Hello. I have had some similar problems with Bank of America, and I've been a victim of the "largest debit clearing first" scam. However I'm in a different situation right now.
I've been lied to by their customer service representatives, and I've been mistreated when any reasonable person can see that Bank of America is at fault. Here's the short version of my story:
Last month, a company that I had done business with about two years ago charged my debit card for a large amount - this was unauthorized and I had not ordered anything from this company. A dispute was filed, settled in my favor, and the charge was removed.
About a month and a half later, this same company hit my debit card again, this time for a differentm but nearly as large amount.
I called Bank of America and disputed the second charge. The representatives were helpful, the money was put back in my account right away and overdraft fees associated with the charge were credited back to me, pending settlement of the claim.
It was at this point that it was determined that something had to be done to prevent this company from charging my card again. Since I just so happened to have conveniently memorized my debit card number, the phone representative decided the best course of action was to re-issue my debit card. This way, the new card would have a new expiration date, a new verification number (the three-digit code on the back of the card), and no company, including the malicious one, would be able to charge the old card. I was to keep the current debit card number, since it was a very large inconvenience to get a card with a new number.
I agreed this was a good idea. About a week later, for some reason, I received two identical debit cards in the mail. I'm sure I wasn't supposed to receive two - only one; this is not a joint account or anything like that. I called the phone number to activate the card, and I destroyed the extra card, as well as my old card.
Fast-forward two about three weeks later. I'm not normally one of those people that live check-to-check, but I'm certainly not rich - I don't have thousands of dollars sitting in my checking account. I have some recurring charges to my debit card every month, things like satellite radio, subscriptions, things of that nature. These are not for large amounts, the largest one is about $20.
Since, I had some added expenses for that month (I bought a new car, among other things), I figured, naturally, that since a Bank Of America representative told me that nobody would be able to charge my card using the old expiration date, then these small recurring monthly debits should be declined. After all, I was issued a new debit card so that a company that kept "accidentally" charging my debit card would no longer be able to charge the card. It is obviously implied that if this rogue company is unable to charge my debit card, neither would companies that charge my card monthly for various services.
Anyway, that weekend, six recurring monthly charges are authorized on my account, for which there are no available funds to cover. I was aware that these transactions were to be authorized, but again Bank of America's own representatives advice was that no company would be able to charge the card using the old expiration date. All of these transactions used the old card's expiration date to authorize the charges. The card, in Bank Of America's own words, should have been de-activated at the time my newly issued debit card was activated.
I contacted the Bank of America customer service. The first representative I spoke to said:
"I can see this is obviously a bank error. In theory, there is no way that the old card could have been used. I am going to go ahead and take care of these overdraft fees for you."
This is the first Bank of America representative to tell me that it is obviously in error (again, as any reasonable person would assume) that these charges were authorized. This is in addition to the employee that issued the order to re-issue the card, who also said that the old card could not be reused.
I then made the mistake of asking this guy about this rogue company, and whether or not they could still charge my card. He told me to hold, and he came back saying that the supervisor said that his supervisor says that even though a new card was issued with a different expiration date, that these 6 companies, as well as the original company that was maliciously charging my card, were still able to charge my card. I was informed that even if I was issued a totally new card number, the company can still charge my card. He said that unfortunately he is unable to issue a refund for the overdraft fees.
This, after two representatives at this point acknowledged that this was not possible.
I speak to a supervisor, and I am escalated from the supervisor to a manager. All employees acknowledge that even though these six transactions SHOULD HAVE BEEN declined, and should never have been able to be authorized on this account due to the fact that the old card with the old expiration date and verification number SHOULD HAVE BEEN deactivated, they tell me that any company with authorization to charge my credit card on a recurring basis can still charge the card, even though the old card is de-activated.
Again, they claim that even if I was issued a new card with a new account number, companies I have authorized to bill me on a recurring basis can still "piggy back" and charge my new card number. They said that this does not apply to a normal purchase, companies wishing to authorize my card for a one-time transaction would not be able to authorize it using the old expiration date.
This is a complete lie. Having worked in the retail industry for a few years, I know that there is no difference between a recurring charge to a card and a one-time charge, and I also know that charges should not be authorized if the wrong expiration date is used.
Nevermind that, though, as I said, I was explicitly told that no company, including the rogue company charging my card for large amounts without me making a purchase, would not be able to authorize any amount on my card without the correct expiration date and 3 digit security code.
To prove a point, I went that night to a gas station and had the attendant key in my debit card number and authorize a purchase using the old expiration date. The charge authorized without issue - the old card is still active!
I call back tonight, knowing that I have tongue-in-cheek evidence to prove my point. I am not lying, and I have recent phone conversations with Bank of America representatives stating that the charges should not have been authorized. Three more representatives (for a total of FIVE) acknowledge the fact that these six transactions should have been declined. These include a normal representative that answered the initial call (I was disconnected with them, damn cell phones), a second representative that answered the phone, and a third representative, a 'manager'.
All of these representatives acknowledge that there was a problem, an "error", that caused my old card to be authorized.
Any reasonable person, at this point, would see that I was mis-informed, and that Bank Of America is directly at fault for having authorized those charges when they clearly should not have been authorized.
Guess what?
No refund.
I'm at fault, the charges came in, I'm not disputing the charges, they're valid. Even though they shouldn't have been authorized in the first place, and it was clearly an error that they were authorized and posted, I am at fault even though I was explicitly told, time and time again, that the transactions could not be and thus should not have been authorized by numerous representatives.
End result as of right now is $210 worth of overdraft fees, and the ever so common "we're going to have to agree to disagree" phrase that Bank of America likes to use with customers that refuse to accept "No" for an answer. It's funny, because that phrase brings back memories of the "largest item cleared first" scam which I've been a victim of, and that they've settled lawsuits over.
At this point I've gotten every possible excuse, ranging from "the computer won't let me refund it", to "it's your fault not ours, even though the transactions were clearly authorized in error", to "it's against the law for us to refund overdraft fees" (yeah ok, good one. lie to me some more).
I understand that overdraft fees are many banks' bread and butter. Consumers which are irresponsible with their checking account deserve to be assessed fees, as the bank covers these charges as a service to the consumer to prevent late payment fees, bad credit ratings and things of that nature. In turn, the consumer is assessed a fee for this service. But when the bank is clearly at fault, and it is clearly unfair to assess overdraft fees, the bank needs to take responsibility for the fees and refund them.
Bank of America has a long history of unfair and unjust overdraft fees, and their refusal to refund them. They recently settled a class action lawsuit in the sum of $9 million, and three states are currently investigating their practices The Boston Globe even got ahold of an internal memo.
Basically, it states that if customers overdraw their account, do not refund fees, unless there is a bank error or "extenuating and unusual circumstances". I believe my situation is an extenuating and unusual circumstance, due to the fact that I was mis-informed by several representatives of the company, and that a "bank error" occurred when these charges were authorized when they clearly should not have been.
I have been mistreated by customer service representatives, who (not in so many words), said that I was a liar. Again, I worked customer service and retail for some time, and I understand that customers routinely lie in order to prove a point or get their way. I am not a liar, and these people do not understand that, and they refuse to take my point into consideration even though evidence is immediately available which proves my point.
I wish everybody here good luck with their Bank of America situation. Personally, I will be filing suit in small claims court, talking to my attorney general in the state of NY, and filing a claim with my local BBB if I don't get my refund, in addition to closing out my account with this horrible, problematic bank.
If anybody has any advice for me, feel free to drop me a line Or you can post a rebuttal here.
I hope this story may help other people with similar issues.
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