The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has ordered Bank of America to compensate customers after being accused of systematically double-dipping on fees imposed on customers with insufficient funds in their account, withholding reward bonuses explicitly promised to credit card customers, and misappropriating sensitive personal information to open accounts without customer knowledge or authorization. The total penalties ordered against Bank of America include more than $100 million to customers, $90 million to the CFPB, and another $60 million to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The fees are the latest in a history of penalties used against Bank of America, including a $10 million civil penalty for unlawful garnishments in 2022.
With the CFPB and OCC officially taking action against Bank of America and ordering the bank to pay millions of dollars in penalties to its customers, anyone with a Bank of America account should take this time to see if they are eligible to make a claim. If you are a Bank of America customer and believe you may have been affected by the bank’s fraudulent actions, Robert Peirce & Associates is accepting claims at this time from clients across the country. You may be eligible to join a class action against Bank of America. Please reach out today by calling (844) 383-0565 or contacting us online and arrange a free initial consultation about your legal options.
Details of Bank of America’s Fraudulent Activities
According to the CFPB, Bank of America’s fraudulent activities can be sorted into three main categories:
- Double-dipping: Bank of America issued a $35 fee if the bank declined a transaction due to a lack of sufficient funds in the related account. However, the CFPB found that the bank would repeat attempts to charge the same denied transaction, which would generate additional $35 fees.
- Withholding rewards: Like many banks, Bank of America offers rewards to people who open new credit card accounts. An investigation found that the bank would not honor these promised rewards if a credit card was opened using an in-person or over-the-phone application.
- Opening unauthorized accounts: For more than a decade, Bank of America employees opened new accounts for customers without notifying them or receiving approval. The bank would secretly use information from a customer’s credit report to complete new account applications. All fees, losses, and other issues that could arise due to an unauthorized account would still impact the customer, despite them never knowing the account existed beforehand.
Using its authority, the CFPB has taken action against Bank of America and created orders for it to correct its wrongdoing. The orders require Bank of America to stop any such fraudulent actions going forward, pay compensation to any consumers who have not already been compensated by the bank for the same reasons, and pay a penalty to the CFPB and the OCC. Importantly, the penalties paid to the CFPB will be used to establish a victims relief fund, which will help ensure that payments are distributed to consumers as needed.
Questions? Call Robert Peirce & Associates, P.C.
Don’t miss your opportunity to demand compensation from Bank of America for its fraudulent credit card and account practices. Call (844) 383-0565 to speak to a Bank of America class action attorney from Robert Peirce & Associates, P.C. During a no-cost initial consultation, we can determine if you are owed compensation from Bank of America through a class action lawsuit brought against the bank.