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Report: #106716

Complaint Review: Bank Of America - Vacaville California

  • Submitted:
  • Updated:
  • Reported By: Ramona California
  • Author Not Confirmed What's this?
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  • Bank Of America 1407 Main Street, Ramona, CA 92065 Vacaville, California U.S.A.
  • Phone: 858-748-7070
  • Web:
  • Category: Banks

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I have followed many complaints here regarding Bank of America to the point I certainly am harboring some anxiety and concerns about the viscious manner in which some have offered rebuttles on behalf of this financial institution but have decided to proceed with my issue regardless.

NOTE: I am tired, stressed and will not be proofing this so if there are errors or something unclear which might be open for better clarification I will respond individually.

____________________________________

Our Banking History with BofA:
____________________________________

-- My husband and I have 4 accounts total with BofA, 2 checking accounts which have a savings account linked to them respectively.

1 Linked CK/SV Account is Joint (myself and husband)
1 Linked CK/SV Account is Private (husband)

-- We have been with BofA since 1987 (my husband) and 1997 (myself with husband).

---

Now I wont deny that over the years I have made errors in our records and have (legitamately so) been required to pay NSF's to which I do not dispute. They were my mistakes. This has not happened often nor with any frequency whatsoever. I would rate us as top-notch customers who perhaps half a dozen times (if that many) reversed a number or mis-entered a number in a moment of hurriedness. I will retort to the exhorbitant amount banks are allowed to charge for this human err.

Additionally I wont deny that BofA has refunded NSF's whenever I have called to complain in the event I simply wasnt knowledgeable to the intricacies of financial regulations.

BUT-- this time they have gone over the top and I am highly outraged and can only hope for someone out there to provide me with a manner of recourse (or bandwagon, if you prefer) to jump on in petition against some of their practices. The laws will stand as they are only for as long as no one challenges the congomerates... so if anyone anywhere out there is challenging them, please do point me in their direction.
____________________________________

Now the story:
____________________________________

My husband and I are probably in the slightly upper-middle class income bracket. It's hard for me to say as I've been at rock bottom financially in my life and I've been what (at least to me) was on top of the world financially so I'll include that we are in the $80,000 annual income in Southern California -- for all I know that is near-destitute considering the cost of living for the San Diego area. ;-)

We purchased our home 7 years ago when interest rates were only about 4 points higher than they are now leaving us with an ungodly mortgage that, at the time, consumed 1 out of 2 paychecks a month. In addition to that, I've had one child living with us off and on, and my husband pays childsupport for 2 children.. which consumed 1/2 of our second check each month. For seven years we have done without a lot of extras while building up our home equity; foregoing vacations and new cars, and the likes. It wasnt a major struggle nor did we have to go hungry or shoeless but we did live paycheck to paycheck.

Fast forward:

-- We just refinanced our home and established a home equity line of $75,000. This is exciting times for us and I wont disclaim the zeal we were feeling that we can pay finally off all our credit cards to save thousands upon thousands of dollars over following the CC company fees of paying min. balances due. via the home equity line and repay the Home Loan institution a lower rate on a interest deductable account.

so...

CHECKING ACCT #1
My husband deposits 4,000 into one account for me to make some purchases;

CHECKING ACCT #2
And 10,000 into the other account (which we use for bill pay) to make credit card payoffs and somewhat larger household purchases long over-due to replace appliances and such that are far beyond standing on their last leg.

-- Both checks are written and deposited the same day on draft checks from the Federal Home Loan Bank we received our home equity line of credit.

Unbeknownst to us (we are not financial regulation savvy... we are average, hardworking americans for cryin out loud) there is a Hold placed on some deposits. Okay. Live and Learn.

-- HOWEVER we learned too late and are now penniless for today.

-- Not until tomorrow can we get to any of our money (when they will release half the funds)

-- and without access to still another 5,000 which they will not release for another week and a half (off the $10,000 check deposited to ACCT #2)

-- and I have already made the designated large purchase from the $4,000 deposit into ACCT #1

---

So, in a nutshell:

They released the money as we (I reiterate unbeknownst to us, mind you, to the regulations whatsoever) in one account in 1 business day BUT will not release the money in another account for (what will be) 2 weeks when BOTH checks were drawn off the *same* equity line of credit account.

Now, as planned, husband authorizes for $8,000 dollars worth of payments to close our credit card accounts (remember, we are unaware of that there would be a hold and why would we think otherwise since they released the funds in one account within 24 hours) not knowing what lie in wait ahead of us.

To date:
-- NSF of $80
-- and we have other automatic authorizations as well as some small purchases-orders pending that were drafted against the $2,000+ we already HAD in the bank before the deposits made that will not be paid until the hold is lifted.

I'm holding my breath for the fall-out.

I'm embarrassed and put to shame over the fact now I will be on the phone calling vendors and utility companies and insurance representatives regardings payments authorized to them that will not go through...

All the while, the account in question reads as follows:

Account Balance: $9500.00 +/-
(pending the damage the bank is doing/likely to continue doing)

Funds Available: 0.00

AND we are racking up NSF's despite BofA holding thousands of dollars of OUR money.

