On June10, after noticing fraudulent activity in my Bank Of America ATM/Checking account that started on June 6, I immediately tried contacting BofA to report this problem and my card stolen. It was Sunday evening when I realized this issue, and was unable to speak to someone to report my card stolen. That same day I filed a police report, and waited for the next day to report the fraudulent activity to BofA.
My car was broken into, and my card and other belongings were stolen. A day before preparing for my first monthly payments (Sunday evening), through online banking I noticed transactions that were made which were not mine. There were two unknown deposits, followed up by various withdraws and charges, at different businesses and ATMs located in different cities in California. This was when I realized my card was stolen.
I was unable to claim all fraudulent activity on my first call to BofA because of pending transactions that had not gone through, and could only be claimed on a second call, once these transactions had gone through.
After filing both claims, I received an immediate response from BofA denying my claims and stating the transactions were legitimate. For over a month I re-opened my claims several times, and each time I received BofAs denial to my disputes. This went on for over a month. During this time, I often felt as if BofA was being evasive, mishandling my case every time I contacted them, and generating many inaccurate facts that I believe lead to a quick charge off of my account a month after disputes started. Also, I never received clear explanations or instructions as to what to do in order to conduct a proper investigation. The following are examples of BofAs inaccuracies:
BofA quickly closed my checking account, which caused me to loose track of my legitimate funds. A month after the fraud started, my account was charged-off without my knowledge, and consequently I was blacklisted with all banks.
BofA first requested a police report for identity theft, and weeks later requested an additional report stating that my car was broken into, and my card was stolen..
BofA requested me to take a picture at the nearest branch and to call them back immediately after my picture was taken, which I did. During a series of phone conversations with representatives from the Dispute Resolution Department that went on for three weeks, I kept hearing that my picture had not yet been received by BofAs investigators.
A BofA representative said that they called to inform me about irregular transactions, and that I authorized them, which is completely false.
Before ending every conversation I had with BofA representatives, I was confirmed that I would get a call from an investigator to further discuss my case. After a month of requesting a call, it was explained to me that the only way to receive a call was to request it in a written matter.
The first investigator that contacted me asked me in a rude manner the reason I asked to be contacted. I said that my objective was to separate illegitimate transactions from legitimate ones and take my account back to normal status. This investigator said that everything seemed normal, and questioned again why someone else had access to my pin. I answered that I didn't know why, and that the transactions claimed where fraud. The investigator raised her voice saying that I owed the negative fraud balance in my account, and wished me good luck for the next 7 years because they were about to report me and black-list me with banking system, and hung up on me. I immediately went to the closest bank to open a checking account before being reported. It turned out that I was already reported to the checking system. There, I learned through a representative that people who commit fraud with bank cards can obtain pin numbers. This was something I had already heard at the police station when I initially filed my report, and which is something BofA is denying.
I called BofAs Dispute Resolution Department again and explained what I had been going through from day one, till the day the investigator called me. After hearing my story, the representative suggested calling the Risk Management Department. I called and reached a woman with a similar voice and attitude as the first female investigator that contacted me. I explained that my account had fraud transactions, and this person asked me to pay a certain amount to keep my account. I explained that it was not fair to pay for the transactions that I did not make, and which I never authorized or was protected from. This person responded by asking in a rude way why I was calling that department's number. I explained that that last person I spoke to in the Dispute Resolution Department suggested giving them a call. The representative asked me if I had a claim number, and when I provided her with it, her response was that I was just playing with them and hung up on me again.
What can I do in order to receive justice in my case and get back to normal status in the Bank-Checking system?
Victor
Encino, California
U.S.A.
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