"I just naturally wrote out my $200 every month and sent it. And like a dummy, I wasn't watching the top of it," said Godding.

This isn't BoA's problem.

bank of america doesn't have to help him out. he said it best himself when he said, "Pay attention. Observe. Watch what you're doing."

i'm meticulous about my books. sometimes i'll wonder why my credit limit is lower than it should be but then remember that i like to buy shoes on ebay when i'm drunk.

Whoops indeed. Can't call BoA evil on this one. Hope they help out the poor gentleman.

Well, at least he admitted that it was his fault. Not many people will do that. It's usually whine whine whine, Iscrewedupbutpleaseletmeoffthehook, whine whine whine.

But the guy's granddaughter seems to be the type who wants him to get off scot-free. She says he was taken advantage of, and that Colorado needs laws that protect people like that?

The guy was taken advantage of because he didn't read his own credit card statements. No one's fault but his on that one. The granddaughter seems to want to blame someone else entirely for the mistakes of her grandfather, whereas he accepts his mistakes.

@lotussix: LOL! You don't buy used ones, do you?

This is why I watch all my accounts like a hawk. Credit, auto loan, investment, checking and savings, phone bill, whatever. I routinely monitor them, and save records and receipts.

In this age of the internet, online banking and bill pay, stuff like this should not go unnoticed for more than a couple of days.

Still, I feel horrible for the guy :(

How was he paying? I mean, you usually have to sign on online or send in a slip from your statement, all of which show your current balance. A double digit increase SHOULD be noticeable over a few months.

@lotussix: Sorry to have to tell you this. But you can't put the word "meticulous" and a story about using your credit card online while drunk and subsequently forgetting about it in the same paragraph.

@bloggerX: ha. no. reputable sellers with high feedback only. but this was the most recent incident.

i guess @ 2am, i really wanted a pair of pumas. i like them sober, so i must have really liked them when i bought them.

@zidan: I don't believe anyone said otherwise.

@yesteraeon: i didn't say i was meticulous about using my credit card online. i said i was meticulous about my books. i check my credit card/other account balances every other day, sometimes daily.

yeah, i like to blow money on random stupid stuff. but i make sure that the purchases that i pay for (in full every month) are mine.

@pecan 3.14159265: It's that easy for you to judge someone from a different era? How is it HIS fault that someone STOLE his money. You think his technical ignorance justifies the theft? Mailing in payments is not a 'mistake'.

You're pretty arrogant.

@yesteraeon:
I disagree.

You can be meticulous about checking your statement while being frivolous about what appears on it. =)

@CarbonFiberFootprint: From a different era? What does that mean? I never said it was his fault that someone stole his money. I said it was his fault for not noticing that someone had stolen his money - something he apparently agrees with. No one is excused from thievery, but no one is excused for ignorance of one's own responsibility toward financial security either.

He made a mistake! He really did! He didn't read his statements at all, he just kept sending in his $200 minimum.

@GitEmSteveDave_GlassMeatClocks: In one of the articles it sounds like he paid by check "wrote out my $200 every month and sent it" which I guess isn't quite as obvious as your statement is shown online, but it's still a pretty gigantic oversight. Maybe he didn't look at his statement at all and was just relying on his own records?? No clue.

It's a crappy situation regardless. Whoever is responsible for the charges gets away with it while this poor guy has to go back to work to pay it off.

@GitEmSteveDave_GlassMeatClocks: Either he was detaching the bottom portion of his statement and just shoving it in with his pre-written check and didn't look at the slip, or he just sent in his check with his account number written on it. I didn't know you could send a payment without that bottom portion of the statement, but maybe you can.

@TinkishDelight: Yeah. In the ABC 7 link, it says "Godding was unaware of his exploding balance because he said he never looked at his statements. He just continued to make his minimum $200 payments on time every month."

So he never looked at any of his statements.

@pecan 3.14159265: And that makes him liable for $11,000?

I wonder how different your perspective would be if this were your parents or grandparents. Of course, you'll say 'they would never...'

@TinkishDelight: "Bank Of America Forces Man To Pay $11,000 In Fraudulent Credit Card Charges"

Sure nobody said it, but you don't that title implies something?

@CarbonFiberFootprint: I hope you are being sarcastic, I really do. The OP admitted that he didn't look and is to blame. The granddaughter is of the new era mentality of "I am not responsible for anything, ever". I wished more people thought like the OP instead of his granddaughter.

@CarbonFiberFootprint: Um. Who pissed in your Cheerios this morning? You turned that personal in almost record time.

@CarbonFiberFootprint: Different Era = retired, not technically proficient

He may be dumb, but dumb people are already fleeced on an often-enough basis.

@CarbonFiberFootprint: I actually did actually get hit with an accumulated $300 charge one time (I was young, foolish and let a friend borrow my card for what I thought was a one-time thing) that I didn't notice for a long time. I talked to the company, they told me they'd knock off about four months of charges. I accepted that I was at fault for not noticing and not keeping control of my own finances ("I was 21" isn't an excuse in my book) and paid the rest and canceled the subscription and changed account numbers.

@ssaoi: Is that not what happened?

@itiswhatitis: You hope I am being sarcastic because I do not think someone should pay fraudulent charges? Because he mailed off payments for a few months that makes him liable? The responsible party is the THIEF, not the old-timer.

