score will be ruined, as I don't have the resources to make these payments that I never agreed to. Or my mortgage will suffer to pay BOA. Either way, I am in a lose-lose battle. I have tried very hard over the years to keep my credit in good standing; even though I have a high debt ratio, I am never late on my payments.
Reviewed March 22, 2009
After having an account with Bank of America (BOA) for some years, I NEGOTIATED A LOWER RATE WITH THEM AT 10.99% ON MARCH 11, 2009. I wrote three checks that afternoon. I called three days later to have the remainder of the funds deposited to my checking account and the bank rep told me she was not honoring my checks and she was closing my account. I told her why she would do this when 3 days before, she had lowered my rate. Basically, what was said was that it was a mistake and that she was not honoring my checks. The checks were written before she closed my account.
I have been getting mail from (BOA) charging me for the checks that they chose not to honor and this is going to ruin my impeccable credit rating. Please if you could have an attorney help me save my credit before this goes any further, it would really help a good cause as they closed my account a few days after lowering my rate which was going to go in effect the following month (April).
Reviewed March 21, 2009
Reviewed March 20, 2009
Recently, I opened a savings account at Bank of America in San Diego (Rancho Bernardo branch). I was told that I had to open a checking account and deposit a small amount, like $25. It was just formality. My February shows that they charged me $20 service fees. What is wrong with this bank? I had heard horror stories about them, but never had experienced any. Mine is not a horror story. It is just dishonesty. Banks' stupidity and lack of competency got us into the current mess, and now they are ripping off consumers.
Reviewed March 19, 2009
In Feb '09, BOA postdated an over the phone check in the amount of $1,370 to come out of my account in March '09 without my knowledge. I only owed in Feb. $400 and in March $300 and made a payment both months for $100 over the phone. Someone in their establishment posted a check with a check number that I don't even have bringing my account severely negative and when I called them, I was transferred over 20 times. They told me they would immediately wire the funds back into my account, then hung up on me. They told me they would call me back when funds were transferred and then said, "Sorry, we now can't transfer unless Wells Fargo is on the phone and can verify the funds have cleared."
When Wells and I called 3-way, they did not verify anything with him and transferred me 20 more times to tell me this was my fault and they would send a check in 14 business days. As I cried and yelled, they said, "Okay, we will transfer the funds but it won't hit your account for 5 days." Meanwhile, I was in another city with an overdrawn account, no credit cards and my payments I made are all bouncing. BOA will not admit blame and I bet they don't wire the funds back. They still have not.
Reviewed March 18, 2009
Reviewed March 18, 2009
Reviewed March 18, 2009
I have a boat loan from BOA. Around four months ago, my paper statements stopped arriving and I could not log on my accounts. I finally contacted customer service. They told me my statements were being sent to an address in San Antonio and that the post office was the only one that could correct this error. I contacted postal service to investigate only to given your number to call. I just came to your website instead. I noticed that my credit report from Experian shows my file with this address. I do not know who this is and never lived there. I contacted Experian and they cannot remove this info. I am afraid I maybe a victim of ID theft. Please contact me back to show me the right direction to take. Thank you.
Reviewed March 17, 2009
Reviewed March 17, 2009
DO NOT USE BILL PAY. BOA is claiming I made a billpay payment ten times higher than I remember making. In addition, they claim they will attempt to pay anything up to $99,999.99 even if your account has a much lower balance. Of course, the payment will never go through but the overdraft fees will keep coming and coming with not so much as a courtesy call from BOA. Also you will get treated to a rude CSR that will basically tell you it's your own fault.
Reviewed March 13, 2009
My dad wrote me two checks totaling about $8,000. I deposited them into my account via ATM. After about a week of them holding the check, I called to check my balance and it was negative $888,553.00! I then used the automated attendant to find out what happened, and it said that there had been a debit of $888,888.88 by BOA. When I asked to speak to a representative, she said she couldn't help me and I had to call a number that dealt with account closures. So they closed my account with no notice and have me showing as overdrawn by almost a million bucks!? My balance should have been about $200 before the deposits that never cleared.
Reviewed March 13, 2009
I called to ask for an explanation as to why for the month of March I was billed twice. No one could give me a answer. I am charged 2x, and as a result behind in my payments and will remain that way unless I make a double payment for the month of March.
Reviewed March 12, 2009
I made a deposit and $100 is immediately available of every deposit made to you account; the remaining amount is pending verification. Prior to the deposit, my balance was positive. However, after I swiped my card totaling $98.75 after the deposit was made, within the $100 that was made available, I was charged seven $35 overdraft fees for the items that were already deducted from my balance, leaving my account now overdrawn! Bank of America stated it was my fault because I knew there were items outstanding; however these items were already deducted from my available balance prior to the deposit and $98.75 being spent.
Reviewed March 12, 2009
I walked into a local BANK OF AMERICA branch to deposit (2) checks. The teller asked for an ID and would not accept my checks unless I produced an ID. NO CASH BACK, BOTH CHECKS WERE MADE OUT TO ME, MY ACCOUNT NO. WAS ON BOTH ENDORSED CHECKS AND ON MY DEPOSIT SLIP. A very smug and arrogant branch manager then told me this was their "new" policy. For the record, I had more than enough funds in my account to cover the said checks. Well, BANK OF AMERICA, this is my "new" policy: today, I walked over to TD BANK where a very friendly and polite customer rep was happy to help me. She even laughed when I explained my experience with a bank on the verge of collapse refusing to take my money.
I have held several accounts with BOA (this includes the other names before takeovers) for over 35 YEARS! I guess the MERRILL LYNCH fiasco can help explain their haughty decision-making process. BANK OF AMERICA must be SO financially healthy they can afford to harass loyal and solvent customers. I work in the entertainment industry and will solemnly strive to have every friend, family member, and co-worker I know either move or open accounts at any other bank I can think of. GOODBYE AND GOOD RIDDANCE!
Reviewed March 12, 2009
Well I made a deposit through the ATM which was originally for $25, and one of the bills didn't go in. So I put in back in the machine and after that, the ATM said that I made a deposit of $300.00. Now, the bank is accusing me of fraud. I have the receipt that the ATM said I made a deposit of $300.00. Now because of the ATM’s mistake, my other accounts are being closed down. Because of this situation and the receipt said that an error occurred, now I have no ChexSystems reporting and now I’m trying to fight it. Other bank is being closed, and one of the reps told me that this wouldn't affect any other accounts open.
Reviewed March 12, 2009
December last year, I moved some debts from my existing credit cards to a Bank of America business card. Even though it was a high interest rate, that was fine but when I started looking at my invoice five months later, I owed more than I had started with. I saw $76 charges that were on my statements. I phoned them up and they said it was a business credit protection that I signed up for. I told them I never signed anything or asked for this and they said it was legitimate. I told them I want to cancel and they said, "We can take off two months for you or you can have an investigation." I said investigate because I never gave permission. Anyway, long and short of it, they were nasty and told me, "If you are not happy with our decision, make a full complaint credit agency."
Reviewed March 10, 2009
Bank of America should be renamed the Bank of Phantom Fees and Crooks. Last year around November, I was charged twice for a service I received only ONCE. I submitted a dispute with the bank and in the meantime, they credited the second charge fee back to my account. Then the bank decided there was no fraud when clearly the paperwork submitted by the company shows that the name on the sales receipt and signature was in no way mine. I then had to submit the dispute AGAIN and mail back to the bank the paperwork they mailed me. I highlighted everything that was not my name or my signature.
Sometime in January, the bank decided that they would credit the amount back to my account. In the meantime with all the asinine crediting and de-crediting from the bank, my account had become overdrawn numerous times with overdraft fees attached. Today, I went to close the account with only $13.49 left to pay on my wrecked account that I was going to close. In true BofA fashion, my negative balance went from $13.49 to $28.19. I then was told by the teller to have a personal banker take a look and they can help me get my account back to the $13.49. This ungrateful, rude woman named Christine wouldn't even pull my account up and started to argue with me. I got so fed up with her attitude after 2 minutes I said, "Fine, I will pay the extra money; just close my account!"
Reviewed March 9, 2009
I had 2 business checking accounts and 2 merchant processing accounts as well as 1 personal bank account, 2 credit cards and 1 business loan with BofA. On the bank accounts, they started holding my deposits for up to 9 business days, and on the very same day the deposits would finally clear, they would put all my debts (of checks I wrote assuming my deposits would be cleared) FIRST causing my account to go over, then charge me $35 for EACH transaction that was over. I cancelled all my bank accounts.
My credit cards, which I pay on time each month, have incredibly high APRs now. When I call and ask them to be lowered, they say they can't because I have too much open credit. I asked how do they expect me to pay this off if each month I am getting screwed with 20% APR? I am working desperately to get these cards transferred to a more ethical company (if one exists?).
For my merchant accounts, I noticed they started charging me a Support Package Fee of $12.45/month. When I called to inquire, my slimy merchant rep (imagine Joe Pesce voice) tried to pull some Jedi mind trick on me and told me he'll call me back. I told him if he can't get the charge removed, I am switching merchant processors. I will get this done this week.
My goal is to remove ALL my business from BofA. They are the sleaziest, scummiest unethical bank in the world. If they can get a penny out of every poor person or struggling small business owner, they will. I noticed a guy above said they usually plan their credit card due dates on holidays when the bank is closed and yes, this is true. You must watch your back with them at all times.
Reviewed March 8, 2009
I had my account now for 4 months. It was in neg. one time - my fault. I guess I never get any answers and when I do, it is always a different one. All my deposits are cash or direct deposit. I went to use my card and it was declined. I went home to log in knowing something was wrong. I could not, called and was told there was fraud on my account for $80,000. I freaked out they said not to worry and to call another department. I was then told the account was closed due to at risk deposit, my Ohio unemployment deposit. They confirmed that I have over $2500 in my account and they would send me a check in 3 weeks for my money. I asked how this was legal and then was told it is in the disclosure statement that they can freeze my account for any reason at anytime with no warning.
Then they said it was because there was something on my Chex Systems report. I asked why I was not informed. I was told it was 3 months ago; it came up and they were reviewing it but never informed me there was a problem. I checked with Chex Systems. Bank of America never did check with them till the day I was on the phone with them. I then asked what about all my direct deposits and was told when they come in, it will be 72 hours after they come in and they will send me a check.
I was then asked about why I did an online transfer from checking to savings. I did not know that was a problem that I saved money. So now, I am left with no money and they will not let me go to a branch office to get my money. I was in the process of moving when this happened. Well, the money they are holding was my first month's rent and deposit and I have to be out of my house this weekend and have no way of coming up that kind of money in three days. I have a wife and two kids and now they are going to stay with family and I will have to go drive over the road to have somewhere to stay and make some money.
I am a laid-off union laborer and will be called back to work in the next two months but have to go over the road to try to make some quick cash for my family. I listed my $8,000 boat up for sale and only listed it for $2,000 just for a quick sale due to downed economy.
How is it that they can do what they want and the Feds don't step in and help us? I have a bad feeling that BoA will find a way to eat up as much of the over $2,500 in my money in fees for stupid reasons. Will I ever see that money again? Is there anything I can do? If there are any lawyers out there, help. Anyone who can help, please do.
Reviewed March 7, 2009
In 2007, I owed Bank of America $744.16 due to fees after closure of an account earlier that year. I moved so didn't know about it until I moved back. Anyway...when I found out I owed that amount, I paid the bill and I have a bank receipt showing it paid. They told me it would take two weeks to take it off of the check recovery systems, and I didn't think anything about it after that until last weekend.
I tried to open an account at a credit union and was turned down because of BofA is still showing me outstanding. I called Monday, March 2, 2009, and talked to Rodger in recovery, and he said he would fix it and would take only three days. I just tried again to open an account, and was turned down again because of BofA. I just want this charge removed and don't know who to talk to that would care.
Reviewed March 6, 2009
Bank of America has a scam going on where they are charging outrageous fees for items that have already been deducted from your bank account. They charged me $35 at least 15 times for items that were used by my debit card because a check came through that threw my account off. Instead of just charging me a $35 NSF, they paid the check and charged me $35 15 times for the small items that were used with my debit card. They have now discovered how to make millions by taking advantage of their own clients. Their customer service is very rude!
