I hate banks

So, I visit FreeCreditReport.com a few weeks back, and they aren't able to verify my identity, and I'm not given my credit report. I think that's the end of it. Instead, they hit my account for $79.95 for one year of their credit monitoring service. I, of course, didn't authorize this.

I ask Bank of America to "stop payment" on the debit. They say that they can only do so if its a recurring transaction for the same amount every month on the same date. I reply, explaining that it's a one-time charge I didn't authorize.

I then attempt to order something over the Internet, and my card is denied. It turns out BofA blocked my card and will be sending me a new one in ten business days.

I used to bank at SeaFirst bank in Seattle, before BofA bought them. I loved them. That was the last positive experience I've had with banks. BofA dings me every month for a $6.00 maintenance fee, puts holds on every check I deposit over $100.00, charged me $150.00 in overdraft fees because this unauthorized $79.95 transaction put me into the red, and then they cancel my damned check card. (sigh)

Comments

[H. Cortez]

Do NOT trust Bank of America!

Before leaving Texas on a 5 week business trip to Europe, I ordered one new ATM card. I also asked them to record that I'd be gone during those dates, so that they wouldn't be worried to see withdrawals from overseas. I activated the card at the bank branch 2 days prior to leaving. THREE DAYS LATER, someone in Florida had a copy of both my NEW ATM card and knew my 4-digit passcode, which only I and the BOA knows. They took out $3,000 in one day from my savings and checking before BOA locked my accounts, and they racked up $20 in withdrawal fees PLUS they got rejected for continually checking my balance.
I discovered this on Christmas Eve, and with
a friend's help, managed to call them for a 4 hour phone ordeal to get things cleared up and the $3,000 reported, as well as to get a little cash wired to me as an emergency. I told them AGAIN the date that I would be returning and gave them my number in Europe. I just got home yesterday 1/13 to discover that they mailed me a letter here saying that if I didn't mail back the enclosed dispute paper by the 9th, then they might not reimburse me. I spent hours on the phone today with them and they said that they reviewed the fraud claim and decided that they were LEGITIMATE transactions, thus I was to not be reimbursed for it. EVEN THOUGH I was using the only existing card to make purchases in Paris on the SAME day. EVEN THOUGH I've NEVER
withdrawn all my money in one day on ATM machines that aren't affiliated with my bank. PLUS, they'd only recorded $2,000 stolen instead
of $3,000, ignoring what I told them on X-mas
eve, not to mention that all $3,000 was stolen
from the same town and state in Florida.
I'm out three thousand dollars that I don't have to spare, $3,000 stolen from me. BOA supports the criminals! DO NOT TRUST BANK OF AMERICA. DO NOT trust their ATM systems. BOA says on their website that they have "total security protection" for these cards and accounts, and the website also claims that you have 60 days to report it AND are guaranteed the refund if your card's been stolen or lost. They are trying to use a loophole to claim that mine was neither and are trying to dismiss that I can't be in two places at once. "Total Security Protection" IS A LIE. If they can't guarantee the safety of your money, are they to be trusted with it? No.

[Jeff DiSario]

I can't believe that Bank of America just robbed my family of $132 just before Christmas!!!

I had enough money in my account to cover three transactions scheduled to come through. Those showed in my "pending" as one charge for $2, one for $17, and one for $7. One that did NOT show in my pending was an EFT for $213. All four went through on the same business day, and OF COURSE they charged my account the $213 first, so that there wouldn't be enough for the others. So instead of generating ONE overdraft fee, I got FOUR! Had they debited the account for the others FIRST I would only have gotten one overdraft fee for the $213 charge, which NEVER showed in the pending to be taken out!

Add to that, the transfer I made for $100 into that account that they didn't count until the next day, even though they say, "the first $100 of any deposit is available immediately." I guess that is unless they can extort $132 from an out of work American family just a couple of days before Christmas! Those UNFAIR overdraft fees actually resulted in my account being overdrawn again the next day, and now they are really robbing me blind.

