Bank of America allegedly represented that its customers using its electronic bill paying service that the bank would not have funds removed from their account until a "paper check" was presented to Bank of America for payment, but in fact Bank of America prematurely removed funds from a customer's account so Bank of America could earn for itself the interest on those monies.

This is an investigation and pending class action lawsuit against Bank of America on behalf of consumers in Missouri that use Bank of America's electronic bill payment service.

Bank of America is a large bank with offices throughout the country. Bank of America operates an online banking service including an electronic bill payment service. The class action lawsuit alleges that Bank of America marketed its electronic bill payment service to consumers in Missouri by representing that Bank of America would not withdraw funds from a consumer's account until after a "paper check" generated from the electronic transaction was actually presented for payment by the payee on the check. The class action lawsuit alleges that Bank of America in fact prematurely withdrew funds from a customer's checking account before the "paper check" was presented for payment and then placed those funds into one or more separate accounts owned and controlled by Bank of America.

The class action complaint further alleges that Bank of America earned interest and investment income from those segregated funds for its own benefit, rather than for the benefit of the customer.