<![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money - Consumerist Comments]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money - Consumerist Comments]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> oh my, that post above is a beauty O:

Nothing like a coporation hiding behind a TOS or "Cardholder Agreement" to provide horrible service...

Not sure what is worse, the big corparations providing the horrible service or the people who think that this is a "OK" bussiness pratice...

zerobane

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> I hate to say that the whole situation could have been resolved if the merchant had called for a manual authorization as they were instucted to do so by the bank. All the other stuff is your fault for not reading that little piece of paper that they give you when you open the account called "Cardholder Agreement". All the details are in there.

freedom69

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> I have a BoA credit card that I have had for years (formally MBNA). I have a $14,000 credit limit. Last week I wrote a BoA check to my primary bank for $2,500. Today I receive a notice from BoA that this check was rejected by them and returned to my bank, stamped refer to maker. What is wrong with this picture? I tried to get some satisfaction from Customer Service but with no viable results from them. I am done with BoA!!! Now I have to figure out how to cover checks that I paid on this $2,500. This company is a fraud. Do notuse BoA for a credit card - they are not MBNA!

mosher-392

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> My opinion on this article is that, he can use any card he wants. Who knows why he wanted to use that card.
The main focus should have been on how terrible bank of America's service was.
I am sure there alot of people that have been impacted by bank of America.

This is my story:

I am a dissatisfied ex-client of Bank of America.

As I kept my personal accounts with BOA, and had not experienced any problems, I opened my business account with them as well. My business was doing well, and I took out a bank of America visa business card.

Shortly after, my business slowed down, as most businesses do. The business card had a balance of just over $14k. For 4 months I was not able to make a payment on the Visa card, and had no funds available in my bank of America business checking account. My Personal checking account had just over $8k and another $2k in my personal savings account. My wife had cashed out her 401k so we could pay for our daughter's upcoming surgery.

I received a (yes just one) call from the bank of America's collection department. They wanted to work out a payment plan. I let them know that I was just going through some difficult times and was not able to structure a repayment at this moment.

Sure there was about $10k in my personal accounts, but to me my daughter's surgery was more important. The $10k, along with selling my car was going to cover her surgery.

Well Bank of America removed ALL the funds from my Personal accounts (both savings and checking) to payoff the business credit card.
So we called bank of America. The call was redirected to a representative of bank of America who identified himself as Tobias Thompson. He said that BOA had taken the funds to collect the debt on the business credit card. Tobias said that Bank of America had every right to remove these funds as it was in the terms of business agreement. I have read it and still can't find where Bank of America can take money from my personal account to payoff a business credit card. We even explained to Tobias how the funds in the personal account were for our daughter's surgery, and that is why we were not able to make payments on the business card.
They didn't care!

I read some of the comments above, and my business was is Corporation, which is in fact it's own separate entity. I am in the proccess of finding an attorney and fighting, this. I don't know with what funds, but hopefully I can find one that will take my case.

Either ways, I found a way to get back at bank of America. I made a blog, and posted google ads on it. Guess who advertises on Google..... Yep you are right!

Tell your friends about our blog, this is the link ( www.iwontusebankofamerica.com ).

iwontusebofa

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> I have to disagree with the "use your credit card" summary in the article. Yes, for a TV, that might be sensible, but in the end, it's the consumer's choice how much of his/her money to spend, and on what and when.

What if it were a more critical expenditure?

unklegwar

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> I have a question, a little off topic, but maybe someone can give me some advice... or am I bette

I am a BOA customer - i hate the bank, I only opened the account because I was moving from PA to GA last year and need a bank that had branches at both ends of the move to aid in transferring closing monies within the deadlines.

Here's the thing - when I close my BOA account (and I definitely am closing it!), am I better off dealing with a different large bank that has all the bells and whistles, or off dealing with a local bank or credit union that has fewer, but better and more personalized service?

Papagoose

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> Umm...don't they give EVERYONE PLATINUM check cards. I have one, and I have about $600 in my checking account. This guy sounds like an entitled douchbag. "I need to make this purchase..." It's a TELEVISION. No one needs a TV that badly.

sarahchirp

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> BofA turns down a large purchase at Best Buy -- I'm not so sure that's a bad thing given some of the stories here on BB. Granted, you can spend your money how you want...

moore850

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> A decade or so ago, when I was in my pre-teen or early teenage years, my dad decided to spring for a big-screen TV... I remember he had to basically do a lay-away overnight on it because the limit on his card was $2000 and this was before cell phones and 24/7 national customer service lines. I don't remember what kind of card it was.

larkknot

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> Maybe, BoA is just trying to avoid that the customer might ever experience a fraud.

But, having to wait so many minutes, and just to be told that there is nothing that they can do, and even worse: "Was there anything else I can help you with?". Well, it does not speak loud of a bank that is really interested in the customer.

Certainly, if all this had happened to me, I would send a letter to the General Manager asking for an explanation and suggesting a change in the policies of BoA.

wisepicker

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> I had an issues with BoA one time. I had lost my debit card, which was picked up in a restaurant and held. I went back to get the card the next day, but some one had called the number on the back which cancelled the card. I had already called in and cancelled the card, and they were sending me a new one. When I received the new one I tried to activate the card, but it had already been cancelled because someone called in the card after I had it cancelled. I was going on a trip to new york in a couple days and needed access to the money. I immediately went to the BoA center to get a new card. The lady there, who later I found out was the bank manager, treated me like some dumb college kid who wasnt worth her time. Well, I am a college student, with out a lot of money. Everything was "taken care of." When I went to with draw from the ATM the next day (sunday), the card wouldn't work. Fed up with all the stupid games and the way the lady treated me, I went back to the bank and told them I wanted to with draw all my month and close my account. The person helping me was very nice, and i told her the story. She informed me the lady helping me with the bad attitude was the bank manager. I requested to inform the bank manager that she lost a customer. I've switched to USAA and never looked back. Every time I call, They treat me like I am the most valuable person in the world, Im not, and they know it, but they still treat me the best. Im avoiding BoA forever now. And after a bad experience with US Bank, doing me a "courtesy" by allowing me to overdraw and charge me $35 every time I do it, Im avoiding them too.

Smd75

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> I have no doubts the positive comments about Commerce are sincere, even though they come from employees. As a Commerce customer, I have a different experience with the quality of their customer service. I purchased a gift card at my local branch; when the recipient tried to use it, there was no balance.

Trying to deal with this, I learned right away the gift card was really provided by some third party, not Commerce. It was extremely difficult to get through to the third-party customer service on the phone, and several attempts to remedy the problem failed.

I went into the branch--even they couldn't get through to the Customer Service, which didn't even give the option of holding for an operator; it went to an answering machine. (This is about 2 in the afternoon.)

It took a week and 2 visits to the branch to get things straightened out.

parse

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @FLConsumer: He was not using it as a debit card he was using as a "check" card it is supposed to be as good as writing a check.

chiefray71

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> We have one CC (platinum)with a self-imposed limit of $1200. Our ATM allows only $300/day withdrawl - no matter what. So our solution... C A S H.

Of course making plane reservations is difficult (if you pay cash for a ticket - I think it's $300 - you are under scrutiny as a possible terrorists).

