Bank Of America ripoff! So much for safe and secure banking. McMinnville Oregon

Well, we finally heard from B of A and this time they didn't ask me to call them.

They said they would reissue the checks some time in the next few weeks but they didn't mention to whom or where. Another B of A 'snow job.'

My questions still remain unanswered.

1. What kind of hocus-pocus does B of A use to close someone's registered account without his or her permission or knowledge?

2. How can B of A give my registered banking accounts to someone else then close the accounts because they don't have a SS#?

3. What ever happened to 'due process' and 'equal protection' under the law or is B of A exempt from the Constitutional rights of their customers? Is Bank of America above the law and are they now rewriting the Constitution?

4. Why, to this date, have they not officially notified me of the account closure and the reason for it?

5. Why did B of A harass and traumatize a German housewife and her family so bad that they won't ever visit America again even as a tourist? They did this with the full knowledge that she is German and cannot even read the documents they sent her. The documents were 'time sensitive' but were sent to an American address via regular mail. B of A had the German address and knew we lived in Germany! We even have checks issued by B of A with our German address imprinted on them.

6. Why didn't any of the documents that were sent to her have signatures or return addresses on them?

I'm a firm believer in the rules of baseball; three strikes and you are out. This is the third time for B of A and it will be the last. B of A will soon lose another long time customer and good riddance to them. I find their customer service as about as useful as 'mammary glands' on a duck and about as functional. Their so called 'courtesy' a plastic joke on the verge of an insult.

It is obvious that no one can will get a truthful answer out of them therefore they are not to be 'trusted' with anything sharper than a rubber ball; if even that.

The law, some joke! You can have 'due process' and 'equal protection' only if you can afford it. It seems that B of A gets their 'Jollies' off by kicking around the aged and disabled. I hope they read this, maybe they will sue me, I hope, but they won't do that because they don't want any of their 'dirty laundry' viewed by the media or the public. A true mark of a coward!

Muhlhausen, Germany

Due to the recent passing of the patriot act banks were required to insure they had several pieces of identification on all account holders. One of these pieces was a social security number ensuring that the holder was a citizen and who they said they were. While they should have let you know, they do have the right to cancel your account without any notice. As long as they issue you any funds that were in the bank as of the time it was closed. In regards to the fact that they issued the check to someone else's name...was that name on the account? If it was, they are as much the legal account holder as you are, and therefore the bank can issue the check in their name, not yours. However I am sure that if you ask them to (and the other check has not already been cashed) they will issue a new check to you in your name. With regards to the TTY...the reason they want you to call is beneficial to both parties, I am sorry it is too difficult for you to hear while on the phone...I suggest a hearing aid. My other suggestion is, if you are living in Germany get an account with a German bank, it's that simple. Good luck...God bless

Oh and no, I don't work for B of A

Thank you Nicole for your less than educated description for needs of the hearing impaired. I would recommend that you learn something about the hearing impaired and the many problems we face in daily communications before you make other uneducated comments.

Concerning the banking problem, the checks in question were not made out to anyone on those accounts.

Secondly, my wife has been on another account for years without problem. Care to explain that?

Yes, we have a bank account in Germany and I must say 'at least they are very professional' in their banking and service.

Regardless, I am still an American citizen and a legal resident of the State of Oregon even though I reside in Germany temporarily. Are you implying that I shouldn't be entitled to a banking account in America?

I will not go into details about my needs for a banking account in the States and the reasons behind them. That is personal information that you are not entitled to and therefore makes your comments 'out of order', uneducated, and un-called for.

Sincerely,

First of all - it was a suggestion relax! You never stated you were deaf...you said "hearing impared" which can be construed to mean hard of hearing or in need of a hearing aid.

Second - you state your wife has had an account for years. The Patriot Act is new. And banks are going through EVERY account and closing accounts that do not have proper identification. In the United States, you can no longer hold a bank account with a US bank without a valid SSN. That is that. No if's and's or but's. It is to ensure we don't have terrorists in other countries using our banks to fund their actions. It is also to help prevent identity theft...how is that bad?

Third - I don't really care why you choose to have more than one bank account and why one would be in a country you don't LIVE in. (even if you are a citizen) But let me tell you, most(not all) people who bank outside their country have something to hide (ie Swiss accounts for tax fraud Carribbean accounts for Business Fraud similar to Enron).

Fourth - if the check was made out to someone else simply point this out to the bank...THEY WILL ISSUE A NEW CHECK if you can prove that the person who it was issued to is not part of the account (if their name is anywhere on it and you or your wife put it there, they are part of the account) Even banks make mistakes sometimes. ok? They are run by humans and therefore subject to occasional lapses in perfection.

Lastly - I do not imply that you are not entitled to the same rights as every other American. However, if you do not provide a valid SSN (every citizen should have one anyway there is no reason not to, but plenty of fraudulant reasons people dont want one) then no, you don't deserve the right to bank in our wonderful country.

Oh and to your previous post "due process" only applies to when you are being charged with something, not when a bank closes your account in accordance to the law. When you opened an account one of the papers you signed said that they can close your account for any reason at any time (as can you) with or without notice. That's the facts Ed from Amity or Germany, or wherever. I do sincerely apologize you are having such difficulties but before you go accusing a bank of taking away your constitutional rights, make sure you actually have the rights (many things people call "rights" were never actually in the Consitution - they just think they are entitled to them) a bank account is not a right - it is a privledge which you lost because you refuse to provide a valid ssn. Plain and simple.

