theficus said: Which is exactly my point. What I did wasn't that large of an amount or unusual. At worst it warranted a call from the bank or a hold on my funds, not closure of all my accounts with Bank of America. You do have a point but whats done is done and you need to pick your battles. Why waste any more time on this? You're not going to get anything or do any damage to them so might as well just move on
scott1961 said: lray said: Anyhow, I made a few large withdraws from BoA both on the same day. I had no problems, and no letters. Large as in $70k and $40k. I did all of this in person though, as opposed to online. It required a managerial override. Still peanuts, In the last week I have withdrawn over $650k, All online. Oh oh they might close my accountsWhat is your point? You are obviously not a terrorist with your "Bank of America" flag waiving avatar it is fairly obvious that you are not a serious threat to this country's national security. The Patriot Act is not meant to inconvenience those such as your American Flag Waving self. God Bless you and God Bless the United States of America.
Which organization should I contact to get my 30 minutes of time back that I spent reading this thread?
For the record though, I hope OP gets this resolved. Although next time, I would spill all the goods upfront to prevent the rampant speculation and wasted bandwidth.
theficus
Member
posted: Nov. 7, 2007 @ 3:04p
scott1961 said: You do have a point but whats done is done and you need to pick your battles. Why waste any more time on this? You're not going to get anything or do any damage to them so might as well just move on I think I should at least be able to recover all the fees I've incurred as a result of Bank of America's actions.
theficus said: .... I think I should at least be able to recover all the fees I've incurred as a result of Bank of America's actions.
I don't want to discourage you, but lately there has been a lack of justice in the legal system. The only way you can recover fees is if you can cite a specific law that BOA violated. And then, you can only collect up to the amount that law allows for.
Good Luck
Roadrunner
Senior Member
posted: Nov. 7, 2007 @ 3:56p
I was told last night from AMEX that my area code was one in which was a high fraud risk, So they did not approve my Costco GPS purchase which they claim was out of the ordinary activity. I spent over 50K on that account over the past year.. most on on-line electronic purchases.
I guess my point is ... I am always suspicious when companies say something is “out of the ordinary”. I have never done an AOR but deposits and withdrawals of much greater amounts are common for me at BOA. I do not think I would stay with them if I was treated in such a manner.
newgrannie
Senior Member
posted: Nov. 7, 2007 @ 4:18p
Glad that this was posted to be aware that such things do happen. Of course it gives me pause as large funds have been wired into my account and out the next day (chasing those rates). Having had unbelieveable things happen with insurance co before I have learned that most of us do not want to believe the possibility of something similar happening to us could occur. So we look to blame the person who is going thru it, discredit them, etc. And sometimes it is true that we have not gotten the whole story. Yet sometimes it is true that we do have the whole story and we certainly hope it won't happen to us. Either way, it is always better to know than not - knowledge is power. So thanks to the op for telling us what has happened. It does make me a little more leary of doing an AOR (haven't yet). Hopefully he will get everything cleared up so he does not have any out of pocket expenses. My experience with big companies (whether banks, insurance co, or medical)- they never admit a mistake - it makes them too liable. So if the op can only move on, I hope as many people as possible learn what happen so they are aware of the possibility.
Shinku
Member
posted: Nov. 7, 2007 @ 4:38p
This story reminds me why I'm glad I only have one bank of america account which has no fees and costs boa money because I rarely keep over $3k inside it and absolutely NOTHING else. They almost tempted me with their cheap investment service, but now I'd never ever touch boa brokerage.
I read most of the thread and I haven't seen it mentioned yet -- I think it's a good idea to not deposit credit card convenience checks to a bank account at the same institution. Especially since one of the reasons given (even if completely bogus) to ficus was something about not liking their convenience checks deposited.
I don't know what else they did wrong then, if I can pull more than they did and you can push/pull 6x more than I did.....
Has to be more than a name.
Edit: Good luck with getting the fees back and everything. I do hope you get it all back.
scott1961 said: lray said: Anyhow, I made a few large withdraws from BoA both on the same day. I had no problems, and no letters. Large as in $70k and $40k. I did all of this in person though, as opposed to online. It required a managerial override. Still peanuts, In the last week I have withdrawn over $650k, All online. Oh oh they might close my accounts
theficus
Member
posted: Nov. 7, 2007 @ 4:56p
scripta said: I read most of the thread and I haven't seen it mentioned yet -- I think it's a good idea to not deposit credit card convenience checks to a bank account at the same institution. Especially since one of the reasons given (even if completely bogus) to ficus was something about not liking their convenience checks deposited. The convenience checks I deposited were from Chase and Citibank. The balance transfer from my Bank of America credit card was, at the suggestion of the CSR, deposited directly to my account! He practically begged me to take the balance transfer.
theficus said: The balance transfer from my Bank of America credit card was, at the suggestion of the CSR, deposited directly to my account! He practically begged me to take the balance transfer.
theficus said: 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.