One thing anyone dealing with banks should know: after closing hours they engage in market activites in the overseas markets by wire with your money. So far every morning it appears like magic back in your account. For now. Just one gitch in world affairs,electronics,etc., though, and millions of us will be suddenly demanding to speak to a plethora of supervisors! Sugggestion: don't leave any more money in an account than you can afford to lose ESPECIALLY OVER LONG WEEKENDS AND HOLIDAYS. No card, account, limit is going to be available shortly with BoA into the derivative market for over $40 trillion. Fact. All the 25 major banks are exposed at over $500 trillion in derivatives and the bond market is failing that backs them.
Sort of makes that plasma t.v. seem almost a Goodwill puchase. By the way, recent Consumer Research reveals that that t.v. will run about $200 per MONTH in electricity. Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy !


littlewoman47

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> Dear Dean,

The "flame war" is not in my head. You yourself are perpetuating it. Your comment that I said "irked" me has now, according to your last post "ENRAGED" me. No, it hasn't. And accusing me of being a sock for Bill also contributed to making a heated debate into a flame war.

If your point was that TVs can be purchased online for less money than a brick and mortar store then point taken. I'm guessing that point was taken for most of us years ago but thanks for the reminder. That's not the issue. The issue is access to money.

It seemed to me that your point wasn't so much to save Bill money but to say that all the hassle he went through should be expected and is OK by you. We simply disagree there.

Obi5Kenobi

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @nevergod: I am finding hard to find places that would accept a check for any amount let alone this large purchase. and because of security reasons when the merchant calls to verify if funds are available most banks no longer give that info.

chiefray71

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> As a former Bank employee (WAMU)I can say all banks have a spending limit on a check card WAMU has a $500.00 limit per day. The problem with customer service is something most people do not know or understand, we at the call center are punished if our calls last longer than what is set by the Call Center Management based on the type of service provided. My limit was 182 seconds max. anything over that and we were punished I was fired because I actually believed we should provide the best customer service no matter how long it took. Another thing you the customer is not aware of is when you request to speak to a supervisor you're just being connected to another call center operator designated as such. This person is trained to give you, well, the basic runaround until you either accept what you are being told. If you want anything done DEMAND to speak to the Service representatives, Manager (CSM)but that usually isn't much good either because I discovered that most of these don't know what to do either, except how to whip their charges into meeting the time restraints. Also when you are transfered to another department such as the ATM dept you will always be transfered to someone on the bottom of the ladder and you will probably be given another set of runarounds, remember the time limits. Remember to a bank your money is more important than you are god forbid that they have to let you use it. I could go on but You probably get the gist of this. I just wish I could have told some of my customers to get out of the bank and get into a Credit Union.

chiefray71

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @Obi5Kenobi

So one last thing, and we'll stop this whole flame war you have going on in your head. My point was, yes, you can buy TVs on the internet, and it's convenient too! I purchased my last TV and receiver on the internet, otherwise I wouldn't have recommended it. I had it all shipped for $40 directly to my door and saved hundreds off the price and in sales tax. The guys who brought it even offered to set it up on my TV stand. Much easier than trying to fit a 50" into my Altima. If the Tv or Receiver had not worked (which this one did) they had a free shipping exchange policy. The only bad thing is if you change your mind you're out the shipping costs. So my comment that ENRAGED you was just a point that if you can wait for something to get shipped, you can save a lot of money and a lot of frustration.

DeanOfAllTrades

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @ DeanOfAllTrades

I have no way of proving that I am not Bill so kudos to you for creating a situation that cannot possibly be resolved. You're a clever one. I'm interested in this because Bill is a friend of mine and people seem to think this is his fault. I feel bad for you that friendship is such an alien concept. That must be very lonely. To be honest it was your statement of "little attempt at instant gratification" that irked me. As if Bill shouldn't be able to buy a TV and some electronics on the fly.

You said:

"Yes, customer service is frustrating especially when dealing with money, so getting transferred and having calls dropped sucks, yes, but it happens"

Does not that attitude conflict with the very premise of Consumerist? Essentially you're saying, "Companies treat their customers poorly, get over it"?

You said:

"Finally, did Bank of America actually let you have access to your funds? I think they did."

Bill did get his money, which means BofA's policy is not set in stone. Why all the hassle? Either it can be done or it can't. If it can he shouldn't have had to go through so much hassle. If it can't then they should have told him it can't be done.

You said:

"And if anyone were trying to pull $6000 directly out of my cash checking account I would hope it would be difficult."

Even if it's YOU trying to pull $6000 out of YOUR account? That should be difficult? I think we're going to have to agree to disagree on that one.

Obi5Kenobi

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @Obi5Kenobi

It's okay, you can admit that this person is YOU, not a "friend". Otherwise, I don't see why you are getting so upset because my comments were mostly sarcastic. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.
a) I used to work at Circuit City and people with plenty of money would get denied for WRITING A CHECK (which BTW you could have tried) because the system rejected them. They didn't blame the bank.
b) Yes, customer service is frustrating especially when dealing with money, so getting transferred and having calls dropped sucks, yes, but it happens.
c) I'm not defending BoA, i don't work there or own its stock, it's just that you wrote into The Consumerist, and as a consumer, I was offering to you other options that involve saving you money.
d) Finally, did Bank of America actually let you have access to your funds? I think they did. And if anyone were trying to pull $6000 directly out of my cash checking account I would hope it would be difficult.

DeanOfAllTrades

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> "Overall, your little attempt at instant gratification cost you hours in frustration and about 50% more money."

Little attempt at instant gratification? Do you realize how condecending and stuck up you sound? You don't need to make reservations at a Wendy's and you shouldn't have to take a bank officer with you to Best Buy to buy a TV.

Whether or not using a credit card or not would have been smarter as a consumer isn't the issue. For whatever reason he didn't use a credit card and shouldn't have to. He had the money. He proved his identity. End of story.

As for purchasing at Best Buy, not everybody's shopping needs are the same as yours. Have you ever returned a 58" TV that you bought online? The shipping would probably be a few hundred dollars. Also, had you bothered to read and actually comprehend the story you would have noticed that he bought a receiver, speaker system, wall mount, some blue ray movies AND the TV for $5870.69. He didn't pay $5800 for the TV.

Now if you'll excuse me I need to call Wendy's to reserve a table for six...

Obi5Kenobi

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> Not everyone can get a credit card with a +$5k spending limit, even people with a large amount of money in their bank accounts. See, you have to have this thing called a "credit history" and then banks and other financial institutions "trust" you with their credit cards. Just because you have a lot of money and are making large purchases doesn't mean you have a (good) credit history.

trujunglist

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> I am American, I work in sales in Mexico, I deal with this problem all the time. However, this is a FOREIGN COUNTRY. We are selling to Americans, the bank flags their acct for big purchases, BUT, it always just takes one phone call for the bank to verify they are who they say they are and the card was not stolen, and they almost ALWAYS will up the limit. And this is to drop a lot more than 5 g. I have also run into this when taking my boat to foreign countries but have always been able to up the limit and get it OK'd. Of course, once I told them that the fuel was already in the boat and we couldnt pump it back out they kind of had no choice, but still....this guy was getting reamed. Probably a schmuck with a pattern of having about twelve bucks in his acct...

joesixpack

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> Ugh,

Some of these comments are very scary...

At no point should security be a reason to deny YOUR money. I understand that there can be extra checks, that is fine, but in the end there should be a established mechanisms for dealing with a issue like this. A hour on the phone is in-excusable.