@CarbonFiberFootprint: How do you assume that he isn't technically proficient? Just because he writes checks? Or is it because he's retired, and you think that means he's old?

This man is too stupid to own a credit card.

That should be his defense at court. =P

@TinkishDelight: bank of american doesn't even have this debt anymore. chase does.

@Smashville_makes his own comments at home: I'm just picturing someone telling one of my grandparents that they are liable for 11k because they did not pay attention to their statement for 2+ months. If that does not make you angry, I'm not sure what would.

@CarbonFiberFootprint: the terms and conditions of the credit card agreement would say otherwise.

@CarbonFiberFootprint: It would make me angry. But anger goes both ways here. I would blame the thief for stealing money, but I'd sure as heck blame my grandparent for not being careful. This isn't "oops, I bought $200 of acai berry supplement on the internet and that was a stupid move" kind of incident. This was a man who didn't read his credit card statements - at all. It was common practice for him! And because of his actions, he wasn't able to prevent these charges from being racked up. Because of his own ignorance.

I'm not defending the thief, but blame goes several directions here. I am all for justice for people who do wrong things, but I'm also about personal responsibility. I accepted that I made a mistake with the charge on my account, and this man does too. His granddaughter, as I pointed out, doesn't seem to think the same way.

Watching your monthly statements (or, even better, daily if your bank or credit union provides this service as mine does) is basic in a capitalist economy. It's not as if it is Hard, for heaven's sake. Or even time consuming.

It might be good PR for BOA to forgive the debt but they have no obligation to do so. And they should cancel his card after the debt is settled.

There are many people deserving help and sympathy in this economy but not this fellow.

I think that two months is too little time. This takes the credit card companies off the hook and allows them to be rewarded with the fraudulent transactions they allow to be charged to thier customers accounts.

I dont think that it is 'trying to escape responsibility' to take BOA to court over this.

Its funny listening to all those folk who are so responsible about stuff that happens to others. I doubt ONE of you would smile and bend over this 11k in fraud that BOA processed if you missed checking your statements for a month or two...

Hey, cool... I commit fraud against your credit card, steal the statements for two months and 'HAHA, you are the loser!' How do you like that Mr and Mrs Responsibility???

@greggen: He didn't miss checking his statements for two months, and no one stole his statements. He just doesn't check his statements. At all. They arrive, he ignores them. He just cuts a check for his minimum, regardless of how much is on the card.

Um, yeah, you bet I'd notice of someone put $11,000 of charges on my credit card. My credit limit doesn't even go anywhere near that high.

@pecan 3.14159265: I don't always "look" at my statements, but I notice my balance, as it's on the front screen on most accounts when yous end a payment in.

But Wait. This guy was missing $11,000. The guy from the other day got $11,000. Co-incidence?

@lotussix: It was transferred to Chase after BOA forced him to pay it.

how about. Bank of America customer put himself in a pickle for not realising that he got robbed 11k

@pecan 3.14159265: Pecan, I'm getting a gut feeling the granddaughter knows more than she is letting on....

She mentioned in the article that the thief was making "withdrawals" all over Denver...the only way that I know of to make a withdrawal with a credit card is to use it at an ATM with a PIN, which leads me to believe the "victim" actually KNOWS the person who used it. Unless he was unlucky enough to get skimmed, but the good skimmers know to STOP using the card after xx days because you're more likely to get caught, since the transaction attempt will be on the grid....and traceable. Plus using the card at an ATM means...video camera!!!

It's not like it was being used in Pueblo which is a lot further than Denver from Loveland....

@TinkishDelight: If BoA decides to help him, he can always tranfser the debt BACK from Chase to BoA.

@TinkishDelight: It is what happened but it was very easy to infer from the title that BoA was being bad.

@CarbonFiberFootprint: Right, but Pecan didn't steal the money, nor did he (or she...never know) force the man to pay it.

@TinkishDelight: Was the full $11,000 transfered, or just $2,500?

He still has a case. He can still go after the people that placed the fraudulent charges. He can still mandate BoA provide information and evidence for this case. But he'll need a big dose of good luck.

A lot of commenters are awfully self-congratulatory.

BoA can, and still should, make all effort to reverse the fraudulent changes. Of course this can be with merchants who are just as much a victim and due to this time delay have lost their ability to recovery or track down the perps. This is why there is a requirement to dispute charges in a timely manner.

What if this was a case where someone was in the hospital for a long term problem, and was unable to review their bills? They look at the bills AFTER getting out of the hospital months later, and discover the fraud. Who gets stuck with losses now?

The guy pays the minimum payment on his cards. They'll never be paid off, so it might as well be a billion dollars they put on. The best help BoA can give is to send a financial advisor to let him know that racking up debt on a credit card and then paying the minimum balance is about the worst financial decision you can possibly make. I suppose the absolute worst decision is to never look at your account statements...

@pecan 3.14159265: This sums it up perfectly.

Blame should be on the theif for fraudently using the card, but the blame doesn't just stop with that thief. If the credit card owner doesn't take the time to go over his bills and recognize any fraudulent charges and just continues to make payments that makes him partly responsible as the bank might not have a good idea what is fraudulent and what isn't without him chiming in.

@Skaperen: Who was paying the bills?