Bank Of America Bans Customer For Life
Jesse tried to scam Bank of America. No, wait. He tried to open two accounts at once! No, that's not right either. He did something wrong, that's obvious. Isn't it? Hello? Please tell us what Jesse did wrong, Bank of America. Your lifetime banning confuses us.
Update: Be sure to check out Jesse's follow up post where he clarifies his credit history, and these stories from other short-lived Bank of America customers who had accounts closed for no clear reason, or worse.
Jesse writes,
I recently moved from Massachusetts to Connecticut. Upon my arrival I made the choice to leave my local bank account behind. I signed up for a Bank of America account through their website, thinking it would be simple to have ATMs that were available in both states.
After a month or two of frustratingly waiting, I received not one, but TWO debit cards in the mail. I looked through the paper work and found that they had in fact signed me up for two separate checking accounts.
I figured a quick call to customer service would clear the issue up, but the story only gets worse. The customer service rep I talked to told me that my account had a "flag" on it. I proceeded to ask if this was because THEY gave me two accounts and was told that the issue was not that. They said it "may have something to do with an unpaid account." The only problem is that I am young, have good credit, and had never had any account with Bank Of America. Their claim was impossible.
Finally I asked if I could just close the accounts and open a new one. They told me that I could no longer open an account with Bank Of America. I asked if I could open an account in the future and they told me that I could NEVER open an account with them again. As in NEVER.
Basically, Bank Of America banned me for signing up for an account after they made the mistake of sending me two accounts.
I called them a second time to see if I could get another answer and the customer service rep said "We suggest you find another bank."
I switched to TD BankNorth and currently have no major problems, besides any bank is better than one that gives you two accounts and bans you for life before you can use either.
In a way, BoA may have done you a favor, Jesse! Now if only Chase would start banning its customers for life, we'd be getting somewhere.
Update: Matthew says the same thing happened to him, and the only explanation BoA offered was that the fine print gives them the right to close an account at any time for any reason:
I too was banned from BoA. I recently got a new job and was looking to switch banks. I loved BoA's program in which they round up purchases, and send the difference to a savings account. I signed up online and was approved and received everything I needed in the mail; Cards, Pin Numbers, etc... I sat on the cards for about a week, waiting for all my purchases to clear from my former bank account to transfer everything over. I called to activate my card, and my account had been closed. "What the heck?" I thought. I'll call tomorrow and get this straightened out. I received a letter in the mail that day stating again, that my account had been closed. An account I never used.
I searched on your website and found the numbers for the higher ups and decided to give them a call. They did confirm that my account had been closed, but could not notify me why because they had some fine print (which was there) that stated either party can close the account at any given moment. The rep then stressed to me that I would NEVER be allowed to open another BoA account again.
I wasn't mad or anything, I'm was just more worried about WHY they closed it, more-so than the fact that they did.
(Photo: TheTruthAbout)
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Comments:
I am in full agreement with the last statement of this article. NOT dealing with BOA is one of the smartest decisions anyone can make.
There are lots of reasons people have multiple accounts. For example, if you maintain investment property, you would deposit rent and draw expenses from unique accounts. Is he sure he paid all of the numerous fees that BoA charges??
I have multiple accounts, and I WISH I could get them to ban me for life.
Jesse ought not worry. I'm sure BofA will allow someone to open another account in his name soon enough.
I don't think multiple accounts was the issue, I think they his name matched someone else who had some problems. This in itself should have been easy to work out, but apparently BOA didn't give a whoop about it.
But he is better off now anyway. BOA saved him from himself.
Just wait until they start sending him checks for the accounts.
Sovereign Bank once made a mistake and sent me two check cards cards w/different numbers attatched to the same account. It was great b/c I could use one to buy stuff online and give it to my Mom to take my rent out with. Then the PO lost my new cards after the old ones expired, and I tried to get two more cards, and they claimed there is no way to issue two cards on the same account.
I am so glad I got out of BofA when I did. I had Fleet bank all through college then BofA bought them and things went downhill fast. In the 6 years I had Fleet I never had anyone break into my account and take money, however in the 2 years I had BofA I had 3 instances where someone got into my account and was making charges. Bye Bye BofA, perhaps you need to go the way of the Dodo.
When Fleet was bought by BOA, there was another account that had my SS# associated with it. It wasn't fraud, just incorrect records. They luckily fixed it, but I had to go down to the branch. I suggest Jesse go down to a branch to resolve whatever issue could be the cause. After all, you don't need BOA screwing with your credit report even if they have no reason to...
@rpm773: Yep, they've replaced my credit card something like six times in the past three years for data breaches. Also, they periodically send me a card for an account I never had no matter how many times I try to "close" the imaginary account I never had.