I spoke with someone about this and she was very mean and adamant that I should have known about these fees, which I did not. I am very upset about it. With all these fees, my rent check was caused to bounce. They are charging you more for fees than the cost that you actually spent. With everyone in debt and struggling financially, if 100,000 clients overdraft on one transaction, in one day BOA makes a clean $3.5 Million. I am sure the figure is larger than that easy money. They are the ones that were bailed out and I guess that is how they plan to keep afloat.
Reviewed March 5, 2009
My mom deposited $740 into my account with an out-of-state deposit slip which listed my name and address on 3/1/09 and they put the money into someone else's account. As of 3/5/09, this money is not in my account. I spoke with Colleen ** on 3/2/09 and she assured me that this was rectified and it was not. My account is overdrawn and there is $100 of overdraft fees and still pending. This money was put into an account that happens to have the same name as myself. The teller failed to verify my address which is now Los Angeles, California. The money was placed in a New Jersey account in South Jersey. The only thing that she could say was that it was a mistake. Well, now this is her mistake because the money was not deposited into my account. I'm very disappointed in Bank of America's services.
Reviewed March 5, 2009
I've got over 20 NSF fees of $35 each. I was short on 2 of the occasions and I will understand if they would charge me 2 x $35... But here is how they do it, just to make sure they suck all the blood out of you. I am a small business owner. Yesterday, I had 12 checks that were cleared from my account. I knew of at least 10 of them and I was monitoring my account all day online. The last time I checked the account (around 6:00 pm), 11 checks was presented and cleared and my balance was $126. This morning, I had funds to deposit to cover any new checks... I noticed that they paid the 12th check last night and my account was showing 10 NSFs and they have charged me $350. They chose to pay the bigger of the checks so more NSFs would be charged. And they would do nothing to clear the charges... I hope they go under!!!
Reviewed March 4, 2009
Reviewed March 4, 2009
My mother put me in her checking account. I received an ATM card which never was activated. However, when my mother went to close her account, she was told there were several charges using this inactive ATM card for about $100. These charges were made, according to the bank, using this inactive card. The bank withheld the money and told us they can take several business days to make a decision.
Reviewed March 4, 2009
Reviewed March 4, 2009
Last month, Bank of America started using a new system called Banking history. For the first time, I was charged over limit fees with a positive checking balance forwarding over to the next day. I found charges that were deducted from my balance the previous day being also deducted from my account the following day. When I called the banking center and I talked with representatives and representatives' supervisors about this, they justified this. Some of the names are Juan ** in New Mexico, Juan in Rode Island, Juanita ** and etc. I have never paid an overdraft fee and had my balance forward over as positive and I have paid plenty of money to Bank of America in the past because of insufficient funds, but this one is really something.
Behind this, I have not been able to do anything towards this account because I feel that I am being taken advantage of and it's at a point now that this has got to stop. Every year, I end up owing Bank of America money that I do not have to give because the policies and procedures with this bank are always changing. They rob people out of their money with their eyes open. The saddest thing about this is that the people who work for them know this and go along with this. The people in customer service see the problem and go along with it because there is nothing that they can do; they need their jobs.
Reviewed March 4, 2009
I opened a Bank of America checking account 2 weeks ago so that I could cash a check locally. My other bank is online only. When I opened the account, the only thing I got was an ATM card. There was no literature or explanation of how these LOAN SHARKS operate. Instead of declining my card when I had a 0 balance, they approved it and charged $35 each time. I made 10 small charges under $5 and got charged $350 for that benefit. My other bank would have declined the charge. This has got to be illegal.
It is PREDATORY LENDING. I am on disability $700/mo. and very sick. I can't pay this and now my credit rating is destroyed all within 2 weeks. Congress needs to do something about this. How can we get some help with this?
Reviewed March 4, 2009
Bank of America suspended my HELOC because their desk appraisal indicated my home value has dropped. Last year they reduced the credit limit on this HELOC by $30,000. That was a desk appraisal too. My unemployed wife needed money from that HELOC to complete school, which retrains her for a job in the medical field. We have no health insurance till she is again employed because we are both uninsurable. No more TARP money for Bank of America!
Reviewed March 4, 2009
I had opened up a Bank of America account for no less than 2 weeks. I put a check for $10,000. My check was taking so long to deposit that I called the bank up and asked why it was taking such a long time. Come to find out Bank of America had closed my account. I called up BOA and asked the reason for it being closed. The rep whom I spoke to just told me that it is being closed and I will never be able to open up another Bank of America account. I went back and forth arguing for the rep to give me a reason why my account was closed, but to no avail. They are simply the rudest bank I have dealt with. No wonder they are going out of business. I do not understand why the government is giving them a bailout, or have already given.
Reviewed March 4, 2009
So I applied for a free student checking account with Bank of America. I got an approval letter and I went into the nearest bank and made a deposit. The deposit was a large transaction, but under $5000. The check came from my employer and included expenses that I needed to complete my job. The teller explained that since it was a new account, they had to place a hold on my account. I agreed and asked how long and the time ended up being about 9 days! She told me that $100.00 would be available to me the next day. So the next day I call the toll-free number to check my balance and it says I am overdrawn by $886,000.00. Confused, I ask to speak to a representative and she transfers me to the disclosure department. The man I spoke to said Bank of America was closing my account, would not give me a reason, and said they would mail me my funds and I could not have access to the $100.00 they told me I could have.
A couple days later, frustrated and needing my money, I decided to ask them, instead of mailing a Bank of America check to my residence, if they could just transfer the monies into a different checking account at another bank. The man said that the decision was final and they were sending out a check on March 6 - that is a day after the check was supposed to be available - and that they were mailing it from Florida and I will receive it in a week. Another week? I explained my situation and asked if there was anything else that could happen because of my dire need, and he just kept saying, “No, it is final. Anything ELSE I can help you with?” I said no and hung up the phone.
Reviewed March 3, 2009
Bank of America placed a hold on my government pension check. I attempted to have them remove it but they refused. Their attitude was no the hold will not be removed and that's it. This is my only source of income so I have absolutely no money. I explained this to them and they just didn't care.
Reviewed March 3, 2009
Reviewed March 3, 2009
Reviewed March 2, 2009
I deposited a check for $3,000 via ATM to cover my rent and bills. Their machine took it and told me "Cannot make deposit, cannot return check." I asked the manager and she told me, "Oh, don't worry; it will go through the next day." - LIE. I had to file a claim to get MY MONEY and still nothing! My rent is already 3 days late and I'm in jeopardy of losing my beautiful apartment because of this so-called bank. I have no idea what I'm going to do now because they ripped me off and really, who is going to believe that? Certainly not my land lord or people I owe money to. Thanks for ruining my life, ** Bank of America. I'm going to be homeless because of you and your incompetent employees!
Reviewed March 2, 2009
I am writing to you because I am so upset about recent events with Bank of America. My husband and I took out an eight-year loan with Bank of America in July 2007. By February 2009, we had paid down by $8,000. The loan amount was $26,500 with an interest rate of 17.99%. We have absolutely no late payments on our credit report. Our credit scores are in the 700's. I work for a 3-branch very small savings and loan. It has been in business since 1885. My husband is self-employed but does all of his work for the Verdin Company. They have been in business since 1842. They install bell towers, street clocks and church carillons. Needless to say, business is slow with both of these companies. Since my husband is self-employed, we put money into savings to pay for taxes. This year, we are $6,000 short to pay for these taxes. In two months, we have to come up with $6,000. This is while we still pay our bills on time and put food on the table.
Back to Bank of America. I called them on Feb. 19, 2009 to use $1,500 of my open good standing loan. I should have had access to $8,000. When I called to get this $1,500, the lady at Bank of America asked what I wanted the money for. I told her I didn't feel it was any of her business if I already have this open account. We went back and forth for a while because I was being made to feel as if I was asking for 1 billion? Finally, I told her it was to pay taxes. The lady told me no and as a matter a fact, they were going to lower my credit available. I asked why. She said, "Your credit is perfect but you've added $500 to your debt." Are you kidding me?! Does this sound right to you, Mr. President?
I heard on the news this week that the CEO of Bank of America flew to Washington from North Carolina on a private jet. To run this jet costs $5,000 for one hour. Yes, five thousand dollars for one way. So one hour to and fro is $10,000. That is of what I owe in two hours. Can someone tell me why I should pay these, people? Oh, I know why, because if I don't, my credit will turn to crap. I will get harassing phone calls from Bank of America. It would look bad at my job. It would set a bad example for my two children and many more reasons.
I just don't get it. My husband and I are not in foreclosure. We have not filed bankruptcy. We have excellent credit but we feel that we are getting nowhere. What is finally going to happen for us? We are sure we are not the only American in this situation. I have been treated like gum on the bottom of that CEOs shoe! All the while, more and more banks, car companies and people who lived out of their means are standing in line to get my $6,000 in tax dollars that I don't have. Can you help me, sir? Can someone please help my family?
Reviewed March 1, 2009
In November 2007 I bought my first home from Bank of America. I had shopped around for loans very thoroughly and thought I had found the best loan product. Bank of America seemed to have the best interest rate and lowest monthly payment I could find. With a credit score over 800, I did not have a problem finding a good loan for my new home. I have paid my payment on time with no problems for the last 16 months. However, in January of this year (2009), I received a statement from Bank of America saying that my payment would increase about $400 a month and I owed back taxes in the amount of $7,000. From what I have determined, it seems that Bank of America estimated my payment and property taxes off of the land value and not the purchase price of my new home.
Reviewed Feb. 27, 2009
Reviewed Feb. 27, 2009
Reviewed Feb. 26, 2009
Reviewed Feb. 26, 2009
Reviewed Feb. 26, 2009
Reviewed Feb. 25, 2009
Yesterday, 2/25/09, I called Bank of America to do a balance transfer from my credit card to my checking account in the amount of $2,000. The rep said my account was closed due to me being a risk because foreclosure was listed on my credit report? First, let me note that I had no notice of Bank of America closing my credit card account - not by mail or by phone so this was a shock at best to find out when I needed my Bank of America credit card the most important time in my life, it was not accessible to me.
I explained to her this must have been an error because I sold my house on 1/20/09, I have never been late or missed a Bank of America credit card payment in the entire 10 years of holding the card, she looked at some things and said she was sorry there was nothing more she could do for me. She then transferred me to the credit department so someone higher up could speak with me. He said due to a foreclosure being reported on my credit report, I became a risk? And they therefore had to close my account.
$4,000 in a mortgage payment and utility bills is a lot harder to come up with than $197 a month Bank of America credit card payment first of all. Secondly, I had no notice of this about to happen by paper or phone call. Thirdly, I had never been late or missed a payment with Bank of America. I could see if I became delinquent with them, but they just shut down my account because they assumed I would become delinquent in my credit card account? What gives them the right to determine what I would do with my accounts? I am extremely upset about this as well as thinking this whole thing is just morally wrong. How in the world do they expect the mortgage crisis to get better if they take away what may be the only way people have a way to pay their mortgages until they find a job? Do they think the people that lost their jobs will never get another job and will never pay another bill in their life to regain valid credit status?
I then called CitiMortgage and asked them what it was listed as, and they said the foreclosure proceedings started 1/4/09 and we sold the house 1/20/09 so the error was being corrected with the credit bureaus immediately. I then called back Bank of American explaining all of this and a rep told me to fax the letter of sale from CitiMortgage to a fax number she gave me at the credit department at Bank of America so they could re-open my account. As I said before, I called this morning and my account has NOT been re-opened. I called back to see if they received my fax and the rep said it was a first come first serve basis, but they would call me as soon as they got to it. That was yesterday, I have yet to receive a call as of yet and I called the credit department twice this morning.
I will be closing ALL of my Bank of America accounts, credit card, checking, debit and any savings account I was thinking of opening and will be taking my business elsewhere. I am also going to let as many people who would be interested in this story know about what happened to me and why. Yes, I did a short sale and I did not foreclose, but what if I HAD foreclosed? Obviously if I did, which is what it’s listed as and I was told by several people in higher authority at Bank of America that it is why it happened. If I HAD foreclosed, my credit account would be closed, no notification, no lateness or missed payments - I find this appalling.
Reviewed Feb. 25, 2009
I received an email offer from Bank of America to open a totally free checking account with a minimum deposit of $25 and no fees. I proceeded to open the account, and I received numerous documents from Bank of America including a Visa Check Card, Bank Statement and PIN number. After receiving those documents, I received a letter informing me my checking account was closed and the letter did not provide a specific reason. I contacted Bank of America pertaining to my $25 deposit. I was told I would receive a certified check refund. I did not receive the check for approximately 3 weeks. I contacted Bank of America again pertaining to the $25 deposit, and they informed me that they would be keeping my deposit because the account was closed.