I guess this is what they mean by the rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer. When I spoke to them about which one they took first, they couldn't have cared less. They treated me like I was dirt on their shoe!!! This is how to treat a person that has been their customer for 10 years? They read me the script like a robot, regardless of me actually making sense. I would hear, "I understand how you feel, but..." But I guess those phone jockeys are trained to care as much as the greedy CEO of this organization.

I have told all of my neighbors, I will be telling my co-workers, friends, family, and everyone I come into contact with from now on. Everyone will know how Bank of America robbed a family just before Christmas, and cost us the meal we were planning to buy for our Christmas dinner.

[Not a baby]

Everyone on this site is sad. If you go in the negitive it is ALL YOUR FAULT!!!!! Take ownership of your money and stop pointing the blame.

[Lisa]

It is not all our fault when we think that the balance information given to us on the banking website or through the ATM is real time up to the minute accurate information. Bank of America does not let you know--until it's too late-- that there may be checkcard "credit" transctions outstanding, which are not reflected in the pending transctions portion of your account. The "hold" on these funds fall off after 24 hours. So you think thoes charges have cleared and your balance is accurate, but when you are at your weakest point, Bank of america decides to post all outstanding checkcard charges on the evening when your balance is lowest. Then they rake in the fees, I endend up paying $40 for a $10 gas purchase because of this practice of Bank of America. Never use your checkcard as a credit, always as debit, that way the account balance will be accurate.

[Lisa]

It is not all our fault when we think that the balance information given to us on the banking website or through the ATM is real time up to the minute accurate information. Bank of America does not let you know--until it's too late-- that there may be checkcard "credit" transctions outstanding, which are not reflected in the pending transctions portion of your account. The "hold" on these funds fall off after 24 hours. So you think thoes charges have cleared and your balance is accurate, but when you are at your weakest point, Bank of america decides to post all outstanding checkcard charges on the evening when your balance is lowest. Then they rake in the fees, I endend up paying $40 for a $10 gas purchase because of this practice of Bank of America. Never use your checkcard as a credit, always as debit, that way the account balance will be accurate.

[John]

Of course, if you kept a register up to date, and recorded and deducted all of these "credit" transactions outstanding, then you would know how much money you had in your account.

[Mark]

Bank of America is the most crooked bank I have ever dealt with. Every move they make and every policy they have is simply geared towards overdrawing your account. This is big business folks and BOA is at the top. Do yourself a favor and the rest of us and switch banks.

[Ted]

How did FreeCreditReport.com get your check card to begin with? How are you mismanaging your finances so poorly that a single unauthorized $80 transaction puts you in the red?

It sounds like your complaint is with the website, not with Bank of America. Assuming that they did something wrong, as opposed to sell you something you agreed to because you didn't read what you were agreeing to. Of course, no lawyer is ever going to sue FreeCreditReport.com, because they're not a deep pocket.

What is BoA supposed to do other than block your card when you give your card number away to someone who bills you for something you don't want? It sounds like your expectations are unrealistic. SeaFirst wouldn't have treated you any differently.

[Justinian Lane]

Hey Ted, glad to see you're back. Couple of points:

1: I wasn't mismanaging my finances. Like many full-time students, I didn't have an extra $80 in my account at that time. The problem was that FreeCreditReport wasn't able to provide me with a copy of my credit report because they were unable to verify my identity. The $80 charge was for enrollment in a credit report monitoring service that was supposed to enable me to view my credit report at any time. They never sent me my username or password for the service, either by mail or email. Nor did they send me my "welcome kit" to the service. Therefore, the charge was a surprise.

2: My irritation with BofA was because I didn't and still don't believe that they can't stop a payment on a debit card. They can stop payments on a Visa card, so why can't they can stop one on a Visa debit card? My other irritations - as I mentioned - were due to the bank's habit of putting holds on every check I deposited. In the end, I spoke with a BofA manager, and they took care of me. Since this incident, I've had no complaints about BofA.

