Bank of America fined millions for opening fake accounts and charging extra junk fees - One America News
Federal regulators found that Bank of America had deceived and harmed customers by double-dipping on fees, withholding credit card rewards and opening fake accounts.
On Tuesday, federal regulators laid out the violation by Bank of America stating that all of which are violations of various consumer financial protection laws.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ordered Bank of America to pay more than $100 million to customers and $90 million in penalties for their violations. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) also ordered the bank to pay $60 million in fines [for a sum of $250 million.]
Part of the penalties come from an old Bank of America policy that charged customers $35 when the bank declined a transaction due to insufficient funds. The CFPB found that the bank had allowed the fee to be repeatedly charged for the same transaction, which allowed the bank to generate “substantial” additional revenue
Bank of America was also found to have withheld credit card rewards from tens of thousands of consumers who had submitted applications in person or on the phone instead of online. The CFPB also said that the bank also had employees that illegally applied for and enrolled customers in credit card accounts without their knowledge to reach the old sales-based incentive goals.
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Bank of America is currently the second largest bank in the United States and serves 68 million customers and small businesses.
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Organizations: Bank of America Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)