Complaint Review: BANK OF AMERICA - Raleigh North Carolina

I just read your report, and the same situation happened to me. I filed a report on here dated November 13, 2009. I have been calling everyday and I am told the same thing, "your account will be closed tomorrow, and that is when a check will be cut". I now ask, "why was I told the same thing yesterday"? They tell me that the closure date is an estimate. This "Risk Closure" department seems to trump everyone, as my branch manager told me he cannot over-ride what they are doing. I simply told him that if they want to close my account, then I will make it easy for them, and close it myself and collect the funds in my account by going into the local branch, the manager said that is not possible. The reason I am writing this to you is because I was wondering if you would have any interest at all in starting a class action suit. You can feel free to e-mail me at (((REDACTED)))
CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

On October 11th when you tried to use your debit card , and your transaction was denied, you indicate that you contacted the bank, and was told  your account was frozen, and submitted for closure.

Here is my question for you, when you called on October 13th, 2008, and they told you why your account was being closed,  how many of the checks that were returned NSF were written AFTER you learned that your account was being closed.

When a check is returned to a merchant from the bank, as yours truly were, they automatically resubmit for payment.  They do this because they know that often times if the check is resubmitted sometimes the check will be honored.

Here is where a check register would come in handy, you could have contacted those merchants, and offer some other form of payment, and tried to avoid them representing the check again. 

This whole issue could have been avoided if you had not given BOA reason to close your account. 

I am filing a Class Action Law Suit against Bank Of America for thier holding tactics when they close your account . If you have had any problems with your refund money bieng held for long periods of time by the Risk Closure Department then email me (((ROR redacted))) AND COME JOIN THE FUN

The bank closed the OP's account to further activity, but the OP had already written checks/charges on the $1300 that was in there. So, when those items tried to post, they were returned and the OP was charged the fees. I can just imagine how many places kept re-depositing too. The OP should have never been charged the fees. If the bank closes your account and you have already written checks off the money that is in there, they should not return those items and charge you the fee. The OP had the money in the bank, but the bank held it. The bank should have either returned the items and not charged the fee, or paid the items and taken the money off whatever money the OP had in the bank. This one sounds like bank error to me. Since the money was held, the computer was probably reading it like a deposit hold and charged the fees. Sounds like the OP had the money in the bank, this time, to cover the items and the bank chose to charge the fees anyway.

I CAN NOT BELIEVE WHAT I AM READING. I AM GOING THROUGH THE SAME THING WITH THIS BANK RIGHT NOW. THEY ARE HOLDING MY INCOME TAX RETURN. I SUGGEST YOU CONTACT THE "OCC." IF YOU HAVE AN ATTORNEY THAT CAN ADVISE YOU THIS IS MY SUGGESTION. I HAVE NOT MADE THAT DECISION YET, BUT IF I DO NOT GET RESULTS THIS WEEK FEB 1, 2009 THAT IS MY NEXT STEP. IF YOU HAVE SUGGESTIONS FOR ME I WOULD APPRECIATE IT. HOPE EVERYTHING WORKS OUT

The OP needs to explain this a bit more. "..due to too many checks returned without funds..." - Does this mean that SHE Overdrafted the account, or she deposited checks from people that ended up getting returned because THEY had Insufficent funds. Beyond that it does seem quite impossible to have $1250(Although the title stated over $1300) in OD fees assessed in a couple of weeks when she knew the account was "under review" By the way she also stated that it took over 3 months. She was first notified on Oct 11th that there was a problem. The final resolution came on Dec 22nd. This is not OVER 3 months, but just over 2 months.

you'll have a serious problem getting a large chunk of money back, if you can get any of it at all. To begin with, to have an account submitted for closure means you must have overdrawn your account countless times - maybe hundreds. I mean there are people overdrawn in the thousands of dollars and their accounts are never subjected for closure. In other words, your past bad actions are going to be an issue. The holdup was probably due to the bank performing an audit on your account; it often takes quite a while to have this completed. If you complain, your audit will be put forward by the bank as further evidence of your bad actions. You may have a case IF you can prove the bank took an excessive period of time performing the audit. In such a case, you may be entitled to a few hundred dollars. NO lawyer is going to take a case for $1300 in which they may get 35% in contingency, assuming best case.....Best of luck to you.

these are the government agencies that regulate the banking industry. You have to file with both agencies - FTC compiles complaint data and OTS actually works on your behalf to get the banks to correct the errors. If you do not get the Government involved - you will never get it resolved.

