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Bank of America closed all my accounts. What to do now? *UPDATED 03/01/08*

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theman2 said:theficus said:I also think suing is probably futile in a situation like this. The deposit account agreement states that Bank of America has the right to close my account at any time and for any reason. I just think it's an overreaction given the circumstances.If they treated me and my money like that, they would not deserve my business. If you want to give them a chance, I'd suggest going to a local branch and discussing your issue with them. Often they have options not available to the phone CSRs. They might even be able to resolve your issue.
Quality of service can vary widely between phone support and local support. When I had an issue about a year ago with another bank and found their phone CSRs to be less than satisfactory, I went to a local branch and was able to get my issue resolved quickly and painlessly. Because of the level of service provided by the local branch, I kept my business there.
This is why I bank with State Bank of Toledo. They are always polite, pay me 6.01% and don't mind me moving in and out $100,000 a month like the tide.

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JennaG said:Wow. Are they closing your BofA Investments account too? It's odd that a $20k move "in-house" would trigger a red flag that severe.

The fact that slurs were involved is so completely out of line. I'd sue for that, just out of spite.

everyone here just got stupid. so you got called a name are you in second grade? wow grow the F* up. you cant sue for that.
MORON now try to to sue me too.

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theficus said:I spoke to the California office. The representative informed me that my account was closed because of 3 recent outbound transfers:

1.) $4,000 to my Vanguard Roth IRA (my 2007 contribution).
2.) $20,000 to my Banc of America Investments brokerage account (to buy FSLXX, since the NEA rate was dropping).
3.) $2,500 to my Citibank savings account (to conviently pay down my Citibank AOR cards).

She stated that "Bank of America doesn't like customers to move so much money out of their account right after making a big deposit." I had deposited about $100,000 in AOR money at the end of August. I also had regular deposits, such as my biweekly paycheck, and started with a respectable balance (about $10,000). She told me Bank of America would send me a cashier's check within 5 to 10 business days. I tried reasoning with the lady, in a polite and calm manner, but she hung up on me in mid-sentence. I called back and began speaking with another lady, but she told me "we already told you the accounts are closed." She then called me a racial slur and hung up on me.

I don't think my transactions were unusual or warranted action this severe. It's not atypical for me, or many other customers, for that matter, to move around large sums of money, especially within the same company (deposit to brokerage account). I'm even more upset because the final lady I spoke to called me a racial slur (I won't reveal what because I don't want to reveal personal information). I have a strong feeling I'm being targeted because of my name and ethnicity. I don't think I would have had this problem if my name was "Ted Stevens" or something more vanilla sounding. What do you guys think? What is my next course of action?

EDIT: Before anyone asks, yes, I'm a US citizen (natural born) and yes, I provided Bank of America with entirely accurate personal information.
Well, the story makes no sense. I doubt you were targeted because of your name. And I doubt they decided to close your accounts due to ethnicity. Your transactions that you list are neither unusual nor large. Nor were they "recent" in comparison to your deposit in August. So, something does not add up. Of course, you have no reason to lie unless you just want to defame Bank of America, so I am left wondering what really happened here.

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DavidScubadiver said:This is why I bank with State Bank of Toledo. They are always polite, pay me 6.01% and don't mind me moving in and out $100,000 a month like the tide.Wow, is there anything State Bank of Toledo can't do!

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dodgeman007 said:JennaG said:Wow. Are they closing your BofA Investments account too? It's odd that a $20k move "in-house" would trigger a red flag that severe.

The fact that slurs were involved is so completely out of line. I'd sue for that, just out of spite.


everyone here just got stupid. so you got called a name are you in second grade? wow grow the F* up. you cant sue for that.
MORON now try to to sue me too.

Dude, I didn't mean I would LITERALLY sue. I was employing hyperbole. Sue me.

In all seriousness, my personality is such that an insult like that would prompt me to be as inconvenient a customer as possible. Rather than accepting the account closings and moving to another bank, for example, I'd call, write and visit everyone I could find and complain as loudly as possible. Just to get the point across that behavior like that is unacceptable, and that a company is responsible for the way its employees treats its customers.

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consumerist.com?

get the story dugg 1000 times, earn worldwide attention

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TiteArse said:theficus said:
I called back and spoke to a gentleman about the insult. He was very polite and professional about the entire situation. All he could do, however, was give me an address to voice my concern.

I've dealt with insults so much in my life that it's just like water off my back now. The more important issue is why my accounts were closed and how I had to find out about it, so let's stick to that topic.


I think I can guess the racial slur..

You think he's a duck?

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JennaG said:In all seriousness, my personality is such that an insult like that would prompt me to be as inconvenient a customer as possible. Rather than accepting the account closings and moving to another bank, for example, I'd call, write and visit everyone I could find and complain as loudly as possible. Just to get the point across that behavior like that is unacceptable, and that a company is responsible for the way its employees treats its customers.And then once they appologize and restore all your accounts, pull out all your money and close them on your own. Spite is a wonderful thing.

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dodgeman007 said:JennaG said:Wow. Are they closing your BofA Investments account too? It's odd that a $20k move "in-house" would trigger a red flag that severe.