I heard a tape recorder does wonders, especially in court. Just get the rep's name, and record the time you called and hung up with them. I guess this would alos be a good time to start reading up on the latest discrimination laws in place, especially with banks that are federally insured...
telling you that they can't help you is one thing, but to include racial slurs and crap like that, that's a whole new thing...
dodgeman007 said: yup thats the problem with this country everyone wants to sue.. my coffee is cold sue, my coffee is hot sue, wait until you get the correct information so you dont look just a stupid as they do now. and yeah a law suit will be cleared up in less than a month... i guess you never have sued anyone...
it's a part of living in a country with a great deal of freedom...
I bet you would rather live in a country where they only you to have only one child? Can you sue about that? or how about a country that says you're guilty until proven innocent?
All in all, you're a person who can't appreciate the freedom you have been given that most people in this world would give years off their life just to live in.
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.
nope, I think it would be a better investment to sue your mom for letting you come out...
theficus said: scripta said: I read most of the thread and I haven't seen it mentioned yet -- I think it's a good idea to not deposit credit card convenience checks to a bank account at the same institution. Especially since one of the reasons given (even if completely bogus) to ficus was something about not liking their convenience checks deposited. The convenience checks I deposited were from Chase and Citibank. The balance transfer from my Bank of America credit card was, at the suggestion of the CSR, deposited directly to my account! He practically begged me to take the balance transfer.By convenience checks I also meant balance transfers (they're usually in the same category). He may have begged you to take it out, but he didn't tell you to put it in your bofa account, did he? You could have given him a different bank's account number for the deposit.
theficus said: Yes, they're closing all my accounts -- deposit, brokerage, and credit cards.
This exact scenario happened to me last month, minus the racial slurs. I have been a BofA customer for almost 4 years, with my paychecks direct deposited biweekly. I never bounce checks, but I did a huge AOR 2 months ago.
Without warning one day, all my Bank of America credit cards were declined. I was also referred to the Risk Identification department. Fine. Other than having a lower credit score, I didn't really care that much because I already had the AOR money in an interest bearing savings account.
Several days later, my BofA checking account was closed. I could not sign onto my online account. The number I was referred to was Risk Identification. The CSRs there are shorttempered, and couldn't tell me any information about when the money in my checking account would be released. I only had about $1,600 in there, but that's $1,600. A week later, I called again and was told they issued a refund check for the entire balance of the account and that I would receive it within 10 business days. That was over a month ago. I complained to the Better Business Bureau because I'm sick of calling their BS Risk department.
Yeah, let's issue credit cards to illegal aliens without social security numbers, but cancel ALL the accounts of a faithful customer of four years because he is too much of a risk. Bank of America can kiss my butt and go to hell.
scripta said: theficus said: scripta said: I read most of the thread and I haven't seen it mentioned yet -- I think it's a good idea to not deposit credit card convenience checks to a bank account at the same institution. Especially since one of the reasons given (even if completely bogus) to ficus was something about not liking their convenience checks deposited. The convenience checks I deposited were from Chase and Citibank. The balance transfer from my Bank of America credit card was, at the suggestion of the CSR, deposited directly to my account! He practically begged me to take the balance transfer.By convenience checks I also meant balance transfers (they're usually in the same category). He may have begged you to take it out, but he didn't tell you to put it in your bofa account, did he? You could have given him a different bank's account number for the deposit.
This a VERY NORMAL thing for a BoA CSR to do.... and a perfectly acceptable practice under their terms and conditions.... trust me, I have done it SEVERAL times!
The last time, I told the CSR I wanted to pay off 4 credit cards... he suggested moving CL's from several cards, in order to create a GIANT CL Card.... then he proceeded to pay ONE of the 4 cards I wanted to pay off, and put enough money for the other 3 cards DIRECTLY INTO my BoA checking account.... then he waived the BT fee for the money going into my Checking account (I paid the lesser fee, for the BT to the one credit card). MORE than $20,000 transferred into my checking.... which was used to billpay 3 credit cards within the week!
No fraud department involved, no problems!
But UNLIKE OP, I have been a customer there for NEARLY 20 years.... and I LOVE BoA!!!
steveotx
Senior Member
posted: Nov. 7, 2007 @ 7:46p
I don't want to belabor the point, but I guess I missed what the insult was. And I mean "what it was", not almost, like, or other ambiguous terms.
On the other side of the coin these AOR sound like risky ventures to begin with.
Not agreeing with what the bank did. Somebody messes with my money I would be pissed too.
That said and maybe someone posted it already but: file a complaint
newgrannie
Senior Member
posted: Nov. 7, 2007 @ 8:08p
TanItAll said: theficus said: 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.
I heard a tape recorder does wonders, especially in court. Just get the rep's name, and record the time you called and hung up with them. I guess this would alos be a good time to start reading up on the latest discrimination laws in place, especially with banks that are federally insured...
telling you that they can't help you is one thing, but to include racial slurs and crap like that, that's a whole new thing...
