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Robert of Santa Cruz CA (07/19/08)
I transferred a balance to my B of A Credit card because I had no balance on it and they were offering 0% and then shortly after, I received a call from their Credit Protection Plus representative suggesting I sign up for that service; I told the representative that I was not at all interested; then I get a letter in the mail congratulating me on signing up, which I ignored,since I positively did not request it. Then I notice that I got billed four months in a row for the service; when I complained, they reluctantly agreed to take of one month, but when I said everything needs to be removed, they said they would remove only one more charge if I agreed to not pursue getting the rest removed. And, if I instead chose to pursue this, and they decided that I requested the service, then I would get nothing else removed ever. I insisted on their removing all 4 months charges and then they said they could only send me a complaint form that they would review and make a final decision. Total run around on a service that I never ever asked for.
Darla of Baltimore MD (07/19/08)
BOA consistently makes my payment due date on a Sunday. It used to be that it would take 3 business days for payment to post to your account. I have had instances where my mailed payment was posted before an online payment! Isn't that the whole point of paying online, so it can be posted right away? Not with them!
I have contacted them about it, and basically they wrote me back saying there was nothing they could do about it, to schedule the payment well in advance, etc. I expect when I am paying online, to be able to have it post that day, especially when I am paying during the week. Every other credit card co. that I belong to accepts payments on Saturday as well. I think their policy and payment due dates are a way to finagle more money from their customers in the form of late fees, higher interest rates, etc. I will NEVER use that card again after I pay it off!!
I have been charged late fees at least 5 different times and have been given a higher interest rate because of their policy.
David of Delaware OH (07/16/08)
I have a high balance credit card with a promotional rate. I had set up an automated payment to pay two days before the card is due each month. Bank of America changed the days in a billing cycle to 33 (since when do we have 33 day months?) this increased the days of interest due.
I missed the payment amount by $2 and they charged me $416 of additional interest. They did allow me to pay the additional amount online w/o a fee and they did reset the promotional rate for the rest of the period but the shenanigans of changing the number of days in a month seems arbitrary and punitive.
Dorothy of Carrollton VA (07/16/08)
My debt consolidation loan was sold from MBNA/Wachovia Bank to Bank of America in the summer of 2006. I had a very good interest rate of about 5-6% and have never missed a payment. Recently I was looking at my bill from Bank of America and noticed that my interest rate jumped to 27.99%! I called BOA and asked them to lower this rate and they told me they could only drop me 1% to 26.99%.
I've never been late and never missed a payment. I am on a fixed retirement income and fear that I will be unable to continue paying $457/month on this loan. Most of my payment is going to interest. I also never received a letter from BOA stating they were changing my rate. Is this legal?
Financial hardship in paying this loan, potential risk of ruined credit
Kevin of Ilion NY (07/15/08)
I had available to me 7,693 World Points on my Bank of America credit card. About 14 months ago I decided to go through Consumer Credit Counseling Service to make it easier to pay off my credit cards and had to close my account. I have never once been late for a payment and just last month paid the whole balance off. It was never explained to me last year that by freezing my account that they would take my World Points away, I receive a statement every month and even the most recent one shows that I have the 7,693 World Points available to me.
I tried to claim them a few weeks ago because I knew that I would be closing my account and I was told that they were cancelled out last year.
This is very aggravating to me because it was never explained to me last year that the World Points would be taken away, it also bothers me that if these points are not available to me then why would they continue to show on my statement every month? I have filed complaints with Bank of America to no avail so I decided to go to a higher source and see if this gets anything done, it is my belief that those points are still owed to me, I earned them, I paid for them in FULL and do not plan to stop fighting until there is a resolution!
Nathan of Miami FL (07/15/08)
I had a boa card for about 5 years and built a credit line up to 12,000. recently, i had a high debt and kept a balance of close to the limit on that card. so they immediately jacked my rate up to 25%. well i just made a full payment and paid off the card down to 0. the total debt was paid off within a 6 month period.
i then called boa to get them to lower my interest rate. they told me on the phone that not only will they not lower the rate, they are cutting my line down to $1000. because i was high risk, even though i paid their ridiculous payments every month for 6 months and then paid the balance in full....
Judy of Lakeview OR (07/15/08)
BofA reported me to a collection agency, LHR, for a debt I knew nothing about until LHR contacted me about it, demanding payment immediately or else they would report me to credit bureaus. I refused. I did not think the debt valid because I had received no statements from BofA. The LHR rep was very mean and mocked me, insiuating that I was lying. I contacted BofA and they said that I owed the debt, which was originally $316.42, but was now $621.58 because of the fees and interest all the time I had no idea it was happening. I talked to several differnt people, many of which also accused me of lying about not receiving a bill.
Finally, I got a rep that took the time to actually check it out and she admitted that she could see that I had not been sent statements. But she said that a statement was a courtesy and I was responsible for the bill regardless. That doesn't sound right to me. I agree that I owe the original amount, but want the late fees and interest which amounts to twice the original amount to be recinded. She said I would have to deal with LHR about that. I don't think it's right that I should have to learn that I owe something and that my card has been charged off from a credit collections agency. And charged thru the nose for BofA's mistake in billing. And have my credit report tanked because of it.
I rarely charge on a card, always using my debit. I don't revolve balances, always paying total at end of month. Therefore, I don't receive a statement most of the time because I have not charged and have no balance. So it is the norm for me not to receive a bill from month to month. I may only use the card once or twice a year for small purchases. I simply forgot I had used it, and when no bill came, I was not alerted that anything unusual was going on. Yes, technically, my fault? Not so sure. And is a billing really just a courtesy? I thought it an obligation to be correct. Wouldn't therefore, the company be obligated to provide one in order for it to be correct?
BofA charged off my account. I had that account since 1990. There is the damage that does to my credit rating. Also, they turned the account over to collections, LHR. The stress and upset when they insulted me, saying that I had probably shredded this card and already started charging up the next one. Completely untrue. And asked how many other accounts I had defaulted on. NONE. And Said that they have already reported me to credit bureaus even though I have 13 more days to respond in writing.
Scott of Marietta GA (07/14/08)
after talking to an acct executive about my financial situation he told me there wold not be any more phone calls. approx. 3 weeks later I began to get harassing calls from the three individuals mentioned. they called and faxed me at work, which I told them not to do, I asked them how they aquired my place of work because Idid not give them this information. They replyed it was none of my business. I was called names, threatened with legal matters, they even accessed my bank acct telling me how much I had in there. This is the only way I could figure out where they knew where i worked through bank deposits. The calls finally stopped after I told them I would start tapping our conversations.
Vito of Killington VT (07/09/08)
I had a Bank of America credit card, which I just canceled because of the following incident. I had a charge of $49.32 on this credit card which was the sole balance and the due date of the bill was 5/18/08. I paid this bill via Ebill pay from my account with TD Banknorth on 5/15/08. Bank of America insists it did not receive payment until 5/19/08, a Saturday no less, and did not post the payment until 5/20. Of course I was charged a late fee and interest on the late fee. My bank insists that it paid Bank of America on 5/15/08.