This strongly appears to be fraud. I never requested for the account to be closed; they closed my account for no specific reason. And they are keeping my money which is basically stealing. If they took the same action on 1,000 new accounts, they would secure thousands of dollars. This is obvious fraud and it needs to be made public and strongly addressed. I am lucky that I only deposited $25 in the checking account. The physical economic damages are unknown. It depends on how many people are actually reporting this activity. I am sure that Bank of America is engaging in this illegal behavior with numerous people. This situation strongly needs to be looked into because this is beyond fraud.
Reviewed Feb. 24, 2009
Reviewed Feb. 24, 2009
I have 8 business accounts and 5 personal accounts with this bank since 1987. I have excellent payment history, but in January 2009 I printed my statement ending in ** because I needed to schedule a payment because I was leaving town. When I pulled up my statement, the statement had an amount due of 0. I thought that there had been an error, so I paid more than I thought would be due. When I got back, I got an email saying that I was delinquent on my account. I went online to check the statement. The account had a new account number and the payment was $26 more than I paid, so I paid that amount and got a $36 late fee even though I have two statements.
But that is not the worst of it. Because of the change that I was not notified of, my interest went up from 14.99% to 27.99%. The bank told me I could ask for a decrease in my interest in a year. This is not fair, but the bank said because the first statement that I printed said 0 amount due, they cannot help that I made a payment. I guess their CEO needs more of my money.
Reviewed Feb. 24, 2009
Bank has been charging overdraft fees for items that could have been paid making account to be overdrawn. I tried talking to customer service rep who was not very helpful and asked to speak with someone in charge. I have to wait 20 minutes to speak with someone that wasn't much help either. My daughter had same thing happen to her making her account negative $380.00. She finally closed her account and went to another institution. I have been with them for fifteen years. To close my accounts is a hassle with payroll and other automatic deposit and withdrawals. I think that's why they take advantage with charges. Please help.
Reviewed Feb. 24, 2009
Reviewed Feb. 24, 2009
Reviewed Feb. 24, 2009
Reviewed Feb. 23, 2009
In January, someone from Indonesia got my debit card numbers and robbed my checking account blind. I informed the bank. Got a new ATM card. I even contacted the bank with the thief's information that a company gladly handed over to me when they realized it was fraud. The bank said they'd put the money back into my account immediately, considering the types of purchases and items that were purchased, and the enormity of the amounts. They acknowledged it was fraud. That was a month ago.
Reviewed Feb. 23, 2009
I opened a MyAccess checking account online which required a $25 deposit. I paid using my debit card. When my debit card arrived, I tried activating on the phone at home and then I went into a branch and tried to activate the card. I was told my card had been cancelled. They don't know when and why it was cancelled. My $25 was not reflecting in my account and they don't have a record of the transaction. There is no explanation as to where my money is. When I call customer service, no one seems to be able to explain the missing money or the cancellation of my debit card. I was hung up on numerous times and never had the opportunity of speaking to a manager or supervisor.
Reviewed Feb. 23, 2009
We received a bank statement from Bank of America stating that we were $80 negative because our Mortgage Payment had bounced. When we checked with the local bank, we discovered that our bank statement was wrong. After it was printed, BOA had reversed everything paying the Mortgage Payment even though it was dated last. This bounced 7 other checks for a total of $350 in bank charges. One single check went through twice for THREE bank charges - a total of $95. The people at their Customer line were extremely rude and refused to help us at all. My wife is disabled with Fibromyalgia and we are forced to live from paycheck to paycheck as most Americans are today. $350 is not something we take lightly.
Reviewed Feb. 21, 2009
Same as Danielle from Orlando. I saw my account had an overdraft of $888,887,900. They said I was risk due to report from ChexSystems. Report from ChexSystems was wrong. Really, it was wrong. I tried to send docs to BofA but they did not care. They then charged me a fee of $60 and will not tell me for what. Now, I found out they charged my mother a fee. She has had accounts for years with BofA and a perfect credit and perfect banking history. They have frozen my account and will not give me my money. My direct deposits showed up in my account. The next day, they were gone!! All of this and the report from ChexSytems were dead wrong. PEOPLE, CLOSE YOUR ACCOUNTS WITH BOA. Something is very wrong here. They are doing everything they can to get your money on top of stimulus money. They can claim your fees as their money in order to accrue other banks, etc. Close your accounts. Very, very bad company.
Reviewed Feb. 21, 2009
I had my daughter open an account with Bank of America. (We live in diff states.) Dental Hyg. can't be on phone for faxing, info, etc. I was authorized on account. Approximately 6 days after account was opened, it was frozen due to a report from ChexSystems. The report was not accurate. I went into the branch in NC and she went into the branch in FL. The bank would not tell her what was on the report. ChexSystems would not talk to her until she had the report. My daughter had an IRS direct deposit and a payroll deposit. The bank would not give her access to any of her funds (or mine). The Loss Prevention Dept at BOA was terrible and so very rude. They would provide no phone numbers or fax numbers for dept heads or supervisors.
They then rejected the direct deposits (they did show up on account history) so they are in cyber space. They still have not released the funds to her. The initial deposited funds were cash, all cash. They have imposed a $60 fee and will not tell us what the fee is for. Now, my account has a fee. I have tried three times to get an answer and can't get one. I have never had a fee before (I have direct deposit and affiliated accounts that eliminates the fee), but now there is a fee. We were aware of a previous fraud on my daughter’s other bank account. Due to her having two jobs and lack of time, she did not file a complaint. She does however have the police reports. She just paid the accrued fees and no longer wanted to be with that bank and allowed the account to close. We believe ChexSystems still has the account showing as unpaid. I faxed the bank a letter (BOA) showing the account was paid. It did not matter. I had a copy of the actual money order. It did not matter. How can they get away with this?
Her inability to deal with the previous fraud is why I was added to this account. She is very busy with two jobs and trying to buy a house. We did later find out that it was in fact ChexSystems still reporting an account with unpaid fees (the issue we thought it was). The fees were paid immediately. However, this bank, National City, went into receivership or new owner or something. The damage is done. The direct deposits are missing. What can we do? Bank of America will not call us back or reply to faxes as to when they will release her funds. Note, I have copies of her credit reports. She has no unpaid credit cards, no collections, no judgments. In fact, she has a BOA credit card that is paid in full. All of her credit card accounts are paid in full. What can we do?
Reviewed Feb. 21, 2009
Reviewed Feb. 20, 2009
I have a joint account with my fiancé. One of his Bank of America accounts was overdrawn in the amount of $177.99. I use our joint account as my own. I got paid on Wednesday of this week, and I went online to verify that the money had made it into my account before going to the mall. I noticed at that time that there was a hold on my account for $177.99; it did not give a reason. I called the bank to ask them what this was for. They informed me that the bank was just holding some of my funds not because of my paycheck, but that the money was due to be released that day and that the money was available to me. I asked if they were sure because I have been lied to many, many times by this bank. She told me she was sure and that I had nothing to worry about.
So, I went to the mall to get what I needed to get. Yesterday, I got a notification in the mail from Bank of America that they had taken $177.99 out of my account. I immediately went online to check my account and it is negative $296. They have charged me 7 overdraft fees because of the $177.99 they debited from my account that I was unaware of, even though I called and asked. All I want is my $245 back. They keep telling me that the fees charged were assessed correctly and Bank of America has every right to take that money. How can it be okay for them to take $245 in fees from me because of a debit I did not authorize and I was unaware of. I cannot pay my rent because they took all that money from me. It is not right.
Reviewed Feb. 20, 2009
Bank of America risk management department still after two weeks have a hold on my checking account. They are closing the account, but won't allow me access to my payroll. Check. I don't know what is going on with that account, meaning that activities maybe taking place without my approval. I need my money to pay other bills. This bank decision to put a hold on the account and not release monies to me has caused a tremendous inconveniences and hardship to my family and me.
Reviewed Feb. 20, 2009
Reviewed Feb. 19, 2009
Constant incorrect information given out by customer service that leads to overdraft charges, posting deposits, checks and debit charges in incorrect order or by incorrect date, and also causing overdraft fees. I am out over $300.00 this month for overdraft fees.
Reviewed Feb. 19, 2009
Starting in October of 2008, periodic overdraft fees would appear on my account despite my balance being fine. When I'd complain, they'd reverse the fees. Irritating but not enough to make me as blindingly angry as I am this moment. No, the real kicker came when they finally got around to telling me (a few days ago) that my paychecks were being put on hold (sometimes up to a week) before making their way to my account, even though the ATM slip showed the entire amount deposited and the fees were from trying to use money they arbitrarily decided to keep from me without my consent or knowledge.
I deposited a check on 2/7. A few days later, there were 4 overdraft fees subtracted from my account. I went to one of their locations and told the teller, who gave me a phone number for customer support, which claimed that my fees would be refunded. 5 days have passed and there now stand 6 (six) fees totaling $210. I must confess I am posting this story partially to vent so I don't do anything stupid or violent when I talk to them tomorrow. I am thoroughly confused as to how this is legal. If there were any justice here, BOA would be under criminal investigation. At any rate, I'm closing my account as soon as my next check clears (on 2/21, deposited 2/13) and will urge everyone I meet to cross the street to avoid this sorry excuse for a business.
Reviewed Feb. 18, 2009
Reviewed Feb. 17, 2009
Bank of America stole money from my account calling it overdraft fees. I deposited cash to cover all outgoing expenses and the bank held the cash until Monday, causing my account to be overdrawn. The bank told me I would have been overdrawn before the cash was deposited. After checking my statement, I realized they were incorrect. When I brought this to their attention, they could not show me where I would be overdrawn and earn the overdraft fees they were so quick to throw at me. When I tried to speak with someone higher up, I was sent in circles with the same group of people not getting any higher in the banking management.
We did talk to Rhonda **, the assistant to the district manager. After speaking with her, she did not return my calls for 3 weeks until I blocked my number when I called, she picked immediately. Maybe a coincidence but after 11 unanswered calls with my number visible and no answer, and one with the number blocked, it just seemed strange. This bank seems to be jerking me around because they think I will let it go if they wait long enough, but they are wrong. Thank you for your time.
Reviewed Feb. 17, 2009
We moved our family (wife + four cats) and my business to Vegas from Ohio around September 2008. On September 16, 2008 around 2:00 pm, I went to Bank of America at 3580 S. Jones Blvd, Las Vegas, Nevada to cash a check drawn on their account. I was forced to take the check to the issuing bank (BOA) due to the 10-day hold WaMu placed on all checks for our new account. I presented the check to a Bank of America teller who told me she could cash the check, but I would be charged a $6 courtesy fee? However, if I opened an account, I would not be charged.
I asked to speak to the manager. The manager of the bank told me that since I am not a BOA customer. They could cash the check as a courtesy to me as a non-customer but they would charge $6.00 for this service. Note that this was a BOA check written by a BOA customer. I told her that I would be happy if she could waive the $6 fee, but she refused my request twice. I argued that the bank had an obligation to honor the check at face value with no added fees. I was not going to pay the $6 (on an $80 check) and I was not going to open an account with a bank that just tried to force me to become a (reluctant) customer!
Reviewed Feb. 16, 2009
I was at a restaurant on 2/13/2009 and I used my Bank of America Mastercard check card but it was denied. I have approximately $1,498 in my checking account and a little over $200 in my savings account which acts as overdraft protection if needed. I couldn't understand why it was rejected so I immediately called customer service and the man I spoke with said that he couldn't tell me anything except that my account was deemed to be high risk and I asked him why, all of a sudden, after being open for at least 3 weeks my account is being flagged as high risk.
He said he couldn't answer that question but could only say that upon further research, it was determined to be high-risk and I would have to talk to the Risk Management Dept. but of course it was late on Friday this happened and Monday is President's Day. He said they would be sending me a check because they were closing my account. I was so shocked... I hadn't received a phone call, letter, email, etc. regarding this matter. I told him I just want to be able to go withdraw my money right now and he said that would not be possible.
So, I tried my online banking and I've been shut out of it and today, President's Day, I called the customer service line to check my balance and I kid you not, because I had to listen to it at least 5 times before I could believe what I was hearing. It said my account is overdrawn by $887,537.14. Yes... close to one million dollars.
