Bank Of America
Active Duty Military Stay Away and First Sergenats and Commanders PLEASE READ Dyess Air Force Base Texas

First Sergeants and Commanders BEFORE you discharge a military member for financial irresponsibility (check bouncing) GET THAT ACTIVE DUTY MEMBER AWAY FROM BANK OF AMERICA.

I was an E-7 active duty in 2001 (it is still happening which is why I am reporting it) and a retiree in my office convinced me to open a BOA checking account because BOA gave free checks for life after you retired. My E-5 and E-3 who had bad check bouncing experiences with BOA warned me repeatedly but the lure of free checks was too strong. Their warning was not totally unheeded as I decided NOT close my Security Service Federal Credit Union (SSFCU) checking account but instead just diverted my military automatic paycheck to Bank of America for a test period.

At SSFCU I had a $2000 signature loan overdraft protection which served me well for 20 years and I only bounced one check as an E-3 when I didn't have the $2000 overdraft signature loan. I wrote that bounced check on purpose to a vet to save my friend's pet knowing I didn't have the money and on payday gave the vet the money before they even found out the check bounced.in other words, I don't bounce checks and anyone who can get an overdraft checking signature loan has excellent credit. BOA also gave me a $2000 signature overdraft protection loan. I SURVIVED 4 Bank of America pay periods 1st, 15th and a 1st and 15th with total overdraft costs of close to $3000 and humiliation beyond belief.

First, while SSFCU posted my military paycheck at midnight on payday, Bank of America NEVER posted my military paycheck until at least 2 days after but most times 4 days after the pay date. I am NOT talking about holiday or weekends but a normal let's say Monday pay date would not get posted until Wednesday or even as late as Friday. I came to fear the post man who delivered those "overdraft notices". USAA auto and property and renters insurance and my mutual fund companies and savings/cd bank automatically deduct on the day after payday. I found out that even if a check is not actually written, BOA charges a bounced check fee for these automatic deductions if there is not enough money there.

When I called BOA, they said their "military banking center" had special permissions and that even though my "military paycheck" deposit could not be seen on-line, (wink wink they collected the interest rate) if a check presented itself, it would still be paid. I told BOA that my USAA auto insurance payment BOUNCED a day after payday because I had NO deposit into my checking account so this was not true. I wrote a $7 check (for lunch) in the Base Exchange 7 times in the first month and every single check BOUNCED costing me $25 each with the BX and $39 each with BOA. I could NOT believe it. I bounced a check at Walmart (the only civilian store) 3 days after payday because my money was not deposited despite (WINK WINK) it really being there and I just could not see it.

I had to BEG the BX leadership for my check writing permissions back because if you write 6 bad checks in 6 months, you are barred for LIFE from ever writing another BX check. The 1st pay period was a disaster but I didn't find out about the bounced checks until they started to arrive by mail toward the end 2nd pay period (the 15th mid month paycheck) and I was not able to divert my military paycheck back to SSFCU until after the final 4th pay period. I was working on my MBA and running around standing in bounced check line at Wal-Mart (SOMETHING I NEVER DID BEFORE at ANY civilian store) and at the BX (numerous times) was time consuming and UTTERLY humiliating. I was so happy when my direct deposit paycheck went into back into SSFCU at the 5th pay period.

I then marched over to the Dyess AFB BOA office to close my account and after paying hundreds of dollars in BOA bounced $39 check fees and a bounced check fee at Wal-Mart, and numerous checks at the BX and to USAA because my auto/property automatic payment bounced and my VanGuard and American Century atuomatic withdrawals bounced), I was told I could NOT close my BOA account until I paid my $1800 my checking overdraft signature loan. I almost lost it. I told BOA I paid every single $39 BOA sent me and and HOW DID MY OVERDRAFT SIGNATURE LOAN get used if I paid the $39 each check individually myself?

I lived on base and did NOT have rent or electricity or water bills or a car payment and made plenty of money. This was insane. I found out BOA would REPEATEDLY keep sending though checks at $39 a pop which had already bounced to MAXIMIZE my $2000 overdraft signature loan. Hang on to your seats-as the anger and humiliation is not over yet. I called my Bank in Alaska (My CD's and emergency funds are there as hard to access and and therefore un-spendable) to ask how can I get $2000 from my savings account to my Dyess AFB BOA account. I was told to use Western Union and there was one in the Dyess Air Force Base Exchange.

My Alaska bank Western Union wired $2000 to the Dyess AFB base exchange Western Union. I stood in the BX customer service line completely humiliated for the last time and instead of $2000 in cash, the BX rep handed me a check. I told her I thought Western Union gave cash and that I needed cash not a check. She said "check only." I handed the check back to her to cash it so I could pay the $1800 to BOA and this BX rep LOUDLY PROCLAIMED to all asunder that because I bounced checks in the BX, I could NOT cash a check INCLUDING the Western Union $2000 check.

THE IRONY WAS BREATHTAKING AND IT GOT WORSE! I took this $2000 Western Union check and crawled out of the BX and went next door to BOA where BOA cashed the check, gave me $200 of the $1800 and then REFUSED TO PAY OFF MY $1800 overdraft signature loan until the "out of state" check cleared" so I could not close the BOA account. I had to come back in 7 days (?) and then close it. Worse, my E-5 and E-3 heard me frantically on the phone with the BX and Wal-Mart and Van Guard and USAA automobile insurance and knew what was happening.

When I asked the military retiree (now GS worker) if he knew this happened to active duty people, he admitted he did but that it only happened to a "few" people. Looking back, that BOA free checks for life turned out to be useless as I use bill pay and never write checks. I retired after 26 years in the Air Force May and I will NEVER forgive or forget what BOA did and encourage all active duty to RUN away BOA.

John
Tampa, Florida
U.S.A.

Company: Bank Of America
Country: USA
State: Nationwide
Site: www.bankofamerica.com/index.jsp

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