Also the typical corporate mun drum that we provide horrible customer service because of our policies is really getting over-played.

Then everyone keeps saying that the bofa is protecting you.... This was one of the greatest half truths the bank inddustry has every pulled. The bank could care less about your funds. They do however care that they cannot find you liable for any fraudlent charges. So in the end there are protecting BofA.

Pure genius in convincing the general public that they make are lifes a living nightmare anytime we travel, purchase 1000+, buy something on ebay or online, etc, is actaully for our protection... ha! Some people even pay extra for this!!! o:

Evil genius's

But i guess thats why they have all the money?

zerobane

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> First of all, Why are you buying a Plasma TV from Best Buy for $5800?

Secondly, everyone should already know that there are limits to a Visa CheckCard, where the penalty for overdraft is multimple NSF fees.

Lastly, Consumerist is right, you should be using a rewards card with extended warranties and reward points. Points or chashback on a $5800 TV is $58-100.

Overall, your little attempt at instant gratification cost you hours in frustration and about 50% more money.

DeanOfAllTrades

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> Uh, I can't tell you how many times I took a trip, only to have at least one credit card declined because of their anti-fraud measures. I had to call up the CC Cos and tell them that I am on the road and that everything is cool.

Moral of the story: Make arrangements ahead of time with your financial organizations if you are going to do something out-of-the-ordinary. It is for YOUR protection.

JimmyDaGeek

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> BB was not at fault, so stop blaming the guy for shopping at BB.

BOA is PIA. I agree with the OP. Good God, it's his money, and he passed the ID qualifications; they should have just immediately given him access.

And the people here complaining about the guy not using credit or maybe even having enough credit to buy it- shut it. Who cares? The guy had the amount in his account to cover it.

But then again the last time I bought something that cost that much (a $7k used-card), I had it all in 100's in nice little envelope because I did not want car hassles.

radio1

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> The OP, Bill, is a friend of mine. What may not have come across in print but did in person when he told me this story is how very, very long he was on hold. Combined with being disconnected at least once and sent to the wrong department as well I can sympathize with him.

The fact that this was ultimately approved means that it is possible and can be permitted. If it were absolutely against the rules he would have left without a TV. I think that's where a lot of the frustration comes from. He had to wait so long and jump through so many hoops to get this done. It was ultimately done, why all the hassle?

The other thing is that, as some have pointed out, he passed all the security checks. There was no question that he was the owner of the account and that the money was his. At that point who was being protected by the limit?

I can appreciate that BofA has policies and enforces them. I think the policy doesn't make sense if it denies people their money after proving who they are.

I should note that I too use BofA and have never had bad service and even had some really helpful people help me out.

Finally, as for not being familiar with the policy: If his account is like mine it was opened at Baybank. Baybank merged with Bank of Boston to become BankBoston. BankBoston merged with Fleet Bank to become FleetBoston. FleetBoston was bought by BofA. Keeping track of all of this can be a task. The policy he started with may have been very different.

Obi5Kenobi

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @SchecterShredder: and probably using his Sprint cell phone to make the call.

CuriousO

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> DIE BOA, DIE!!!!!!! I avoid them like the black plague. I had a few accounts there when I was young and dumb. But after a series of mistakes on their behalf on my deposits, (my payroll checks came out to $515.15 a week, and I would use the ATM because I hate dealing with the tellers, the deposits were always listed as $51.51). Customer service and the tellers at the branch would get rude and angry when I would ask them to correct their mistake.

Again, DIE BOA, DIE!!!

efesus

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> I work at Best Buy (don't stone me, we're not all evil, I swear. Plus, I'm a college student), and daily limits on debit cards are are something that we all have, whether we realize it or not. I usually sell appliances, where most of the purchases total over $1000, and I always advise people to run their card as credit if their purchase exceeds the average. A lot of people get irritated at the implication that they NEED to run it as credit, but most debit purchases over $1000 simply won't go through. You can usually get around it at that price point by running it as credit, though. I've never had a customer try to make a purchase of more than $2000 with a debit card (seriously, folks, get an AmEx).

To answer a previous poster's question, we do indeed use Certegy for checks, but I've seen checks of several thousand dollar go through just fine. It just depends.

I had a customer one time try to make a purchase of around $7000 and the bank had frozen her debit card and checking account (she had just moved, and the series of purchases she made in the new location set off their security measures). She called the bank on speakerphone in front of me to see if they could unfreeze it, and I heard the bank rep confirm her checking account balance of over $70,000 to her. Still, they would not let her make the purchase, even after she confirmed her identity to them.

I've seen people with daily limits as low as $800, depending on the bank. It's often in the fine print of the type of account you sign up for, and people very rarely know about it. Check with your banks, folks!

pssshwhatever

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> What's all this about people getting HUMILIATED because their check card wasn't accepted? Suggestion: Tell the sales person you'll be back, leave, and call your bank from the comfort and privacy of your home.

bilge

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> "But it's MY MONEY!"

And you gave it to a bank. In theory, they're a little more careful with your money than you are. Screaming at tellers and CSRs because you never read the terms of service only makes you look even more foolish. LOL at the "credit/debit" debate.

I think the original story is a wild exaggeration born out of being declined at Best Buy and ticked off at BOA. Everything else has just been nature taking her course. How many people make $5000+ purchases on a DEBIT CARD routinely? Purchasing managers maybe. Average consumer, not so much.

I'll wait for this to come back around as "I tried to buy a new Scion with my Titanium Visa Check Card and my bank told me I'd have to wait three days AND get permission from the assistant to the regional manager."

All your base are belong to us.

SpeakerphoneON

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> We've been banking with BoA for years, never had a problem. Any time an odd charge showed up I'd call the bank manager and she'd correct it for me (not a frequent thing, btw). Always got my check reorders for free, and got an INCREDIBLE deal on our first home mortgage through BoA. What happened to this guy is unfortunate, and I wasn't aware of their 5000$ check card daily limit (thank you Consumerist! :^) but why WOULDN'T this guy use the BoA Worldpoints Visa?? He'd get back 1% on this (that's 50 bucks, sir!) PLUS would get an EXTRA 1 year warranty past dealer (oh, Bestbuy? Forget it!) or manufacturer warranty! PLUS he'd be able to reverse the charge if Bestbuy ended up screwing him over on this deal (believe me, I've done this (eg. with Ikea) and BoA treated me like a KING, PLUS I got my money WITH tax back into my account.

#1 this guy was an idiot not to use a cashback Visa card
#2 this guy was an idiot not to use a Visa card that gives him 1 extra year of full warranty
#3 BoA should make it easy/fast to access ALL the money in your account, should you need/want to, via your checkcard (provided you sign a waiver stating that you're accepting the risk if someone steals your card and starts making purchases around town and empties out your account in under one day - in that case YOU should be liable for all those missing funds, NOT BoA who is just trying to protect your account from fraudulent use!)

cheers.

banmojo

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> The Chase Amazon Credit Card has not annual fee and gives 3% on Amazon purchases and 1% on other purchases back in Amazon coupons. There are other cards that can help pay down your mortgage (veeeery slooowly), etc. If you are lousy with credit cards then don't carry them on a daily basis - keep them in the safe at home and only use for big purchses.

And why criticize this guy's decision to get a big TV - sure it is in no way an investment, but he's worked hard for his money and wants to enjoy some quality home theatre? Some folks hunt, some ride Harleys - this is how he wants to spend his disposable income.