Reviewed Feb. 15, 2009
Reviewed Feb. 15, 2009
Isn't it nice that the American public gave its money to bail out Bank of America? Not. On 2/13/09, I visited this bank to cash a whole $55.00 business check from my employer since it was drawn on BOA. The teller told me she had to fingerprint me. No problem. Then she told me since I wasn't a customer, she would charge me $6.00 to cash the check! At that point I said never mind, and after this I would never be a customer of BOA. I went to my regular bank which is a credit union and posed the question how much would they charge me. Isn't that amazing that they would not charge me one penny.
Reviewed Feb. 15, 2009
I have deposited my paycheck in the amount of $6,450.34 on 02/09/2009. But BOA put my check on hold for 10 days. The reason they said was I don't have sufficient amount in my checking account. I don't understand why they are expecting some amount in my checking account. BOA sent my check for collection to TD Bank the same day. I followed up my check on 02/11/2009 with TD Bank. They sent me the check image with the confirmation that my check has been cleared and the amount has credited to my account.
The next day (02/12/2009), I handed over the check details to BOA assistant manager to remove the hold on my account. But they refused to do that and haven't taken any action. Then I asked them where my deposited amount is. They confirmed that it has been credited to my account, but due to the hold, they refused to release my amount. This is really ridiculous with BOA for behaving like a monarchy and trying to suck consumers’ blood. I need some legal help to sue BOA for irresponsive and crappy system. Due to this delay, I got really frustrated and got penalty for my 2-3 online payment. I am already in financial trouble due to this delay and paid unexpected penalty too.
Reviewed Feb. 15, 2009
On the 10th of the month this month, as with the 10th of the month of every other month for the past two and a half decades, my husband's company has made a direct deposit to our bank account. We do our banking with Bank of America through default; Fleet Bank had merged with Bank of New England and so on, through several incarnations over many years... In other words, B of A assumed our checking, savings, overdraft and credit card accounts that we had opened elsewhere. Nonetheless, we were assured that all of our banking needs would be met, as before, and that nothing would change. However, I have found this to not be the truth.
Funny things have been happening throughout the past 12-18 months - little "mistakes", erroneous "fees" and increases in interest charges for no apparent reason. Usually, I've been able to show my branch manager where the incorrect/unfair charge has occurred, and he has agreed. Once or twice (in over twenty years) I have been in the wrong - like depositing an out-of-state check at 2:01 p.m. (oops) on a Friday and forgetting to wait the requisite 10 days (beginning the following Tuesday) for it to clear (thereby bouncing the paper boy's payment) - that sort of thing. But for the most part, we have been overwhelmingly good customers who've borrowed and paid off loans, credit cards, etc., without any issues at all. Lately it's been different - a constant nightmare that I can't seem to wake out of.
In December, my husband's direct deposit came through on the 10th; I transferred money to our line-of-credit that is attached to our checking & savings accounts - the exact same thing I've done every month. I sent out some bills on the same day, but I received two postcards two to three days later saying that those bills were paid, but caused an overdraft. How odd! We had more than enough money in our accounts to cover the bills. So I called the "customer service calling center" and they found the error. My transfer showed up as a withdrawal, the B of A rep. said. He reversed the ($245) fees, and I was pleased. The following month, in January, again my transfer did not show up. I always do the transfer on the phone, but this time I tried the ATM; the branch manager could not explain where my thousands of dollars had gone when I went to the ATM the following day to withdraw $20. "Aha!" he said, "There's just a bit of a lag,"... but again checks bounced - this time costing me hundreds of dollars and hours upon hours of time trying to straighten the whole mess out - with those I had sent checks to as well as with B of A. So now...
On February 10th, per usual, my husband's check went into our checking account which had a one hundred dollar balance before the deposit of several thousands. I transferred $3500 of it to line-of-credit, which had about $250 in that account before the transfer. The next day, I paid a few bills, bought a few small things (a book of stamps, a tank of gas, $30 at the grocery store) and one large phone payment to Bank of America for a credit card account we also have with them. Today, I got a postcard saying that all of those payments did not clear - but that they paid them as a "courtesy" to me and then charged me $35 for each payment. I called the "customer service" center and talked to five different people for hours who all spoke in double-talk, crazy, insane circles about contradictory banking rules - as far as I could see.
My husband, a stockbroker of thirty years who knows the ins & outs of the banking world, could not begin to untangle their twisted explanations. Not only did they outright lie, they were extremely condescending while doing so saying, "We reversed the charges as a courtesy to you last month, Ma'am but you did not make a transfer to your overdraft protection account. Ma'am, you made an authorized payment." My response: "So where's the payment? Why didn't you pay it?" Her answer: "It always takes at least two business days for a payment. It's just like any other payment." Since when is transferring funds between accounts at the same bank the same as mailing a payment to an outside creditor or utility? The patronizing, very fresh "customer service" rep (reps actually) argued with my husband and me - without any logic - for the better part of the afternoon. Then they insisted that my husband's payroll check is also not good for several days - (mind you, he works for a bank) - and that the bank-to-bank (electronic) transfer actually takes several days. Huh?
By the way, the $8.40 book of stamps I bought went through on the morning of the 10th when we had approximately $5000 in the account. They couldn't clear $8.40 for the most complicated, high-falutin' reasons I couldn't even begin to explain back to you! My husband just kept saying, "This is insane. This is insane...This is crazy!"
We all know what's going on in the banking industry, with Bank of America and CitiGroup in particular, and I must say that their preying on loyal customers is a feeble, mean, cheesy attempt at balancing their own overdrawn, over-greedy, over-nasty method of doing business. I am owed - at minimum - $150 in fees at this moment. Although I am certain more will be forthcoming. Since when can banks do whatever they want, whenever they want? They keep my own money from me, and then have the nerve to fine me for their larceny! It is larceny and I want this rotten bank and all of its rotten schemes exposed as soon as possible. And, by the way, just who are the customer rep robots? They are so awful and mean, mean, mean!
Reviewed Feb. 13, 2009
I made a cash deposit at an ATM at 11:30 at night on February 10, 2009 and have a receipt that shows the full amount of the deposit plus the balance that was in the account was available. The next day the bank showed two checks as being overdrawn because of non-sufficient funds. Had they credited me the amount that my receipt shows, there would have been enough funds in the account to cover the checks. I contend that the receipt I have showed the funds were available and the fees should be refunded. When I called the banking center to request the fees be refunded, the response I received was that in the past year the bank had reversed 8 other checks and that they couldn't reverse any more. Those previous reversals were legitimate or the bank wouldn't have reversed them. Past history doesn't have any bearing on the legitimacy of this incident.
Reviewed Feb. 12, 2009
My partner and I share a joint checking account for shared expenses. We occasionally use it as a convenient way of reconciling money owed in lieu of paper checks. I transferred $426 into the account one night and she subsequently withdrew the $426 into her personal checking account. When she signed in, the available balance was shown in the account, so one would infer the funds are available. However, the transactions posted in the opposite order, a withdrawal THEN a deposit, which put the balance in the red. This wasn't shown on the account and we used the card for dinner that night. Well, the deposit didn't post until the next day so we got hit for two overdraft fees at $35 each.
After 35 minutes with a customer service agent, I'd had enough and wanted a supervisor. The supervisor in 'customer support' conceded the fact that it was a misunderstanding but the fine print strictly states that because the bank is technically not at fault, he's not obligated to waive any fees as a courtesy. As a member of 9+ years of BoA, I was floored. He finally agreed to waive one of the fees... despite the second fee inherently being a result of the first fee. I said, “If you understand the order of the postings for these transactions was the culprit, and agree that neither fee would have occurred otherwise, why not waive both fees?” He said, “There's no way to tell if the account would have been negative even if they had posted in the right order.”
I noted that as a banker, this should be an easy process to walk through the 2 transactions, so I did the math over the phone. He again agreed that neither fee would have resulted but there's still no way to tell. Confused? Me too. I explained that many banks would be happy to earn new accounts and I refused to carry a relationship with a bank that squeezes every fee out of me possible. He was happy to grant 1 of the 2 fees back and wished me luck in the hunt for a new bank.
All over $35. A Customer Service Supervisor wishes a decade-long client farewell in the spirit of retaining a $35 fee. This is the level of support you can hope for at Bank of America. I didn't know $35 could upset me so much...
Reviewed Feb. 11, 2009
Reviewed Feb. 10, 2009
Reviewed Feb. 10, 2009
My husband has an auto loan through BofA. Our payment is due on the 4th of each month. For over 4 years, we have made our payment between the 10th-14th before any late charges can be accrued. We received a collection call on 2/7 indicating we would be paying by the 14th. We received another call on 2/9 and I mentioned to him that they just called 2 days prior and it was my understanding that in the State of California, collection calls could only be made every 7 days. He disputed that he was making a collection call, but a courtesy call. Needless to say, he continued to argue with me and as far as I'm concerned, this constitutes repeatedly calling on this account. I asked him to not call again unless I failed to make my payment by the 14th and he said he would not stop calling until we paid.
Reviewed Feb. 9, 2009
Bank of America is charging me $35.00 overdraft fee. However, the statement doesn't show at any moment that the account was negative. This is not the first time. Every time I called their customer service, the explanation is different. The procedure is different to justify those fees. Later I found out that Bank of America customer services is not part of Bank of America. This is a different company called Convergys, which you give all your information and access to your account. They cannot solve anything or give exact information about some issues. They are not Bank of America employees (they are trained to say so). If need something to be solved, you need to go to the branch so you can talk to a real Bank of America employee. Pay attention to it. Be aware! Get out of this bank!
Reviewed Feb. 9, 2009
My first big issue started on 2/3/09, when I had to make an emergency trip from VA to NY. In doing so, I thought I was going to come close to overdrafting. So I went to transfer some funds from my savings to checking when I was purchasing fuel and I couldn't reach the mobile BoA site. I thought, "No biggie, I'll do it from home," which I did. Checked my account and I still had sufficient funds and transferred what was needed to ensure the account would not be in the red. Well BoA decided that in the background (not visible to me), that they were going to assess a $35 overdraft fee which applied immediately, but was not visible. Subsequently, 3 more $35 overdraft fees that took yet another 24 hours to become visible before posting.
I called them to figure out what was going on and told them the situation. They refused to issue me credits. Now mind you, when I went on my account there was no negative balance. If the overdraft did not occur, there would have never been any issue. But they are inflexible and they have claimed $140 of my money. Now I am not excusing my actions of making my account draw too close to the edge, but I made transactions to make sure this would not happen. According to the account online, it was OK. Even further they did not apply overdraft protection that I requested 3 years ago.
Then to sour my relationship with the bank further, I got three letters in the mail on 2/8 saying they are closing my credit card (and my wife's) and line of credit. Mind you, I have never been late on payments and even pay 20-50% more than what is required. Like Steve of Ozark, MO and many others, we are bailing out these too big to fail banks with our tax money while at the same time they are shedding customers that they deem either too risky or not risky enough.
Reviewed Feb. 9, 2009
Around 4:40, I walked into my local Bank of America (201 E Central Texas Expressway 1900, Harker Heights, TX 76548). No one greeted me and I proceeded to the waiting lounge in the middle of the bank between the tellers and the customer service offices. I'm a patient person but I watched two Hispanic gentlemen walk in and proceed into my direction. Before they could sit down, they were greeted by one of the customer service reps (**). She spoke to them in Spanish, looked in my direction and they followed her into her office. I gave her a look of disappointment. (I have been waiting patiently for someone to help me, yet they walk in and get helped as soon as they walk in the front door.) She did come out of her office and asked me, "Do you need something?" in a most unfriendly way! (Should it have been, "Can I help you?" not "Do you need something?" What kind of question is that?)
I had my bank credit card statement with me as I proceeded to explain what I needed help with. She quickly took the statement from me and rudely interrupted me with, "What is this?" I then stopped finishing the reason why I was there and kindly told her it was my credit card statement, and she responded, "Well, you can call a 1800 customer service number for that" and walked back into her office, never asking if there is anything she could do to help or if I needed any further assistance with anything else! How could I tell her what I needed when she rudely interrupted me while I was trying to tell her what I needed! After she walked back in her office, I sat there in shock! Are you supposed to make a customer wait while she helps someone else who walks in after you? And she saw me seating there as she escorted the two gentlemen into her office.
