Bank of America Faces Lawsuit Over Alleged Failure to Investigate Fraud Claims

A Bank of America account holder has slammed the bank with a lawsuit alleging it doesn’t properly investigate fraud claims, and instead lays the blame on its customers. 

Plaintiff Kimberley Dennie filed the proposed class action lawsuit against Bank of America on May 6 in a North Carolina federal court, alleging violations of the Electronic Fund Transfers Act. 

According to the lawsuit, Bank of America violates the act by refusing to reimburse legitimate victims of fraud.

Lost Debit Card Leads to $3,000 Loss

Dennie says she did everything right to recover her funds after she lost her Bank of America debit card in February, and became a victim of fraud. 

Soon after she lost the card, she says she saw several unauthorized transactions begin to hit her account. Dennie says she promptly reported the card as “lost or stolen” and submitted a fraud claim, which even included a police report detailing what had happened.

She sought to quickly recover the $3,000 that had disappeared from her account after her debit card was lost. However, the lawsuit states that Bank of America was quick to not only reject the claim, but also to accuse Dennie of authorizing the transactions herself. This accusation was made without the bank offering any evidence, which is required under law, she says. 

“Despite Plaintiff’s request for an explanation and further review, and submitting a police report for the stolen card and fraudulent transactions, Bank of America mechanically rejected Plaintiff’s claim without performing a reasonable investigation and instead, issued form denial notices devoid of any factual findings or documentation from its alleged investigation.”

Burden of Proof on Bank, But Fell to Customer

Dennie says it was Bank of America’s burden to prove that the disputed transactions were authorized, under the Electronic Funds Transfer Act. However, she says the bank automatically lumped the blame on her.

She believes it is also failing to properly investigate the fraud claims of other customers, too. 

“Its failure to do so is unlawful and unfair to plaintiff and thousands of other consumers who have to bear the consequences of stolen funds in unlimited sums,” the lawsuit says.

She says the bank seems to have a practice of routinely rejecting the legitimate fraud claims of its customers, while sending out cookie-cutter denial letters that don’t provide the information that is required by law. 

Debit Card Fraud On The Rise

In 2023, financial organizations saw a significant increase in compromised cards. According to FICO, total compromised debit cards were up 96% from 2022, with more than 315,000 impacted cards identified. 

With the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, congress determined that banks are required to share the burden of any fraud with the consumer, and pay for financial fraud reported by consumers in a timely manner, unless it can determine the charges were not fraud, the lawsuit says. 

However, this did not happen in Dennie’s case, she alleges.

As a result, Dennie is seeking certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs, a jury trial and an injunction on behalf of the general public to prevent the bank from continuing to engage in its alleged illegal practices.

Case Details

• Lawsuit: Dennie v. Bank of America Inc.
• Case Number: 3:24-cv-454
• Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, Charlotte Division

Plaintiffs' Attorneys

• David M. Wilkerson (The Van Winkle Law Firm)
• Andrew J. Shamis and Edwin E. Elliott (Shamis & Gentile PA)
• Sophia Goren Gold (Kalielgold PLLC)
• Scott Edelsberg (Edelsberg Law PA)