Wow. When you're on the website signing up an account and it says to only click the Submit button *once*, BoA really, really mean it.
BofA sucks! That's hardly news. Try a credit union - credit unions are usually pretty small - none even approach the size of BofA. Because they are small employees have to know how to do more things. If you are able to find a good small credit union you can usually bet that top management is one or two "escalation" levels away. Try getting a VP of anything at BofA on the phone. One huge advantage that CUs have is that it is so much easier to talk to people who have the power and ability to solve your problems in a manner that is tailored to your actual issue.
@frank64: Saved him from itself. (And arguably himself too, since he was trying to open TWO accounts, with BoA.)
Either Jesse's account of the situation is missing a lot of information, or he didn't care to ask the obvious questions that most people would ask in the same situation.
Even if he's not going to bank with BofA it might be worthwhile to spend time to lift the lifetime ban. The OP might get into a committed relationship where his spouse uses BofA and this lifetime ban could cause him problems then, or if he gets a job one day where he's responsible for funds and his employer banks with BofA. If he's not allowed to become a signator this could affect his employment. The world is unpredictable...the banking system continues to consolidate...and a lifetime is a long time (you hope).
You can definitely have 2 accounts at BOA.
Remember, BoA isn't a bank. It's an investment and credit card company with a relatively small, terrible consumer banking arm.
I signed up with them when I moved to DC from out-of-state years back. Then I discovered that Chevy Chase Bank has a monopoly on the Metro ATM market. Anyway, BoA was always a pain to deal with. I was always nervous when they kept increasing my credit limit to something like $15k despite my never using their card.
That is a really strange story.
I bet that the real problem is that some rep wrote some nasty comment on his account (or whomever they confused him with) and the reps are afraid to speak with him?
Sorry to say that this is a pretty typical response from them. I am probably also 'banned' due to my raising six kinds of Holy Hell with them about how they treated me when I tried to open a checking account with them only to have it CLOSED two days later.
I had been a decent customer of them in past years as the documents posted on my blog show but when I attempted to open my new checking account I found that this did not count for anything with them.
The poster is much better off without Bank of America and anyone who deals with them may eventually find they are also booted out for reasons that will never make any sense at all. If you have time take a look at:
Unless Jesse's last name is "James", their sending of a debit card is likely all the proof he needs that BoA is
in breach of one or more terms of the agreement he signed.
Their bizarre behavior aside, they agreed to do business,
and clearly went through all the steps, as one would only
send out a debit card after all approvals had been made.
So, they may be in breach, and subject to suit.
@Cant_stop_the_rock: Please feel free to elaborate...I'm not sure what the point of this comment is otherwise.
@james: Even if his last name is James, it wouldn't matter. The historical figure's been dead awhile, and it's a common enough surname.
@ThomFabian: @HomersBrain: This would be my advice as well. Don't call - go in and ask to make an appointment with the branch manager.
Often times branch manager's are more flexible and willing to do a little extra legwork to make you happy. In a face to face situation you've got a little more leverage too - they can't just hang up and forget you.
As HomersBrain points out banks are always consolidating. Who knows what could happen if BoA swallowed up a bank you had a mortgage with?
Get it straightened out and get a letter explaining the problem and file it away. Don't let it catch you off guard later in life.
What do you mean you're not sure what the point of the comment is? Obviously the story is lacking a lot of details.
Example:
"They said it "may have something to do with an unpaid account." The only problem is that I am young, have good credit, and had never had any account with Bank Of America. Their claim was impossible."
Presumably Jesse told them that he never had any account with Bank of America before. And their response was ___________?
The way it reads, Jesse never pressed them to get to the root of the issue - or if he did, it's not in the article. If Jesse just lost interest in having a Bank of America account, that's understandable - but then he called back and tried again.
Good to see that BoA is up to their old tricks. I had an account with them about 15 years ago. A couple weeks before my wedding they posted one of the checks I had written for $200 more than I wrote the check for (sent me the original check back with my account info). It took three months and seven overdraft charges before they would resolve it and remove all of the charges.
The only way I finally got it resolved was to go directly to the bank where I originated the account and speak to the manager.
@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): My wife had someone open a credit card account in her name...the 3rd one tied to her name. Upon pressing BofA for an explanation of how it happened, the rep said it was done at a branch location (as opposed to mail or i'net), presumably face to face with a teller.
Now when she uses her original credit card account, usually the charge gets denied and we get an urgent phone call here about a possible fraud attempt. Fraud security, Bank of America style.
@dragonfire81: I've had BOA for nearly 7 years with no problems whatsoever. The few stories on this site aren't representative of the other majority of customers with no complaints.