And why is she conversing with me over my account info in a main lobby? Is that not what the teller's office is for, the ones with doors on them for privacy!? This is not acceptable! I'm a conscientious white American! I'm not Spanish! This is America and I speak English. Does this Spanish speaking person prejudiced because I'm a white American? Can you give me a good reason why I shouldn't get a lawyer over this discrimination? As I sat there stunned, I decided to walk myself to her office and asked for assistance! She told me, "I'll be right with you later. I have these two customers." I kindly responded that I needed a supervisor and should not wait any longer for assistance. She proceeded to tell me I will have to wait until she is done with them. I told her I want a manager now, not later as I'm sick of waiting. The manager escorted me into an office and said she is sorry for the other rep's delinquency!
Not much time passed and the rep came into the office I was seating at with the manager and she interrupted me again as I sat there and was trying to explain to the manager! Is this the kind of confrontation I should be subjected to!? This is not professional and unacceptable! My time is valuable. I don't have time to explain myself to a manager while a rep interrupts me! Then the rep said, "You forgot one thing, sir. You did not sign in! You have to sign in to get help." Then I went off on her and responded, "Did the two Hispanic gentlemen sign in? No, they did not! Yet you kindly took them into your office! And where are they now? They're gone! You helped them, yet I'm still seating in this bank and arguing with you!"
Maybe you think this is not a racial issue, but this is not Mexico! And if I sound racial, then maybe you need to send this letter to someone else in the Bank of America department because the facts speak for themselves! There is a racial issue here and I did not do anything wrong, besides have a rep disrespect me and treat me in a way no one should be treated. You have my money in my credit card account and I'm sure the more money you have to play with, the more your bank grows. Is that what I'm here for? To be subjected to having to wait, never be greeted, have to watch someone who walks in after me, after I've been waiting and waiting, only to have them helped, and then be told I needed to call an 800# because she is too busy now helping someone else who walked in after me, only to have my credit card statement taken from me and conversation over for a split second in a non-private area (waiting area), not a nice little office with a door.
I guess that is for special people, people who are not American who speak anything but English! Then to have a customer service rep argue with me as I am trying to explain the situation at hand with a manager! You don't do this! You don't have the rep with the customer in front of a manager especially when the customer gets interrupted! I am to explain myself as if I'm some kid. I guess this kid can take his money out of the Bank of America on my secured card and look it up! See how much more I put on my secured credit card that same day! I might not have a fat account like some, but you do have my money though I'm white and not Hispanic. I'm looking forward to a response soon!
Reviewed Feb. 7, 2009
Today, Feb. 6 2009 at approximately 5:15PM, I went to BOA in Yuba City, CA to cash two checks drawn on a Bank of America business account. I waited in line for approximately 28 minutes to cash these checks. I got to the teller, whom I thought was the manager. I started to sign my checks as I've been doing for the past years, when she told me that I would have to have the checks verified. I have been going to this same Bank of America in Yuba City on Butte House Rd approximately four years, cashing these same checks drawn on the same business account with Bank of America. She told me that I would have to see somebody at the desks.
I walked over to a lady at a desk and asked about verifying checks. I showed her the checks. She typed on the keyboard and asked me if I was a signer on this account. I told her, "No, I'm not. I am here to just cash these checks just like I've been doing for a while now." She asked me if I have an account with them. I told her no. She said to me that if I had an account with them, this would not happen. Wow! I am not a stranger at this bank. This is yet another ploy or policy of this bank to direct you to open an account. The first being the $5 charge per check cashed for being a non-account holder. Is this a legal charge? I would guess that in approximately four years at $5 per check, the fees would be around $1,140.00 that I have been charged to cash checks drawn on this business account with Bank of America.
The lady at the desk verified the checks. I asked her, "Do I have to do this every time?" She said yes and stood up. She then walked me to a teller and said she will have this teller take care of me. I asked the teller if this was something new to have checks verified. She stated that all non-accounts would. She also asked if I would like to talk to the manager. Yes, I would like a chat. The teller cashed the checks and at this time, I was calling the business that issued the checks.
Robin, at the issuers of the checks, answered my call. I stated to her that I have been made to wait to have their business checks cashed. She told me that she thought that all issues with this bank was resolved. I then told her this new issue has risen. The first issue was the $5 fee. I told her that I've always been charged a $5 fee per check. I then stated that once in a great while that I hadn't been charged. I then remembered that I didn't get charged when the Merchant Tellers cashed my checks. That would be only less than ten times in all the time going to this bank. I went over to talk with the manager, a Mike **. At this time, Mr. ** was explaining to another customer that this is a new procedure. Robin is still on my cell phone listening to Mike ** talking.
Mr. ** also stated that these kinds of accounts have to be verified due to the increase of fraudulent checks being cashed at this bank. He also stated that he had to fire one of his tellers because of not charging the check cashing fees. Again, wow! Robin, who was listening asked to speak to him. Mike ** said he will not speak to her on the phone. I left this bank after approximately 45 to 50 minutes to cash two checks totaling less than $600.00. My time is worth a lot more than these policies.
I am 48 years, young, single father of three, and I work very hard for every dollar I can get. This bank's policies make you feel very uncomfortable and ripped off. What choice does one have to even try to stand up to this kind of bank practices? I have my reasons for not wanting to open an account with BOA. It's like you have to jump through their hoops and dance a jig to get your hard earned money.
Reviewed Feb. 6, 2009
I have been having issues with BoA. This last time, it was all my fault that I went in the negative but before my account will go into the negative and I called the 1800 number and they can't tell me why my account is in the negative. I asked what the transactions were and they told me that they cannot give me any information about it. This has happened 2 times and I was reading what else BoA has been doing and noticed a lot of people are saying they get charged $35 overdraft fee. I'm getting charged $39 fees. I do not understand I have never had any problems with BoA until the last couple of months. I don't know what is going on but I'm not staying with them. I can't afford to keep paying them. I have already paid the well over $700 and they can't tell me why. I'm sick of it. They used to be a pretty good bank but not anymore.
Reviewed Feb. 5, 2009
Reviewed Feb. 5, 2009
How long are we going to put up with this? Until we close our accounts with Bank of America? They are keeping our money. Better yet, they are stealing from working class individuals. The same thing has happened to me on various occasions. I am fed up with it and I want action. We are fortunate to live in a free country and I am ready to take on the big guy Bank of America. Something needs to be done. If you are interested in filing a lawsuit against BofA, please contact me. What they do is wrong and we all know it.
Reviewed Feb. 5, 2009
They are charging a $5 fee to cash a check from one of their business customers account if you don't have an account with them. They do not give a receipt for this fee so where is this fee going? How does the teller balance if they have collected the $5? I have asked for a receipt showing an AR code. They have handwritten them for me with no # for what fund is receiving this fee.
Reviewed Feb. 4, 2009
There was a court order to get money out of my accounts without me knowing and the court froze my bank account for two weeks. Fine, court order I understand. But when the court order was lifted, you would expect everything to go back to normal? Not at all. I called for two weeks (seriously 10 business days everyday for 2 hours a day). Today, Feb 4th, 2009, is not different. I am literally on the phone as I am typing. My accounts still do not work. Not one person or manager is taking responsibility for me getting hung up on. Not one employee has said, "I am sorry for all of this. I will take care of your problem today." Nothing. I am finished with doing all and any business with Bank of America. Their credit cards are horrible. Their checking and banking are garbage! I am not speaking out of frustration. I am only telling the truth.
Reviewed Feb. 4, 2009
I received an email on 2/3 stating that I will incur 4 overdraft fees even though I have sufficient funds in the bank (I have my online banking statement that I can provide). They stated that there was 1 hold for an item for $26.16 which caused this. I did not see any transaction in my account information indicating that my account was reduced because of a hold from a vendor. Unless I see that on my statement there, as far as I am concerned, there is no hold and I shouldn't be charged.
Why would I be charged overdraft when they can clearly see that there is enough money in the account to cover the vendor and other items? If there is something reducing my balance to cause an overdraft, then it should be reflected in my statement. As far as I am concerned, I do not have definitive proof that what is claimed by Bank of America is the truth. I cannot see what they stated to be true as fact. It could have been a made up transaction to cause me to pay additional fees to pay for their bail out.
After a few emails, chats (I have print outs), and phone calls, they refunded me $35 of the possible $140 on 2/4/09. Then I received an email that I will incur yet another fee for the same transaction that caused this whole mess. So they are taking another $70. They kept telling that this invisible hold/reduction of my balance was the whole problem. Yet, I can't see any documentation from them that states this is a fact. It's an invisible transaction that they did to take money from me and say it's an insufficient fund fee. How hard can it be that they can just give back what's mine without the invisible transaction that they claimed happened?
Reviewed Feb. 4, 2009
I have items already posted to my account and cleared and then the items will move when I sign on again and be replaced if I have a larger amount come in to cause my account to be overdrawn, charging several account overdraft charges when if posted correctly, I might have one charged if any. I have contacted them several times about transactions being moved to benefit the bank. I have looked at my account in the same day just 20 or 30 minutes apart and items be moved around on my account.
I have posted items in my checkbook that have cleared and have seen these transactions moved to pay a bigger item that came at the end. They have moved items on my account to place overdraft charges first. I received a letter from Bank of America saying my account was one of the ones that my information was taken from. Bank of America is abusing their customers in ways hard to see according to what answers they give. When I saw this happen on my account today, I looked to see if there were any other complaints and this was when I saw all these complaints out there on Bank of America!
Reviewed Feb. 4, 2009
They closed all my accounts without any reason. I have copies of my credit report with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion and I have very good credit. If you can find out for me why they closed my accounts?
Reviewed Feb. 3, 2009
I recently paid $200 that I owed to BofA when I got my $3k tax return with no problems; money was there for me to use. I re-opened the account and was enjoying life. Then I got a lawsuit settlement and BofA will not release the funds on the date that they said they would in writing. Now they are holding it up in the risk department; over $8k every 6 months was going to come their way. Now I will stuff it under a mattress because I’m not going to let those lying cheating con-artists have my money or benefit from it in any way. I was supposed to have the money free from their normal hold on the 4th (in writing), and now they are saying the 11th. As a result, I have at least 2 checks over $700 out there to pay bills (i.e., PG&E and the Phone Company). Do they care? No, they gave me enough money to get gas to go home.
Reviewed Feb. 3, 2009
I went into this particular branch of Bank of America this past Friday, January 30th, as I usually do every two weeks to cash my work check. I have never ever been charged a bank fee of $6.00 for cashing my checks there because I was not an account holder. All of a sudden, on this day, I was told by the teller and Ms. **, the Assistant Manager, that this was their policy and that it had always been this way. I attempted to ask the teller and Ms. ** where was this in writing for the non-customer account holders to see. I was never given a straight answer. I was sent over to speak with Ms. ** and she would not hear or listen to anything I was trying to ask her - that being, where was it in writing for the non-account customers to see we had to pay a fee for cashing a check in their bank? She never did answer that question.
What she did do was show me on their internal computer information where it was written there, however, again my question was not answered regarding where it was in writing for the public to see - similar to the brochures they had for banking services. She refused to listen to me and interrupted me when I even tried to ask her why this was not written on any brochures similar to the ones I gestured over to with my hand as we were speaking. Her answer as to why I was charged was because either the tellers hadn't been doing their jobs or my job had been waiving the fees. This left a very bad taste in my mouth as I felt she showed very poor listening skills and was determined to get her point over to me as to why I still had to pay $6.00. I also asked her why non-account holders had to be penalized because they choose to not bank with them.
Reviewed Feb. 3, 2009
In brief, BofA business dept. of Glendale falsely qualified me as an owner of business and suckered me into a $250.00 line of credit on my house. At the same time, they got me to refinance my house to 15 years. I told them I did not believe I had enough income at that time to make such payments. Their agents insisted that I use lien to make payments and pay off other bills. The house and lien payment monthly presently take up 70% of my gross income. After signing, they later devalued my property by 257,000 and yank line of credit.
The point is, BofA has caused me economic hardship by falsely qualifying me as a business-owner, which I never was, with a high income without asking for business proof, and giving me an erroneous BofA business account of $1,800 (which is still open but cannot withdraw funds), just to make me look good so that their agents and the bank can reap commissions and interest by holding my house as collateral. After making mortgage and credit line payments, I have nothing left and have to live on credit cards to survive. I feel that I have good grounds for a predatory lawsuit. Please advise!
