GALT, Calif. — Galt resident Stacy Middlebrook knew something was up last September when she tried to withdraw money to pay her rent.
“And I put my card in like I usually do to take out my rent and it wouldn’t let me. And I’m like, there should be plenty of money in here,” Middlebrook said.
Someone had been using her Bank of America account in Washington state to charge over $1,100. Middlebrook immediately called the police to file a report and Bank of America, who promptly froze her account.
Middlebrook says she was told her account would be credited what she lost, but then the weeks kept passing by and she became increasingly desperate.
“Let’s see if we can live off top ramen and spaghetti maybe for the month because I can’t get the next, I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Middlebrook said.
She says she wouldn’t wish the whole ordeal on anyone.
“It has been hard, it has been traumatic. It has made me cry. It has made me yell. It has made me want to just punch a hole in the wall,” she said.
Despite the struggle, Middlebrook didn’t give up. She called Bank of America repeatedly, week after week. Then it finally paid off.
“I was able to get the money out, so I do have it now. Yay!” she exclaimed.
After she went through all of that, she has some advice for others.
“You got to have a lot of patience. I mean that’s going to be one thing, have a lot of patience,” Middlebrook said.
Bank of America also has some tips for anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation.
- Call Bank of America right away at the number on the back of the card.
- Ask to open a claim and get the claim number.
- When calling back, ask them to check the status of the claim number.
Stacy moved quickly when that money finally hit her account Monday.
“It’s in my other account. Like I took everything," she said. "I literally left one dollar and 11 cents in that account.”
Bank of America said this is the right thing to do. They encourage people to set up a recurring transfer of debit funds to your personal bank account.
Finally, for those who have been trying to find the right time to get a hold of a real person, Bank of America says the call center is busiest first thing in the morning. They encourage people to try a time later in the day for shorter wait times.
Bank of America issued a statement saying:
In instances where we deny a claim, we encourage people who disagree with our decision to ask for reconsideration. We take any new information or further identity verification from the account holder, and if it addresses our concerns we will credit the customer’s account. We have added thousands of additional agents to answer phone calls and investigate claims for areas of the program we are responsible for and, as a result, our average wait time for callers has dropped dramatically.
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