Canoehead

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> next time try reading the contract before signing it. theres limitations and penalties when signing up for certain accounts.

TONY

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> Good for the bank - the amount should be lower. Having these Debit Cards linked directly to your bank account is a terrible idea. I NEVER use the stupid thing to pay at POS and I wish I could remove the function. Why not just plunk down a Credit Card and get the rewards - get one with cashback if you want to be conservative. If you are a cautious person, then go straight home and transfer the funds from your chequing account straight to your credit card (I sometime do this for big purchases - it removes any temptation to spend the money twice).

Also, most good credit cards have some sort of loss protection (60 or 90 days) - what if the TV got dropped on the way home? I know these are a pain to use, but they got my wife a replacement Treo for one that was lifted from her purse in a bar - I'd bought it for her on ebay using my card through paypal - they weren't exactly eager to pay, but it was worth about $400 to us so we pursued it. Finally, if you are absolutely detirmined to use your debit card, why not put the TV on it and everything else on a credit card? Please don't tell me that your only means of payment is one card from one bank? That's just foolish - what if you are travelling that that bank has a systems outage?

I swear to god, some folks are just stuck on stupid and looking for problems.

Canoehead

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> A BoA platinum check card doesn't mean jack. I think they give them out to everyone because I have one and my bank account usually has less than $100 in it. On a side note, BoA finally fixed my access to my online account which I haven't been able to login to for almost 3 months. After getting the runaround from their customer service I took my issue to the manager of my bank and she helped me personally (and I'm obviously a nobody with little to no money in their bank).

MYarms

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> your first issue was shopping at Best Buy. i got an incredible home entertainment system including a 50 inch plasma, Bose Surround Sound and a few other goodies for less than 3 grand... all at Sams Club. And i got a one year warranty for only 60 bucks more.

yeah BofA sucks ... but you should also consider just how huge of a corporate criminal Best Buy is!

Blish

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @SchecterShredder: Yes! Less than 15 minutes and we get an cliched, irrelevant twofer: "Why do you shop at..." and "Why do you bank at..."

rjhiggins

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> I realize this is Consumerist and not GRS or Lifehacker, but I still kind of am surprised that the post is siding with someone who is blowing multiple thousands of dollars on a single transaction for something completely frivolous, insanely expensive, unnecessary, luxurious, and wasteful.

A good consumer would make a more frugal decision with their money, wouldn't they?

And to think I feel wasteful spending more than $500 on a new computer, or more than $20 for a pair of jeans.

krom

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @onesix18: I agree with your post except for the final paragraph. Some people simply are not capable of making money decisions without involving their emotions. I agree that it's best to be coldly rational about personal finance and investing, but some people simply can't do that. If you're someone who goes on shopping trips as an emotional support mechanism (for example), then credit cards might not be a good idea. If you're someone who can control your spending in a disciplined way, then credit cards are obviously a better choice for a number of reasons. You SHOULDN'T make money decisions emotionally, but we have to recognize that a lot of people DO.

johnva

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> One other point: some businesses will let you split debit card charges over a few days if you can't cover the charge under your daily limit. For example, if you have a $500 daily debit limit and you want to buy a $750 item, they will charge $500 the first day and the remainder the second day. I know for a fact that Dell computer used to do this if you wanted to pay via debit card (and they would tell people how to contact their bank and find out what their limit was); don't know if they still do. This obviously works better for mail order since the seller isn't really at risk that you won't have the funds for the whole thing (they can just not ship if you don't have the money). But maybe you could have called the store and asked if they can do this (maybe in advance of the date you pick up the TV).

johnva

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @yesteryear: It's not that they aren't letting you "access" your own money. They certainly would, if you walked into a bank branch and asked for a cashier's check or cash (within reason, since they may also have only a limited amount of cash at a branch). All they're saying is that you can't instantly access an unlimited amount of your money via a debit card. The risk is too great for both you and them when using that payment method, which is why the limitation is in place. And they clearly tell people this, if they bother to read. This isn't some nasty BoA policy that is unique to them. It's just a risk-management measure that virtually all banks and credit unions use.

Now I agree that it sounds like he got some poor customer service. That's not really acceptable. I'm just saying that I haven't experienced this sort of thing with BoA. Then again, I've never really put myself in a position where I'm having to ask them for an exception to one of their policies, either, because I'm usually aware of the ones relevant to what I do.

johnva

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @walterny: He didn't say it was a positive surprise.

failurate

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> I can't imagine using cash to buy a hyper-depreciating consumer product like a TV. The idea of the cash just instantly--poof!--leaving my account before I even take the thing home to make sure it works...yikes!

In addition to the reward points, I love the 'float' that a credit card gives me. When I do make a big purchase, I have about 10-20 days typically (depending on where I am in the billing cycle) to work through all my issues and return the product if necessary before the cash leaves my checking account (to pay the CC bill in full, of course, which I do every month).

In an interesting coincidence, my reward card is with BoA (originally MBNA), and I've had nothing but good experience with them. BoA/MBNA has paid me thousands--THOUSANDS--of dollars in cash rewards over the years. Sticking to our household budget and paying every bill on time has worked out to create a very positive net gain for me in the relationship with BoA.

Caveat emptor, true, but in the discussion of credit card use for/against, those against seem to be using emotional arguments instead of logical ones. And money, my friends, is not something that should be dealt with emotionally.

onesix18

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> Can we please please please see Visa make a commercial out of this, with consumers merrily spinning around Best Buy, happily using their debit cards until - screech - everything stops?

Until a skeevy character throws down $6,000 cash with a flourish and a grin and the Ferris Wheel starts up again?

Trai_Dep

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> I have Chevy Chase Bank, which I've never been particular fond of, but I have to say that I've never had issues when making large purchases with my check card.

Of course I always called ahead BEFOREHAND to make sure that the purchase would go through.

Last time I spoke to them it was about airline tickets+hotel for a vacation in Paris, and they basically said "How much do you want us to increase the limit, and would you like it to stay there?"

What happened to the OP sucks, and when he called them they should have dealt with it expeditiously, but it was perfectly justifiable to decline the initial authorization.

kinksville

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> Wait - HEY CONSUMERIST - Are you actually telling your readers that we should get a credit card in order to purchase something like this?

(not that its wise to spend $5000 on a piece of technology that's just going to depreciate in value anyways - seriously, $5000 for a tv?.)

bobblack555

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @icedcornholio: Have you guys thought about actually just listing out these very important facts instead of making customers read through a ridiculous "huge pile" of disclosures?

Seriously, who wants to read a "huge pile" of disclosures?

And maybe if the banks had better fraud protection, they wouldn't have to severely inconvenience their customers just to cover their own backsides by putting limits on transactions

bobblack555

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> $10k in a BoA bank account also strikes one as less than savvy. What kind of interest are you getting? Why not ING, E*Trade, etc. But I echo the 'why not a credit card' queries? I mean, you could get a double warranty with the right card, cash back, fraud protection, 20 days (minimum) to earn interest in the high interest checking/savings account, etc... PLUS no hassles!

I can't imagine making sure a large purchase on a debit card.

