how to stop payments

I'm going through the same thing with BofA right now.

Is your account negative due to illegal loans or did you overdraft on normal transactions? If it's from the loans (and if you've filed your ACH revoke letters) you can file fraud against those charges.

If it is from regular transactions, you will need to do everything in your power to get the balance to $0. BofA will most likely NOT be able to put a freeze on your account if it's in the negative.

Here's what to do:
Go into a branch and ask to speak to a branch manager. They may give you a funny look, but be persistent. If they ask you what it is about, tell them that you are only able to talk to a manger about it.
Once you sit down with them, tell them there has been (and is going to be) fraud on your account and that you would like to place a "debit hold" on the account. Sometimes, they also call it a "debit block".
Be prepared, they will give you LOTS of flack about doing this, but don't back down. Tell them you have the right to do this as their customer.
They may have you call the customer service line (they did this with me) but the phone people will tell you that only the person at the branch can do it, so don't let them waste your time.

Sometimes it can take 3 business days for the block to be applied. Sometimes it will never happen at all (because of BofA is like that...)

I wouldn't start with "I would like to close my account" because even if you do, the withdrawals can still go through, so it's kind of worthless to try.

Keep in mind, you will not be able to do this if the payday is anytime in the next 3 or 4 days. No matter what the bank does, the account WILL be debited. My advice? Open a new account at another bank so you can deal with BofA separately. Don't let your money get tied up in the negative account, therefore causing you more pain.

Why go thru all that crap Steven? Simply do an ACH revocation which is your right BY FEDERAL LAW!! Regulation E. The bank must abide. Then you close an account and get a open a new one.

By the way, the term is "deposit only".

Soaplady:

I agree that your method is more simple and straighforward, but I am going through this right now with Bank of America. At least here in Washington state, the term "deposit only" is NOT something they have in their system. Like I said, I went to three different banks attempting to do this and the only terms that finally got recognized was "debit block".

And, you can't just walk into Bank of America and close their account. It is written right into the agreement you sign with them that automatic deposits may re-open the account later. In my opinion, it is much better to get the bank to freeze your account first and then close it later once the PDLs stop trying to debit it.

Getting a new account (at a separate institution) of course is essential.

I'm just speaking from first hand experience with BofA. They're ridiculous to deal with.