Twenty years ago I worked for a company and setup a cash transfer system for a retailer which took less than 24 hours to consolidate deposits from 200 different bank (not branches but different entitites) locations into a central bank account. I think things happen a lot faster now yet it took four days for my payment to get form my bank to Bank of America. Where did the money go for four days? Why do credit card issuing banks get such leeway in processing electronic payments. Is there any tracking of when a bank actually gets money from another bank or is the receiving bank the sole arbiter of when a payment is received?
Late fees and interest. I closed the account after they denied eliminating the fees and interest.
Sharee of Decatur GA (07/09/08)
After being conned into purchasing credit protection plus for my Bank of America credit card, I paid monthly payments that would assure my coverance in the event of some outlined occurances. So later I filed a claim for the occurance of entering college and acamdemic excellence. Little did I know these idiots would run me around in circles, just to find ways not to honor my claim. I kept calling and they would lie and say they did not have the information I faxed in and after assuring them I did, they would finally look through my paperwork with Ok, I see grades here as if i hadn't said that before. So essentially they ended up DENYING my claim because of unoutlined stipulations such as for academic excellence you have to have a 3.61 GPA for the semester...Now what kind of obscure number is this?
But all in all my grievance is that it is now July 7, 2008 and I filed the claim in January 2008 and have been dealing with it since then. I am just upset that I wasted so much of my time just to get denied, when in fact if someone was doing their job and actually reading my paperwork they would have been able to get back to me earlier. I have been looking for the company on BBB and have not found them yet and now I see why they wouldn't enroll because they would have several hundred complaints.
Wasted my money for several months, only to have my claim denied!
Jim of Cocolalla ID (07/06/08)
i cannot get ANYONE to close an account i have paid off more than 5 years ago..i dont use the account..i cannot find a physical address to send a registered letter to to close this account...can you help? i cannot get the local branches to help me
this leaves me open to id theft.
Mark of Oberlin OH (07/02/08)
Bank of America changed my due date for my credit card from the 3rd of the month to the 29th in one month. I use my Outlook calender to remind me to make my online payment. I have it set to remind me 2 days early. Not enough I guess. I don't want to go back to the days of mailing my payment 2 weeks early.
They offer the ability to have your payment recorded the day it's due, which is a nice feature, however, I think they're taking advantage of those of us who play it close. If I forget, ok, but changing the playing field without telling us is rude. Ironically, Bank of America had a Banner Ad on the same page as your article about floating due dates. Go figure.
$30 came out of my pocket and went into the pocket of an Executive at Bank of America. I received no services in return. That hurt.
Olatunji of Snellville GA (06/29/08)
I have a couple of boa/fia cards, but every so often they will say they never received the payment on time so I set up an auto pay on line, on the card l have problem with the only option l had while setting up the auto pay was for the money to be taken out on the due date, it was fine for a couple of months but on the third month the due date changed and was two days earlier than the two previous months, but they did not take the money out on the due date, they took it out two days later and said l was late, they then charged me 29.99% apr without notice so l was forced to pay the account off with another credit card,
l also lodged a complaint with the BBB,that investigated the case and they subsequently gave me back most of the overcharges and they decided to close the account nad cut my credit limits on my other accounts from $32,000 to $5,000. I may have a high credit card debt but l had never beeen late in twenty two years for any credit lender. I think boa/fia are practicing unfair credit and loan systems. My trouble started with them because l refused to be pressured into taking a second mortgage on my house, few days after that l received a letter in the mail saying my debt is too high and that they have decided to lower all my credit limits. They need to be taught a lesson through a class action suit for unfair credit practices.
After all my limits has been drastically slashed, now most creditors think my debt to available credit ratio is too high, thereby affecting my credit score by about fifty points and it still going down.
Lori of Yardley PA (06/28/08)
I recently made a credit card payment on a Saturday (6/21/08) online for a payment due 6/22/08. I called customer service to ask why it would not post until Monday (6/23/08) when I was obviously making the payment on the 21st. My payment would be late and I had no other option. They said to call back in a few days to see if I could have the late fee removed and my APR restored.
I called back today and a very unprofessional, rude woman named Rebecca (would not give her last name) from Norfolk who claimed she was the account manager claimed she could not help me. I am a long time customer with on-time payments. I think it is absolutely rediculous that I could not be helped with this situation. Any other bank I use counts Saturdays as payment days. I cannot believe a bank as large as Bank of America cannot accomodate their customers by doing the same. I will have to find another bank that meets my needs since I am busy during the week and I need the option of paying my bills on Saturdays. Not to mention, I cannot take rude, arrogant call centers that do not have any managers with whom to speak when you are not satisfied with the service. I hope to hear some sort of response, although at this point, I am not expecting anything special from Bank of America.
My credit card APR was raised from 2.99% to 18.99% because Bank of America does not accept Saturdays as valid payment days. I also was charged a $40 late fee!
Catherine of Greeneville, TN (06/27/08)
Recently I made a payment of $7000 to decrease my debt below 25% and raise my credit scores. Today I found out that Bank Of America had turned around and decreased my credit limit by $7000!!
Now, instead of being in better financial shape, it shows that I am at my credit limit instead of $7200 Below it. My previous credit limit was $10,300!!
I have never been late with them and have the card for over 8 years. My rate was recently jacked to 28.9% because I was nearing my credit limit! I have always paid over the minimum due each month. CAN THEY DO THIS!!!???
This was money I had saved for hard times, being a single woman and now my savings are gone.
Festus of Northridge CA (06/26/08)
I was late on My s-corporation credit card. Because I was late, Bank of America went to my newly open account in another branch and garnished evrything in that account without court involvement/ papers and without warnings. It was on a friday afternoon. I spent hours with it's representatives to obtain at least few dollars for the weekend to no avail. This happened around June 2005. Up to date, Bank of America has not shown itself as having violated the law or making a mistake. It's corporate office will not respond to my calls or letters.
I had resently lost my regular job and business was very slow in my s corporation aspect. I had to starve and slept on the streets for the weekend. The financial and the like stress bank of America created on me lasted for years. I resuted to loosing my prescious items and important documents in storage- these includes but not limited to my life long research work some of which were going through patent processes.
Johnny of Corinth TX (06/19/08)
in 11/07 interest rate raised to 28%. My score is at 700 and no late payments. I paid off my balance today 6/17 of 14,500 and previous closed all of my BOA accounts as they are a very unfair company. My last statement I noticed my finance charge was more then my payemnt. For the past 7 months I have made $ 2,387 in payments and my account balance has risen from $ 14,400 to almost $15,000 in last 7 months. After the branch tells me the pay off is $ 14,538 which I pay BOA tacks on another $334 two days after as another finance charge. My argument to Ms Harris has been since you jacked up my rate you bank has not adjusted my payment and my finance charge is more then my mimimum payment so the $334 you say I owe should be written off by you as your bank made the mistake.