All that said, as a BoA customer, I have relay this one. I moved, used the promo to open a BoA account, gave the guy my info on a little form, get my account open and 10 days later get a platiunum credit card! I didn't apply for a credit card mind you, just a bank account! Imagine! Yeah, I complained, got a $50 gift card to... wait for it.. Best Buy. :)

Yogambo

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> I think those using debit cards are in a way smarter than those using credit cards. Had I used debit cards when I was younger I would not have gotten in such bad credit card debt--I never overspent money in my bank account, but I would overspend on a credit card. They hand out credit cards like candy to kids--I got my first one while a senior in high school. Eventually I started to only use my debit card so I could pay off my cc debt.

Eventually I paid off my cc debt and now I have learned to pay off my credit cards each month--but it took probably at least a couple thousand in interest charges for me to learn that lesson.

It sounds like there's a lot of us here who do pay off our credit card bills each month, but that's not everyone. Anyone who has credit card debt and is criticizing this guy for using a debit card isn't seeing the big picture. Even those of us who no longer have credit card debt are missing the big picture.

Like I posted earlier I know someone who has never had a credit card--and so yes, she's never had free airline miles but she also has never paid a penny in interest or fees to a credit card company. And that is something to be proud of.

gingerCE

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> A daily limit is very common for check cards. A $5000 limit is a lot higher than any of the banks I have worked for in the past.

skehl

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> Bank of America...Bank of Opportunity.

Wormfather

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @Imaginary: we should start a pro credit union website together. i'm getting hammered here for plugging CU's, but i've never once had an issue like this that wasn't resolved quickly and by a friendly person who knows me and appreciates my business. i guess some people don't mind dealing with huge banks that treat them anonymously - but i prefer to keep my life savings in an institution that treats me like an individual.

for those of us who are not super wealthy, credit unions provide the same level of personalized customer service found in high net worth banks (like First Republic).

yesteryear

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> I would never go with Bank of America. I had a similar experience with my Government Purchase Card, which had no limit and supposedly, no daily limit. Of course, I was deployed to Kuwiat, and activated my card there. I ordered some items online, then went downtown the next day to order some furniture and other items, just over $10K. A few days later, I attempted to order some items online again.

Rejected. All of them. So I called BoA (and bear in mind I am deployed and this is my official card, which I am supposed to use for most transactions there, in support of the entire military base) and they inform me that my card was put on hold because I had made "suspicious purchases". I ask if they understand that I am deployed and using the card in support of a military base in Kuwait. They say yes, because the card is coded a certain way to show this.

When I asked why the card was locked, they explain that I had made purchases online and then, later, in a foreign country. I explained to them that Kuwait IS a foreign country, and that was my job. They were marginally confused, but willing to do what I told them in order to fix it, once I explained to them that I would have to report this up my chain if they did not fix the problem.

They proceeded to unlock the card, but couldn't explain why they hadn't been able to call me or contact my counterparts in the US concerning the card. Since the phone number they used didn't get answered (they didn't dial out right, since it was international), they figured "you would call us when it didn't work". Which I had to do, with a time difference of 9 hours, and a phone call "limit" of 15 minutes.

This happened three times while I was over there, once while I was downtown in the middle of a purchase. I can't convey adequately my frustration and disgust at BoA...I will NEVER be a customer of theirs.

RStewie

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @wdnobile: beautiful. yes. those of us who choose not to have credit cards have somehow become the 'crazy consumer trolls under the bridge'. but credit card or not, you're absolutely right to have been frustrated by this experience.

so we're supposed to be satisfied that if we have credit cards, we can charge huge sums of money, but if we have money, like, real money, we can't spend it? oh, and if we do, we aren't protected at all? hmm. interesting way to encourage people to use credit rather than cash. this is the most backwards, consumer-unfriendly, bank/corporation-slanted policy ever. i think everyone who keeps advocating for the use of credit cards can go ahead and use them if that's what they want to do do - but considering the fact that this site is supposedly about consumers, and consumers are what's driving the economy, and without consumers bank of america would crumble (can't exactly depend on those mortgages anymore, can they?), it seems to me the pendulum needs to swing back in the other direction for a minute. if you have the money, and you are who you say you are, then you should be able to access your money.

i think everyone is missing the point of this story - the headline was not 'Bank of America Enforces Daily Limit on Debit Cards', because that's not news. everyone knows that. the story here is that even after an hour on the phone, the money was still unavailable. and that's unacceptable.

yesteryear

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> Since I'm more informed than some people and know the limits of my bank account ahead of time, its all of a 30 second call to USAA to say, "Heya, going to make a large purchase, can you raise my max debit transaction limit for the next 24 hours?" To which they say, "Sure, its at $x000 for the next 24 hours. Have a nice day." When I dealt with Comerica and Wells Fargo, this was not an issue either.

Ksilebo

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @wdnobile: Re: point 1), I usually read the updates for my account online. They post them at the same place they post online copies of my statements (they also periodically send them with paper statements).

re: point 3), I believe you are quite misinformed about credit cards. There are tons of credit cards available that do not have "annual fees, surcharges, [and] usage fees". For my main card I get hundreds of dollars per year in cash back rewards, extended warranties, etc and I have never paid them interest or a fee for ANYTHING. Now that's not to say that you must use a credit card...but there ARE a lot of advantages and the reasons you have given are not really valid objections to them. If anything, DEBIT cards are more likely to be a minefield of fees than credit cards.

re 4) It IS about security. They have multiple layers of security...it's not just one layer like you seem to be assuming. The limit is to LIMIT the amount of fraud that can take place if your card is compromised. Most fraud takes places via debit cards (or checks), which is why this limit is in place. It limits the bank's loss to fraud and it also protects YOU since if fraud did take place you might be out whatever money they managed to drain while the bank completes its investigation.

johnva

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> You should never have to use a credit card for anything! You should always have access to YOUR money. If they want to question it they can call you afterwords. Do not put your money in boa. For one they'll find ways to take it from you on a consistent basis in the form of fees or overdraft charges. I for one will never put my money in a BANK again. I use credit unions.

Imaginary

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> I am the person this article is about. Just to address a few things:

1.) I signed up for this account over ten years ago. The bank I created it with never gave me any limits and the bank itself changed hands multiple times over the years before ultimately being absorbed by BoA. I've never been given an "updated" terms of service and so I assumed, perhaps foolishly, that my account remained the same.

2.) Im not a "spoiled rich kid." I work hard for my money and saved for quite some time to make this purchase.

3.) Yes, I could have used a credit card but, well, I dont own one. I cannot see the value in paying someone 25% or more interest on my purchases. Even if I pay the balance in full monthly, they still hit you with annual fees, surcharges, useage fees etc. To me, its just not worth it.

4.) To those saying "well all banks do that.", and spouting lessons from you soapbox about the great depression: You have missed the point. If I'd walked into the branch, shown my ID , and said "give me 6000.00 of my money" , it would have been handed over immediately, no questions asked. The guy on the phone confirmed as much. So, the "limit" only applies to debit card purchases. So, its really not about protecting the money they have invested, its not about my protection either as the guy confirmed he believed I was who I said I was. What then is the point of the limit?

5.)As for using Best Buy, I have exactly two stores in the area that sell the model I want: Best Buy and Circuit City. Circuit City was lower and I had Best Buy price match figuring that, while Best Buy is evil for sure, Circuit City is usually evil AND incompetent.

