Bank of America is facing a class-action lawsuit from one of its customers, who claims that the bank illegally refused to reimburse victims of fraud. The plaintiff, Kimberley Dennie, alleges that she lost her Bank of America debit card in February and subsequently noticed unauthorized transactions on her account. Dennie reported the card as lost or stolen and submitted a claim, including a police report, in an attempt to recover the $3,000 that had disappeared from her account. However, Bank of America swiftly rejected the claim, accusing Dennie of authorizing the transactions without providing any evidence, as required by law.

The lawsuit asserts that Bank of America routinely rejects legitimate claims from customers while sending out generic denial letters. The bank allegedly fails to comply with its legal obligations by not providing written explanations for its denials. Instead, it simply states that a claim has been denied without offering any further explanation. These boilerplate denial letters shift the burden of proof onto consumers, forcing them to disprove the supposed reasonableness of the bank’s investigation. However, the Electronic Funds Transfer Act places the burden of proof on financial institutions to show that disputed charges were authorized.

The class-action lawsuit was filed in federal court in North Carolina, with Dennie seeking actual damages, punitive damages, and an injunction on behalf of the general public to prevent the bank from continuing its alleged illegal and unfair practices. It remains to be seen how the case will unfold and what impact it may have on Bank of America’s practices moving forward.