All of these NSF fee complaints could be avoided if people would just keep an accurate checkbook register and abide by the terms and conditions they agreed to when they opened the account. However, the fact remains that people are just "too busy" or "too lazy" or just too stupid to do the third grade math required to maintain an accurate checkbook register. And, the "posting order" makes absolutely no difference at all. Totally irrelevent! If you had the money posted and available for use BEFORE you initiated the transaction, there would be no problem. You CANNOT use anything except your checkbook register to accurately determine your available balance. The bank even puts disclaimers on the online banking and phone banking, and some even on the atm balance that "this balance may not reflect your actual balance". After all, HOW COULD IT? Think about this and apply some common sense. How could the bank know if you have a check out there somewhere? How could the bank know if you set up a new auto pay somewhere? How could the bank know if you have a signature based transaction where you used your debit card as a credit card? The answer to all three of these scenariois is that they cannot know, therefore the ONLY source of an ACCURATE checkbook balance MUST be your checkbook register. No rip off here. Learn to properly manage your account, and stop blaming others.

I have good, viable information on how to deal with bank of America, or for that matter any bank. LISTEN UP..THIS COULD SAVE YOU THOUSANDS.......1. aLL THESE BIG BANKS ARE CROOKS, their NSF fees are punitive, they juggle your debit card charges so that you go into an overdraft situation, they will not return these charges to you. If you feel strongly about them ripping you off, GO TO SMALL CLAIMS COURT, costs under 50.00 and most judges are sympathetic because they have also been shafted by these crooked banks...I have sued many large companies in small claims and have won...every one of them. Go to a lawyer, book one hour with him, he will give you plenty of ammo for small claims..... 2.. Dont use debit cards...because it is linked to your checking account, this gives the banks plenty of leeway to screw the daylights out of you...they can take out what ever they want because their actions are justified in the small print of your agreement. USE A CREDIT CARD FOR ALL YOUR PURCHASES...this will ensure that your checking account is off limits to these low lifes. 3. DONT USE LARGE BANKS LIKE BA, WACHOVIA, CHASE, WASH. MUTUAL....etc. Use a neighborhood credit union or a small bank, because they want customers and they will do anything to protect their customer base..they also wont shaft you like the big banks. 4. The large banks penalize the most vunlerable, the people who dont have a lot of money in the account, people who live from pay check to paycheck...because they know they will get away with it because you wont fight them...they dont care if you close your account because you dont maintain a decent amount of money in your checking or savings ...money they lend to other people and make tons of interest...EXAMPLE.....I HAVE BEEN WITH BA FOR 6 YEARS AND USUALLY MAINTAIN 14000.00 in my checking and business account....boy, do i get the royal treatment...i wrote a check the other day for 17,500 from my personal account...sent this check to a New York company....a few days later, i thought i had written this check from my business account..so i transferred 17,500 from my personal account to my business account...when the check came to BA, there wasant sufficient money in the personal account to cover it, so BA paid the check and charged my BA credit card 17,500 (check protection) They also billed me 525.00 for a overdraft fee (three percent). I called them and told them that i had made a mistake...and if they can get rid of the 525.00 fee. THEY AGREED....BECAUSE I MAINTAIN A HEALTHY AMOUNT OF MONEY IN THE BANK, I HAVE A LINE OF CREDIT AND A BA credit card. HOW MANY BANKS WILL FORGIVE A 525.00 FEE???????But Bank of America did. Moral of the story is if you are not useful to the bank, if you dont have multiple layers of agreements and accounts with them, they could care less...they are in business to make money and they love people like you who bounce checks..because they can do what ever they want ..because you gave them permission to dip into your checking account by using your debit card. I have, in the past, many NSF checks, did not pay a dime to BA in fees because of the above reasons...conclusion...take em to court to get your money back (chances are they will settle before the court date), get rid of your debit card, use a credit card, finally go to a small bank in your area...good luck