God bless and enjoy your stay in Germany. I hear it is beautiful this time of year.

Dear Nicole:

Thank you for your most enlightening response. In your hurry to defend B of A you seem to have missed some facts or didn't bother to read them.

1. This is the third time I have had very serious problems with B of A in the last 10 yrs. It will be the last!

2. What kind of hocus-pocus does B of A use to close someone's registered account without his or her permission or knowledge?

3. How can B of A give my registered banking accounts to someone else then close the accounts because they don't have a SS#? They had mine and should have contacted me!

4. What ever happened to 'due process' and 'equal protection' under the law or is B of A exempt from the Constitutional rights of their customers? What ever happened to the 14th amendment, Section 1?

5. Why, to this date, have they not officially notified me of problems with the account and a valid reason for closure? My SS# was on it.

6. They did this with the full knowledge that my wife is German and cannot even read the documents they sent her. The documents were 'time sensitive' but were sent to an American address via regular mail. B of A had the German address and knew the reason why we lived in Germany!

7. “Why didn't any of the documents that were sent to her have signatures or return addresses on them?” She couldn't have responded to them even if she could have read them. I have the documents in question, even I wouldn't have been able to respond to them in any timely manner.

8. B of A has ignored all requests for reasonable clarification of the above questions at all levels of their organization and continues to do so.

9. This is legal, acceptable, and transparent banking practices?

I am astounded at your ‘simple' solutions for the ‘hearing impaired' and will let my doctors and other hearing impaired individuals know that you have all the solutions that our doctors have been working on for the last 30 years since my injury.

If you must know why we have a banking account in Germany it is very simple and resent the implication that we are involved in something shady. We have a daughter who also doesn't speak or read English that is in college working on her degree. Regardless, we still need to pay the bills and see to her education. It is as simple as that and very difficult to do on a fixed income to say the least.

You can be rest assured that I have no desire or intention of continued living in Germany and we will leave this god forsaken place as soon as she graduates. Or would you suggest that I desert them now in the name of the ‘Patriot Act?'

Do you have any children? Are they in school, college?

Now Nicole, if you have nothing constructive to add to the solutions of these aforesaid problems I would kindly ask that you refrain from playing lawyer and doctor unless you are qualified to do so. I thank you for the information you have so amply supplied but the serious questions still remain unanswered ‘Patriot Act or no Patriot Act.'

Yes Nicole, We all know that B of A is as clean and fresh as the new driven snow and the hundreds of official complaints agains them are baseless.

Yes, Germany is as beautiful and warm as Alaska this time of the year. By the way, how deep is the snow in your back yard? We are still digging out from the last blizzard!

Peace,

Ed, Amity, OR / Mühlhausen, Germany

I just wanted to let you know that they CAN close your account at any time for any reason with or without notice.

As to the issue of no signature or return address...did the envelope have an address on it? The letters that I have recieved from any bank (and most businesses) have NEVER had a signature...not sure why...they just don't.

Still...a bank account is not a constitutional right (can you please post where it says that a bank cannot close your account...if I am wrong, I am wrong). I do not mean to make it sound like I think this is ok, it's not.

Is it possible you were a victim of identity fraud and that's how someone elses name got onto you account? (I'd be checking my credit report and filing a police report).

I did not imply that you were doing something shady...I simply said that most people who have international bank accounts (meaning for you the one in America)are breaking some law somewhere.

As to the hocus pocus - I do not want to have to say it again THEY DON'T HAVE TO NOTIFY YOU! I had it done to me because and I quote "the balance in your savings account does not justify the money spent to keep your account open" in other words my balance was above the limit for them to charge me a fee...they were losing money so they closed it, I too thought they couldn't do it. Consulted a lawyer he said they could talked to another and they agreed. Life sucks...I moved on.

I am sure BoA did not "give your registered account number to someone else" please refer to the identity theft issue. Someone could have obtained your info (including your ssn) and called BoA and changed the account into his name or just added his name. Again due process does not apply in this case (I am qualified to tell you this).

You said the bank wrote to your wife...is her name on the account? (it must be or how did they get her name?) If it is ANYWHERE on there she is also a legal account holder and they may choose to correspond with her instead of you..still it may not be right since she can't read English (I hope you speak German or it may make things rather complicated) but again, they can do it.

If BoA has the American address as your primary (even if you changed it if you told them you would be returning they probably kept it the same or there was a computer screw up) they will mail to your primary documents of this importance.

It was closed because the person on the account (or who they THOUGHT was on the account) didn't have a ssn and also they didn't get a response from you in time.

I didnt tell you to leave your family in the name of the Patriot Act, it has nothing to do with you being in germany...it has to do with SSNs on bank accounts you can live on Mars for all they care as long as you have a valid ssn on the account you can live wherever you feel.

Oh and I have no snow in my back yard...I live in a rain forrest. We don't get snow...just a lot of rain. I seriously thought Germany was nice this time of year...sorry if I was wrong. Good luck.

God Bless