Had they increased my payment as they should have done more money would have gone to principal instead in the past 7 months % 2,387 has gone to nothing and my balance has gone up with no use of the card. In addition and this is fine they closed my account because I kept trying to get the rate down. This I understand is comon at BOA to the same customers they mess with the ones who pay there bills. There entire attitude was I use my accounts so I am a risk and in my case I have cut them as a bank and paid there balance off and told them to shove there rates. I am seeking your assistance in filing a claim so they cant continue to go after innocent people and in addition get the finance charge I was socked with after paying the account off erased.
7 months of $341 payments that had no effect on the balance as I watched it go up month after month. My finance charge also exceeded the balance which in my opinion is illegal. Talking to them was met with fights and argummnets, they closed my account which effects my score but now its paid off so the last laugh is mine. They need to be fined and watched and I need to have my finace charge they say I now owe washed away as they are the ones who over charged me on the finance charge
Royce of Dickerson MD (06/18/08)
Bank of America is changing due dates on credit cards. I had a automatic payment set up through my BOA checking account. They changed one month due date long enough to include to two months payments. Then shortened the next month to apply a late charge and now include a finance charge since up until now I had a 0% promotional rate.
$39 late fee plus losing 0% interest for four months at $22 per month
Steven of Franklin Park IL (06/18/08)
Bank of America issued a credit card to my wife. As soon as it came in the mail I called to cancell it I was told that because it was not issued to me I could not cancel it. I told them that I needed to cancell it because my wife was unemployed and could not afford the credit card. I asked if I was under any responsability for this card and was told no. Next thing I find out, she maxed out the card and now it is on my credit report. Is there any way to get it off?
I am in the process of trying to rebuild my credit and found that this is on my credit report.
Deltrease of West Columbia SC (06/12/08)
On May 29 Bank of America Platinum Plus for Business Card withdrew a combined total of $2275 from one of my personal and two of business accounts without any notice. When I call to ask why was this done when I had already told them I didn't have the ability to pay at the time, I never dodged any of their phone calls and sometimes even returned calls when messages were left. The customer service rep said that there weren't any records to justify what I said and it was their right to go into the accounts and take the money.
This caused many of my personal and business accounts to be overdrawn. My rent check bounced and the money in my personal account was being saved for a medical procedure I needed done.
Amy of Gardnerville NV (06/11/08)
I had initiated a call to find a better rate for a balance on a credit card that had a promotional rate that was ending. The representative went over an option and I liked what he was offering. During our conversation of what my monthly payment amount would be after consolidating 2 of my credit cards, he did not at any time tell me that my loan balance and payment included a 3% transaction fee. It was only after I agreed to terms of the rate and monthly payment did he then read me their disclosure. In the disclosure he did state that future advances would incur a 3% fee and so on, but nothing was ever said that included the current transaction. My complaint is that the representative did not at any time during my acceptance of the loan mention there would be any fee included with the opening of this loan and on the current transaction at hand. I had told him I had other options so he was trying to sell me and he did but I feel he wasn't not clear on all aspects of the transaction.
I always make my payments on my credit debts and would say I am savvy with credit options and pay very close attention before agreeing to any kind of loan or new credit. I trusted this company and representative and honestly feel like I was misled. Even after reading the approval letter I received for this loan, it does not state anywhere on that cover letter that it included any kind of transaction fees.
When I had started search for loan options, interestingly I was warned by another credit company that Bank of America was good at hiding fees that you don't about until after the fact. Now I know there was some truth to that statement. I called B of A as soon I found this upsetting information and of course they refer to their disclaimer and say that they cannot do anything. So, I will send complaint letters and see if there are any options for a trusting consumer. Please advise. Thank you.
Right now I am angry and it is an additional financial burden.
Bonnie of Pilot Knob MO (06/11/08)
My Mother paid this bill off in Feb of this year. She always had an automatic withdrawal authorized through her bank. Since it has been paid off, MBNA continues to take out the payment as though she still owes them. She is on a fixed income and had nearly been stroke level over this entire matter. She has contacted them, as have I, and even been sent back the monies twice with a promise that they won't do it again...but they do.
On a fixed income, this will very soon cause my Mom to be overdrawn in her account. She barely has enough for food and medicine now.
Blank of Somewhere CA (06/11/08)
I am a very organized young lady and keep my receipts for all of my debit/visa purchases to be logged in my transaction log. I forgot to log one item (unfortunately it was a check for $250.00, that of course I wouldn't have a seperate receipt for besides the carbon copy attached to my check book, so I missed it) in my log. This caused me to over draft by $15 on a single transaction. ONE SINGLE transaction. ONE SINGLE mistake caused them to charge me a total of 11 overdraft item fees in the amount of $35.00 each! That's a total of $385 dollars.
I only make $450 every two weeks, so you can imagine how I felt when I found out that not only had my account over drawn, but they charged me 11 times and the direct deposit that I had just received had only gone to overdraft charges and left me with about $90 to pay my rent, and many other bills. I managed to get them to waive $170 of it. But, as I've read that many have received as a response before, it was not bank error, so they could not remove any more fees. The reason I am so upset with them is the fact that the only reason the lmost recent 10 over draft fees were charged was because of the very 1st overdraft fee. I know it was my mistake, but is there really a need to punish me 11 TIMES for one accounting mistake.
I truly hate the way Bank of America has handled my situation. I had to borrow money from my Mom to pay rent. Not only do I have to pay her back as soon as possible because she is in a tight situation as well, but it has thrown off my budget/ bill pay plans for at least the next 3 months. When your down and not making that much money...it's hard as hll to get back on track. DON'T THEY KNOW THAT?
Miriam of Miramar FL (06/10/08)
In August of 2006 my purse was stolen while at a fast food restaurant. I had three debit cards in there belonging to Wamu, Wachovia and Bank of America. Money was stolen from both Wamu and Wachovia. I only had $6 in the Bank of America account so I did not believe anything would happen. When filing the police reports I had come to understand that there was a new scheme which theives would deposit a check stolen from another person and before the bank completely processes the check the thief would remove said amount from the account leaving you with an overdraft. This happened to all three of my accounts.
Since I rarely used the Bank of America account and wanted to close it I did not know what had happened until I did try to close it. No one from Bank of America tried to contact me. They had my number on file, along with my email address and a back up number. Both Wachovia and Wamu investigated my situation, along with having me sign affadavits and looking at atm photos. I received my money back within a week. Bank of America refuses to let me see any photos and they claim that I am still responsible for over $4,000 dollars. The customer service representative even told me that numerous people were reporting fraudulent activity similar to mine, but they still refuse to clear this case.
I am a full-time college student who works a part-time job. This account now shows up as a problem and has caused my other bank account at Wachovia to be closed and I am unable to do anything because they have reported me to some credit bureau.
