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Should I sue Bank of America for mishandling my account and improperly sending me to collections?

• Sorry in advance - this is a long tale of how Bank of America has mismanaged my accounts. In short - I'm trying to decide if I should sue, and if so, how I should proceed. Here are the sordid details... ----- Background ------ Nearly 10 years ago, I opened a business checking account for my business. The balance typically varied between $10,000-$30,000. Several years ago, I noticed a large number of charges that I didn't make; someone had gotten access to my account, and was making large unauthorized purchases. The charges were clearly fraudulent; I live in Massachusetts, but the charges were 8 separate purchases during a single day at a Home Depot in New York. Each charge was between $500 and $700. I immediately reported this to Bank of America. To their credit, they immediately acknowledged that they were fraudulent, and promised to restore the missing money. Further, they warned me that I might see more charges over the next day; I should report those as well, and BoA would compensate me. So, over the next several days, I watched as another $2,000 disappeared from my account. I reported those as well. However, the charges CONTINUED for another several days. When I brought THOSE charges to BoA's attention, they ultimately realized that they have mistakenly NOT FROZEN the account when I first reported the fraud. Ultimately, BoA restored ALL the money, but I was concerned about how insecure the whole account seemed to be. I considered leaving BoA, but the branch manager seemed interested in keeping my business, so she offered a solution... "Create TWO accounts; keep the bulk of your money in the first account. Use the second as an 'operating account', and keep just a few hundred dollars in it. Only the second account would have an ATM card (which was how the thieves were able to access your original account.)" This seemed like a smart solution; however, what the manager never explained was that this "solution" would allow BoA to charge double the fees. Further, I later learned that both account were inappropriate, because they both carried unusually high fees given how I would use them. Specifically, I would be charged a monthly "account analysis fee" UNLESS I made purchases with my ATM card. I would be charged this fee every month on the first account EVEN THOUGH THE ACCOUNT WAS INTENTIONALLY SET UP WITHOUT AN ATM card. On the second account, I was charged fees because my balance was low, EVEN THOUGH I WAS INTENTIONALLY PLANNING TO KEEP THE BALANCE TO AN ABSOLUTE MINIMUM. Neither of these things were explained to me. Of course - I bear responsibility here too - I should have been more aware of the fee structure. ----- Present Situation ------ Fast forward a few years until this past September. I finally get fed up with how absurdly high the fees are on these accounts. So, I decide to close both accounts, and take my business to another bank. So, I visit my local branch office and tell them I'm closing the accounts. The rep there apologizes for my dissatisfaction, and hands me cash for the balances of both accounts (just a few hundred dollars at that point). I assume that's the end of the story. A month later, I receive statements in the mail for both accounts. "Account Analysis Fees" of about $24 had been applied to both. Since I'd withdrawn all the money when I closed the account, both accounts showed negative balances of $24. The next day, I went back to the branch office to complain. The rep (who happened to be the same rep who'd closed the account), remembered me, and remembered closing the account. So, she clearly acknowledged the error, and apologized profusely. Ultimately, she said that it would be corrected, and that I should ignore the statements and fees. I left the branch, satisfied that the matter was resolved. One month later, I receive ANOTHER statement for both accounts. $20 MORE dollars in fees have been applied; both accounts show a negative balance of about $44. I'm furious. This time, instead of visiting the branch office, I call the customer service number on the statement. After speaking with the call rep and explaining the problem AGAIN, I'm assured that this is a BoA mistake, and it would be resolved. Again, I should ignore the statements and fees. The next month (December), I receive ANOTHER set of statments, showing more fees, and a negative balance of $64. Of course, it's now the holidays, so I don't have time to spend another hour on the phone, or take time from work to visit the branch office, so I decide to postpone resolving it until January. Then, in January I get a fourth set of statements, with more fees, and both accounts showing a negative balance of around $84. Irate, I call customer service again, and after numerous transfers, make my way to a "collections department." I explain the history of this debacle; the rep is sympathetic and apologetic. She assures me that the fees will be waived, and the account closed. I tell her that my major concern is that BoA will report me to collections, and that my credit will be impaired, all because of mistake that Bank of America has made. She assured me in no uncertain terms... "The total debt owed is too low. BoA does not report debts of this size to collections. You do not need to worry about this." Of course, this time, I don't trust her, so I ask her to write and sign a letter to this effect: the negative balance is a mistake, not a debt; any "fees" will be waived; that under any circumstances, I will not be reported to a collections agency or credit agency. A few days later, I receive the letter I requested. I consider the matter FINALLY resolved. Then, two days ago, I receive a letter in the mail from two separate collections agencies, both claiming I owe BoA $160 (the sum of both accounts). Absolutely furious, I call BoA again. This time, I call the BoA collections department directly. I immediately ask to speak to a manager. I explain the back-story to him, and tell him that I'd spoken with one of his reps just weeks ago, and that she'd made ASSURANCES that I would not be reported to collections. I told him about the letter SHE'D WRITTEN that stated this in BLACK AND WHITE. Yet, I hold in my hand two letters from collections agencies. Again, he apologies, and said that the rep had made a mistake, and not pulled my account from the systems that sent the debt to collections. (He ignored that fact that she'd lied about BoA's policies on reporting debts to collections agencies). However, he promised me that the debt HAD BEEN WAIVED, and that the claim would be rescinded from the debt collector. I asked him to put that in writing too. I've yet to receive that letter. ----- Bottom Line ------ I've spent hours on the phone with Bank of America. But my real concern is that BoA will (or already has) reported this debt to a credit agency, at which point, things will spiral out of control (E.g., my other creditors - like American Express - will reduce my credit limit, which would really be a problem for my business. Or, my interest rates will increase, causing untold future costs.) Clearly, their organization is dysfunctional. As you can tell, they've made a series of mistakes, and they're unable to resolve them. But I'm the one who's going to suffer. Now, I can't figure out who to call, or how to get this resolved. So - I'm not the litigious type - but I'm considering calling a lawyer. I don't know how else to protect myself. I'm not expecting "legal advice" here. I'm just hoping that the hive can give me a general sense - is there a better way to protect myself? Should I sue? If so, how should I go about finding a lawyer? What type of lawyer? What would you do if you were in my situation?

• Answer:

  It may be that I don't understand this platform, in that I don't see any answers to your question.  I have quite a few ideas about what is up on a grand scale with the banks (nope, not credit unions) and the status of our economy.  Yes, I would say, especially now, you should sue.  As much visibility of the Bank's wrong doings should be made transparent.  How?  I'm checking into this myself for different reasons, mainly pertaining to my home.  Interestingly enough, I'm dealing with Bank of America, and have been for over three years, but the home doesn't even belong to them; it belongs to an investor.  I would prefer, and believe I can, do right by the investor, but Bank of America is obviously not for me nor the investor, but for itself.  Bank of America is making money, changing its accounting principles to look good, thereby refraining from declaring, even to it's shareholders, which I am one of, that they have all of these assets, which isn't actually true.  Most of their so called assets are homes that have decreased in value significantly.  Not sure how we can stay connected, but I'll leave that to Quora.  I don't advise using a lawyer.  A source I had used in the past for direct legal dealings was Nolo Press, which provided great self-help legal guidance.  They have certainly never done me wrong.