Ended up having to sue insurance co because they denied claims (extremely large amount). When I was dealing with them on the phone I had started recording all my conversations at the time to help me keep things straight (pre approvals, medical appts, which doc when, etc) The lawyer said it was because of these recorded conversations with ins that he took my case and ultimately why they settled paying all the bills and then much more. Any yes he took it on contingency because he was sure after hearing the tapes we would win. It may be hard to believe what some people may say on the phone (lawyer said he would never believe they said what they did if it had only been my word) but can't dispute a tape.
Dulanic
Tired Member
posted: Nov. 7, 2007 @ 8:19p
Kind of strange.... in the past 2 weeks I have transfered 50+k into and out of one of my BoA checking accounts for an AOR. I once even overdrafted the account 5K due to countrywide mistakingly processing a 5K ACH twice. BoA fixed it almost immediately and refunded overdraft fees. I have 3 checking accounts, one savings, 2 CDs, 2 credit cards (One use for AOR), a mortgage, and a car loan all through BoA.
I'd similar problems with PNC Bank in 2006. They closed all my accounts personal & business. I tried hard and spoke to every one possible including NJ dept of commerce, insurance & banking etc. to no avail. I'd not deposited any AOR type money as well. Only thing I felt they had to do was to transfer money to my checking a/c for overdraft protection about 3 times in a year.
The final response was "The way any customer can close it's account with any bank anytime, banks are entitled to close any customer's account at their discretion for or without reason, period."
Good Luck. I understand what you must be going thr'o but rest assured you will get your money back.
Boxcutter
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Nov. 7, 2007 @ 8:55p
The government froze your accounts. Are you wiring funds to Muslim Charity's?
الحكومة تجمد حساباتك. هل انت الاسلاك الى صناديق خيريه للمسل
DiabloD3 said: I know I'm going to get red for making this comment, but please vote for Ron Paul when it comes election time. With him in office, Ron would be treating the heads of BoA like the terrorists they are instead of OP.
Nonsense. Libertarians don't believe in any sort of regulation. Kiss your FDIC good-bye.
الله اكبرموكالبنك I'm kidding, guys. I'm just copying characters.
Boxcutter
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Nov. 7, 2007 @ 10:03p
DeGlass said:
انت القرد القضيب
EugeneV
Ancient Member
posted: Nov. 7, 2007 @ 10:10p
Sorry to hear about all your troubles, theficus.
It seems that depositing convenience checks raised some flags (a lot of banks do not like them due to higher chance of fraud). Did you deposit them via ATM?
It is likely that your name triggered additional alerts (perhaps it is similar to a name on OFAK list, as was suggested earlier). The rest, though, was probably a human error. I doubt that all your accounts were cancelled automatically. I also doubt that what you refer to as 'racial slur' was part of computer-generated script for the CSRs. However, you have no evidence that your ethnicity was a factor in the decision to close your accounts.
I would still consult an attorney and, if it turned out that the case does not stand a chance in court, I would at least contact the media.
The CSRs from Risk Management with whom you spoke could not distinguish external transfers (Discover) from transfers into your brokerage account (BAI) because they are not investigating your activity. They are trying to prevent losses. Most of them probably do not even know that BAI exists.
You wrote in this thread that you are Muslim. I was under the impression that Islam prohibits collecting interest (e.g. from CDs)?
WalStMonky
Happy Member
posted: Nov. 7, 2007 @ 10:17p
BofA is a clown show run by clowns no doubt. I guess I should be grateful that all I had to go through was getting a $125 initial deposit that they forgot to credit refunded. But it was enough to make me realize keeping any kind of a credit balance with them is ill advised. I must admit I wonder if I shouldn't even quit borrowing their 0% money but I'm having a hard time seeing a downside. Worst thing that can happen is they demand it be repaid, right? Or am I blinded by greed?
MommmieD
Senior Member
posted: Nov. 7, 2007 @ 10:41p
When I had some fraud problems, my bank put a temporary freeze on as well. The first thing they told me to do was to contact the police and tell them my story - which I did. (Nothing came of it but at least my report was on file.)
ICMaker
Happy Member
posted: Nov. 7, 2007 @ 11:23p
Sorry to hear about all the problems you're having, OP.
1) You should keep a close eye on your non-BofA accounts for early signs of adverse action (rate-jacking, etc.) as the closed accounts and balances start hitting the credit reports. 2) In case you are able to document a violation of the law on B of A's part, make sure you're keeping good records of your damages. To help this, I'd document your credit score before and after the adverse action hits it as well as all the late/NSF fees, etc.
Abracadabbbra
New Member
posted: Nov. 7, 2007 @ 11:32p
Bank of America = Worst bank policy, worst customer service and worst fee's.
Why would you put your money in such a shitty insitution?
Send emails to the top management demanding an explanation and also hint that if something satisfactory is not provided within a few days, you will pass your story on to the press.
I think you could make Larry King Live! with this thing.
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