Reviewed Feb. 3, 2009
I paid my signature online; I received a confirmation of one payment. My bank account showed two payments within 2 seconds of each. I did not receive a second confirmation; I was told that as it was their system, I could not trace it. Now I received a letter stating my signature account has been reduced to almost my balance due; add in the next month’s finance charge and it is over drawn; then there will be late fees and a higher interest rate. I have paid a higher payment this month to offset that from happening. How can they do this? They’re charging me more of an interest because they sent back the over payment I did not make. But they said until I pay a full overpay, the interest rate will reflect it as a loan because they sent the money back to me. Now, they lower the max which is just under the next month balance due!
Reviewed Feb. 2, 2009
I have been locked out of my account innumerable times. It seems like every time I try to straighten out the situation by finding an acceptable online ID, things are changed on me. I feel very angry. I just spent the last two hours on the phone with the number given to me to straighten this out (1-800-933-6262). I cannot talk to a real person. I am on the verge of dropping out of Bank of America completely (we have several accounts) if I don't get some service soon! My account number is **. I expect to hear from you very soon. If I don't, you can cancel our accounts! I will pay my account by mail so that we do not have to communicate again if you do not call me now.
Reviewed Feb. 2, 2009
It's my fault that I've had overdrafts and charge backs but the most recent fee resulted in a $42 overdraft. I had direct deposit that week for over $2000. The $42 fee was taken out which left me with $1972. They are in the process of closing my account so I've been told so I can't access any money. They terminated my ATM card. I was told my account is scheduled to be closed on February 11, 2009 and that they will send me a cashier's check sometime after that. This is not right. My ATM is inactivated so I can't get money there and they said they will not honor any checks that come through. So why are they holding my money?
I can understand holding half maybe but not all of it. I've talked with branch managers and the risk management department and have gotten nowhere. I have absolutely no money at all. My utilities are going to be shut off as well as the fact that I have no money for food. I am not denying that I haven't been a good money manager lately. However, this is my money and they should not have any right to hold it so long. If I wanted to close my account, I could have that money that day. This is so terribly wrong.
I've been a Bank of America customer for quite a while. I am going through a bad time and have been the last couple of years. They have made a lot of money off me. I am not asking for all of it right now but just enough to live on. Furthermore, my job requires that I have direct deposit. I can't open an account elsewhere because I don't have any money. I don't know what to do. I would like them to allow me to close my account today and go into a bank and pick up my check or reopen it immediately.
Reviewed Jan. 31, 2009
I currently have a car loan with Bank of America. I purchased my vehicle in June 2004 and Bank of America was the referred financing company with the Toyota dealership. The amount financed was $26K over a 6-year duration. Approximately 1 year ago, I fell into financial hardships due to a separation. Although I was late with my payment (3-4 times, 30-34 days late), I always made my monthly payment. I asked on several occasion for them to consider refinancing my loan to lower my payment, but they said due to my late payment history they could not and it wasn't worth even filling out an application because I would be denied. In October 2008 it became even more so challenging when I stopped receiving child support income for my 7-year-old son because his dad lost his job. I tried to keep up with payments, but once you fall behind it is very difficult to play catch up.
In December 2008 I made a payment because I knew it was 60 days past due. They told me that once I made that payment, I would be okay as long as I made a payment in January 2009. On January 22, 2008 I got a card on my front door from a man who is trying to repossess my truck! Immediately I contacted Bank of America and they told me that I'm 3 months behind! I explained that I'm aware that November 2008 and December 2008 were late, but January just became late as of January 11th, and I had made a payment on Dec. 17, 2008. They said it didn't matter because I was delinquent and my account was in repo status. The only way to stop it was to pay the full payment of $1,605 in cash at a branch and they would call off the repo.
I had luckily received my state tax return on Wednesday, 1/28/09, and it was enough to cover it. I went and purchased a cashier's check on Thursday, 1/29/09, for the total amount due on my account which had included Nov 2008, Dec 2008, Jan 2009 and all late fees. Before I made the payment, I was concerned that even if I paid them, they would still try to take my car. So I called Bank of America repo department and requested this in writing. A girl named Rita told me that they couldn't give me anything in writing and it is just a verbal agreement. I know that doesn't hold up and I even called her out on that, but I wasn't the one holding the cards here. They were, so their rules!
Needless to say, I paid what they told me to pay in full and I did everything as instructed. I paid the teller lady, who then gave me a receipt. Then I was told to go to someone at a desk with a phone, where I was assisted by an account specialist Keith sitting at a desk (Brea, CA Bank of America), who made the phone call in front of me to the BOA repo department (which I gave him the phone number to). Then Keith said they would immediately contact the repo people, LB Enterprises, and cancel the repo. I was assured that the repo was cancelled.
On my way out of the bank, I called the repo company LB Enterprises at (714)-899-4000. I asked for Tony **, who was the person who left his card on my front door on Monday, 1/26/09 (who never returned any calls to me after I called several times daily and left multiple messages). I was told by a gentleman at this number that Tony wasn't available as I was always told. This unknown gentleman assured me that Bank of America had just called them and he was the one who had taken the call, and told them I made the full payment and the repo was cancelled.
My problem? Today is Saturday, 1/31/2009, and Tony ** with LB Enterprises (the repo people) showed up at my home 20 minutes after I left for work and was sitting outside in his tow truck while my son was riding his bike with my mom outside watching. My mom approached Tony and said that he shouldn't be there. The account was paid. He was very rude and threatening to my mom, with my son right there as well. Even after the confrontation, Tony sat parked in his truck in front of our home for approximately 20 minutes.
Reviewed Jan. 31, 2009
According to Bank of America, if I go negative in my account and transfer money from my savings the same day, I will not be charged an overdraft fee. The same day that I went negative, I transferred enough money to stay positive. Bank of America still charged me an overdraft fee. So after I transferred money, they decided to charge me $70 worth of fees which made me go negative again. This time around, I was not able to transfer funds in time, but it was due to the fact that they were charging me unfairly. So now they have taken a total of $105 out my bank account.
By the way, this bank tries to play it off as if you get your alerts as soon as you go negative. I received my alert 3 days later. Also, I got cheated with the Keep the Change transfers that they have. They say that for the first 3 months, every time you use the card you get the %100 of the change matched by Bank of America. After the 3 months, it's 5% only. Well my first three months I used it so much that I should've had at least $50 for the first 3 months and there after I should've had a little bit more because it's only 5%. I only got $22 for the year; I had that Keep the Change Feature. Bank of America has cheated me from day 1. Thank you Bank of America for sucking so much and making me lose money in a time where the economy is so low.
Reviewed Jan. 30, 2009
Reviewed Jan. 30, 2009
I am a member of the NEA. I have a credit card through this bank with the NEA. I also got a consolidated loan. I got my first bill for the loan, and it was not what I was quoted over the phone. I called and was told that there was a calculated mistake and that it was corrected. I said, "That is not my fault. I was told $186 a month and it is $260 on the bill." I was put through to someone of higher authority. She said that $186 wouldn't even have covered the loan. Again, I said not my fault. I asked if they had the tape of my conversation with the person who gave me the loan. She said “No, we only do that for learning purposes.”
Anyway, after a long discussion, it ended up that I have to pay the $260 for the next 9 years. This is not the biggest problem. The reason I am upset is after the call; I accepted that I have to pay because I have no proof. The lady called me back and told me she has to cancel my credit card. I asked why and she said, "Because you are in financial difficulty." I said "No, I called because a quote was different from the bill." She said," Yes, but we have to stop your card." I said "Why? I have not been late with any payment, credit card, nor the consolidated bill. I don't even have a balance on the credit card!" She said, "We have to." She never gave me an answer why they have to.
I have never been late, never anything? How can they cancel a card because I questioned a bill? Yes, I fought for the lower estimate I was given, but since I have no proof, I didn't win. Since I fought for the lower, I can only assume that they are nervous. A bank, who themselves got a bail out from the government, does this to me who hasn't even missed paying them. I would like to understand this. How can they do this when I have done nothing wrong?
Reviewed Jan. 30, 2009
Reviewed Jan. 29, 2009
I had a home equity line with LaSalle Bank that was taken over by Bank of America. I never had any problems with LaSalle. Minimum payment due each month was interest only and I always paid more than billed. B of A took over and the first bill I receive is for $2083 (monthly bill was approx. $200 with LaSalle)! My next bill was for minimum payment due of $3,526! I called again, and finally, after going through a zillion menus, got through to a live person. This person stated that many people's accounts were messed up after the LaSalle takeover. I was told that the actual amount owed was $246 and that brought me current. I paid $350. This was in December.
I was told that my account was being "pulled for review" and that I would receive a corrected statement when it was figured out and to ignore anything else I received until it was corrected. The only thing received was a general letter that I assume was sent to all of the previous LaSalle customers stating something about deferred interest billing differences between the two banks. It made no sense, because I always covered the full interest payment with LS Bank. Also, on the day of my phone call to B of A, I had someone help me get my account set up online, since I was having problems getting their website to let me register.
By late December, I had still not received anything saying that my account had been figured out, and assuming I should have a payment due, I accessed my account online. It said, "Past due amount $0, next payment due 1/20/2009 for $171.88." I paid $200 online on 1/16/2009. I received a statement in the mail, dated 1/14/09 stating that the $171.88 was due 12/20, not 1/20, and was overdue. I never received any previous bill for that amount in the mail and my online account stated it was due 1/20, not 12/20 (I printed the current statement from the web account).
I also received in the mail, an overdue notice dated 1/16/2009, stating that the $171.88 was 23 days past due as of that date. It also stated that I owed $73.54 in "unpaid fees", which I assumed they were trying to charge as a late fee. I called the number on the letter and got no help. I was told that I shouldn't go by the web statement because those weren't correct. I was told I should have called them to get the correct amount if I didn't receive a bill in the mail.
Why would I think I needed to call if the web account stated $171.88 due 1/20, with nothing past due? Again, as of today, nobody has ever contacted me to let me know that my account was reviewed and fixed like I was told in the first phone call. They tried to put it on me and said that it's my problem. Somehow, I was supposed to figure it out on my own and know that what was on my web account was not correct? I have received in the mail from them to date - a bill stating minimum due was $2084, a bill stating min. due was $3526, notice from 12/12/08 stating account overdue $1756 by 18 days, a notice dated 12/13/08 stating overdue $1406 for 22 days, a notice 1/14/09 stating overdue $171.88 + $73.54 unpaid fees, overdue notice dated 1/16/2009 for $171.88 for 23 days late.
I was rudely told on the phone that I missed a payment and when I said I was told I would be notified when it had been fixed by B of A, and was never notified or billed, I was basically told, "Too bad", and two different reps told me that the web accounts are not always right. When I inquired about the "unpaid fees", I was told that was from a deferred interest agreement I had with LaSalle?! This is what really sent me over the edge. They could not explain what it was for and said, "That's too bad - you have to pay it anyway. It was something you agreed to do with LaSalle." I have pulled my contract with LaSalle - there is nothing about deferred interest. I stated that my contract had nothing in it and was told that I still must have agreed to it so I was going to have to pay it. Now, since I am with B of A, my payoff amount is suddenly getting larger, despite paying more than my monthly interest since inception with LaSalle. Nobody knows what is going on there and I don't trust them at all.
Reviewed Jan. 29, 2009
Bank of America holds your money. I received 6 overdraft fees of $35.00 for transactions that were done over the weekend by debit, but posted on Monday. Hmm, I have talked to 4 representatives who said as a courtesy, they would refund me $35.00. I already opened an account with Wachovia because I am sick of Bank of America and their **! This resulted in the account being overdrawn by $325.00 which means I have lost $325.00 to pay bills that need to be paid.
Reviewed Jan. 29, 2009
On 1/14/2009, I had a pending overdraft due to an unexpected automatic withdrawal. I caught it in enough time and transferred the funds to cover the overdraft before the end of the business day. Once the funds are deposited to cover the overdraft and it turns black, then the customer isn't supposed to charge an overdraft fee. Although the negative turned black instead of staying red, Bank of America charged me $140.00 in overdraft fees. I called customer service and of course she stayed firm with her decision that it wasn't a bank error! She stated that she would not refund the money.
Then the customer service rep asked if she could do anything else for me. I said, “Yes, give me my money back!” She said, “I can't do that.” I told her that I would be filing another complaint with the BBB as I had in the past. She said, “Do what you think is best.” I told her that I was told by someone who works for a bank that the CR's are trained to make the customer think they are incorrect about their overdraft fees. She said, “Ma'am, that isn't true.” And I just hung up the phone. This isn't the only time that my son and I have been charged incorrect fees. And yes, someone needs to put an end to this mind boggling chaos! It’s is unfair and unethical. As a result of the incorrect overdraft fees, I have had to borrow money or haven't been able to pay bills because of the overdraft fees.
