I logged into my Bank of America accounts yesterday to see a pending debit of $888,888.88 on all my accounts (1 personal checking, 1 personal money market, 1 business checking, 3 personal credit cards, and 1 brokerage account). I have had these accounts for approximately 7 months and use them as my main accounts. All my standard transactions -- rent, credit card payments, health insurance premiums, etc -- were automatically debited from my account on a regular basis. My paycheck is directly deposited into my account too. I have never bounced a check, missed a payment, overdrafted, or had any other problem. The only nonstandard transaction I have conducted was depositing approximately $100,000 in AOR money 2-3 months ago (without any problems). I have never deposited or withdrawn cash or performed any unusual transactions, just my regularly scheduled payments.

I called the toll-free support number and they told me I needed to speak with the fraud department. I called them and was told the following:

1.) My accounts have been closed.
2.) They will not or cannot tell my why.
3.) They will not or cannot give me any of my money.
4.) They will not or cannot give me any information whatsoever. Absolutely nothing.

I called my local branch and asked them to find out what is going on. They looked at my accounts and told me it was "ordered by the California office" and they do not have any power to do anything. They gave me a number to call, but they are closed until 9:00 am pacific time.

Has anyone encountered a similar problem before? Any advice? I am freaking out right now because Bank of America was my main bank and they've seized virtually all my money (checking, savings, and brokerage). I have enough money at other institutions to pay the minimum payments on my credit cards for 1 month so I can survive for a bit longer, but not very long. I am really worried because so far Bank of America has said they will not or cannot give me my money back. Which it is, will not or cannot, is unclear because they refuse to give me even the slightest bit of information.

Sue them. Yes, I am serious. Theft would be a good starting point.

I'd wait until you can get a hold of them later today. It's probably some ID theft and they are working on it. It's typical for them to freeze all activity for a couple days until they can figure it out (for your protection). I went through this with Wachovia 6 weeks ago. Just wait until you can talk to someone who can get you in the loop and then start thinking about what to do based on what kind of information you find out.

FYI, they have 10 days to give you your money. I would also contact the local OCC and file a complaint.

Go back to your local office and sit in the managers office until he tells you something.
That is stupid. BOA will just have you arrested. If you are feeling charitable, call the corporate office, but you better plan on suing if you want any ressolution.

Lesson learned: Don't keep all your eggs in one basket.

codename47 said:Sue them. Yes, I am serious. Theft would be a good starting point.Right. Sue before talking to them. That'll go over real well in court as well as waste a lot of time for no purpose.

sloppy1 said:Lesson learned: Don't keep all your eggs in one basket.
If you have a huge pile of credit cards from every bank you ever heard of, as many of us do, you're pretty much covered. At the worst, you might have to take a cash advance from one card to make the minimum payments on the others, till your bank unfreezes your accounts and gives you a free toaster to say they're sorry about the mistake. The important thing is to have cards from a lot of banks, not just a lot of cards from a few banks. When a bank takes adverse action, they often shut down all your accounts, but some banks won't take adverse action till months after something bad happens, so you don't have to worry about them all acting in concert against you.

DavidScubadiver said:codename47 said:Sue them. Yes, I am serious. Theft would be a good starting point.Right. Sue before talking to them. That'll go over real well in court as well as waste a lot of time for no purpose.

theficus said:
I called the toll-free support number and they told me I needed to speak with the fraud department

theficus said:
I called the fraud department and was told the following:


theficus said:I called my local branch and asked them to find out what is going on. They looked at my accounts and told me it was "ordered by the California office" and they do not have any power to do anything.

I think he has called enough to warrant court action regardless of whether it will save him time or not.

I had this problem with Citizens Bank when I opened my account with them. At first when I asked about it they refused to provide any information. I even had someone in the fraud department hang up on me when I pursued it (and I wasn't even rude I just wouldn't give up). After getting to a manager in the department I got them to admit that legally they had to unfreeze my account within 30 days. Two weeks later they unfroze my funds but left the restriction on my ATM card by accident ($20/day max). I didn't notice it was restricted for six months because the ATM machines give cryptic messages like "the machine is currently having problems" and the bank doesn't service the machine. Eventually I got them to unfreeze the ATM card but wasn't compensated for my lost use of the card. At this point they admitted that the reason they locked my account was that I made a deposit at an ATM machine (of a cashier's check from my old bank) within two days of opening the account. Apparently they find that activity suspicious even though no attempt was made to withdraw it. These departments have no concept of customer service. They'll treat you like dirt until they finish their job and then they won't apologize for putting you through hell even when they determine that no fraudulent activity occurred. However, I think they will eventually come through as long as you haven't actually broken any laws. Just give them some time and press them. Find out how long the bank can investigate your account and hold them to it. If after that point they still haven't responded, then you should get a lawyer. Otherwise they're going to do it by the book and the only one who benefits is the lawyer.

In ID theft situations it's pretty common for banks to avoid giving information over the telephone. OP, you need to arrange an in-person meeting with someone at BOA who can help...for example, meet with the branch manager and have him call the CA office in your presence.

Jumping right to a lawsuit will only make things more complicated. If you're not getting anywhere with BOA after a few days, talking to a lawyer might be a good option at that point, along with filing a police report.