Constance of Va Beach VA (06/09/08)
Raised my interest rate from 9.98% to 23.99% at will; I'm a good pay customer as per my credit report. Only items that show up unfavorable are my husband's old accounts which have since been paid or closed. I'm the only one on my account.
charged me 3 times the interest; called customer service and they did credit me for this month the difference because I complained but basically I was told to not use my account at all or the interest will go back up to 23.99%
J. of Newark NJ (06/08/08)
I was offered a balance transfer at the rate of .99% APR in January 2008. The customer service representative told me this rate would last for a year. If I missed a payment or paid below minimum, this rate would increase to almost 20% APR. I made my monthly payments promptly and always paid much higher than minimum. I recently found out that this promotional rate of .99% APR expired on April 2008. I called Bank of America, spoke to a dozen representatives who all claimed the representative who helped me must have told me this offer expired in April 2008.
No matter how many times I told them she claimed it expired ONE YEAR from the date of my balance transfer, and no matter how many times I told them to please check the records and see if there is a recording of the conversation, they wouldn't help me or even offer me a lower rate. I was deliberately lied to. I would have never asked for a balance transfer if I knew the rate would increase so drastically after a few months. No one at Bank of America attempted to find a record of my conversation with this representative, they didn't even try to discover her identity. How could she LIE without any repercussions?
I repeatedly asked if the rate would last for a year and the representive said YES. I am still shocked that a person working for such a reputable company could lie in that manner. She didn't fear consquences and obviously she didn't have to since Bank of America didn't follow up or even care. Unbelievable.
The increased interest rate has added so many unneccessary charges to my balance. I planned to pay off the entire balance within a year at the rate of .99% but now that the rate is 18.24% it is impossible. I had been a great customer since 2004 and always either paid off my entire balance immediately or paid more than minimum. My credit might be ruined because of the false statements of that Bank of America representative.
Lily of San Francisco CA (06/06/08)
I told my friend to help me pay my minimums on my bank of america credit cards. I gave her my social security number so that she could give to the teller to search for my credit card.( I have her done this for me for almost 2 years; sometimes even on the same branch) Today when she went in, the teller refuse to help her and said that she cant help me pay my credit cards because it was against the policy for leaking out customer information. She didnt even ask for my information, she handed them a piece of paper with my social number and full name and ask if she could help pay the minimum. She had done so before at the same branch and at other center, but today they didnt.
I think it's ridiculous that they couldnt help me, and said that it was against their policy, which one of the teller had help her before. She went to another branch and the teller over there had helped her. She had to walked 6 extra blocks just to help me pay my credit cards, and she injured her foot for trying to run to the other branch before they closed to help me.
Michelle of Beaverton OR (06/04/08)
My spouse and I each signed up for/purchased a Hawaiin Airlines Visa card in order to recieve a 50% companion ticket advertised on both the Hawaiin Airlines website and Bof A Visa website. After 3 months and approximatloey 14 phone calls and e-mails we still have not recieved the certificates and neither Bank of America or Hawaiin Airlines has been helpful in resolving the matter. Bof A has provided multiple different answers most of which are in dirrect conflict with their Terms and Agreement (contract) posted on their own website. The call center representatives have gone so far as to tell me they hope someone does take action because they are just as frustrated in having to give out information they know to be false.
We will need to purcahse full-price tickets at $710 each rather than 50% off tickets so we are each incurring an economic damage of $355.
Sheryl of Humble TX (06/03/08)
BOA raised it's interest rates on me as well and have not been late on a payment and still thousands of dollars away from the credit limit. Shell and HSBC, closed my account due to being unemployed and still charge a late fee, but I have still been paying the mininum and the late fees and overlimit fees on a CLOSED account.
It has taken money away from other things that need to be paid as well, like a light bill or phone bill and even food because of the overlimit fee or late fee if you are late 1 minute. which it wasn't charged over it is their over the limit fee for going over due to their high interest rate. This Credit Card abuse is getting way out of hand, but they tell you that we signed the contract!
Linda of Ashburn, VA (06/03/08)
I have had my BOA Visa credit card for more than 5+ years and very stupidly carry a balance on the card. My balance just kept balloning and now I know why. As soon as I pulled my head out of the sand and read the statement I saw that they were using very questionable trade practices. For example, they frequently change my due date and then set a time I must pay the payment by (such as 5:00 EST) in order for the payment to be considered on time; next they started charging me over the limit fees because once they tacked on my finance charge I would go over my limit; then of course was the: we raised your rates because you went over your limit and made your payment at 5:01pm instead of 4:49pm; the last straw was when I discovered they were charging me 23.99% for a cash advance.
I don't recall the advance, I contacted them though and they said I obtained a cash advance for $70 in August 2006; I am waiting for a copy of that statement; anyway I now owe them $251 for that cash advance and have been told that no matter what amount I pay them each month, they will never apply any payment to that cash advance as long as I carry a balance; in other words, they will be holding my hostage and charging me interest on the interest of that cash advance as long as I have a balance with them; can this really be legal?
Even if I close my account; make more than minimum payments for the next whatever; the cash advance balance will continue to grow - currently at a rate of 23.99%; in 2 years it has already tripled and if they are allowed to prevent me from paying the cash advance off, then they will keep charging me interest on each higher amount accrued.
Leslie of Westminster MD (06/03/08)
Earlier this year I had recieved a letter from Bank of America regarding APR rates. When looking at the account number I compared it to the account number that I had currently open. Since these were based on 2 account numbers, I had assumed that since I didn't have a balance on the old number that it wouldn't apply. Well, I thought wrong. In May I received a statement on my current account number reflecting a much higher APR rate. Prior to it was 8.95% and then it jumped to 19.99%!
I called the company immediately and they said that because I didn't respond to the letter that there was nothing they could do. During my conversation they did say that I have never been late on a payment and I was a good customer for 8 years! I am very upset that this has happened during a time when everything is going up and families are barely making it by. Even though my income combined with my husband's puts us in the higher middle class bracket, we are still struggling with day care, food expenses, long distance commutes to and from work, doctor's expenses, etc.
For Bank of America to do this to a customer for 8 years is flat out wrong! They are the worst company to deal with when it comes to helping their clientele. Yes, they are polite on the phone but they make bundles of money off of people like me. Something needs to be done and fast so people won't lose what they worked so hard for. Grant it, when I saw the letter I should've called, but I thought I was okay since the account number was different and I was no longer using the account reflected in the letter.
Since this incident, I have closed my account and once I pay off the balance I will never use a Bank of America credit card ever again.
Cathy of Virginia Beach VA (06/01/08)
I paid my credit card in full and closed my account 0n 5/22/08. Customer service confirmed my balance was zero and proceeded to close the account 05/26/08, BOA did not close my account and as a result I accrued additional finance charges of 110.00 We called cutomer service and was given the run around and at one point was hung up on.