3: FreeCreditReport.com isn't a deep pocket? They're Experian, Ted. If Experian isn't a deep pocket, then I don't know who is. And I'm pleased to say that Experian and I settled the matter in a mutually agreeable way.

[US soldier]

GOOD FREAKING GOD why O why did the terrorist blow up the world trade center and not BofA.
I'm in iraq right now fighting the terrorist who blew up the wrong building. I dont know who i hate more now. I am authorized a goverment travel card, that goes threw BofA, useing this i traveled cross country (US) for schooling. I racked up 875$ fee. No big deal considering for offical business the goverment will pay the card after you process the paperwork and they send you the money. I had problems getting my paperwork approved, and bofa had such a bug up there ass about getting the money on the 1st of that month so i paid them in full. six month later (thank god im a recipt whore and save everything.) BAM I find out that i've been reported to the credit bureau and my salry is being garnished in the effect of 1400$. I only make 1300 a month and i call up the bank and they said they couldnt do anything about it till next month. Easy for them to say when thier pregnant wife isn't worried about HOW THE HELL shes is going to make RENT and the other bills like dunno the non-important things like cars and FOOD. the saddest thing about this is that this has happened before just not to this extent years ago. AND then they have the fucking ordasity to charge me and 80$ admin fee for THIER repeat THIER mistake!!...
so if any of you american hateing terrorist out there want to really hurt american, then what better target is there than BANK OF AMERICA. that would be a fresh and tormenting blow to our society and way of life.

[Luke]

I stopped using Bank of America's credit card a couple years ago, as they kept making it increasingly difficult to make online payments. I'm confident the purpose was to increase the likelihood of late payments and net more income in the form of more interest and fees.

After cancelling the credit card, Bank of America only annoyed me with their cheesey theme music on their misleading commercials showing how quick and easy payments could be made while cooking scrumptious microwave meals.

That is until I refinanced my house, and ended up with a 1st and 2nd mortgage through Bank of America. In order for electronic payments to be made with ease, you have to have a Bank of America checking account, but Bank of America has no branches in my area, which makes that a ridiculous option. Then I sent in an extra payment to be applied to the 2nd, and at the exact same time sent a regular payment to be applied to the 1st. Both payments were sent at the exact same time from the exact same place, and both were sent to the same address. Mysteriously the U.S. Postal Service allegedly juggled the early payment for two weeks after the regular payment was processed and posted. Finally, Bank of America received the extra payment, but applied it to future interest charges, rather than current principal. My wife called, and customer service assured her they would take care of it. They didn't. So we contacted our mortgage broker, who contacted B of A's representative, and finally our extra payment was properly applied, approximately one month after it was sent. Of course, B of A didn't even back date the payment to coincide with the date they actually processed it: anything to squeeze a little more interest out of a customer.

My one compliment to B of A is that they've motivated me to pay off both loans quicker, so I can be done with them. If I ever refinance again, I'll go with Wells Fargo. At least their customer service office is open on Saturdays when customers actually have time to call.

[Kain Lansing]

Jeff DiSario is an asshole! I sincerely hope that his butt buddy B of A rapes him real good one day...then he'll see! HA HA HA!

[Chris]

I closed my account with Bitches Or Assholes a number of years ago - originally I was with Crocker bank, which BOA gobbled up, so I just left the account with them.
Was leaving for a two week honeymoon and stopped by the local branch to get cash and travelers checks, only to find they had no record of the previous weeks AUTOMATIC deposit from my employer, a shortage to the tune of over $1200.00. After playing back and forth with these momos for over an hour,
my wife and I ended up getting the money from her parents, barely made our flight, and had this hanging over our heads for our honeymoon. When we returned, I got my employer involved (mid-size corporation that also banked there). Once the matter was resolved, I closed my account. I will piss glass and thumbtacks before I will EVER do business with Bank of Amerika again.