'nuff said.

wdnobile

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> This is poor customer service... nothing more. Every debit/credit card has a limit (as stated by many people above), and if one is going to make large dollar purchases, they should be aware of such things... but much like any EULA, people seldom read the papers that theyre signing, so Im sure few people know that until it happens to them (or they hear of it happening to someone else). I promise you, that limit IS in the papers you signed when you set up your bank account, so maybe use this as a lesson in reading what you sign? (not intended to be sarcatic, Im dead serious!)

As for the boo-hooing over phone trees... Welcome to the 21st century. The alternative is for all of these businesses to severely raise fees and in store prices to compensate for having "real people" standing by to answer the phone (they arent going to give us anything for free). We as a society have a lot of growing up to do, we want immediate results, fast service, no waits and low, low prices. But we dont want to have to sacrifice ANYTHING to get it. Im not saying im pro-big business, but Im just being realistic... you cant have it all. I'll take the phone tree and less fees/prices.

Dr.Ph0bius

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> i went through a similar nightmare buying a $1300 tv at sam's club once. this was 3-4 years ago, so policies may have changed, but they did not take credit card at the time if i remember correctly.

however they did take debit, so i tried to swipe it through on my debit card, but it wouldn't allow it. I bank with a local bank, but I too called the bank's 800 number on the back of the card, and they told me there was a $500 limit per transaction on debit card purchases, and there was nothing I could do.

I was fortunate enough to have a bank branch in the supermarket in the same shopping complex, that was even open on the saturday this was all going down, and I had to go over, have a bank check made out to myself, and take cash back over to Sam's Club.

Stupid, stupid policies.

And a curious side note, I used that same bank branch in the supermarket a few days ago, and it's closing down now, for a bigger branch up the street...that i'm sure will not have saturday hours since it's not in a supermarket.

customer service in this country is dead.

TheWraithL98

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> If it's widespread practice for there to be a 5k limit on daily spending on people's accounts, why are there items on sale for over 5k? Surely no-one can buy them without the hassle of BoA or whoever - and only then if they get lucky after an hour or so.

BugMeNot2

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> This entire story sounds like the rambling of a spoiled rich kid. Everyone with sense knows that there are transfer, withdrawal, and spending limits with every credible bank. BoA is no exception. Now, the obvious reason for this is to ward off significant identity theft, but there is a more potent purpose that dates back to the Great Depression. Now, consult a text book or just watch "It's a Wonderful Life" and you'll see that the GREATNESS of the Great Depression came from mass panic and withdrawals due to the loss of faith in banks. Everyone grabbed as much money as they could and when the bank ran out, the rest of their customers were screwed.

If you're paying attention, but not too bright, you might recall the FDIC which insures up to $100,000. That's great and all, but when can you really expect that money? If there is no physical currency in a bank, it won't be teleported in the form of gold bars from Ft. Knox... you have to wait. Now, if FEMA's response to the victims of Hurricane Katrina is any sign, you'll be waiting a long time. During that time, bills need to be paid by everyone, everyone needs to eat, and so everyone gets a reasonable percent of their money immediately. You'll be pretty thankful for this implementation when your excess caves in on you and the American economy collapses (again).

As for putting the charge on a credit card, spare me. Americans are already $2 Trillion (I spelled it out so you didn't think I fell asleep on the 0 key) in credit card debt. Now, I care not for the individual whining and finding digg.com promotion, but this is a warning to those of you unaware and in a similar, yet more understanding predicament. Now the real thrill, would anyone be so anxious to put this large charge on a credit card (which has its own daily processing limit) if the option were advertised with a big sign that states "Why Not Add 10% to Your Total"? The sane and relative answer is no, I'm not throwing my money into the pig pen, yet millions of Americans do each and every day.

In closing, I have only to say that a reasonable person would have known all this and a reasonable person would have shopped around for the best price ahead of time and called their bank (again, ahead of time) for a limit suspension or raise. Had this been done, the entire process would have taken fifteen minutes and been quite pleasurable. Unfortunately, due to the circumstances surrounding this event, it was not. As for Donald Trump, I believe the attendant was trying to say Trump would have had the sense to raise his spending limit ahead of time.

I consider this protocol and my ensuing rant a victory over ignorance. If only the battle weren't uphill, against the wind, and taking place in Russia with insufficient equipment. Good Day.

zaidestudios

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> The fundamental issue here is that this poster had $10,000 of "available" funds, yet was denied convenient access to those funds.

If the daily $5,000 limit is truly for our protection, then banks need to work out an efficient means of overriding this when required. It would seem to me that after the initial transaction was declined, the poster should have simply called a toll-free number on the back of his card, verified his identity, and confirmed that he is authorizing a purchase exceeding his daily limit. If an added measure of security is desired, banks could also require the merchant to verify the purchaser's photo ID, and provide a merchant code to the bank before the override is approved.

nikepsex

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> I keep on reading all these response about "why didn't he use a credit card" and blah blah blah, well sometimes people don't have the Luxury of a credit card. Some people have bad credit, or no credit cards at all. Now to say that this is the case with this person is more than likely wrong. He seems to have money, and therefore, he probably has credit cards. But the point is, people are avoiding debt like the plague nowadays. I mean, who the hell wants to get into debt right now? WITH a recession looming, and possible depression, I feel that if you have the cash, use it, otherwise, don't spend money you don't have. I agree with the consumer that this is bullshit that he would have to fight with his bank to get HIS money. If this was the other way around, and he had the bank's money, I'm pretty sure they would be pushing him around for their money.

diddy0071

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> It makes no sense that you'd spend an hour on the phone instead of just using a credit card. Unless of course, you have already maxed out your credit cards in which case, purchasing a $6k TV wouldn't be best idea. Judging by the fact that this person spent so much time on the phone and was so hot and heavy to walk out of the store with a TV, I wouldn't rule this out.

Consumer007: Yes, banks CAN set whatever rules they want and yes, THEY ARE IN CHARGE of their bank. It's their business. YOU are in charge of which bank you choose.

JChoice

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> I love you guys that have $10K in the bank and expect to be treated special. You are (generally speaking) the least profitable type of customer for the bank and generally the biggest pain in the ass (as shown here). You obviously never bothered to read the standard T&Cs when you signed up, but you do seem to expect to call up at whatever hour of the day and have a grunt customer service rep bend them for you on the spot because it suits you.

The bank is in business to make money, not to serve you (or any of you reading this) personally. If you are a high net worth individual, you can have private banking with a one on one relationship manager, if not, tough shit. They provide you with a service, but there's a very distinct difference between the two ideas. Your business with them barely makes enough money to make it worth dealing with you. The pittance of interest that they earn off of the < $5K that you will keep in this account over the course of a year will be enough to pay for about 5 phone calls from you, at which point they will in all likelihood be losing money on you as a customer.

You are considered a high risk customer to the bank. You keep a relatively low balance, you want to spend 60% of that balance impulsively, and you expect them to adjust their risk factors on the fly because YOU want something immediately. "Oh but it's MY money you say" -- not exactly -- it's not a virtual piggy bank and one of the fundamental concepts that you agreed to when signing up for the type of account that you did is that you were authorizing them to lend your money out; which is of course how you make interest on it. You also agree that you funds may be subject to availability and they may require prior notice for large withdrawls. You obviously don't seem to think that these rules should apply to you because with your enormous $10K balance, you're a high priority customer for them.