I have good, viable information on how to deal with bank of America, or for that matter any bank. LISTEN UP..THIS COULD SAVE YOU THOUSANDS.......1. aLL THESE BIG BANKS ARE CROOKS, their NSF fees are punitive, they juggle your debit card charges so that you go into an overdraft situation, they will not return these charges to you. If you feel strongly about them ripping you off, GO TO SMALL CLAIMS COURT, costs under 50.00 and most judges are sympathetic because they have also been shafted by these crooked banks...I have sued many large companies in small claims and have won...every one of them. Go to a lawyer, book one hour with him, he will give you plenty of ammo for small claims..... 2.. Dont use debit cards...because it is linked to your checking account, this gives the banks plenty of leeway to screw the daylights out of you...they can take out what ever they want because their actions are justified in the small print of your agreement. USE A CREDIT CARD FOR ALL YOUR PURCHASES...this will ensure that your checking account is off limits to these low lifes. 3. DONT USE LARGE BANKS LIKE BA, WACHOVIA, CHASE, WASH. MUTUAL....etc. Use a neighborhood credit union or a small bank, because they want customers and they will do anything to protect their customer base..they also wont shaft you like the big banks. 4. The large banks penalize the most vunlerable, the people who dont have a lot of money in the account, people who live from pay check to paycheck...because they know they will get away with it because you wont fight them...they dont care if you close your account because you dont maintain a decent amount of money in your checking or savings ...money they lend to other people and make tons of interest...EXAMPLE.....I HAVE BEEN WITH BA FOR 6 YEARS AND USUALLY MAINTAIN 14000.00 in my checking and business account....boy, do i get the royal treatment...i wrote a check the other day for 17,500 from my personal account...sent this check to a New York company....a few days later, i thought i had written this check from my business account..so i transferred 17,500 from my personal account to my business account...when the check came to BA, there wasant sufficient money in the personal account to cover it, so BA paid the check and charged my BA credit card 17,500 (check protection) They also billed me 525.00 for a overdraft fee (three percent). I called them and told them that i had made a mistake...and if they can get rid of the 525.00 fee. THEY AGREED....BECAUSE I MAINTAIN A HEALTHY AMOUNT OF MONEY IN THE BANK, I HAVE A LINE OF CREDIT AND A BA credit card. HOW MANY BANKS WILL FORGIVE A 525.00 FEE???????But Bank of America did. Moral of the story is if you are not useful to the bank, if you dont have multiple layers of agreements and accounts with them, they could care less...they are in business to make money and they love people like you who bounce checks..because they can do what ever they want ..because you gave them permission to dip into your checking account by using your debit card. I have, in the past, many NSF checks, did not pay a dime to BA in fees because of the above reasons...conclusion...take em to court to get your money back (chances are they will settle before the court date), get rid of your debit card, use a credit card, finally go to a small bank in your area...good luck

I have good, viable information on how to deal with bank of America, or for that matter any bank. LISTEN UP..THIS COULD SAVE YOU THOUSANDS.......1. aLL THESE BIG BANKS ARE CROOKS, their NSF fees are punitive, they juggle your debit card charges so that you go into an overdraft situation, they will not return these charges to you. If you feel strongly about them ripping you off, GO TO SMALL CLAIMS COURT, costs under 50.00 and most judges are sympathetic because they have also been shafted by these crooked banks...I have sued many large companies in small claims and have won...every one of them. Go to a lawyer, book one hour with him, he will give you plenty of ammo for small claims..... 2.. Dont use debit cards...because it is linked to your checking account, this gives the banks plenty of leeway to screw the daylights out of you...they can take out what ever they want because their actions are justified in the small print of your agreement. USE A CREDIT CARD FOR ALL YOUR PURCHASES...this will ensure that your checking account is off limits to these low lifes. 3. DONT USE LARGE BANKS LIKE BA, WACHOVIA, CHASE, WASH. MUTUAL....etc. Use a neighborhood credit union or a small bank, because they want customers and they will do anything to protect their customer base..they also wont shaft you like the big banks. 4. The large banks penalize the most vunlerable, the people who dont have a lot of money in the account, people who live from pay check to paycheck...because they know they will get away with it because you wont fight them...they dont care if you close your account because you dont maintain a decent amount of money in your checking or savings ...money they lend to other people and make tons of interest...EXAMPLE.....I HAVE BEEN WITH BA FOR 6 YEARS AND USUALLY MAINTAIN 14000.00 in my checking and business account....boy, do i get the royal treatment...i wrote a check the other day for 17,500 from my personal account...sent this check to a New York company....a few days later, i thought i had written this check from my business account..so i transferred 17,500 from my personal account to my business account...when the check came to BA, there wasant sufficient money in the personal account to cover it, so BA paid the check and charged my BA credit card 17,500 (check protection) They also billed me 525.00 for a overdraft fee (three percent). I called them and told them that i had made a mistake...and if they can get rid of the 525.00 fee. THEY AGREED....BECAUSE I MAINTAIN A HEALTHY AMOUNT OF MONEY IN THE BANK, I HAVE A LINE OF CREDIT AND A BA credit card. HOW MANY BANKS WILL FORGIVE A 525.00 FEE???????But Bank of America did. Moral of the story is if you are not useful to the bank, if you dont have multiple layers of agreements and accounts with them, they could care less...they are in business to make money and they love people like you who bounce checks..because they can do what ever they want ..because you gave them permission to dip into your checking account by using your debit card. I have, in the past, many NSF checks, did not pay a dime to BA in fees because of the above reasons...conclusion...take em to court to get your money back (chances are they will settle before the court date), get rid of your debit card, use a credit card, finally go to a small bank in your area...good luck