[David]

I swear I think that the bank sometimes does not post transactions to your account for long after they should actually be put on there just so you think you have money, then when you don't, they can make hundreds of dollars off you.

[David]

Also, overdrafts are absolutely ridiculous. The reason your account was overdraft was that you did not have any money. So, for you not having any money, you get charged. You actually have to pay to have no money. It does not make sense. It is a blatant scam.

[emmy acosta]

i hate bank of america

they are a cancer

[ginareyna]

My husband and I noticed fraudulent charges on our account on 4/2/07 made by Pacific Web Works for $49.90. We called the bank to dispute the charge and it was credited to our account on 4/3/07. Then on 5/2/07 we received a re-bill for the charge. We had already called Pacific Web Works on 3 separate occasions between 4/2 and 5/15 trying to get them to reverse the charges; first they gave us the run around, then they claimed we called one day too late. We spoke to the Pacific Web Works billing department who told us they don’t give refunds. I told them this was a fraudulent charge and they told me to file a police report because I wasn’t getting my money back.

We again contacted the claims department of the bank and we were sent a letter stating that this was a valid charge and that we would not be receiving the authorized credit. We then sent in 2 more disputes to reopen the claim because they did not do much to validate this as a legitimate charge (they only confirmed our address and name). In addition, Bank of America charged us over approximately $3,000 in non-sufficient fund fees associated with the 2 debits that went in and out of our account due to this transaction not being handled properly. On 5/22 we faxed a police report / Identify Theft Complaint Form to Pacific Web Works and the bank.

It is now two weeks later and the bank continues to bounce items from my account and charge me fees, even though this claim has not been settled and they owe me at least $3,000. I have spoken to the police and an attorney and plan to sue both if our money is not refunded; this why we are also reported them to the FTC.

Information from consumers like us helps Federal, State and Local authorities investigate possible illegal practices and enforce our laws. Please visit the FTC's web page, www.ftc.gov,and fill out a complaint. This may get someone there to pay attention to the shady proactices of Bank of America!!!!

[Renegade Republic]

I Think there comes a time where persons of a like experiences should unite in a universal effort to make change for the things that they don't like. Banks, credit card companies, and many financial institutions are out to squeeze as much money out of you as they can. A lot of them operate under deceptive policies and terms. These are worded so, that you will have to assume what the meaning is. Remember deception always has something to hide. And what is hidden is how these companies make millions off of your inconveniences and mishapps.

The said part about it is that we allow them to do it. Banks and credit card companies steal money from us everyday. And our position not to take action against them allows them to continue to do these things over and over again. I like the fact how you guys have come together on this site to share your experiences. But I think you guys should go further. I think that you guys should find a bank or credit card company that will allow you to do exactly what you want to do. And patron them collectively as a whole. Then I would cancel or close my account with the other bank or cc company.

And to further this collectively you all should write a letter to the bank or cc company with all of your names on it and state that you all have closed your accounts and have chosen to do business with another institution because of these reasons. I would close the letter stating that we are also going to publish in our local newspapers across the country an article about our experience with your company and our decision to close our accounts with your company and also encourage others to do the same if they have had the same experiences.

When companies realize that we the people will not give up our power and will stand against them collectively as non-patrons then they will get the message that they have to change. They don't want the bad press. They spend millions of dollars to convince the public that they're a very good company and they dupe millions of people to do business with them. Which in return gives them a million chances to rob cheat and still from that customer base. Did you guys know that you may be charged an NSF fee when you have the funds in your account to cover the charges due to policy and date posting even with cash. So the bank may not have covered your transaction with their own money, but they will charge you a fee as if they did due to the wording of their terms and policies. So you are paying for your own transaction with your own money but the bank is charging you a fee as if you did not pay for your own transaction with your own money due to how the date the day your money is posted. Stealing!!! That is all that is! There are many little things like this that allow them to steal millions from us.

