Jennifer Rogers considers herself a savvy consumer.
“I read terms and agreements. I make sure I’m doing things the right way,” said Rogers, a Scottsdale resident.
She thought she did things the right way when she used mobile depositing for a $1,500 check.
But two months later, she says Bank of America took $1,500 out of her account with no explanation.
If you have a consumer complaint, Call 12 for Action. Our volunteer investigators are available to take your call Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. at 1-800-260-1212 or 602-260-1212. You can also file your complaint online.
“I called the bank and I’m like ‘Oh my gosh, is there some kind of mistake? What’s happening?’ And they said ‘We can’t tell you’,” said Rogers.
Jennifer had to do her own digging.
“I’m trying to figure out: Where’s my money? Who took it? And why does it say the bank took it?” said Rogers.
She filed a police report, working with a detective to get more information.
“The check was lost and stolen,” said Rogers.
She learned that the mobile deposit went through, but someone stole the actual check. Bank of America held Jennifer responsible.
“It was $1,500 out of my account with the mortgage due,” said Rogers.
She says the detective gave her a grainy image from a Bank of America ATM in Phoenix, showing someone cashing the check two months after Jennifer’s original deposit. That person even added another signature on the back of the check.
When she showed the bank proof of what she thought was obvious check fraud, she says the bank didn’t care.
“They said, ‘Well, you did this mobily. There’s nothing we can do at the branch’,” said Rogers, recalling her conversation with Bank of America representatives.
Bank of America had this to say to 12 News about Jennifer’s situation:
“Customers are responsible for the checks they deposit. To help prevent checks from being negotiated more than once, customers using mobile check deposit are directed in our Mobile Check Deposit Agreement to write ‘Deposited’ on the check and destroy the original check promptly after the deposit has been acknowledged. As long as the ‘live’ check is still in existence, there is a chance that it could be negotiated more times.”
As far as the ATM image uncovered by police, Bank of America told 12 News:
“With regards to the image you sent over, we are not at liberty to discuss the transaction information captured in ATM footage.”
“Disappointing,” said Rogers about the response.
BankRate.com says all consumers using mobile depositing need to:
- Read the fine print of any banking document, showing the terms of what the consumer is responsible for in any transaction
- Know how long to hold on to the original document
- If there is a problem, make sure to dispute within 60 days
- Understand that policies for each bank are different.
“I’ll never deposit anything mobily ever again,” said Rogers.
She is pulling all of her accounts with Bank of America and she wants other customers to know that, when it comes to mobile checking, they may not be protected like they think.
“I’ve never felt more violated,” said Rogers. “I was violated when my check was stolen and I was violated when the bank took money out of my account without any kind of communication.”
If you have a consumer complaint, Call 12 for Action. Volunteer investigators are available to take your call every weekday from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. at 602-260-1212. You can also file your complaint online at this link.