Reviewed Jan. 28, 2009
I opened a CD with $5,000 in 2003 at Bank of America and then let it roll over in 2007 at $5,552.21. I looked at it online and found it only has a balance of $1,265.76. The only thing I learned during 3 phone calls to Bank of America was it was transferred and given a check in the back office to Ann ** on 12/26/2007. I don't know this person, I gave no authorization to this person and it is a personal CD. The first call, they told me they would put a research fraud on it. The last 2 calls they denied it. The remaining balance of the CD has disappeared on 1/16/09. The bank has done nothing to rectify either withdrawals of this CD in the past 4 weeks since I reported it.
I have no personal debts or judgments with Bank of America. I don't know what is going on. Please help me. In this economy, this is my life savings. They won’t reimburse the money until they find where it went and the trail ends with Ann **, a back office employee, cutting checks from my CD in her name. Consequences: The economic is the time put into this. The many hours of phone calls and days my husband has had to take off work. I have a nerve disease that is increased by the cold, and I had to go out in the cold weather with my husband to the bank to try to get the bank manager to help us. I experienced increased pain and symptoms for days afterwards from going out in the cold. I also have a heart condition that I have to carry nitroglycerin for chest pains; these have increased. This was my life savings for medical emergencies, etc. Now, there is nothing. There have been many of these types of incidents at Bank of America here in Florida recently.
Reviewed Jan. 27, 2009
Reviewed Jan. 27, 2009
My account was overdrawn in December 2008. I completed paying what I owed on Friday and Bank of America's overdraft customer service credited $140 in overdraft fees for me. On Friday, 1/23/2009, I verified that my account was in a positive status before I deposited my money. I was informed that the account held $3.97 after my deposit and the credit. I had already withdrawn the remainder of my paycheck from my Credit union savings account so that I could obtain money orders for my bills.
Since I did not want to carry the money around with me, I decided to put it in this bank so that I could just pay my bills via check and telephone. I put in cash. I received a receipt showing my "available balance." When I tried to use the card after I made the deposit, it was declined. I called customer service. The representative I spoke with did not know why my transaction was being declined. She transferred me to the ATM card customer service line. The gentleman I spoke with informed that there was not a block on the card and suggested I go into a branch.
I went back into the bank that I made the cash deposit. The teller did a little research and informed me that my account was on a credits only status - yet I cannot make a credit or debit purchase. I cannot withdraw money. A customer service rep at the branch phoned their customer service line and was informed that I would be able to withdraw money within 24 hours. I was told by the lady helping me that I could get the money on Saturday. I was furious because I had just made a cash deposit and I no longer owed this bank any money. I had to wait a full 24 hours!
I tried using my debit card at a gas station - at this point, I was almost out of gas and my card was being declined at the Kroger gas station near my home. I called customer service again. The representative could not see what the issue was and again I was transferred to the ATM card customer service. The young lady I spoke with tried doing some sort of override and reset of the card but it was still being declined. I made my way back to the branch that I made my deposit the day before. I was told that the account was still on a credits only hold because I had been overdrawn for so long. So, what is this, a punishment? I no longer owe the bank. I put in cash and the bank is holding it as if it was an out of state check. I live paycheck to paycheck and I don't have anyone to borrow from!
Why should I? I have what I need - it's just that this bank is not releasing it. I need my money! The manager was made aware of the situation and she tried whatever she tried to get me my money, but she could not do it. I was told it would be Tuesday before the money would be released to me! She had to fax in a request of some sort. Tuesday?! I'm not asking for a loan from the bank. Just give me the cash that I deposited; that is all I'm asking. I went the entire weekend without money. I had $15 in my purse and bought gas to get to work.
Today is Tuesday, 1/27/09. At approximately 2:22 pm, I tried to withdraw money at the Bank of America ATM - as I was told it would be available today. I was declined. I went into the bank and spoke with Rekkah who called her customer service line. I was informed that I would not be able to access the money until tomorrow?! This is unacceptable. I cannot go one more day like this!
Reviewed Jan. 27, 2009
We had an extreme drop in our income due to owning our own business in the new home service realm. We were unable to make a full payment to Bank of America so we consulted a debt settlement company for help. They told us to change our address to them and stop making payments. After 3 months, we found out that this debt settlement company had nothing to help our situation. I immediately called Bank of America and was transferred to IC Systems to set up a payment plan to take care of our debt.
I have been a customer for over 7 years and never was even late on a payment up until Aug. 08. They had increased my interest rate to 30%. When I called them, they said only IC Systems could handle my case and they could give me no information. My husband and I have a considerable amount of debt due to our business crunch. IC offered me a settlement in which I thought I would be able to pay but after reviewing with my company advisor, I am unable to keep up with the outrageous payments. I was supposed to have my first payment taken out and I do not have the funds available.
I wish I could settle with them but I am not able to come up with over $13,000 within the next 6 months. I have too many other debts that I need to be paying on as well. I called them to tell them that I was not able to follow through with the settlement I agreed on and that I wanted to pay off my debt in full and I wanted to set up some more affordable monthly payment plans. They said that was not acceptable and the only thing they could take would be the first settlement payment. I then again called Bank of America and they could offer me nothing as they informed me it had been sold to IC Systems.
IC Systems keeps telling me that everything they do has to be authorized by BOA. I am sickened by the predicament that I am in but I am at the mercy of the debt collectors. I want to make good on my account but they will not make payment arrangements with me. They just threaten me with court litigation and the continuation of their constant attempts to collect a debt. IC Systems calls us non-stop, weekends, holidays, early morning, late at night. They call with unknown numbers and they do not identify themselves on the phone. They want me to identify myself before they will say who they are.
Reviewed Jan. 27, 2009
Reviewed Jan. 27, 2009
Reviewed Jan. 27, 2009
In mid-September of 2008, BoA blocked my $1,500 overdraft protection line and mailed out letters after the fact. This resulted in six $38 fees, however, all the OD items were paid. The explanation given to me was that BoA conducts periodic audits, which resulted in the block, and I could have my line reinstated upon request. This phony audit/block just happens to coincide with the Monday morning announcement of BoA purchase of Merrill Lynch. Apparently, I was not the only customer robbed and lied to, as the waiting time on hold for customer service was 12 minutes.
After calling BoA for one week, I finally managed to speak to someone who told me since this was not a bank error, I would not be given any refunds for overdraft fees. Hmmm, I thought this was overdraft protection. Apparently, this is just a faucet BoA can manipulate to steal from their customers. I regret not closing my account at that time because BoA has just repeated their vile and unethical act again. They have blocked my line of credit of $1,500 without notice and I now have 11 overdraft items at $38 each. I just paid up the entire balance of my line of credit on 1/23/09, so I felt I had OD protection if I needed it. How can BoA get away with these dishonest tactics? Please help!
Reviewed Jan. 26, 2009
I issued a check to my co-worker and it was postdated January 23, 2009. But Bank of America charged me overdraft fee. And when I asked them (I called customer service) and they told me that the check was deposited Jan. 21, 2009, I called my co-worker again she said, “No, that is not true...” She was asking me to ask the Bank of America to prove that it was deposited on January 21, 2009. But when I went to Bank of America Union City branch, I told them everything; I was expecting to reimburse my money instead. But to my disappointment, she said there's nothing they can do about it. I closed my account to Bank of America, and I called my friend again. She said they are lying! I got 2 more overdrafts charged and the same thing. Are they really going down and getting money from depositors? This is not good! You cannot trust this kind of bank to handle your money.
Reviewed Jan. 26, 2009
Reviewed Jan. 26, 2009
On numerous occasions, I have submitted a stop payment request online to suspend an automatic check payment from my Bank of America checking account. Although the first time I called in to get assistance from a teller, I was instructed by the same teller that I could complete this transaction online in the future and even had them walk me through the instructions to do so. For one month in particular, this automatic payment was stopped an additional month for which I did not intend. When I called to inquire as to the reason, I was informed that a stop payment would stay in place until released by me. Fine! The next month that I placed a similar reversal, I was surprised to find that the bank actually released/paid a payment which was supposed to be stopped due to a prior month's reversal.
I was told by the bank that I should not have been able to do this stop payment online and directed to small print in the online instructions which state that you must call a live rep for an ACH stop payment or be charged an additional fee. Since this had not been the verbal instructions that I had been given previously, I was somewhat surprised to find that this was now the case. I even argued that the previous stop payment had been processed online and initiated by BOA with no problem to no avail. I guess that BOA would rather collect the $400 in overdraft charges that this caused me rather than keep me as a customer and fix the obvious flaw in their system.
Reviewed Jan. 24, 2009
My husband is overseas in Japan, went out on New Year’s Eve, and swiped his BOA check card four times. Then on the 1st of January, he swiped it another three times for sightseeing and other things. I transferred the remaining balance into my BOA account for a car payment that was coming out on the 5th of January. Uh oh, I was wrong. It was actually set up to come out of my husband's account so we were going to end up with an overdraft charge. Wrong. Somehow, the pending transactions that occurred on New Year's Eve and the day after did not actually post until after the car payment came out on the 5th so we actually incurred eight overdraft fees subsequently totaling $280. When I called to complain, an extremely exasperated representative explained that posting and pending are two different processes and as a courtesy, they would refund $42.
Fast forward three weeks and I noticed that an unforeseen charge has come out of my business checking account and my pending transactions are going to put me into the negative. So I immediately transferred money into my business checking account and my available balance given is positive. On that note, I used my card for four more business transactions the next day. However, when I checked my online ledger, I am now in the negative because the money I transferred did not post in time, so therefore, the transactions made before and after resulted in eight more overdraft fees. Make sense?
When I called to complain, a BOA representative told me he would credit me as a courtesy four overdraft fees ($140) thereby putting my account back into the positive so that the other four transactions would not be bounced and I would not incur more charges. Nope! The very next day, I'm right back into the negative and told this time by another BOA rep that I should be grateful that they even gave me $140 because there is a difference between pending and posting and apparently, I was not quick enough. Total fees for the month of January between my account and my husband's after the courtesy credits is $377. That's the actual cost of our car payment. Thanks, BOA!
Reviewed Jan. 23, 2009
I have an incredible dilemma & I have nowhere to turn. Without dragging you down w/ details, let me just say the my husband, Brad, and I have worked hard for a long time to be debt free. We own a 1971 mobile home & have lived in Holly for 17 years. We raised 3 incredibly good girls who are all gainfully employed. We drive used cars & live within our means. Everything we have is paid for. With the exception of a $38,000 unsecured loan from Bank of America, we owe the world not a dime. We don't have much, but we are proud of our integrity & ability to pay our debts. A review of our (currently zero balance) credit card accounts, including the Bank of America loan, will show a flawless payment history - on time and always more than the minimum due.
Brad owns a small welding shop in Flint & it's currently struggling, but holding its own. We were experiencing a financial slowdown and in an effort to do the right thing, I called Bank of America on January 10th (3 days before the loan payment was due) to try to negotiate a lower payment. I ended up speaking to Monica. I told her we just needed a few months to get back on our feet - I asked Monica to please see if our payment could be reduced to help us out temporarily. I was adamant that we would pay our debt.
After asking me some questions, she told me to file bankruptcy. I was astounded! I asked her to repeat it & she said, "You need food & heat... file bankruptcy." I kept insisting that we could and would pay the loan back. She said, "No. File bankruptcy." I could not pay the January 13th payment on time, but as I knew we would, we now have the money to pay the payment.
I emailed Bank of America yesterday (1-22-09) that I would make the January & February payments ($1200+) if the $49 late fee would be waived. I did not hear back from them yesterday. Last night, I opened our mail to discover 3 letters from Bank of America; they not only cut off our loan account, they cancelled my credit card & my husband's as well - the 2 credit cards with zero balances! The letters were dated January 10th, the same day I talked to Monica at Bank of America trying to get our payment lowered. The outrageous thing is, at that point, the January 13th payment was not even late. The decision to cut us off was based only on my phone call trying to do the right thing & negotiate a lower payment to tide us over (I need to note here that I did receive a message today that the $49 late payment fee was waived. As of this moment, I have not yet made the payment).
Is this how decent, honest, debt paying citizens with an excellent credit history are treated? It's no wonder the banks in this country are in trouble - refusing to negotiate with a customer who pays on time even when that customer wants to pay back a debt and advising that same customer to file bankruptcy. Then, in an abrupt, prejudicial slam, they completely cut off all credit in spite of a flawless payment history and excellent credit. What, if anything, can be done about this travesty? Thank you for your consideration.