You are going to have these same issues at any bank (large or community bank), credit union, etc. because you represent a large portion of the consumer banking space. They have to setup rules like they do to protect themselves from impulsive, demanding, and worst, generally unprofitable customers.

schmad

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> Even though I use a semi-private bank that allows me access to a higher sum of money, I've still had these problems. Once you get wealthy enough you learn to either always keep a few grand laying around, or have your 24 hour accountant who keeps a decent sum of cash on hand, to drop off to you whenever you need.

People should wake up and realize that NOT having cash can be a really bad thing. It would take me all of 4 minutes to get just about anyone's bank account turned off for several months or good.

Ask yourself if you would be fine if your assets are frozen tomorrow. How long can you go? Bad stuff happens, be prepared, and expect to get screwed over.

inkhead

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> If you have that kind of scratch in your account and are being denied access to it then there's one really, really easy solution.

"Can you transfer me to the department where I can cancel my account? That will be great. I'll be at my local branch for immediate withdrawal of all funds in 15 minutes. No, I'm not satisfied with your apologies. I'm canceling my account."

Jordan Lund

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> why not just use a credit card like normal folk and let the bank carry the 5k loan for 25 days while you earn $15 worth of interest, points, double warranty and all that jazz and avoid the above aforementioned problems?

Oh, and try to get anything more than $5k in cash from any bank these days and you are looking for adventure. 3 branches + 2 hours to find a bank willing to give me ~9k, in 10s and 20s mind you. that takes a long time to count.

Next time I will try the trump comment...BoA, hook me up.

BugMeNot2

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @ogman: Uh huh. So what if I pay off the bill in full every month? I assure you that my statements say "Effective interest: 0.00%" no matter how much I charge to them. Methinks company lunches aren't involved at all but a lack of thinking -- on your part. You are assuming that all credit card users incur interest fees by not paying in full.

Buran

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @sven.kirk: So howcome he admitted the bank can make an exception "in advance" for some people? Seems like that policy isn't as ironclad as they want it to be. I think it's more excuse for "we don't want to do work".

Buran

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> My suggeation:
Don't use Best buy OR BofA.

Good Luck. You may need it.


dazzlezak

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> I got slammed here previously because I like writing checks:

[consumerist.com]

You see - they do have their purposes.

DudeAsInCool

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> So let me get this straight: the guy would have to wait a day to buy a big screen TV because he didn't bother to read the terms and conditions of his check card. Truly devastating. I'm not sure I'll be able to sleep tonite. Thank God we have The Consumerist to bring this outrage to our attention. Printing these "Omigod the bank was mean to me!" stories just diminishes the value of this website for those with real issues.

MommaJ

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> Seems the bottom line is, for once, the consumer is at fault. As a person that will, I hope never own such a card (and the Visa commercials really irk me), this is protection that has to be there. If this guy got his card stolen and lost all $10K he would be screaming like a banshee out of hell. I understand that the check cards stop you from spending what you don't have, but the downside is so bad. No buyer protection, no ability to deal with problems caused by Best Buy by threatening to have CC deny payment, no benefits, possible theft of card, and having this happen. So besides not being able to spend what you don't have, what are the benefits of this card?

mikelotus

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @naptownk:

I hate not being able to get a human on the line when I need one. I've started just punching a number that hasn't been mentioned by the auto teller. Eventually, I usually get a person although I have had it hang up on me, too. That's also annoying. But frequently getting a human who doesn't speak a language I do is even more annoying because they go by their script and usually it doesn't cover my situation. I get really annoyed by that! The most insulting conversation I had with a person speaking a language I couldn't understand and she couldn't
understand me was with the female person who claimed to be named "Mike". Now that might be her name but this company is well-known to out-source and each answering person is given an American first name. I doubt that was her name. This time it worked in my favor, though, because I was having to deal with an account in my husband's name and they usually gave me trouble because I don't have his first name. I just did what she did and insisted my name was what his name is. I could tell they knew it wasn't, but they couldn't very well prove it right then. They did what I asked.

nrwfos

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @icedcornholio: totally agree. the consumerist is being dumb here. everyone screams "chargeback" one minute and the next it's "disregard all fraud protection".

will say that i've both international (english) and us credit cards. used an english card internationally and they called my cellphone literally before i'd reached my car in the parking lot. impressive.

us banks take a day or two to verify which blows (and i have Chase and BofA cards).

please, consumerist, up the ante on quality. know which issues are news-worthy -- unfortunately newsworthy and comment-worthy aren't the same thing as evidenced by this post.

shenanigrams

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> I agree with the many of the comments left already by those on here and want to add:

How many times have we read on here about people who have debit cards that have been compromised and only find out after the fact their checking/savings account has been wiped out?

So here's a guy who's complaining he can't use his debit card for a purchase over $5000 for a home theater system. Sounds like he wants BofA to essentially allow purchases up to how much someone has in their account. BUT, god forbid his card was compromised and someone made purchases in a single day that wiped out every penny he had in there, who would be screaming foul that BofA allowed a thief to get away with that.

Like many have said, quit using debit cards for purchases. Nothing but trouble! Get a credit card, have the benefit of the grace period with the CC company's money, the protections afforded CCs that aren't given on DCs, and pay it off the following month with the cash that's sitting in (hopefully an interest bearing) your account!

Grazubit

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @Consumer007: You are wrong about how security works. You use layers of different security measures so that there are multiple protections. It's not an "all or nothing" sort of thing...the assumption is that security measures will sometimes fail. A limit like this could help limit losses to fraud.

Shouldn't the customer be responsible for knowing what their daily withdrawal limit is? I know for a fact that this limit is disclosed...I remember reading about it in the materials they gave me upon opening an account.

johnva

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> I canceled my BofA account months ago. Anything I tried to do with my money was difficult. It's like the bank is completely automated and completely devoid of any normal human interaction. But what do you expect after they've bought so many banks - who could manage all that. They obviously can't. I'll never bank at BofA again and discourage anyone I know from banking there.

genevh

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> Another point to consider. We become okay with $250 daily limits today and it's $20 or $2 daily limits tomorrow (with fees for going above each if they "courteously" allow it). I mean really people, at what point are you going to stand up for yourselves, use common sense and say enough is enough?

Here's what I'd like to see - federal legislation allowing consumers to levee fees on banks: Incompetence Fee, Disrespecting Customer Fee, Overcharging Customer Fee, Inconvenience Fee.

And banks have to accept customer's counter-terms and conditions.

After all---two parties to a contract.

Consumer007

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @billhelm: Just curious - did you ever press the bank on whether it was an employee versus outsider - how did someone get acess to it? The security people at the bank need to answer to you for this...

Consumer007

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @Hyperion1144: No Hyp, we're criticizing BOA for stupidly and arrogantly harming and grossy inconveniencing consumers for no reason. Identification is very black and white at banks. When someone passes, they pass, security threat over, then they need their money. There is nothing rocket science about this. If a bank throws up more security barriers for no reason when it's not merited, "just because", they shouldn't be in business.

Banks should not hire security people / consultants who cannot logically understand process flow and treat customers like people being frisked at the airport because "EVERYONE is a potential criminal, let's treat them that way! GET em!"

While what some have said here is true and this practice may be standard, it's also been established that denying access to someone who passes security is NOT standard, nor should it be.

Consumer007

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> As bad as they are, why not open an account every time you're over the $5000 limit? This way you can take money from each account and go "over" the $5000 limit.

emax4

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @TinyBug: Get a clue - sarcasm is only effective if you write it effectively. Otherwise you come off sounding like...an a-hole. Congrats.