Amanda of Haltom City, TX (06/01/08)
I am extremely outraged at the matter in which Bank of America has handled my account and me as a consumer. I had NO knowledge that my interest rates were going to be changed until my credit card bill came and the account information revealed an increase in my interest rate from 10.47% to 23.99%. I called customer service and spoke with "Kimberly" that advised me that letters were sent out back in January to advise consumers that the rates were go up. I advised her that I never got any letter telling me that my interest rate was going up. She then advised me after looking at my payment history of having payments made on time and making more than the mimimum payment requirement that she would transfer me to the Rate Dept to ask for a decrease in my interest rate.
She transferred me to an account specialist that did not handle the situation or me with any professionalism. When I tried to tell this individual to view my payment history and note that I had not been late and I had been making more than the minimum required monthly payment, he kept stating that quote - yes, I see where you have made a little more than the monthly payment, but you need to make MORE than a little to reduce your balance more.
He then asked for my annual income and my husband's annual income which is just over $60,000.00 and put me on hold. He came back to the phone to advise me that the most he could lower my interest rate was 1%! which was basically no decrease at all, going from 23.99 % to 22.99 %! This individual then began to badger and and insult me with scorn and no empathy by telling me, Madam, if you and your husband are making $60,000.00 a year, why can't you afford to make a lot more than a little more of your minimum monthly payment. I told him that our budget and expenses in paying our bills were personal and none of his business.
Aljandro of Brooklyn AK (05/31/08)
I have a BA credit card since the mid 90s in addition to others. I have always been very aware of the predatorial practices that credit cards use trick uninformed consumers which are their common target. Throughout my college life and until today I have never being late in any of my credit accounts. Despite that I juggled money from card to card once in a while to afford school and to keep building my credit. Recently a have to battle this fraud which they call credit protection plan? Note I manage all my accounts online for convenience. In April I was going truth my statements working on my taxes and I found this plan charging my credit card for the last seven months. Immediately call and demand proof that I authorized this enrollment. This was the first call I did, they never proved to me or have nothing I signed saying that in did I have done this to my self. The only explanation they had was that I enroll my self through the telephone back in September 12 of 2007.
After that they went on and on talking about the great benefits of the program. I am just happening to going trough a family health crisis were I had to move my residence. So since they had enrolled me in this plan I saw the opportunity to get my money back. The people in the telephone assured me that this was a great idea because my minimum payment plus the benefit equal $340.00 only for march. Since I moved in January they would give me a retroactive for six months. So they send me the forms. I made the mistake of believe to this institution. I had no way to confirm this on paper because there was no paper in the first place. Nothing for me to read or keep in my records; a couple weeks later I got the paper work. Only one form and a letter that states I am activating my plan. No clauses, no explanation of how much money I am likely to get.
Again call and they convinced me this was a good thing for my situation telling me the amount of money I will get since is retroactive from January and I made clear cancel the plan which they toll me no need because when you activate the plan you dont have to pay anymore. I made the mistake again of not research this and have papers to back up their promises. Then I have to spend a month to prove them that I have no job and that I moved my residence. Send airplane tickets, lease contract, electricity bill from Alaska and New York etc. finally in May 14 they made a deposit in my account for 380.00 and charge me a financial fee of $34.00 when I call to ask for the rest of the money the answer was. We only cover three months for life event. We can not honor unemployment because you did not get fired you quit your job so become unemployed was my choice. I was not the one with health problem, someone else in your family is therefore you not entitled to receive the benefit. The retroactive was calculated three months before the date you moved not after. Those where the months that my minimum payment was half of what became after January with my move and family situation.
As you can see the institution always will find loops to not comply with their promises; and because I never had anything in paper. Well silly me. In the good side, since September they only have steal $675.00 that I pay interest like any regular purchase. I only get back $380.00 which put me in a much better place that other people scam the same way. Although in April assure me it will be no more charges from the Credit protection plan because activation in May the charge appear again. Note that I did not see these charges in my account because they do not put it in my online statement.
Every month of this year I receive the important news about changes of my account. The interest and the rules every month change in order to catch you in the minimal mistake. And you better pay that depth right away or you will be hook on super high interest for long time. Did I mention what would do to your credit? I have never default a payment ever and my business credit line was cut from 25.000 to 6.000 because my latest increase of my dept. And with that the interest has been increasing in case of default. Please tell everyone and be careful, I have no job and my situation is bad but if default my payments then I going to be in a much worse situation from were I just wont be able to get in my feet. All the time I lost in the phone and paperwork it wont be worth more stress to even try to take them to small claims the law is in their side. Because I receive money and follow the process I fell into their trap does not matter I never agreed to this protection plan in the first place. The only thin I can do is tell other people my experience hoping you wont make the same mistake.
Griffin of Washington DC (05/27/08)
I had a business credit card with B of A that was established in Aug '07. This was not a card that I applied for, they just gave it to me with a $1,000 limit. I used about $800 of it when they sent me a letter saying that it was an accident that they gave me the card - this being around Nov '07. I figured they'd send me a bill, and I pay off the balance. I never received a bill, but did get a call from their collections department in Jan '08. By then, I closed my business due to low sales, I was unemployed, and relocating to D.C. I told the rep that I didn't have any spare funds to pay, but I would as soon as I started working again.
They called again in Feb, March, and April, and I explained that I was still looking for work/working a temp assignment making barely enough to cover my living expenses.(I'm paying rent on an apartment in D.C and still carrying a mortgage in Charlotte.) So Mon 5/26, I tried to go to the atm to take out grocery money and it said that I'd overdraft my account. I called customer service and they said that they drafted $1,200 from my personal for the business credit card balance plus interest leaving my account at $0! They were completely unwilling to work to with me.
Customer service was very condescending and smug. Out of 6 people, only one actually seemed to care that my family and I would be out on the street. At one point, I've had as much as $25,000 in that bank. They were so excited to have my business then, but now they couldn't work with me during a rough patch. I'm going to close my accounts and go to another bank. If I could transfer my mortgage, I'd do that too!
This was done on my payday, so they took my entire check plus what was already in there, money that I had to pay rent and buy groceries for my children with. I had outstanding debit card transactions and checks that hadn't cleared yet. When the transactions post, they'll overdraw my account, resulting in overdraft fees.
Lori of Santa Fe NM (05/27/08)
Presented with a coupon upon receipt of my new Working Assets Credit Card that indicated if I used the card by charging $75.00 or more, I would receive a 2 for 1 airfare or cruise; offer valid until 4/30/08. Called B of A on 2/18/08 and spoke with Camisha who indicated I had met the stipulation and I would receive this certificate in 10 weeks (vs the 4-6 weeks listed on the offer). At week 11 I called again and spoke with Richard who indicated he would initiate the paperwork for me, indicating he saw no record of prior assistance on this.
On May 16th I receive a letter from B of A indicating I was not eligible for this offer. I called and spoke with David Kragenbrink, a manager at B of A, and he saw no evidence of a certificate offer being sent to me. I faxed and emailed him a copy that day. He said he would have a response for me in 10 days. On May 27th (today) I called and David was not there. I asked to speak with another representative and spoke with Daniel Gray who also saw no evidence of this certificate. I faxed Daniel a copy of what I was offered and he indicated he would look into this and get back to me. I am still waiting. This all seems very unethical to me and I am being strung along by this large Bank who sent me an enticing offer and now will not honor their offer.