I have good, viable information on how to deal with bank of America, or for that matter any bank. LISTEN UP..THIS COULD SAVE YOU THOUSANDS.......1. aLL THESE BIG BANKS ARE CROOKS, their NSF fees are punitive, they juggle your debit card charges so that you go into an overdraft situation, they will not return these charges to you. If you feel strongly about them ripping you off, GO TO SMALL CLAIMS COURT, costs under 50.00 and most judges are sympathetic because they have also been shafted by these crooked banks...I have sued many large companies in small claims and have won...every one of them. Go to a lawyer, book one hour with him, he will give you plenty of ammo for small claims..... 2.. Dont use debit cards...because it is linked to your checking account, this gives the banks plenty of leeway to screw the daylights out of you...they can take out what ever they want because their actions are justified in the small print of your agreement. USE A CREDIT CARD FOR ALL YOUR PURCHASES...this will ensure that your checking account is off limits to these low lifes. 3. DONT USE LARGE BANKS LIKE BA, WACHOVIA, CHASE, WASH. MUTUAL....etc. Use a neighborhood credit union or a small bank, because they want customers and they will do anything to protect their customer base..they also wont shaft you like the big banks. 4. The large banks penalize the most vunlerable, the people who dont have a lot of money in the account, people who live from pay check to paycheck...because they know they will get away with it because you wont fight them...they dont care if you close your account because you dont maintain a decent amount of money in your checking or savings ...money they lend to other people and make tons of interest...EXAMPLE.....I HAVE BEEN WITH BA FOR 6 YEARS AND USUALLY MAINTAIN 14000.00 in my checking and business account....boy, do i get the royal treatment...i wrote a check the other day for 17,500 from my personal account...sent this check to a New York company....a few days later, i thought i had written this check from my business account..so i transferred 17,500 from my personal account to my business account...when the check came to BA, there wasant sufficient money in the personal account to cover it, so BA paid the check and charged my BA credit card 17,500 (check protection) They also billed me 525.00 for a overdraft fee (three percent). I called them and told them that i had made a mistake...and if they can get rid of the 525.00 fee. THEY AGREED....BECAUSE I MAINTAIN A HEALTHY AMOUNT OF MONEY IN THE BANK, I HAVE A LINE OF CREDIT AND A BA credit card. HOW MANY BANKS WILL FORGIVE A 525.00 FEE???????But Bank of America did. Moral of the story is if you are not useful to the bank, if you dont have multiple layers of agreements and accounts with them, they could care less...they are in business to make money and they love people like you who bounce checks..because they can do what ever they want ..because you gave them permission to dip into your checking account by using your debit card. I have, in the past, many NSF checks, did not pay a dime to BA in fees because of the above reasons...conclusion...take em to court to get your money back (chances are they will settle before the court date), get rid of your debit card, use a credit card, finally go to a small bank in your area...good luck

So what about that $1250? Was it a combination of a negative balance and overdraft fees or are you saying that there were no pending transactions and BofA took that money by applying false fees?