Staff Reports
Bank of America was caught with its hand in the cookie jar, so it has to deal with the results. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has ordered the bank to pay more than $100 million to its customers as reimbursement for its "illegal and deceptive activities." And let's just say, it's about time!
Bank of America to Pay over $100 Million to Customers for Illegal and Deceptive Banking Practiceshttps://t.co/5OJJvNGEzv
— The Daily Fetched (@DailyFetched) July 11, 2023
The CFPB says that Bank of America has been doing some very questionable things. They were charging customers twice for fees related to not having enough money in their accounts. They were also keeping credit card perks from customers and opening accounts without their permission. Sneaky, sneaky!
But, folks, don't worry. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is here to help. They have also said that Bank of America's practice of getting paid twice for the same fee is "illegal." Bank of America seems to have finally been caught with its hand in the cookie jar.
Rohit Chopra, who is in charge of the CFPB, was very harsh in his criticism of what Bank of America did. He told them off for not giving them their credit card benefits, charging fees twice, and starting accounts without permission. And what do you know? He is right in every way. These actions are not only against the law, but they also completely break the trust of customers. It's about time someone stopped banks from being so sneaky!
The CFPB's review showed that Bank of America's unethical actions touched hundreds of thousands of customers over several years. How much money do you think they made from those illegal fees? It's not right!
Bank of America had a plan to charge customers $35 every time they turned down a deal because they didn't have enough money. But here's where things get really interesting: Bank of America would actually charge more than one $35 fee for the same transaction! What a way to get money! It's no wonder they made a lot of money with this illegal way to get money twice.
That's not all, either. Bank of America was also caught keeping credit card benefits like cash and points. When customers signed up for a credit card, they were told they would get special deals and perks, but they "forgot" to give them those things. That's not honest at all!
But the fact that Bank of America used private customer information to open illegal accounts may be the most shocking thing that came to light. Yes, that's right. They used customers' credit reports wrongly and got them credit cards without their permission or knowledge. I don't know about you, but to me that sounds like a very bad data breach!
The good news is that Bank of America is finally taking responsibility for what it did. They have to pay the CFPB $90 million in fines and the OCC an extra $60 million. It's about time that these big banks had to answer for what they do.
In conclusion, Bank of America has been caught in the act of doing things that are illegal and dishonest. They have charged fees twice, kept credit card benefits for themselves, and opened accounts without permission. It's good that the CFPB and OCC are speaking up for customers and making Bank of America pay the price. Let this be a lesson to all of the big banks out there: it's always best to follow the rules.