Consumer007

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @Tracy Ham and Eggs: Yes and spellcheck helps too, dear. Thanks for the concern...

Consumer007

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @sis: Ummm no, that's what the security procedure is for. If an inside employee who has access gets around that, the bank is legally liable for all damages. Nice try...

Consumer007

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> lol, there is nothing new in this thing. Its nothing specifi to BofA - every bank does this. In fact it seems that BofA are more liberal with 5k limit, citibank has around 600 ATM withdrawal limit I think.

consum3rist

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> I'm sorry, I can't listen to this anymore. I have a fork jammed into my ear.

CaptainCynic

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @Vastarien202: I would like to know more about this not using banks thing...I can't seem to find a good bank, I am kind of thinking to just dump them.

boxjockey68

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> The funny thing is, if this guy's card had been stolen, and the thief had used his Platinum check card to buy the same home theatre system, and it had been allowed by the bank, The Consumerist would be writing an article criticizing BoA and their shoddy security!

You can't have it both ways people! Do you want the bank to offer security, or convenience? Because security and convenience are a trade off - you give up one to get the other!

It is not good this guy had to be transferred around so much to finally get an answer, but this problem is ultimatly his own fault! I don't feel sorry for this guy. He should have made arrangements beforehand!

Hyperion1144

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @yesteryear: Well, whenever I've encountered minor problems with BoA they were very courteous and fixed them for me with no problem. I'm not discounting all the stories of bad service people relate, but in my personal experience their customer service has been just fine. I've had a checking account with them for about 10 years.

@deadlizard: Hasn't happened yet (see above). Then again, I'm pretty careful about tracking my money, and I don't use debit cards. I've never been in a situation where I had to deal with them with fraud on my account or overdrafts. I did find some minor bank errors and they fixed them within about 24 hours.

johnva

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> right now, i'm stranded in a foreign country, i lost my BoA card. I spent 3 hrs on the phone with BoA for emergency cash so I could eat. They couldn't help me. I tried for days as I had less than $10 to work with. When I return to the US in a few months, I'm cancelling my BoA card, because I recieved horrible service from them in my time of emergency. They couldnt even send my card to my address here. How can I use my card to buy food if I'm here and the card is there?

Luckily I have Amex also (and they were helpful and I had cash in hand 15 minutes after calling Amex; they wired it to me)

peteyale

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @Addison: You may never had a problem with BoA but that doesn't mean you're not prone to get a problem anytime in the future. It will come and when it does, you'll be sorry. I don't know how many times this advice has to be on the Consumerist so people can get it: Do. Not. Bank. With. Bank. Of. America.

On the other hand, big purchases like that should me made on a card like an Amex that gives you some purchase protection you're not going to get on an ATM.

deadlizard

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> BofA ... heh, heh.

They don't call 'em "Bunch of Assholes" for nothing.

Getcher self a real bank.

UnnamedUser

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> I'm actually glad that my bank has a relatively low limit on my check card. Twice, my check card account info has been skimmed and used for fraudulent transactions. Since cash is immediately involved, it's good that someone couldn't charge thousands of dollars. This stuff is for your protection more than anything.

billhelm

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @Tracy Ham and Eggs: +1 for your comments, +2 for your avatar. I drove past that same sign (or a remarkably similar one) for 2+ years every morning on my way to work.

DAK

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> Correction to the above, "unlike Donald, I've NEVER gone bankrupt."

jfischer

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> Funny... I've used a Wachoiva check card to make a large purchase over $5K, and it went through like a champ.

But I signed a receipt rather than punching in a PIN code, so they clearly ran it as a credit card, even though it is not a credit card at all.

Just to clarify I am nowhere near Donald Trump in terms of financials. To start with, unlike Donald, I've gone bankrupt.

jfischer

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @Consumer007: No, I don't read the whole disclosures but that's really not where they bury the spending limits. For every bank or card I have dealt with those are pretty clear on what your limits are. A consumer SHOULD know what the limits are on any card they're going to use to try and make a major purchase. It's more common sense than anything else. Why blame BoA for something that was clear from the start and for something that is in line with most banks / credit card companies?

DarrenO

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @Consumer007:

What credentials do you have to be so condescending about this scenario?

Credentials? WTF are you going on about? I didn't realize we needed credentials here now. And "condescending"? Give me a break, and grow a sense of humor, dude.

Let me get this right - you are saying that he deserved what happened to him because he DARED to try to use his check card to pay for something?

Don't get yourself all in a lather - it was just a bit of good natured ribbing.

So that makes him deserving of your contempt? Don't you have anything better to do with your time than attacking consumers on a pro-consumer website?

Sheesh. "condescending... deserved what happened... contempt... attacking consumers"

Lighten up, Francis

TinyBug

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> BOA..assholes is what they are.

My girlfriend had a credit card with MBNA who was bought out by BOA. She owed $5400. Her monthly payment of lets say $150 was due this past Thursday. Thursday night I login to her account and pay off the ENTIRE BALANCE. The payment of $5400 goes through on Friday morning.

She logs into her account today to check her balance which should in all honesty read $0 but instead it reads $38 from a late fee.

She calls to get it removed. She tells the lady that she just paid off the entire balance in one fell swoop, can you remove the late fee because it was really not late at all and if anything it was only 4 hours late as the payment was taken from my bank at 4am.

They wouldnt remove it. Now we have to send them a check for $38 because if we pay online it costs $1, if we pay on the phone it costs $15. We are closing the account, we were going to keep it but since they are such assholes they can screw themselves and keep their line of credit.

parad0x360

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> I don't think people should be too critical of him choosing to use his debit card. I use credit cards and pay them off every month but I got my first cc when I was in high school and got into major CC debt early on. Eventually I got out thanks to some financial luck, but it took me 2 years before I was even willing to use a credit card again.

Yes, some people here, like myself now, pay off their credit card bills each month and play the rewards game, but there are others here who cannot honestly say they don't have credit card debt.

I actually know someone who doesn't have and has never had a credit card in her whole life. For many years she could honestly say she was debt free--even no student loans!--now she can't say that cause she's got a mortgage but there is something to be said about being credit card debt free.

gingerCE

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @Greasy Thumb Guzik: I dont have limits that high due to some credit issues in my youth. I probably could get one now, but Ive never run into an issue.

@Consumer007: randomly using CAPS while typing doesnt help you make a RATIONAL ARGUEMENT. It makes you come off a bit crazy, as does BRAGGING about abusing some random TELLERS at A bank.

Steve Trachsel, Ace

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> Absolutly would piss me off too. And I wouldn't take any explanation if it was me.

I assume this prevents spending sprees if your card is stolen. I'd be grateful if this limit protected me in the event my card was taken. And now that I know there are daily limits on check cards, the next time I want to make a 6000 dollar purchase, I'll call the bank ahead of time to let them know, so they can make an exception.

Now I just need to have 6000 in my account.

XianZomby

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> @Addison: I'm not sure if his feelings on it make me feel better or worse.

DAK

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> I'm amazed that no one brought this up: Maybe he couldn't get a credit card for some reason.
Or he had other cards that were maxed out.

You'd be surprised how many people are denied for credit cards.

Greasy Thumb Guzik

]]> <![CDATA[Bank Of America Won't Let You Access Your Money]]> i was suggesting using a credit union in