Customers of Bank of America have reported that money is missing from their accounts, including funds from Zelle deposits and transactions. Rey Garcia, who has been a customer of Bank of America for 20 years, checked his own account after seeing similar reports from other customers.
“I was surprised, like, whoa. So I checked my transactions. I had, like, 15 different Zelle transactions. That was, like, a red flag for me right there because I don’t remember doing all that in one day,” Garcia stated.
Bank of America customers report missing money from their accounts
Rey Garcia claims that almost $700 is missing from his account. He attempted to contact customer service but was unable to speak with a representative. He also informs that he has bills that are scheduled to be paid on Thursday through pending transactions.
There’s a Bank of America issue where zelle transfers after 1/9 arent being reflected in the balances of ur bank account. I almost lost my mind when I saw $2,000 was missing from my account.
Not accepting calls because of “extenuating circumstances” is insane. CALL ME!!!
— 7% (or better) 🇯🇲 (@gregNEVERchills) January 18, 2023
“I’m going to have to go in there and dig in my savings account, which I don’t want to use, but these bills got to get paid, you know what I mean?” he told to ABC13.
According to a spokesperson from Bank of America, the issue has been resolved and customers are beginning to see their deposits and transfers appear in their accounts.
On Wednesday morning, a number of customers turned to social media to voice their frustrations and seek answers.
“What is going on over there, accounts are overdrawn???!!!!!” said one Twitter user.
“Where is my money!!! Account negative!!!!” said another.
According to DownDetector, a website that tracks website statuses “user reports indicate problems at Bank of America,” with the initial user-generated reports coming in at 1:42 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 18. Out of these reports, 66% reported issues with “funds transfer.”
Bank of America customers who attempted to call customer service reported on social media that they received a message stating that their call could not be completed due to “extenuating circumstances.” At a branch location in Houston, a line of more than a dozen customers waited for assistance, with some of them saying money was missing from their accounts. They reported to ABC13 Houston that they were advised to call customer service, however, they were unable to get through to representatives, leading them to visit the branch in person.
So cool how @BankofAmerica magically disappeared a large Zelle transaction that HAD ALREADY POSTED and I had used to pay bills. Now I’m extremely in debt in my checking and I can’t get ahold of them. Unbelievable.
— Brianna (@briannaleopard) January 18, 2023
“Has the entire phone customer service team been fired? I have been trying to reach anyone through the helpline for 20 minutes with no luck, even the fraud line is down,” tweeted one customer.
The issue is related to Zelle transactions
Bank of America posted a warning on its app which stated: “Please note: Zelle transactions made between January 14 and January 17 may be delayed in occurring and posting to accounts as requested. Transfers will be completed and will appear in your account activity and balances as soon as possible. We apologize for any delays or inconvenience.”
The official support Twitter account for Bank of America, “@BofA_Help,” replied to a customer’s complaint by saying:
“We apologize for a delay that has affected some transactions. Transfers are being completed and will be posted in your account activity and balances as soon as possible. Please do not initiate a duplicate transaction.”
As some customers were missing money sent through the in-app Zelle network, they also reached out to the Zelle help account on twitter. According to “@ZelleSupport”, the Zelle app and network are operating normally, and as a partner bank, Bank of America has full control over the Zelle feature in their app. Zelle Support also stated that they don’t have access to profiles, payments, or records of those associated with Bank of America.
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D – Massachusetts) called for Bank of America and Zelle to take action to assist their customers and tweeted: “@BankofAmerica and @Zelle are apparently failing customers again, with money somehow disappearing from accounts. This should be fixed immediately and customers should be compensated. I’ve called out serious fraud issues on Zelle and this is their latest failure.”
Bank of America has around 67 million consumer and small business customers in the United States, while Zelle, a peer-to-peer payment network, is projected to have 61.1 million users in 2022, according to Insider Intelligence. Zelle is owned by Early Warning Services, LLC, which is owned by Bank of America, Capital One, JPMorgan Chase, PNC, Truist, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo.
Both Bank of America and Zelle have seen a rise in fraud cases, with scammers tricking customers into sending them money through Zelle under the guise of “protecting” their funds at Bank of America.
Have you heard? Sam Bankman-Fried released on a $250 million bond, lately.
