Tony Sneed's Blog

Evil banks? How could a bank be evil? I’ve asked myself the same question. Is it possible for an institution to behave in ways that are morally reprehensible, injuring the very customers it is supposed to serve?

I’m here to tell you, the answer is unequivocally: Yes. Last summer I needed to convert Euros to Dollars and Bank of America was the only place that would do it, provided I opened an account with them. What’s the harm, I thought. They even agreed to waive the service fees for a trial period. Little did I know how costly a mistake that would be.

Evidently, Bank of America has adopted a policy (I don’t know if it is written or unwritten) to hold the customer responsible when he or she is a victim of ATM fraud. I only used my ATM card at the Del Taco in Burbank. It’s likely someone there used what’s called a “skimmer” to read data from the card and create a duplicate. Armed with my PIN, which they got from watching me enter it, they went to an ATM machine, made a fake deposit and then withdrew $120 (thank God I didn’t have any more than that left in the account).

After filing a claim with their fraud department, I received a letter saying that, because my PIN had been used, I must have been the one who stole money from my own account. I called the bank back and explained that it would entirely possible someone could have obtained my PIN simply by watching me enter it. You would think that a bank would know that. After several attempts to resolve the matter, including a conversation with a supervisor, I realized that Bank of America simply had its mind made up to hold its customers responsible when they are victims of fraud. They even went so far as to fabricate facts to support their case, stating that I told them things I never uttered. If that’s not evil, what is?

I wasn’t even able to speak directly with the fraud department at the bank. All I could do was speak to a rep who would in turn convey the message to the folks doing the investigating. Never mind that I would, as a well-paid professional, have absolutely no incentive to steal money from my own account. Never mind that, if they simply looked at the video tape at the ATM machine, they would see it wasn’t me. I can only conclude that Bank of America has a policy to keep from reimbursing customers for ATM fraud by holding them responsible, even if it means accusing those customers of the fraud and alienating them.

Evidently, I’m not alone. January 1, 2006 I read a column in the Los Angeles Times by Steve Lopez describing an almost identical experience. He wasn’t allowed to mention the bank by name, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it were the same as mine. If you register (it’s free), you can read his article here:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lopez1jan01,1,2605504,full.column.

One piece of advice he mentions is to avoid using ATM cards to make purchases. Instead use a credit card. With credit cards, the vendor would be obligated by law to cover the loss. At the very least, if you’re a customer at Bank of America, transfer your account to another institution. For years I’ve used a brokerage account at Charles Schwab for my checking account. Once I was triple charged for an ATM withdrawal in Bulgaria. They reversed it without hesitation.

I’ve also written a letter to the president of Bank of America. If you’ve also been re-victimized by them, you might want to do the same. Who knows, maybe someone will listen?

Ken Lewis

President and CEO

Bank of America Corporate Center

100 North Tryon St.

Charlotte, North Carolina 28255

http://www.bankofamerica.com/facts

You might want to copy the California State Attorney General.

Attorney General’s Office

California Department of Justice

Attn: Public Inquiry Unit

P.O. Box 944255

Sacramento, CA 94244-2550

http://ag.ca.gov/index.htm

You could also file a complaint with the federal agency responsible for overseeing national banks:

Comptroller of the Currency

Customer Assistance Group

1301 McKinney Street

Suite 3450

Houston, TX 77010

http://www.occ.treas.gov/customer.htm

Perhaps with enough pressure, someone at the bank will recognize how short-sighted it is to shift responsibility for ATM fraud to their soon-to-be former customers. Sure, it might save some money in the short-run (it’s less costly than tightening bank security), but they will lose a lot more money in the long-run when those customers take their valuable business elsewhere.

P.S. Steve Lopez wrote a follow-up column which appeared in today’s Los Angeles Times, in which he states, “I heard from nearly twice as many ticked-off BofA customers as all the others combined.”

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lopez15jan15,1,1156812,full.column

It appears that, although several banks have adopted this loathsome practice of sticking it to their fraud-victimized customers, Bank of America practices it much more widely than any other bank. The column author suggests going into a branch and screaming at the top of your lungs. That won’t work. I tried speaking to the manager of the branch where I opened the account, but I was told there was nothing she could do because of how BofA it set up. So what could possibly get their attention? How about a multi-million dollar class-action lawsuit? Any good lawyers out there who’ve been burned by BofA? I can only pray.