- Report: #457156
Complaint Review: Bank Of America - Seattle Washington
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Bank Of America
701 Second Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98104 Seattle, 98139 Washington, U.S.A.
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800-442-6680
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Bank Of America BOFA CONTINUES Unauthorized Charges From My Checking Account After I Told Them to Stop!!! Seattle Washington
*Consumer Comment: So why did you need to start another one?
*Consumer Suggestion: So, place a stop payment.
*Author of original report: The name of the company that dinged my BOFA account is Coverdell
*Consumer Comment: HUH?
*Consumer Comment: This Is Why You Never Should Set Up Automatic Payments With The Bank
May 31, 2009
Re: Bank of America and American International Underwriters
This is an UPDATE of a Ripoff Report I filed on April 1, 2009 regarding unauthorized charges to my Bank of America (BOFA) checking account in the amount of $20.90 per month since (AT LEAST!!!) March 2008, for accident/disability insurance.
When I originally complained to BOFA about this on April 1, 2009, its customer service rep could not tell me the name of the company, because she claimed she did not have access to that information. I have since learned this company's identify, American International Underwriters (AIU), a subsidiary of AIG, based in Chicago.
I called the 1-866 number referenced on my statement next to these charges in April and to my astonishment, instead of immediately agreeing to stop these charges, the customer (dis-)service representative said, "But we only offer this plan to favored Bank of America customers! Why would you want to cancel this excellent insurance plan?" Finally, she did agree to cancel, and said she would send me a form to fill out that would allow me to call a toll free number and listen to a recording of myself establishing this account. I have NOT RECOLLECTION OF THIS WHATSOEVER, AND HAVE NOT SINCE RECEIVED THIS TOLL-FREE NUMBER IN THE MAIL!!!
Using a database that can be accessed at the Washington State Insurance Commissioner's website, I learned that AIU is not authorized to sell insurance in the state of Washington.
Here is an interesting from AIU's website, that makes me suspect that these charges may originate somewhere outside of the US:
American International Underwriters (AIU) manages AIG's overseas property-casualty operations, the most extensive foreign network of any insurance organization. Stretching across Asia and the Pacific to Latin America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, AIU markets a full range of property-casualty products to both consumer and commercial clients.
Following complaint by phone, BOFA sent me an Affidavit of Unauthorized ACH Debit Activity, which I on returned on May 19, 2009.
On April 20, 2009, BOFA sent me a letter informing me that they had issued a temporary credit to my account for $125.40 (the total amount I initially though had been deducted form my checking account; I have since learned that the total amount is closer to $270, and is continuing to increase), and said it was initiating an investigation.
I sent a fraud complaint to the Washington Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division on April 29, 2009 with copies to BOFA and "Plan Administrator," which is how AIU identified itself on its letterhead in its UNDATED response to my complaint.
On May 11, 2009 I sent AIU/"Plan Administrator" a written request to verify my enrollment in this insurance plan and accept its offer to play a recording in which they claimed I had enrolled in this insurance plan.
Also on May 11, 2009 I filed a complaint of insurance fraud with the Washington State Insurance Commissioner, and notified AIU by certified mail that I considered their billing to be fraudulent and that I intend to pursue every possible legal remedy to get my money back.
On May 13, 2009 BOFA notified me in writing that it had completed its investigation and found that no errors occurred with respect to these transactions.
On May 19, 2009 I mailed BOFA an "Affidavit of Unauthorized ACH Debit Activity" with copies to AIU and the Washington Attorney General.
On May 26, 2009 I called BOFA again to ask whether they had received my affidavit. They had, and told me that they were giving themselves until June 3 to resolve this dispute.
Incredibly, throughout all of this, BOFA HAS CONTINUED TO ALLOW AIU TO DEBIT MY CHECKING ACCOUNT monthly in the amount of $20.90!!! As I mentioned above, at this point in time, AIU has ripped me off in excess of $270.00.
I will continue to press my complaints with the Washington State Attorney General and the Washington Insurance Commissioner. Nevertheless, I have come to the conclusion that the only way I can stop BOFA from letting AIU continue to bill me is to cancel my BOFA checking account. Therefore, I have started a checking account with a credit union. As soon as my paychecks starts to be automatically deposited in my new checking account, I will close my BOFA checking account.
