I make it a habit to review my bank statement at the end of the day because I know that credit fraud is a real threat. A few years ago, my brother-in-law had his credit cards stolen, and it quickly turned into thousands of dollars of debt that it took him years to get off his credit profile. They used his credit profile to open more credit cards and it was an endless mess. After that, I keep a close eye on my cards so that if anything happens, I can take swift action.
While no one stole my cards, I noticed one night that Petco double-charged me on an order I made for hamster food and the company refused to remove the charge even though I called them three times, and each time they said that they would. At this point, I decided the best thing to do was dispute the charge because Petco didn't seem to care. It honestly made me angry because if I hadn't watched my cards so closely, they would have double-charged me, and no one would have known.
Bank of America likely receives many phone calls from other customers who are worried about fraud or want to check on their savings and checking accounts. They also probably get a lot of phone calls from people with credit cards or people who want to apply. The same could be true of any loans that they offer. Therefore, I expected to be on hold for a while, and to be honest, I was somewhat on hold for a lengthy period. It took me almost 20 minutes before I was able to talk to an associate.
When I called, a voice said, "Welcome to Bank of America. To get started please enter your telephone access ID, account, or social security number." I tried to enter my information, but then there was noise in the background, and nothing happened, so I tried speaking into the phone. It must have picked up that I was calling about a dispute because it said, "I hear you are calling about a dispute," and then gave me the following options, "If you are calling about a credit card purchase, press 1. If you are calling about interest on your card, press 2. If you are calling about fees on your card, press 3."
I pressed option one and was told again, "For your security, please enter or say your account number, social security number, or the telephone number associated with your account." This time, it took my entry, and then I was told that I could talk to an agent, but it would be a long wait, so I could use the Bank of America app to reach someone quicker if I liked. I continued to wait on hold for an associate, and about 20 minutes later, I was able to finally report the charge.