Had to purchase my own airfare on a recent trip to San Diego as I was anticipating receiving the actual coupons in the original 4-6 week promise time.
Annie of Montrose CA (05/27/08)
I have had BofA credit cards since the early 70's. I pay on time, more than the minimum payment due, and rarely have I gone over my limit. Once a supplier charged my credit card without prior authorization and it put me over my limit. I use my cards for purchasing inventory, and occasionally to pay for utility bills when money is tight. I have a clothing store that I started in 1977, so they know my history. My credit cards are used almost exclusively in connection with my business.
About 2 years ago BofA increased the credit limit on one card from $6500. to $16000. and I used the additional credit to pay the IRS. Never missed a payment, or paid late. After 3 or 4 months I'd paid $3000 or so on this account, never using it again because of a temporary low interest rate and I wanted to pay off the balance asap.
Then I got a letter from them stating due to large credit card debt I was carrying, they were lowering my credit line by $2500. Fine, I wasn't using that card anyway.
Long story short, paid off another $3000, and then got another letter, same thing, lowered my available credit. They did the exact same thing on another account I have with them. Each time they do this, it looks like I'm using 98% of my available credit---not that I've paid down my balances by $6000/ $7000. which lowers my credit score. Needless to say I can't wait to pay them off!!! With the interest I'm paying them it won't be any time soon!
Their misleading business practices and manipulating my credit history have lowered my credit scores which makes it impossible to get a fair interest rate on all of my cards and makes it harder to stay in business. The stress of dealing with this is a hard thing to measure--but considerable!
Gerald of Livonia MI (05/24/08)
I had signed up for a credit card through Bank of America in Sept 2007 and verbally told when calling to apply that I was eligible for their most aggressive interest rate. I proceeded with a balance transfer. When I received my first statement I noticed the interest rate reflected 13.99% and should have been less than 9.99% (which was my current credit card interest rate). I have to go back to my records/notes to determine what was told to me on the phone but I want to say it was 6.5%. My FICO score is in the 700s so it was not due to my FICO.
When I called to inquire thinking it was a mistake, the Bank of America rep indicated they have the rate to change it and did so by making it 13.99%. I couldnt believe the demeanor of the rep and escalated the matter and got no where and the same rude attitude. I then made it my goal to get the balance transfer fully paid which I did with two payments in May (May 9th and May 19th). In reviewing my account after the 2nd payment on May 19th I had a negative balance of 7 cents.
Today I was notified I had a new statement available online which had a new balance $64.41. I called Bank of America to find out why since the balance had been fully paid with the last statement. They told me it was for accumulated residual interest on the month priors account. I told them to effectively cancel the card immediately. The purpose of my email is to share the practices I experienced by Bank of Americas credit card department and how it misleads the consumer and unethically applies interest even when fully paying the balance.
I asked the interest cost be reversed and was told no. I threatened not to pay the interest since it wasnt right and the rep who answered chastised me saying I would have to pay eventually since it would ultimately reflect on my credit report. What can be done to address issues like these to the consumer? Please share any insight or direction you may recommend. Thank you.
Overpaid interest rate while carrying balance from date of balance transfer and purchases along with being charged interest even though the fully balance was paid the prior billing period.
Jose of New Hampshire NH (05/22/08)
I have only two credit cards so I am unsure if this situation is happening with other credit card companies. I have noticed that the above mentioned companies do not cut and send me a new statement until roughly TEN days after the due date of my last payment. i.e., a payment is due 2/14/08 I make the payment on time and my statement is not closed and sent until 2/24/08. I have not had my Credit Card for RBS Citizens for that long but I specifically recall that not being the case in the past with my BOA card. if my payment was due 2/14/08 the statement would be closed, cut and sent on 2/15/08 like clock work.
I do not understand the change and the advantage to me, the consumer, with this change. All this does is add to my monthly balance on my card which I pay in full every month and gives me less time to pay the amount in full. I feel as if BOA and RBS are trying to trap me into revolving a balance. I'm sure if I was a day late with my payment i would get hit with a late fee, what gives the credit card company the right to be TEN days late in closing my statement? it doesn't take more than two or three days for a charge to post on an account. There is no reason to keep my current statement open for that long.
There has been no consequences yet but I strongly feel that this ten day policy is completly unfair to the customer and with the economic crisis we are in as a country it seems to me that this helps the credit card company get more money unfairly.
Zulia of Hazleton PA (05/22/08)
Last month I made a phone call to see if I qualified for a lower APR in one of my accounts. In the process, the associate I spoke with, promised me that if I made a balance transfer of $5,000 - to my Financial Rewards points' credit card - I was going to receive 200 points, which could be used as wished. I was also going to have a 1% APR for one year, then after that a fixed APR of 8%. This month, I called to pay off my first bill with the accumulated 200 points. I was then informed that the 200 points could be earned through purchases only not balance transfers. Thus, they were going to look into this matter to assist me better and then give me a call back the next day.
Of course, that never happened. I called 2 days later, and after being transferred to different departments and explaining to different people what was going on, no one was able to help me with this situation. I finally, spoke to a supervisor, and she explained that there was nothing she could do about it. I asked her what type of customer service they have since it was a mistake from their part. She said that since there is no record about giving me 200 points, there was nothing she could do to help me. If I wanted to close my account after I pay off the balance, then I should do so. Obviously, she did not care about my satisfaction as a customer. Her only solution was for me to close my account.
Kenneth of Tacoma, WA (05/19/08)
We have Bank of America Master Charge & Visa Accounts. These are credit card accounts we've had since the 1970s - 80s. Both accounts are in identical names and billed to same address. We make a payment each month at the University Place Branch of Bank of America with one check that includes the amount due for both. The payment due dates over long periods have been similar dates.
Occassionally recently due dates for the 2 accounts have not been consistent - for no known reason sometimes been changed so they're not on the similar dates. If not carefully watched payment at earlier than usual due date can be a problem. On two occassions we have somehow not noticed the changed dates with result that payment posting was not on due date on our Mchrg. account only. In February of 2007 our Master Charge Account due date was for some reason set for 2/28/07 and our Visa account due date was 3/02/07. We noticed the matter ourselves and the payment was made by phone then posting on 2/29/07.
We were assured that our lifetime 3.99% rate would not be taken away for that reason. On the February billing the rate was not changed but in March unnoticed by us the rate increased to 9.9% - the highest rate on our account at that time. The increased 9.9% rate went unnoticed by us until the current 5/08 billing just received with rate just now increased on 5/06/08 billing date to 24.99%. Bank of America says notices were sent in 2007 warning of the increase - that the 9.9% rate would be increased to 24.99% in 2008. The notice also said that increases would exclude promotional rates.
