It was reported yesterday that many Bank of America customers found out that money was missing from their bank accounts. It was determined, at least by the bank, that the culprit was a glitch in the Zelle system. Zelle is a payment application that allows account holders to quickly send money to another person. However, yesterday many bank customers found their accounts severely diminished or empty.
These types of banking transactions are covered by the Electronic Funds Transfers Act (EFTA). Whenever money is electronically sent using a phone, terminal, card or magnetic stripe, EFTA applies. When unauthorized transactions occur, such as the ones that happened to these customers, your bank owes you an obligation to investigate the claims. The bank must respond to you within 10 days by either completing the investigation or providing a provisional credit of the money lost while continuing its investigation. If the bank provides a provisional credit, it has 45 days to complete its investigation. If the bank determines that an error did occur, it has just one (1) day to replace your lost funds. But if the bank determines no error occurred, it must notify you in writing of the results, and advise that you are entitled to see whatever documents the bank relied upon to form its conclusion. Naturally, you are advised to follow the instructions and make that request.
According to the news outlets reporting this story, Bank of America claims that the problem is all resolved. Still, some people might be out there missing money, and if you are, we can help. If your account has been under attack, contact SmithMarco, P.C. or a completely free case review.