NEW YORK — Bank of America was fined $250 million by US federal regulators this week for allegedly harming customers by double-paying fees, withholding credit card rewards and opening fake accounts.
Of those fines, $100 million is expected to go directly to consumers affected by the bank’s alleged misconduct.
Some customers have already been compensated, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, one of two government agencies investigating Bank of America’s practices. But others may wait a while before they get their share of the money that’s due them.
How to find out if you are owed money
If an account was fraudulently opened in your name, it would show up on your bank statements or credit report, the CFPB told CNN. Both records should list the bank accounts and credit cards you have opened. If you see one that you don’t recognize from Bank of America and that you don’t know has been opened, chances are it’s a scam.
According to the CFPB, Bank of America’s alleged wrongdoing dates back to at least 2012. That means customers may have opened an unauthorized account for over a decade.
People are generally bad at keeping or accessing relatively up-to-date bank records, said Harvey Rosenfield, founder of Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group. It’s unlikely the average customer kept copies of their bank records or credit reports for over a decade, he said.
Some of those records could be accessed online, but it gets tricky, especially if you’ve switched from Bank of America to another bank in the past decade or the affected customer has since died, Rosenfield said.
For this reason, he recommends calling Bank of America customer service directly and asking if you were a victim. The CFPB also told CNN that Bank of America will designate a contact for these inquiries later this month, which will be posted on the CFPB website.
As part of the agreement Bank of America has with the CFPB, it is also required to identify aggrieved consumers. However, the CFPB has not given CNN a timeline for when the bank will be required to do so.
Bank of America, the country’s second-largest bank, did not respond to CNN’s request for comment on how its customers can find out if they have been victims of the company’s alleged wrongdoing.
Some customers have already been compensated
People who allegedly didn’t receive the credit card rewards they were entitled to have been compensated, the CFPB said, without disclosing an amount.
Bank of America will automatically refund approximately $80.4 million in compensation to individuals who have been double-billed for $35 in insufficient funds or overdraft fees since September 2018, the CFPB said. The bank either deposits money into your deposit account or sends checks.
When do you get the money?
The CFPB has not provided an estimate of when all affected customers or former customers will be compensated. So it might take a while.
However, the CFPB said it will monitor the bank’s progress and will require audits and other reports from Bank of America to demonstrate that the required funds have been disbursed.
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