Don't get me wrong people NSF fees are legit when you don't have the money in the account. However that is not always the case when you are charged them. And the banks are so deceptive that they will rearrange transactions on your statements or even the bank printouts to make it look as if you are insufficient even though your really are not. Most major banks do this and people except it as gospel when it is anything but.

Smaller institutions are almost in all cases are easier to work with. I encourage all of you who have alike experiences to unite and fight together. A great and wise man that once fought against a great injustice said " . . . What affects one person directly, affects everyone indirectly."

You may see this same posting on others sights but the meaning is still the same.

[Steph Baggett]

The banks will screw you every which way,
Don't ever trust word that they say,
They'll put on an act, try to pretend,
That they're on your side, your financial friend.
But don't be fooled by the sweetness and light,
Beneath lies a monster, ready to bite,
To rip you to shreds, to leave you forlorn,
Should you dare to go 1p overdrawn,
They will sell you insurance that's not worth a dime,
All you will claim is wasted time.
They will blind you with terms and percentage rates,
Clauses, conditions and payment dates
Until you wonder-"Is it just me?"
"Or do I need a business degree ?"
To understand this world so profound,
Of the almighty penny and pound,
No - it's like my interest accrued,
The banks have us all truly screwed

[None]

Just to let everyone know, by law, since they do not disclose the length of hold time of a check deposited at the ATM, if you spend money against that deposit & as long as the check turns out to be valid, they have to refund any fees you incurred. If you tell them that you know this info they will refund your fees. But call only after the checks have cleared. If you call before the check has cleared they will "decision" their "Refund Request Tool", which will make that fee impossible to refund. And don't take it out on the poor people who answer the phones- they have to submit the fee request to the computer and the computer comes back with a decision. It's not that person's choice. If it was, you'd get your fee back, trust me. Once that decision is made, if it says $0.00 Refund, that phone person doesn't have the ability to refund that fee. Neither does their manager so don't even waste your time. And don't trust the Voice Guided Service or ATMs for balance inquiries. Keep a check register and look in Online Banking daily. Checks do not pend so you have to remember when you write them and factor that into your balance. It really sucks that Skank of America doesn't work with people when honest mistakes are made. Not everyone's a mathmetician, nobody's perfect. And the bank chooses to exploit that human quality to line their dirty pockets. They use trickery to make their money. Most people who open accounts inside the branch are poorly educated and important info on fees and regulations is purposely left our so that the person opening the account doesn't have to get into all that. They send you off with a "Deposit Agreement" & "Schedule of Fees" and let you go home to read the fine print. READ THE FINE PRINT. And when you call them, keep in mind that your call is being recorded, that person that you're screaming at on the other end has access to your name, address, SSN, DOB, and all of your account numbers & information. We all hate this awful corporation and the only way we're going to put them out of business is to stop overdrawing our accounts (stop giving them fee money) and pay our bills on time (stop giving them fee money). Another good way is to take your business elsewhere, I'm sure the experience will be better.

[None]

Bank With Caution: Coming soon, at Bank of America, their Non-BofA ATM usage fee will be $3 per transaction ($6 for a bal inq & withdrawal!!!). And very soon in the future there will be a change in the overdraft fee process. Now, say if you have $10.00 in your acct and go the store, buy something for $20, then deposit $10 cash before the cutoff time, you won't get a fee. Well, that's all changing. Now if your acct is overdrawn by something that's pending, you still get that fee even if you make that deposit before the cutoff time. So basically, there's no warning period. It's coming soon... and it's partly because BofA can not buy any more banks out because it would be considered a monopoly. So now they have to increase the number of fees they charge and push credit cards on people who they know can't afford it. Get out of this bank, it's nothing but trouble!

