Customers are entitled to more than $100 million in compensation from Bank of America for double-dipping on some fees, withholding bonus points, and creating accounts without their permission.
According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Bank of America would forfeit $60 million to the OCC and $90 million to its organization.
The double-dipping of fees by the bank was deemed to be against the law by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
The Bank of America serves 68 million consumers and small business clients and is located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank was the second-largest bank in the United States as of March 31 with consolidated assets of $2.4 trillion and domestic deposits of $1.9 trillion.
According to the CFPB, Bank of America had a policy of charging clients $35 when the bank turned down a transaction because the customer’s account was insufficiently funded. The government found that by permitting fees to be collected more than once for the same transaction, the bank engaged in double-dipping.
When someone applied for a card, Bank of America also offered cash prizes and bonus points, according to the CFPB, but the bank allegedly improperly withheld the promised benefits for credit card accounts.
After it was discovered that the San Francisco bank opened millions of unauthorized bank accounts in an effort to reach improbable sales targets, Wells Fargo was fined billions of dollars.
“Bank of America wrongfully withheld credit card rewards, double-dipped on fees, and opened accounts without consent,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra in a prepared statement. These actions violate the law and damage consumer confidence.
Bank of America was penalized $727 million by the CFPB in 2014 for using fraudulent credit card practices. It was penalized with a $10 million civil fine last year for unauthorized garnishments. Additionally in 2022, Bank of America was hit with a $225 million fine and ordered to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in consumer restitution for the improper distribution of state unemployment benefits at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
