Bank of America customers receive $100 million payout after it levied hidden extra charges and opened fake accounts

BANK of America was ordered to pay a total of $250 million in penalties, with $100 million of the payout going to affected customers.

The move comes after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) found the bank violated customer-centric policies.

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Bank of America served 68 million customers as of March 31, 2023 and is the second largest bank in America based on its reported assets at the time.

As of 2012, CFPB formed Bank of America has violated There are a number of laws in place to protect consumers from predatory banking practices.

The three violations The bank is responsible for the following:

• Double Dipping Fees: Bank of America was found to have charged $35 multiple times for overdue accounts for the same transaction.
• Withholding of Credit Card Bonuses: Bank of America has been found not to pay its credit card holders the promised bonuses.
• Customer Information Misused to Open Fraudulent Accounts: Bank of America employees were found to have accessed customers’ sensitive personal information, such as credit reports, in order to enroll customers in Bank of America credit card accounts.

By violating these laws, Bank of America was found to have harmed the financial health of its customers, including negatively affecting their credit scores and imposing unjustified fines on them.

This latest fine and payout follows three previous fines imposed on the bank for similar violations

In 2014, CFPB ordered The bank is to pay 727 million euros to customers for “illegal credit card practices”.

Then, in 2022, was the bank sentenced to pay 10 million to customers because of “unlawful attachments” and later also Fine of 225 million for the improper granting of unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commenting on the current fine and payout, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said: “These practices are illegal and undermine customer confidence.” The CFPB will end these practices throughout the banking system.”

Overall, the CFPB has ordered Bank of America to stop the practices for which it is currently being penalized, pay damages to affected customers, and pay a total of $150 million to both the CFPB and the OCC.

The 150 million will be split with 90 million being paid to the CFPB to be deposited there The CFPB Victim Support Fundand 30 million goes to the OCC.

compensation payments The transfer from the bank to the customer takes place automatically after confirmation by the bank.

Customers of a financial institution can file complaints about financial products through the CFPB website or by calling (855) 411-CFPB (2372).