Bank Of America Ordered To Repay Customers $100M In GA, Other States

WASHINGTON, D.C.. — Bank of America, which operates 56 Georgia locations, was ordered Tuesday to pay more than $100 million to customers for double-dipping on fees and using personal information to open fake credit card accounts without customer knowledge for several years.

According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Bank of America was also accused of withholding credit card reward bonuses.

“Bank of America wrongfully withheld credit card rewards, double-dipped on fees and opened accounts without consent,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a news release. “These practices are illegal and undermine customer trust. The CFPB will be putting an end to these practices across the banking system.”

The financial bureau said Bank of America repeatedly charged customers a $35 fee if they had insufficient funds in their accounts to cover the same transaction.

Bank of America also promoted special offers of cash and points when customers signed up for credit cards but withheld those bonuses to tens of thousands of people, according to the financial bureau.

"The bank failed to honor rewards promises for consumers who submitted in-person or over-the-phone applications. The bank also denied sign-up bonuses to consumers due to the failure of Bank of America’s business processes and systems," the bureau said in the release.

Bank of America was accused of using the credit reports of their customers to complete credit card applications without consent, causing the customers to be charged "unjustified fees" and causing them to suffer "negative effects to their credit profiles," the bureau said.

The bureau ordered Bank of America to pay about $80.4 million to customers who were charged multiple times for insufficient funds. The bank must also compensate anyone who were denied credit card bonuses and or had unauthorized credit card accounts opened in their name.

Bank of America previously paid around $23 million to consumers who were denied rewards bonuses.

Finally, the bank must also pay $90 million in penalties to the financial bureau for its violations.

"The penalties will be deposited into the CFPB’s victims relief fund. Separately, Bank of America will also pay a $60 million penalty to the (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) for its double-dipping fee practices," the financial bureau said in the release.

Bank of America has locations in DeKalb, Cobb, Chatham, Gwinnett, Douglas, Forsyth, Fulton and Clarke counties.

People with general complaints about financial products and services can visit the CFPB’s website or call (855) 411-2372.