Reviewed Jan. 22, 2009
On 1/22/09, I was charged an overdraft fee of $35 because of a purchase in my checking account for about $15, putting me in the negative balance of $-2.60. Knowing I have overdraft protection, I had $3.05 in my savings only to find out later when I called a customer service rep. and then their supervisor that I had to have at least $50 in my savings to cover the $-2.60 in my checking. I was told that I should have read the fine print when I signed the signature card when I opened my account (in 2003) but after explaining that, I didn't sign up for overdraft protection until 2006. And after explaining to the customer service supervisor that when I asked for overdraft protection over the phone, I was not told that I needed to have at least $50 in my savings to cover any overdraft fees. I would expect a major bank like BofA to provide full disclosure before not after signing up a customer to overdraft protection. What a rip off!
Reviewed Jan. 22, 2009
I called Bank of America to complain that they had been pulling money out of a negative account. I had been using Bank of America for the last year and never had this happen until Dec. 2008. In December, the account was negative and bill pay withdrew the amounts. I did not receive an email, print or embedded message. The same practice occurred in Jan. but this time, I received an email and electronic message on my account stating they were withdrawing from the overdrawn account. Upon trying to cancel this payment process, the website did not have an option. The banking center was closed on Sunday and MLK day. When I finally reached someone, I was made aware there was no way to stop two payments from presenting to my account on average three times. Therefore, I will be charged fees on each payment three times on a negative account.
Reviewed Jan. 22, 2009
I have been withdrawing money with my German Card at the ATM of Bank of America for several years now. On Monday, 19th of January 2009, I tried to withdraw $900 as I usually would. Somehow, it was impossible for me to withdraw the money. After trying a few times at different ATMs, I called the German bank. I was told that $900 had been withdrawn out of my account on the same day and time when I was actually trying to withdraw it but unable to get any cash out. I figured it must be a mistake of the ATM of Bank of America. Thereafter, I went back to the branch to talk to customer service. The bank refused to assist me because I didn't have an account with Bank of America. However, when I informed my German bank what had happened, I was advised to return to Bank of America. After all that, I'm really confused and still wondering what happened to my $900.
Reviewed Jan. 22, 2009
Bank closed my business account and all other accounts related to my name without any notice or any phone call. I asked the banker and I was told that I am overdrawn in my business account by $888,000 due to a check which I never wrote or deposited in my entire history of banking with BofA. The manager Armando helped me and told me that bank has closed my account and he suspected that some suspicious activity has happened due to which they no longer want me and anyone in my name in the bank. I told them that I need to know what I did that caused me to lose my account without any notice and they said that bank reserves the right to close my account at any time without any notice. How is this possible, when we are trusting a bank to handle our money and they do this to us without any notice or phone call, also when I don't know what I did? I have been very particular in keeping my account without any problems and I think that I deserve an explanation.
Reviewed Jan. 22, 2009
Reviewed Jan. 22, 2009
My husband and I opened a joint account with them. It has been almost a year. The bank was previously owned by a different company and had never had any problems. Unfortunately, the branch was purchased by Bank of America. Needless to say, we decided to do a direct deposit account. Well, a situation arose that our account mysteriously had started being overdrawn and was showing a significant withdrawal from a local ATM. Mind you, this was done on a day where my husband and I never left our home and from an ATM that we had never been to nor could the customer service rep tell us where the ATM was located.
I contacted the bank hoping for some resolve. After being transferred seven times and being told that each person could not help me, I was finally transferred to the claims dept. Well, after speaking with a rep there and becoming very frustrated at this point, I finally spoke with a rep that assured me that they would help me. After spending, no kidding, almost 3 hours on the phone, I was then told that the charges would be overturned. The funds were returned to the account. We were told that it may be temporary, however was assured that we would get an affidavit of fraud and that once this was received that the situation should be taken care.
Having some legal knowledge, once the affidavit was received, though it did not state that it had to be done, my husband and I completed the form and realizing that this is a legal document decided to have the form notarized which was returned to claims via fax and confirmed received by the claims dept as well. We were also told by the rep that there would be an investigation into our claim and we would receive paperwork with the outcome of the investigation(?). Well, in the process of filing our claim, we ended up moving to a different address. Mind you, we did notify the bank as well as the claims dept. of the address change, seeing how we had not received any paperwork concerning the investigation and did not want to miss the opportunity of reviewing the results of this so-called investigation.
This claim has been filed mind you in Dec. The bank had been notified of our move in Nov. Well, to make a long story short, we did not receive any paperwork as promised. When I contacted the claims dept, Jose who was supposed to be a supervisor claimed they never received the address change. They then stated they received it but it was in Dec. which was not true. Then to make matters worse, we had some payments that had to be made. Like anyone who has direct deposit, we were expecting the funds to be there. Why not? It was almost payday and without our knowing the so-called temp refund was overturned. No funds in the account.
And wouldn't you know it, not only did they place our account in the negative, but we are charged several overdraft fees in the process. After speaking with the rep Jose, I was told to file a police report and that they would resubmit the claim for review. However, given the fact that we did everything that they told us to do regarding our claim and the fact they have not done anything that they said they would up until this point, I seriously doubt that it will be resolved correctly on their end. I told my husband the situation and planned to file a police report, and if need be pursue it legally as well.
Because when people go to work, they expect a check for their hard work and be able to pay their bills. What they don't expect is that when they need their money, the same bank that they have entrusted with their funds is going to overturn deposit with no funds and charge you an overdraft fee for them overturning a deposit with no notice. If anything, I would say that Bank of America is a prime example as to why most people do not trust banks with their money and would opt to receive a paper check. After this experience, I think it's safe to say who really needs to be investigated for fraud.
Reviewed Jan. 21, 2009
I've been a Bank of America account holder for a few years now. The first accounts I had with Bank of America, I had an identity theft problem that I had reported and immediately closed the account. I opened a new account and thought all was fine. Besides the occasional problems with overdrafts due to their check hold process, I haven't had any real problems. I even opted to have my paycheck directly deposited into my account. Then, my wife does what she usually does every paycheck Friday - pays bills and runs miscellaneous errors while I'm at work. However, the next day, there is an unauthorized amount of $32.90 that was taken out. It did not make the account go into the negative, but it did say "debit/hold" as opposed to the company or location, like usual when you check your account with online banking. So, that was a concern and I contacted Bank of America. I was told there wasn't anything to do until the transaction posted - Monday night. If it was unauthorized, then it would be refunded.
Well, I continued to use my bank account normally, make more transactions when needed, knowing my balance. But Monday came and my account ended up in the negatives by about $10. I immediately called BOA, and they had said it was because the $32.90 posted above all else, and all other transactions were put in largest to smallest order. What was the $32.90? Well, it was from the closed account with a negative balance. Yes, the one I had closed for identify theft. The customer service representative said that they sent papers that needed to be filed within 60 days and were not, so the $600 identify theft problem was mine now. I have lived at the same residence and never received any papers. When it happened, they had stated everything would be taken care of. But now it was too late. There was nothing to be done about the $600 or the $32.90.
They stated that because of the negative account, they could take money out of my account any time it had a positive balance until the debt was paid off in full. Yes, it is legal. And no, I can't do anything about it except find a new bank - which they politely informed me would be hard to do unless I paid the $600 because it would be on my credit. To make matters worse, the way they put the order of my transactions - I received six, yes, six overdraft fees of $35 for a total of $210. When I called to ask why I received all the overdraft fees for the $35 when my account had funds, they had said they do not put the transactions in the computer by date, but by amount. They never went into specifics about this, but the funds were not refundable, and "You have to keep track of your transactions to avoid this again."
The extra $210 had to come out of my direct deposited that I could not cancel before the next pay period. I cancelled my direct deposited and opted to cash my check in a check cashing store until I paid off this $600 for a new account. However, I received a $100 personal check during the holidays and had to use my Bank of America account. I decided to deposit the check and transfer $90 over to my PayPal account immediately and had used $10 for gas. However, during the pending period for the PayPal (3-5 business days unfortunately), BOA imposed a $4.95 monthly fee - the first time I had ever received this since my savings account ($3 monthly fee) was transferred to a second checking months ago. I had never received any monthly fees since the savings.
The $4.95 made the account go into the negative, of course. However, I received the two overdraft fees and the money was never transferred to my PayPal account because of insufficient funds. Therefore, subtracting the $70 for overdraft, the $10 for gas, and the $4.95 in “monthly fee”; my $100 was now $15.05. Needless to say, I have since closed my BOA accounts and received a new bank account even with the $600 on my credit. I will never use Bank of America again, and everyone should be warned about this.
Reviewed Jan. 21, 2009
Do not use this bank. I have been on hold for over 40 minutes (still waiting), and I am a Premier customer. Their voice mail system does not work; the people you talk to are not able to handle your transactions. I find them to be inefficient and incompetent.
Reviewed Jan. 21, 2009
Reviewed Jan. 18, 2009
I needed a letter confirming a payment via Bill Payer to a vendor for my condo association account. I walked into a BOA branch and they said they were unable to do it at the branch and I needed to call customer service. I came home and called the phone number I was given (800-831-4419). The offices were closed. I then came online and found the regular customer support and called. They could not help me because they were closing in four minutes, and my expected wait time was seven minutes. The agent (Tanya) was very polite and understanding of my frustration, but was unable to do anything about it. The really irritating bit is that whenever I come into a BOA branch, a friendly customer service rep gently nudges me to transfer my personal account there. I smile and decline. Hope the above incident, one of many, explains why.
Reviewed Jan. 17, 2009
The new 24-hour ATM deposits have to be made by the electronic reading of the check via the ATM. I was not able to get to the bank during business hours, but surely I thought I'd be able to make a simple deposit. I tried 3 different branches and the machines would not accept a perfectly good check in good condition. There are no after hours deposits unless the machine works. All the metal night drop boxes are locked shut. This is an unacceptable way to do business. You have no options for after hours deposits unless the machines work or you mail the deposits to the bank. What a joke! Before they made this new change and stated deposits are now easier, it was easy to make a deposit. This is terrible customer service. Yes, it is easier for them but not the consumer. It is all about what is convenient for the bank, not the customers.
Reviewed Jan. 16, 2009
Reviewed Jan. 16, 2009
I have banked with Bank of America for several years and have had a few problems but this one tops them all. I checked into my online banking to discover that I had been charged two overdraft fees. I found this very strange since I had not overdrafted my account. At one point, my account was very low, but it never went into the negative. So I logged into the live chat feature to talk with a customer service representative. I was told that the account had two temporary holds placed on it from two debit card purchases. This is an extra temporary charge that a merchant puts through just to ensure that there are sufficient funds in the account. These charges are then refunded to my account.
So these temporary refunded charges had my available balance in the negative. My actual balance was not in the negative. While the available balance was negative, two other small transactions cleared. These two new transactions did not put my actual balance in the negative, but since the available balance was negative, I was charged $70. I asked if there was any way to prevent this in the future. There is no way for me to know if these holds have been placed on my account and I would rather have my card declined than be charged $70 for less than $20 of purchases. I was unable to obtain any help in this regard or get my fees refunded.
Reviewed Jan. 14, 2009
I have 2 checking and 1 saving accounts. I have been with Bank of America for 10 yrs. I checked my account and had some pending transactions on 01/04/2009 which my account had enough money to cover. On the 6th of Jan., a check posted from Bill Pay that overdrew my account. Bank of America waited to post my pending transactions until the check posted and then decided to draft the rest charging me 5 times $35 overdraft fee. They never gave me a chance to put or transfer any money to it. I never agreed for them to pay bills without any money being in the account. This bank is legally stealing money from their customers. I have checked the regulations with the FTC on banking and it states in there that a bank has to give me the chance to put money in or decline a payment. None of this is happening. I'm putting in a complaint with BBB and FTC. Also, I will forward this to the state attorney's office. Someone has to have a way to stop them.
Reviewed Jan. 14, 2009
Bank of America Company Information
- Company Name:
- Bank of America
- Company Type:
- Public
- Ticker Symbol:
- BAC
- Year Founded:
- 1992
- Address:
- 100 North Tryon St
- City:
- Charlotte
- State/Province:
- NC
- Postal Code:
- 28255
- Country:
- United States
- Website:
- www.bankofamerica.com
