Like the person who reported his "right to offset" nightmare due to a fraudulent & properly disputed VISA credit card charge, I just had a nearly identical shocking experience with Bank of America, despite having done business with BofA and its predecessors for 27 years. Only difference was that my disputed credit card charge did not involve an airline.
As with the prior complainant, all my phone calls and inquiries via Bank of America branch manager, fraud dept, 800# and 866# were met with either no response or worthless feedback.
Cause appears to be that "small print" hidden either on signature cards we sign at Bank of America or in the pages of tiny Terms of Agreement we receive with credit cards has permitted this invasion of our bank accounts for a number of years. Prior to this incident, my knowledge of the legal system told me the only way anyone could collect a disputed debt would be via court and an order from a judge.
Research done 5/20/08 on the Comptroller of Currency website revealed a statement which says right to offsets can not be applied to personal debts or personal bank accounts. Since I had a personal bank account with Bank of America when they completely drained my Small Business account, I can only assume that are aware of this differentiation in the law.
As a consultant and supplier of ChecksNet financial software and CheckToner check printing supplies to over 17,000 banks, businesses, credit unions & government agencies around the world, I was highly recommending Bank of America to all my clients prior to this ordeal. I will now warn all my clients.
It might also be noteworthy to mention that prior to this incident, I had 2 other bad experiences over the past year with Bank of America.in once case, they took $400 from one of my accounts for a check that didn't even contain my account number. Took me almost 2 weeks and hours of my time to get that rectified.in the other case, one of my clients bounced a check on me. Bank of America deducted the same return item twice instead of once. Again, it took several weeks and hours of my time to get it rectified.
Bottom Line: In my humble opinion, as Bank of America growth has gone uphill, their tactics, service and reliability have gone downhill.
Like a number of bills before congress designed to change financial and banking regulations, I believe Bank of America and any other financial institutions using the same deceptive tactics should be banned from continuing these practices.
For the record, I am considering civil action against Bank of America and organizing a class action. Thus, if you are interested in either, feel free to contact me via my business websites as aforementioned. We can simply complain or we can take action resulting in change.
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