It looks like Bank of America (BoA) is on the hook for over $250M, as the corporation has been accused of “double-dipping on fees” and opening fraudulent accounts!
The High-Stakes Accusations Will Seemingly Cost Bank Of America $250M In Total
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced the news in a statement released on Tuesday (Jul. 11).
Within the press release, the CFPB “ordered Bank of America to pay more than $100 million to customers.” The basis of this order was rooted in BoA “systematically double-dipping on fees imposed on customers with insufficient funds.”
Additionally, the bank was accused of skimping credit card holders on reward bonuses while “open[ing] accounts without customer knowledge or authorization.” Oop!
As a result, CFBP Director Rohit Chopra slammed BoA’s practices as “illegal” and declared that they “undermine customer trust.”
“Bank of America wrongfully withheld credit card rewards, double-dipped on fees, and opened accounts without consent. These practices are illegal and undermine customer trust. The CFPB will be putting an end to these practices across the banking system.”
On top of having to pay customers over $100M in redress, BoA was also ordered to pay $90M in fines to the CFPB.
Furthermore, due to the “double-dipping,” BoA must pay $60M to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). All in all, this will run BoA upwards of $250M.
The CFPB Details The Impact That BoA’s Actions Had On Loyal Customers
As the CFPB statement continued, the agency didn’t hold back while detailing how Bank of America “harmed hundreds of thousands of consumers over a period of several years.”
Specifically, it accused BoA of orchestrating a “double-dipping scheme to harvest junk fees.” This was done by Bank of America “allowing fees to be repeatedly charged for the same transaction.”
The findings ultimately found, “Bank of America generated substantial additional revenue by illegally charging multiple $35 fees.”
Additionally, BoA was ruthlessly called out for “fail[ing] to honor rewards promises” and “illegally us[ing] or obtain[ing] consumers’ credit reports” to open fake accounts.
“Because of Bank of America’s actions, consumers were charged unjustified fees, suffered negative effects to their credit profiles, and had to spend time correcting errors.”
At this point, Bank of America has not publicly addressed the CFPB’s accusations and fines.
