Bank of America Phone Service

If you use the Bank of America 800 number to call and get your balance consider this a “WARNING!"

If you get your balance and select the option for debits and credits applied to your account you need to know that it does not give you all the information. What it does not give you is “Pending Charges” and the “Pending Charges” might be from one or two days previous to when you are calling.

Here is an example:
You call today and it reports that you have a balance of $600.00. You check your debits and credits and it all seems good. Unknown to you there are two “Pending Charges” totaling $550.00 which were NOT reported to you in the debit / credit selection. So today you charge $100.00 on your ATM Card. Then tomorrow afternoon you make a deposit of $1000.00. When you call tomorrow after you make the deposit you will have two “Over-Draft” Charges!

This came to my attention recently because it happen to me. I called Bank of America and talked with a representative and they said because the two “Pending Charges” were processed before the $100.00 charge and the $1000.00 deposit your account went in to “over-draft” (twice). I found this to be outrageous and asked for the “over-draft” charges to be removed. The rep said that she could remove one of the charges because I am a “valued customer”, but she would not remove the other charge. She said, “The system would not let her.” I said, “I did not know about the “Pending Charges”. She said, “The phone inquiry should have told you about them.” I said, “It did not.” So the rep called the phone number and we both listened together on the “Account Action” Selection where the debits and credits are reported. Low and behold, NOTHING was reported as “Pending Charges”. She then paused and said, “I think it used to report “Pending Charges”. I said “I have been using this service for many years and it NEVER has reported “Pending Charges”. She then said “Why don’t you use our over-draft protection where it deducts from your saving account when your checking account gets over drawn?” I said, I don’t want to. I expect that when I call the phone service and select the “Account Action” Selection that I am being given ALL the action on my account. Obviously I am NOT getting the information and I find this outrageous!” She was at a loss as to what to say at this point. End of call.

Just think about this a minute. Bank of America must be making millions of dollars in Over-Draft Charges because they don’t give the customers all the information in the phone selection option. I wonder what else they don’t tell you a “valued customer”?

I have had some problems with Bank of America in the past and now this tops the cake. There is a Wells Fargo Bank Branch about 50 yards away from the Bank of America Branch I use. I plan to visit them and discuss this recent event and ask if they report ALL the action on their customer accounts when the phone service is used. If they do, then I will open an account with them on the spot.

Consider this a WARNING to all of you that use the Bank of America 800 phone service.