We had another payment posting matter in February of 2008. Our payment due date for Master Card was 2/26 & for Visa was 3/02. The payment by one check for both accounts posted on 2/29/08. (Note MC & Visa payment due dates for months just prior and after were both on 12/01/07, both on 1/02/07, both on 2/02/08, both on 4/01/08 but in February MasterCharge was on 2/26/08 and Visa was 3/02/08. So far the increased interest charges from 3.99% to 9.9% beginning with March 2007 billing cost probably $400 in additional interest charges - the Mastercharge increase from 9.9% to 24.99% begining the May 2008 billing is about $100 per month for almost 2 months.
For the grevious error of having the mastercharge payment post on the 29th and not the 28th of February 2007 we now have added interest cost of about $600 - and much more additional cost will be added if we do not payoff the entire account right now. The changing of the payment dates arbitrarily seems in itself to be predatory - there is a very short period from receipt of the bill until payment is due - one would wonder how the dates are set and why for payment due dates.
Ricardo of Sandiego CA (05/18/08)
In November 2007 I decided that I wanted to transfer my balance on two credit cards to a Bank of America credit card that offered a 0% apr on balance transfers. Time went by and I now started paying attention to my statements because I had somehow gone over my credit limit. It turns out that when I signed up for the credit card I supposedly told the person over the phone that I wanted the Credit Protection Option. This protection plan was being billed monthly between $50.00 to $57.00 to my card. I now have defaulted by going over my credit limit and my APR has risen to 12.6. Although the amount of money at this point is not substantial I feel that I was betrayed and that Bank of America was trying to take money from me by sneaking in the credit protection plan. My credit will now suffer do to this incident as well.
The economic consequences towards me are unknown because my future credit rating influences the APR I receive currently on revolving credit as well as future credit. I may end up paying thousands more in finance charges through the course of my current and future loans.
Nic. of San Francisco CA (05/18/08)
I did (1) balance transfer and agreed to a 3% with 0% interest until 09/01/08 fee that brought my balance to $1,757.46. Then they charged me again that brought my balance to $2,223.46 so i got frustrated and contacted them and all that they have to say are: ... 04/22/2008.BALANCE TRANSFER.TRANSACTION FEE.Fee.$52.44 -- $1,757.46 ... 05/16/2008.Finance Charge.Bank Charge $55.02 -- $2,223.46 ...
Stephen Morrow said Please be advised the balance transfer of $1748 is still at the 0 percent until September 1, 2008. Our records show the terms of the balance transfer offer included a 3 percent transaction fee for each balance transfer amount processed. The minimum fee is $10 and the maximum fee is $75. We appreciate the opportunity to assist you online. Should you have any further inquiries, please e-mail us again. -- DUH! to Stephen Morrow--he can't help me obviously .
Kathryn Sinkevitch, Shelly D Marshall, and Matt Martin said To provide you with the most accurate and efficient service, we ask that you contact us... If you continue to send inappropriate messages, your account will be referred to our corporate security department for review, which could result in the closure of your account.--they're dodging the issue and threatening to make me suffer even more. . Thomas T. Brown said The $52.44 is the 3% transaction fee. It shows up twice on your statement, as a transaction fee and again under the section for finance charges. It is only added to the account balance once. We apologize for any confusion.--wrong! my balance of $2,223.46 is proved that my account was charged twice and since when did any finance charge has to show up twice as a rule?
i don't trust their business and their service is at an all time LOW.
Jeff of Phoenix AZ (05/17/08)
I am extremely unhappy. I have a bank of america platinumn credit card. Recently they changed my finance fee from 12% to 23.99%. I never received notice of this change. My balance was at $3400 which was just below my credit limit. Due to this change I had sent in my payment last month and the finance charges brought me to $6 above my credit limit. They charged me a 39 dollar over the limit fee. I have called customer service and the rep said that is basically the way it is. He rudely said maybe I should look at paying more next month or they will do it again.
If I had known they were going to double my interest rate I would never had used Bank of America. I have been with them for several years and never had any problems until now. They do not care about their customer they want to get people in let them use their credit then when they are near their limit they double the interest rate. This is predatory lending if I have ever seen it. They should not be ale to do what they have done to me and others.
My payments have jumped from $70 to over $100 dollars a month. Because they changed my rate and I did not know they have now charged me $39 for being $6 dollars over the limit.
Cassandra of San Jacinto CA (05/16/08)
I applied for the PGA Platinum Plus Visa card in 2/04. The card had a fixed interest rate of 6.9%. This card has never been paid late. The card was originally through MBNA. Bank of America took over the card and as of March 2008, raised my interest rate to 20.99%. I have perfect credit and like I said, never paid late. I no longer have a copy of the original credit agreement as it has been over 4 years, but BofA should not be able to arbitrarily raise my fixed interest rate. They claim they sent me a statement in the mail detailing changes to my account, but a fixed interest rate for life should mean fixed for life. I will not be keeping this card!
Two months interest on approximately $15,000 at 20.99% instead of 6.9%.
Bridget of New York NY (05/14/08)
I just became aware of trailing interest after paying off my credit card in full. I'm outraged at this practice which I now know to be increasingly common in the industry. Charging people interest twice is just plain wrong.
Jessica of Hebron KY (05/14/08)
My due date changes every month. My billing was completely messed up and I had late fees everywhere. When I finally called they had messed up on took off two late fees, but still charged me $39.00 late fee for the current month. When I asked if I could request the same due date every month I was rudely informed no and sorry about my luck that's just the way it is. They said it looks here like it goes between the 12th and the 15th of every month - oh wait looks like it was due on the 11th last month. How annoying - they are trying to get good customers like me with low interest rates to be late and raise our interest rates.
My husband and I are working for a non profit organization so we are desperately trying to pay off our debt. This does not help our cause and just gets a deeper and deeper into debt.
Nuruddin of Carrollton TX (05/13/08)
They gave me discount on phone but charge 3% Balance Transfer Fees after that and when I try to call them they just refuse, on my request that I dont need this amount if you charge me a fees they said sorry its already process. My complaint is not about balance transfer fees its about if representative gave me incentive on phone then bank should honor it, it just like doing fraud with someone.
It won't effect me because it was only $300 but they should learn a lesson and stop using this type of tactics to get the business I try to contact management but no response from them if management want to confirm they should check the correspondance (recorded messages) but no one bother about this.
Sheryl of 1001 Clearmont Drive AL (05/08/08)
I paid my monthly bill via phone on the 5th of the month. Today the 8th, through sheer luck, I found out Bank of America charged my checking account twice for the same payment.
Checking account was overdrawn causing a penalty fee (near future drafts may cause the same) as well as loss of interest from the monies being transferred from my savings account into my checking account to cover the overdraw.
Shalena of La Mirada CA (05/08/08)
I had a bank of america credit card. when I went back to graduate(medical) school, I was late on some payments in 2006. I called BofA and set up a special payment arrangement in which they drafted a certain amount out of my account every month. Every month since then it has been drafted. However in September of 2007 I had to call them to set up the plan again. I was told the plan was set up and the payments still continued to come out of my account every month.