@Felix the Cat: I know I'd appreciate if you'd stop spamming us with that blog in every single BOA article...
On the one hand, I think they actually did him a favor - being banned from BoA is like being banned from the "Kick in the Nuts" club.
It's not like he's missing out on their great products because of it:
You're right on the money that they're doing him a favour. I think some companies forget that they're not monopolies and that you don't have to take their shit (unless you're Canadian and dealing with your ISP...hello de facto monopoly situation!). I left ING behind a few years ago when their response to extremely suspicious behaviour on my account was to transfer me to their "fraud hotline" which repeatedly left me on hold for over an hour before randomly disconnecting. After going through that two or three times I simply closed out the account. Why should I continue to give them my business? I suspect fraud and their response is to repeatedly hang up on me after making me wait over an hour each time? Screw that; they obviously don't want my money, time to go to one of their competitors. Jessie's lucky, they told him clearly: we don't value your business, go somewhere else. It's good that he found that out up front, you generally don't find that out until much later at which time it's generally a pain to go somewhere else.
Why are people so loath to go to a branch to do something so simple? Why is there a month or two of frustrating waiting and phone calls and Internet attempts? I never would have initiated the online approach in the first place, but, if I had done so to save a small bit of time, I'd say after a week or ten days, I'd go to one of these convenient locations and have a face-to-face with someone who can solve problems.
OK, Bank of America is on drugs. It seems obvious after reading a few too many horror stories like this. Let's just be real about how banking is done.
I won't dare to say that any local branch banker is smarter than any phone representative, but we have to consider how industrialized and mechanized these big national banks are. In my experience, a thousand times to one you can solve more problems in person than on the phone with just about any company. They have call centers with hundreds of partially-trained reps who may or may not be American or speak English or know anything about customer service altogether; they have automated computer routines that are programmed to upgrade or ditch thousands of customers at once intentionally or otherwise; and they are under enormous shareholder and government pressure to enhance the bottom lines for their businesses.
As others have said quite often, go with a local credit union. (Be sure to check them out through Google and Bankrate first to determine financial health and customer service.) You become the shareholder to which its representatives must answer. Many credit unions now are parts of networks with free ATM access and free branch depositing/withdrawing. Spend an hour or two researching it and go with the better solution, rather than submitting yourself to the industrialized (and sometimes barely functioning) solution for the sake of saving a couple minutes in traffic.
Good one LOL
I expect that BoA uses Chexsystems to run a background check on the account holder. This might be the problem, since any problem with any bank would be listed, and BoA might see some activity with another bank as a problem.
. . . 'They said it "may have something to do with an unpaid account."'
Which in banking lingo means that, Mr. Jesse has a record on Chexsystems, and that also explains why they would not open another account for him.
@JGKojak: Way to go! You found out my deep, dark secret. Oh, and you're an idiot.
Listen, this site highlights and accentuates the occurrences of the minority. Believe it or not, not everyone gets screwed by the companies that the people in these stories get screwed by. Folks like you take it to an extreme and hear one bad thing and jump to over-arching conclusions. I don't fault you, though, for not being able to form your own logical or cohesive thoughts, and instead taking a blog with a blatant anti-business bias as gospel.
Dealing with Bank of America is starting to sound like dealing with the DMV. Wait, aren't they owned by the same people now?
Stick with credit unions and local banks. You'll know just who has your money and what they're doing with it.
@HomersBrain: Yep. The military REQUIRES members to take out a credit card with BoFA for travel expenses.
@Inka Dinka: I was thinking the same thing...Sounds like the OP needs to pull his CHEX report and make sure everything is still good. Though BOA would be required to tell him that his CHEX file was a factor in their decision to ban him. And like any other credit-type report, it's information expires after seven years. I agree that something is missing from the story...
I had a checking account with BofA for six years until one day I went in to do my weekly deposit and the teller told me that new policy in place would cause there to be a hold on the check until it cleared - a maximum of 6-10 business days. This was a check from my work, who banked with BofA. I closed my account on the spot and took my money to Citibank. No bank is perfect, but BofA is evil!
@supercereal: Everyone I know with a BOA account has problems(Family, EXs, roomates, landlords, friends, everyone). They give out at least one major problem(having to spend at least 4hours with CSRs to clear it up) every year and a half. I haven't banked with them in like 11 years since they bought out my local bank and I said good day to BOA. Yet I still have problems with the little stuff I have to go into there for. So I'm glad you have been there for 7 years with no problems but know that you are in the very small minority. Now you can stand tall and walk away. I said stand tall. And WALK AWAY.
I'd suggest that *everyone* find another bank, even though the FDIC will cover their deposits if B of A goes under...
The sign in the picture is hilarious.