---

In closing,

I have since located on a web-search the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR) (http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov) Code: 229.10 and found the rules backing them up (as best as I can discern) and will conceed that this allows the conglomerates to do this.

I still feel RIPPED-OFF with the fees they have charged and will charge, no doubt.

I still feel angered that they didnt hold on one account but DID hold on the other one -- the most important one and once they DID release authorized payments it went to people we would not have paid first had we known they were going to do this as a matter of practice.

And my husband and I WILL be closing our accounts with BofA and going to a Credit Union!

---

Final Postscript:

I do have a special request. It may go unheeded but it cant hurt too much to try:

I have read many complaints in this venue and as you go along many seem ultimately evolve to mudslinging, name calling, rhetoric and abuse. Please dont let this report of mine claiming just one more little-guys rip-off come to that.

Thank you.

Most sincerely...

Lisa V.
San Diego Area, California
U.S.A.

Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Bank of America

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 09/02/2004 01:14 PM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/bank-of-america/vacaville-california-95688/bank-of-america-banks-fees-and-cash-flow-holds-northern-and-southern-california-106716. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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REBUTTALS & REPLIES:
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3Consumer
0Employee/Owner

#3 Consumer Suggestion

Helpful Advice on Deposit Holds

AUTHOR: Bryan - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Wednesday, September 29, 2004

Lisa,

I'm sorry to hear of your situation. Deposit holds are the unfortunate effects of our Federal Reserve System. I did have one question about the Access checks you deposited. Your Equity Line is from another bank right? It would be extremely odd and a bit unethical for them to hold a check drawn off of their bank for such a long period of time if that were the case.

If not, unfortunately they do have you. Any bank can hold any deposit, including federal and state checks, official checks, and money orders, for up to two weeks for any reason. However, this usually does not happen unless the check is for a larger amount than your normal deposits, you've had excessive overdrafts on your account, you deposit into a new account, or if the deposit is supicious. In your case, it seems to be due to the amount, which is why the smaller deposit didn't really have a hold placed.

What they're trying to do is verify that the check that you deposited clears the account it is drawn off of. Due to the way checks are processed, this does take quite a long time when the deposited check is drawn off of a bank in another state. After the deposit is processed by your bank, the check is sent to the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve then sends the check to the bank the check is drawn off of. That bank then sends the funds to the Federal Reserve, and the funds are then forwarded to your bank. This is all still done manually and of course takes a long time to process. Although, soon they are instituting Check 21 and most of this process will be electronic.

For the time being though, they do this for your protection. Rather than letting you write out dozens of checks that would end up bouncing should the check you have deposited not clear as it should, they place the hold and notify you of the hold in advance so you can be certain the funds have cleared before writing checks against it.

I know this may sound like an excuse for the bank, but as the victim of a large deposit being returned for Non-Sufficient Funds after writing some fairly hefty checks, I can tell you it is no fun to be stuck in a situation where your account is several thousand dollars in the negative through no fault of your own. And unfortunately, a majority of people in this position end up having their account closed and reported, all for something they didn't do.

In the future, there are a few things you can do to avoid being stuck in this position. First of all, if you're writing an access check from a credit line, you can choose instead to perform a cash advance. Most Equity Lines offer a Visa or Mastercard tied to your account to do this with. Secondly, you can attempt to cash your check at the bank its drawn off of. Also, it is a good idea to wait to write any checks against a deposit you make until you are sure the funds have been credited to your account. Finally, before you deposit any check into your account, you really should call the bank it is drawn off of to verify funds on the check. I know this doesn't really apply to your situation, but in my case this would have saved me quite a bit of money.

I hope this has all been resolved for you, and trust me, I've been there too. Unfortunately, this is something any responsible bank would do and is just part of how the banking industry works. I guess the bright side is that with Check 21, most of this inconvenience will be eliminated in the near future. I hope everything turns out well for you, good luck!

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#2 UPDATE Employee

Better to be safe than sorry... any check can be stopped

AUTHOR: Laura - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Wednesday, September 29, 2004

Every single day thousands of people deposit checks into their bank.

It should be well known that; if a check is issued from another bank and is also larger than the current amount available in the depositing account, there should indeed be a hold. Go into your home branch when depositing large checks. Find out if there will be a hold. Atm's will not reveal this information.

Most checks over $5,000 will automatically be placed on hold.

Also, Keep in mind that any check can be stopped. Meaning a stop- payment on a specific check.

If more people knew this information there would be less confusion, and less NSF charges.

The only other advice I give is: if a check is placed on hold, request the manager of the bank contact the bank the check is drawn on to find out if the funds are good. If the bank is willing to give the required information, the manager may be able to release the hold. It doesn't hurt to ask.

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#1 Consumer Suggestion

I know how you feel

AUTHOR: Deb - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Friday, September 03, 2004

Lisa,

I know exactly how you feel. I went through the exact same thing with BOA just a month ago over a 6000.00 check but drawn off of a Retirement account. What I did was talked to my branch manager and got her to do a release early based on the fact that this money was coming from a financial institution not just from out of state.

They release the funds!!! Then they credited back ALL overdraft fees. When we had to do this again this past month, the check went through with no holds!! I suggest you call the branch manager and discuss this issue, they may very well be able to release the hold.

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