Deposit My Money At Bank Of America? I'd Sooner Store My Life Savings In A Shoebox Under The Bed
Of course, it's kind of a moot point, since they fired me as a customer after I complained that they'd failed their fiduciary duty to me when their TELLERS gave out a total of $12,000 of my money, on SEVEN separate occasions, to thieves who essentially presented used Kleenex with my picture on it.
Just after midnight, when I was looking for blog items for Friday, I was infuriated to read an op-ed, "Main Street Needs the Treasury Plan," in The Wall Street Journal by Bank of America chief Kenneth D. Lewis. This past summer, I'd actually been faxing and e-mailing Lewis (thank you, Consumerist) the details of my experience with the spectacular negligence that passes for security in his bank.
I couldn't hold back any longer. I posted, in the WSJ's comments section, a copy of one of the complaint letters I've sent about Bank of America to various watchdogs, starting in early September. I started out my WSJ comment with this quote from Lewis' piece:
Mr. Lewis says they are "gaining market share in deposits and loans." That's actually a pity, and I feel sorry for the people who are placing their trust in this bank.After months of investigation, I have filed a complaint with the Comptroller of the Currency, the House Finance Committee, and the Senate Banking Committee, and California Attorney General Jerry Brown's office. I have lost almost all of my faith in government as a watchdog, hence my spreading the complaint around. This is the version I sent to the FBI:
My letter follows:
Greetings,I'm a syndicated columnist with Creators, and a journalist.
I believe I've discovered substantial wrongdoing on the part of Bank of America. I started an investigation in the wake of having Bank of America's tellers, on seven separate occasions, give out a total of $12,000 of my money to thieves who presented only a fake driver's license in my name, with the wrong expiration date. No bankcard was required, no PIN was demanded, no signature was checked. SEVEN TIMES.
Odd, huh -- for a major bank to be so repeatedly negligent? And not just to me. My experience is far from unique. NAME REDACTED, JOB DESCRIPTION REDACTED, had $70,000 stolen from his B of A account with a similar lack of verification. And there are many, many, many, many others.
Through my investigation, and through tests a number of people have run for me at B of A branches, I've discovered that Bank of America seems to be putting every one of their California consumer banking customers at substantial risk for identity theft. (see following blog item)
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2008/07/28/investigating_b.html
Also based on my investigation, I believe it's possible, even probable, that every consumer banking customer of Bank of America in this country is also at substantial risk for identity theft -- as they brag in the press about their "multiple levels of security."This seems to be false advertising; perhaps criminally so. I never would have banked with them had I known the reality of their security.
Bank of America has merged with and bought numerous banks, and it seems they have failed to connect them all by a single computer system. I don't know why, but I can speculate -- because this is tremendously expensive and it's cheaper to pay back identity theft victims than connect the systems of numerous banks. As it stands, tellers at one bank cannot look at the account of somebody who banks in a different state, and maybe even somebody who banks in a different metropolitan area, or maybe, sometimes, even within the same metropolitan area, to verify identity. As I say in the blog item I attached, basically, it seems they just HOPE it's you.
Surely, the word has gotten out from tellers to thieves, making B of A customers prime targets for identity theft.
I've done a considerable amount of legwork on this -- for months -- and there's more than you see in this blog item. Additionally, I reported my findings, in writing, to the office of California Attorney General Jerry Brown, and to the House and Senate Banking committees, and to the Comptroller of the Currency.
However, I'm reporting this to you because I feel, in an election year, and with the major financial crises we have, it's unlikely this issue will be considered in Congress or the Senate, and I was told that the Comptroller used to be the head of the banking lobby. I don't know that this affects his judgement in any way, but I am not comfortable with the former fox now being in charge of guarding the henhouse.
I have great respect for the FBI, and I am reporting this to you because perhaps you, of all these agencies, will finally investigate this and bring some action against BofA if you feel it is warranted.
If I am right, and I suspect I am, their spectacular negligence affects every ordinary person who banks with them -- all us average Joes being laid open to the horrible crime of identity theft.
I will be discussing this further on Mari Frank's (KUCI) radio show on September 24, 2008, set to air October 15.
Please feel free to call me and I can fill you in with more information that I have not published. Further published information can be found on my site, advicegoddess.com, by clicking up my blog and searching Bank of America.
All the best (and keep up the great work), -Amy Alkon
Amy, you said the magic words "false advertising." Sic the FTC on them!!!
Melissa G at September 26, 2008 8:51 AM
Actually, when I did Mari's show, she mentioned the FTC, too. I'll have to send my complaint to them, next. Maybe this is one of those deals where somebody gets them on a technicality, although I can't imagine the penalty would be vast for that. Still, it would get the word out to customers and potential customers, which I think is vital. I think they owe their customers the reality of their "security."
Amy Alkon at September 26, 2008 10:06 AM
"although I can't imagine the penalty would be vast for that."
Actually the punitives attached to willful or reckless fraud is exactly the kind of thing that could yield significant damages when spread amongst their millions of customers.
I wouldn't disregard this out so quickly.
snakeman99 at September 26, 2008 4:42 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2008/09/26/deposit_my_mone.html#comment-1593412">comment from snakeman99Thanks so much. I'm assuming participants in a class action suit wouldn't get much, but I'd like to see the bank punished in the way that would be most punitive to them, with a serious fines, advertising that reflects the reality of their security (or rather "security"), and in my dream of dreams, jail time for those who knowingly allowed this.
P.S. I'm a little behind in e-mail!
Here's my idea for a Bank of America commercial. They can cast me; it'll be a testimonial.
title on screen, "Amy Alkon, Bank of America customer"
"Seven times, Bank of America proved it to me: They won't give your money to just any old thief. No, that person's got to present a fake driver's license in your name with the wrong expiration date! And one of their tellers gave a friend of mine cash from his account without even looking at his driver's license. No demand for a bank card. No making him punch in his PIN. No signature check. Now that's customer convenience!"
Amy Alkon
at September 26, 2008 5:50 PM
"I'm assuming participants in a class action suit wouldn't get much, but I'd like to see the bank punished in the way that would be most punitive to them"
Well, that's sort of the whole point of a class action. That, and to enrich the lawyers involved. But to be fair to those lawyers, they often have to fund such cases out-of-pocket for years at great risk to themselves before (maybe) getting paid.
snakeman99 at September 26, 2008 9:21 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2008/09/26/deposit_my_mone.html#comment-1593490">comment from snakeman99I understand that. A friend who's a lawyer told me it takes half a million dollars just to notify the "class."
Amy Alkon
at September 27, 2008 4:02 AM
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ChristopherVZ at December 15, 2008 6:12 AM
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