BOFA's bad treatment has comes on top of notification I received from BOFA dated April 2009 (BTW, why do large corporations fail to accurately date their correspondence???) that they were amending my VISA card agreement to raise the domestic and foreign transaction fees.
If big commercial banks keep running roughshod over their customers, they're not going to be big much longer. A recent news article about Washingtonians' massive migration away from commercial banks to credit unions is posted here:
(((link redacted)))
Fact-checker
PO Box 99812, Washington
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Bank of America
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.
Re: Bank of America and American International Underwriters
This is an UPDATE of a Ripoff Report I filed on April 1, 2009 regarding unauthorized charges to my Bank of America (BOFA) checking account in the amount of $20.90 per month since (AT LEAST!!!) March 2008, for accident/disability insurance.
When I originally complained to BOFA about this on April 1, 2009, its customer service rep could not tell me the name of the company, because she claimed she did not have access to that information. I have since learned this company's identify, American International Underwriters (AIU), a subsidiary of AIG, based in Chicago.
I called the 1-866 number referenced on my statement next to these charges in April and to my astonishment, instead of immediately agreeing to stop these charges, the customer (dis-)service representative said, "But we only offer this plan to favored Bank of America customers! Why would you want to cancel this excellent insurance plan?" Finally, she did agree to cancel, and said she would send me a form to fill out that would allow me to call a toll free number and listen to a recording of myself establishing this account. I have NOT RECOLLECTION OF THIS WHATSOEVER, AND HAVE NOT SINCE RECEIVED THIS TOLL-FREE NUMBER IN THE MAIL!!!
Using a database that can be accessed at the Washington State Insurance Commissioner's website, I learned that AIU is not authorized to sell insurance in the state of Washington.
Here is an interesting from AIU's website, that makes me suspect that these charges may originate somewhere outside of the US:
American International Underwriters (AIU) manages AIG's overseas property-casualty operations, the most extensive foreign network of any insurance organization. Stretching across Asia and the Pacific to Latin America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, AIU markets a full range of property-casualty products to both consumer and commercial clients.
Following complaint by phone, BOFA sent me an Affidavit of Unauthorized ACH Debit Activity, which I on returned on May 19, 2009.
On April 20, 2009, BOFA sent me a letter informing me that they had issued a temporary credit to my account for $125.40 (the total amount I initially though had been deducted form my checking account; I have since learned that the total amount is closer to $270, and is continuing to increase), and said it was initiating an investigation.
I sent a fraud complaint to the Washington Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division on April 29, 2009 with copies to BOFA and "Plan Administrator," which is how AIU identified itself on its letterhead in its UNDATED response to my complaint.
On May 11, 2009 I sent AIU/"Plan Administrator" a written request to verify my enrollment in this insurance plan and accept its offer to play a recording in which they claimed I had enrolled in this insurance plan.
Also on May 11, 2009 I filed a complaint of insurance fraud with the Washington State Insurance Commissioner, and notified AIU by certified mail that I considered their billing to be fraudulent and that I intend to pursue every possible legal remedy to get my money back.
On May 13, 2009 BOFA notified me in writing that it had completed its investigation and found that no errors occurred with respect to these transactions.
On May 19, 2009 I mailed BOFA an "Affidavit of Unauthorized ACH Debit Activity" with copies to AIU and the Washington Attorney General.
On May 26, 2009 I called BOFA again to ask whether they had received my affidavit. They had, and told me that they were giving themselves until June 3 to resolve this dispute.
Incredibly, throughout all of this, BOFA HAS CONTINUED TO ALLOW AIU TO DEBIT MY CHECKING ACCOUNT monthly in the amount of $20.90!!! As I mentioned above, at this point in time, AIU has ripped me off in excess of $270.00.
I will continue to press my complaints with the Washington State Attorney General and the Washington Insurance Commissioner. Nevertheless, I have come to the conclusion that the only way I can stop BOFA from letting AIU continue to bill me is to cancel my BOFA checking account. Therefore, I have started a checking account with a credit union. As soon as my paychecks starts to be automatically deposited in my new checking account, I will close my BOFA checking account.