[me]

why can't we charge the bank fees for making an error on our accts? they charged me a maint fee on my acct which was supposed to be free, which caused my acct to overdraw, they gave me $175 in fees for the day and i had to spend over an hour on the phone on them to have it corrected! then the hour i spent on the phone caused me to go over my minutes on my cell phone! i wish i could send them a bill for the hour of my time on the phone plus the minuted i had to pay for! they are so ignorant to the fact that people work hard for their money and most people live on a budget. this bank is so large that it can afford to lose customers that dont keep high balances. good riddance, i prefer my small town bank.

[Karen]

BofA is one of the top worst companies in America.
Stay away from them. tell your family and friends to stay away from them . They will bleed your account dry, and their customer service is HORRIBLE.

[none]

their customer service is horrible because they do not allow their employees to use their own common sense to problem solve. unfortunately, the bank i worked for was eaten by bofa and i stayed because they offered a pay raise and because i was unaware of how evil they were. then they transferred me to cust service in a call center, the worst experience of my life! basically, everyone is so closely monitored and every click of the mouse on the computers is recorded and monitored, so even if we feel that a fee should be reversed we cant do it unless the computer says we can. like that other person wrote about sumitting the fee refund to the computer, the computer looks at the account and determines what to give back. so while the cust service is hardly any service to the customer, dont take it out on the person answering the phone, it's not their fault that this bank sucks. i definately advise everyone to drop this bank! they block and close atm cards for no reason, they sell your information to other companies, your ssn& other personal info are SOLD for them to make more money! when i started working there they wanted all my info, address, phone # etc. i had a private phone# that had never even had a telemarketer call. as soon as bof a had my info the calls started, then i started getting calls from liberia! they sign you up for their insurance programs, 6 mos free but if you dont want to be billed you have to cancel, but it's impossible to cancel these services because they give you the runaround. then if their insurance overdraws your acct, watch out! you'll never get your money back! they play the old "you had 6 mos to cancel this service, the fees are valid to the acct" game. believe me, there is someting evil about this bank, i only lasted at the call center 3 months, it's an awful place to be because this bank is all about taking money from people that hardly have any money. i saw a 75 yr old mentally ill man overdraw his account by writing 10 checks to walmart, each for less than $2.00, all in the same day (his caregiver said he bought gum and candy and no one know he had his checks with him). when they came in to his acct they overdrew it by around $20.00. they came in on 2 different days, resulting in $350 in fees, plus his housing check bounced, another $35 fee! the man only got about $650/month in social security and the acct was od by over $700, so the next time his soc sec check came in it was wiped out by the bank in fees! if that's not robbery i dont kn ow what is. i asked my mgr if we could have any leaniancy because of his situation and her reply was "well, someone should put his checks where he cant get to them, then this wouldnt have happened. we're not responsible for taking special care of the mentally ill." i quit the next day.

[monica]

Hello i saw all the comments about bank of america, i work for bank of america and i wouldnt have an account with them. i used to have a checking account but i closed it. I ordered a credit report online for 12.99 ,and 1,299.00 was taken out of my checking account. i called but they told me that it wasnt a fraud claim cause i gave my checking account number to them but i can dispute the item. i had $60 overdraft fees. they didnt want to give me back my fees. They said that they investigate to see if they can get my money back. i was so upset. i called the credit report agency that debit the funds from my account, they said they would send me a check but i would have to wait 3 weeks. I told them it was fine ,called BOA back told them what happened and said since it wasnt my fault and the credit agency admited to being an error on there part if they could waive the fee. Rep told me no, i cursed her out ,asked for her manager and that got me nothing, Also that manager contacted my manager and told her that i was being rude.After that i closed my accounts and only work for them. I wouldnt even open an account with them if they gave me a raise on my pay check.If this is how they treat their employes that make them so much money,what makes you think that they'll treat their customer diferently. And im a sales asociate making them 300,000 a month ....