The fact that slurs were involved is so completely out of line. I'd sue for that, just out of spite.


everyone here just got stupid. so you got called a name are you in second grade? wow grow the F* up. you cant sue for that.
MORON now try to to sue me too.
If you read the comment JennaG was referring to, you would see that it was a racial slur. IANAL but it is possible that the OP does have a legal leg to stand on if the bank treated him differently based upon his ethnicity.

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Time to call your local TV channel's consumer reporter.

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DavidScubadiver said:Did they liquidate your securities position? Did you incur a taxable gain or a loss as a result?

Can you post your pic?

It's really strange. My brokerage balance now shows my existing positions (total about $25,000) in ETFs and the exact same amount in Columbia Money Market Reserves. Normally it shows up like this when I buy something. My cash balance, however, is negative $888,888.88.

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theman2 said:If you read the comment JennaG was referring to, you would see that it was a racial slur. IANAL but it is possible that the OP does have a legal leg to stand on if the bank treated him differently based upon his ethnicity.Considering the accounts were closed before OP spoke to the offending CSR, that's a bit of a stretch.

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This is one of the reasons why I hesitate starting an AOR. You never know what these CC companies and banks will do as soon as you start moving large amounts of cash around. I really want to start doing it but when I hear a story like this it kinda makes you second guess.

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TiteArse said:theficus said:
I called back and spoke to a gentleman about the insult. He was very polite and professional about the entire situation. All he could do, however, was give me an address to voice my concern.

I've dealt with insults so much in my life that it's just like water off my back now. The more important issue is why my accounts were closed and how I had to find out about it, so let's stick to that topic.


If you have dealt with slurs like this all your life and it's just like water off your back, why did you find it necessary to include it in your description? I would venture to say it did not just roll off like water...but who knows...only you and God.

I think I can guess the racial slur..

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OP, I'm wondering if you have a large 0% BT from BA credit card also?? Maybe they don't like you borrowing from them @ 0% and put that money into brokerage??

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captainwho said:DavidScubadiver said:This is why I bank with State Bank of Toledo. They are always polite, pay me 6.01% and don't mind me moving in and out $100,000 a month like the tide.Wow, is there anything State Bank of Toledo can't do!Now that you mention it, yes. They can't seem to get the account opening process to be done electronically and they can't seem to get the debit card to their new customers in a timely fashion. And they don't let you link up accounts.

That said... free billpay, atm reimbursements, 6.01%APY, no savings restrictions and a pretty orange debit card, and the use of a community room at very reasonable rates makes me question why anybody would use a checking account anywhere else.

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I find it very tough to believe someone called him a racial slur over the phone. Was it an actual slur or did they possible just make make a reference saying your type of name triggered something?

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barefool said:...Do not call 1-800-piss-off and wait on hold for some Indonesian to tell you that he doesn't know anything...

Indonesian? Did I miss the news on phone supports being outsourced to Indonesia?

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Meadowlands said:This is one of the reasons why I hesitate starting an AOR. You never know what these CC companies and banks will do as soon as you start moving large amounts of cash around. I really want to start doing it but when I hear a story like this it kinda makes you second guess.Pretty much you know they don't care when you move large sums of money in and out of the account. In this case, no large sums appear to have been involved. The CSR conversation that was relayed is just bizarre but doesn't suggest to me that 0% money had anything to do with their decision. But, if my number comes up and my accounts are closed, its been an extraordinarily profitable run and I'm glad I was in the race for as long as I was.

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jayK said:Considering the accounts were closed before OP spoke to the offending CSR, that's a bit of a stretch.

OK, let me try to clear up the insult issue before it becomes the main focus of this topic.

All my accounts were closed before I called in. I was told my accounts were closed because of me moving large amounts of money around. I moved about $6,500 out in the past 15 days and another $20,000 within the Bank of America family. I had moved another $10,000 or so into CDs at Discover Bank about 45 days ago. Both of these transactions were for less than what my balance was before I deposited AOR money. Most of the AOR money was deposited at the end of August, with about $10,000 or so deposited in early September.

The first CSR I spoke to forwarded me to the fraud department. The fraud department CSR refused to give me any information. The PB I spoke to said the account was locked out and gave me a number for a California office. The CSR at the California office said she was with risk management and told me my accounts were closed for unusual activity; she then hung up on me. The second CSR at risk management berated me, insulted me, and hung up on me. The third CSR at risk management was very professional and polite, although I only discussed the insult with him. He gave me an address where I can send a letter to (like that will do much).

I feel that I was targeted because of my name given the CSRs insult, my name, and the bengin nature of my transactions. I'm more concerned that my account was closed for perfectly acceptable and normal transactions, not the insult. I use Bank of America as my main bank, brokerage, and creditor and was extremely pleased with the products and services up until this point. I would even be willing to forgive the entire situation if I received an apology and my accounts were reopened. I don't want to sue because Bank of America has the right to close my accounts according to the deposit agreement and I would have an extremely difficult time proving it was for discriminatory reasons. Please let's not derail this thread. Thank you.

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