BOFA's bad treatment has comes on top of notification I received from BOFA dated April 2009 (BTW, why do large corporations fail to accurately date their correspondence???) that they were amending my VISA card agreement to raise the domestic and foreign transaction fees.
If big commercial banks keep running roughshod over their customers, they're not going to be big much longer. A recent news article about Washingtonians' massive migration away from commercial banks to credit unions is posted here:
(((link redacted)))
Fact-checker
PO Box 99812, Washington
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Bank of America
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.
5 Updates & Rebuttals
Purplenights
Phoenix,Arizona,
U.S.A.
This Is Why You Never Should Set Up Automatic Payments With The Bank
#2Consumer Comment
Sun, June 07, 2009
The bank is only too happy, and encourages you, to set up "automatic payments" through their bill pay. You tell them to set it up, but you do not have the right to tell them to stop these payments, it has to come from the payee. So, if you get some company that wants to keep on billing you, and you ask them to stop, they can just keep on billing you as long as they like, because if you go to tell the bank to stop paying them, they will refuse to honor your request until the payee gives permission for it to stop. Even though it is MY money, supposedly in MY account, I cannot make this decision. This is just too dumb for words. What the bank is really doing is allowing some of these companies to literally steal money from your account, even though you have told the bank you want it stopped. There are many sleazy companies out there that will play this for all they can get from you. Many of these folks on here will tell you that "it's not the bank's fault", but it really is, especially when you go and request automatic payments to be stopped. If you try to get any help from the bank, it is just a waste of time. They will pretend like they are really helping you by getting automatic bill payments set up for you, but then if you have a problem, customer service washes its hands of the whole matter. If you want to pay bills through a bank's bill pay, do it manually, each and every time the bill comes due. That way, no one has access to your funds but you, and you have to authorize payment EACH time. Don't fall for the "automatic payment" scam.
Steve
Garner,North Carolina,
U.S.A.
HUH?
#3Consumer Comment
Sat, June 06, 2009
You havent checked your bank statement in OVER a year??? The Do not call registry does NOT apply to companies you have an account with, so if this company was representing BOA, the registry does not apply.
Fact-checker
Seattle,Washington,
U.S.A.
The name of the company that dinged my BOFA account is Coverdell
#4Author of original report
Sat, June 06, 2009
Coverdell alleges it telephoned me sometime in the first quarter of 2008 to sell me accident/disability insurance, and that I agreed to purchase such insurance. Coverdell subsequently began dinging my Bank of America checking account in the amount of $20.90 per month for a 14 consecutive months. Coverdell will not respond to my or BOFA's request to listen to a recording of this telemarketing call. It will also not disclose the date on which the alleged call was placed. I do not remember receiving any such call. I placed my phone number on the Federal Trade Commission's "Do Not Call" registry in January of 2007. The FTC's regulations allow courts to levy harsh penalties--up to $11,000 per incident--on companies that place telemarketing calls to people whose phone numbers are on this registry. Therefore, if Coverdell can support its allegation that it placed a telemarketing call to my phone after I placed my phone number on the registry, it will have proved that it violated the FTC "Do Not Call" rules. Coverdell's failure to produce a recording of alleged telemarketing call, it will thereby demonstrate that it flat-out ripped off my BOFA checking account. I have learned that Coverdell is not on the Washington State Insurance Commissioner's database of business entities licensed to sell insurance in the State of Washington. To date, BOFA has reversed only one of these charges in the amount of $20.90. I have sent complaints to the the Washington State Attorney General's Consumer Protection Office, the Washington State Insurance Commissioner and the FTC. Multiple investigations of this matter are ongoing.
Stile
Phoenix,Arizona,
U.S.A.
So, place a stop payment.
#5Consumer Suggestion
Tue, June 02, 2009
The bank can place a stop payment which will prevent future charges, but ultimately in order to cancel you will need to contact the merchant.
John
Califon,New Jersey,
U.S.A.
So why did you need to start another one?
#6Consumer Comment
Mon, June 01, 2009
You 'update' the original one. http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/445/RipOff0445007.htm