Then I just recently discovered that BofA has been reporting me as late ever since September of 2007. It looks like I have not made a payment since August of 2007 eventhough they draft the money out of my account every month. I have been through both the collections department and also the customer retention department and I was told that even though the payments were made, it was that the agreement was not approved in September of 2007. I asked why I was not notified with a letter or something. I was told that they do not notify when a program is not approved.
I am a 3rd year medical student and a single mom. I cannot get the private student loans that I need to pay the rest of tuition and support myself and my child. There are no other loan options for me, I have to get a private loan, but my credit is ruined now. I may have to drop out of school when my money runs out. I already have over 260,000 in student loan debt that I will not be able to pay back if I do not obtain my MD. I have to finish school. Please help me. I cannot seem to get an address or the right department. How can I fix this?
Linda of Hampton VA (05/08/08)
I along with my other half have been loyal customers of Bank Of America for 20 years, and it that time we have had a Visa account and have always paid our bill. We were late twice but called Bank Of America and got told from them that they would work with us, then they turned around and slapped us with a $39 late fee which was credited back to us reluctantly. Then they increased our rate to about 32%. Then we began to inuire about our rate being lowered after being on time for some time on our bill and got told NO. We made a complaint to the Office Of The Comptroller of The Currency, right aftet that Sharon Tabor called us and told us that she was giving us a rate of 15.99%.
What she never told us what that for us to get this rate, she was suspending our credit card and closing our account. She did this without our knowledge or consent. We were told that if a person is late one time on their bill that the rate automatically goes up. Prior to this, my other half made a purchase for a computer, made the purchase in good faith, and Sharon Tabor stood in the way of the purchase being authorized. She made the arrogant comment that the purchase was not necessary. That if the money was for food or utility bills, that she would authorize that. Bank Of America said that they could close anyone's account at any time, for any reason, that they did not have to tell the person. Well they clearly violated their own credit card agreement.
It states in there that Bank Of America has to give a person 15 days notice before closing their account. WE were given absolutely no notice. It also says that if a person is delinquent on their account or over their limit, which we were not, that the 15 day window does not apply, but that notice still has to be given. Bank Of America had examined our account before and never took any action until we made a formal complaint to the federal authorities. WE believe this was done in retaliation for that being done. Also in examining our account so many times, it has caused my other halfs credit score to be compromised. That is not appreciated.
This action that was taken has caused us much pain and suffering and alot of unnecessary anxiety. I have had some health issues due to this. It has also recked havoc with our being able to get some bills paid on time.
Prem of Sugar Land TX (05/08/08)
Bank of America has charged my credit card for $180.12 for credit protection plan. I told them I do not want, even though they charge me. Now I am going to cancelled this plan.They told me they cancelled the plan, but I have to pay the balance including $180.12, otherwise I will be billed finance charges and late fee. My minimum balance to pay is $46.70. Why should I pay what I do not order.
Gumsun of Irvine CA (05/06/08)
I pay all my bills in the beginning of every month. Because I pay full amount around same time every month, I dont check all the detail of the statement, especially on this credit card. I seldom use this card. I use other card more. This month I noticed that BOA charged me the late fee. I am not complaining about the late fee. There is a reason my late payment. I checked the due date was 5/3. The due date is around the 8th of every month. I checked the previous due date online.
I dont know why BOA keeps on changing the due date. I found out that I got charged another late fee on Feb, too. If I had balance on other months, I would have paid more late fees. All my other credit cards dont change due dates like this. They only change 1 or 2 days if they change. I dont think it's fair to change the due dates like this. All I can think is that this is a BOA trick to charge the late fee to its customers. Thank you for reading!
Diane of Haines City FL (05/05/08)
I have five BOA credit cards, some of which were acquired prior to Barnett Bank and Nations Bank buyouts. A couple were formally MBNA. BOA had extended credit limits on all five totaling close to 85,000 due to the fact that I have always had an excellent credit rating. My husband has been out of work 14 months due to a cancer diagnosis in March 2007 followed by a heart attack May 2007. With no insurance, medical bills have mounted along with the cost of medications needed on a monthly basis. He is currently under a second appeal for SS disability and is still awaiting a hearing.
Meanwhile, the household bills still have to be paid and accessing credit cards has been our only means. I still have kept current on payments (late a couple of time to BOA) but with a phone call and explaining the situation, most of the time the late fee has been waived and the current intro APRs reinstated until now. I currently owe BOA approx 57,000 out of the 85,000 credit limit extended to me, but recently received a letter on each account that the credit limits have now been reduced to a couple hundred over the balance and the interest rates have climbed from an average of 7.99 to anywhere from 15.49 to 24.99 making the minimum payment in most cases more than double. I have a great deal of home equity, but with debt to income ratio, I can't even access it to pay off these credit cards. I am literally approaching financial ruin, but it wasn't because of lack of responsibility, but due to medical health issues that a growing number of middle class Americans are facing with the increasing cost of health care.
When a bank lowers your credit limit to nearly what the balance is, doesn't it drastically effect your FICO score? Also, I have Chase, Citi, Discover will they follow suit if BOA has thrown up a red flag? I have spoken to a debt consolidation company but they advised me that they have to include all unsecured debt and I don't want to involve the other banks that have treated me fairly, which includes offers in the past year of 3.99 and 4.99 for the life of the loan. I also have a 1.99 for the life of the loan. These are ones I have accessed to pay off automobiles, boat, etc.
Kartiq of Charlotte NC (05/05/08)
I had a BOA Checking, Savings and a couple of BOA credit cards. I had a credit of $2.47 in one of the credit cards and by mistake I made a online payment of $2.47 from my BOA checking account. About this time I closed my checking/savings account and transferred all my money to a BOA Online Savings account assuming that all pending bill pays will be taken care off.
Now I see that BOA has charged me $39 as return check fee for a check returned from their own bank for money I never really owed them. I feel cheated and the bank has robbed me. I dont want my money back but I want the world to know the ethics of this organization.
$39 lost
Jennifer of Saint Peters MO (05/03/08)
I mistakenly signed up for a Bank of America credit card and was told after the introductory period I would have a fixed rate of 9.99%. Over the years, the APR kept increasing even though I paid on time every month. I decided to pay off the balance in full and called to cancel the account. I was told the account was closed over the phone. Three months later I receive an email showing I have an account balance. I called again to have the account closed. They stated the account was closed but at the end of the month after paying and closing the account, a finance charge was added.
How can they charge interest on a zero balance? They have been charging late fees and finance charges for the last three months and I didn't know about it. I hadn't received anything in the mail or through email until 3 months later showing I have a balance. They were only willing to remove 1 month of charges. I haven't checked my credit report yet. It probably shows a late pay even though I haven't had any late payments with any company in over 7 years.
Angela of Stow OH (05/02/08)
I received my BOA statement and couldn't believe that my interest rate went up to 25.75%, which means my payment went up $50. I now have a credit card bill every month for $150 that I cannot manage. I need any advice as to what to do about this interest hike for no apparenr reason. I sent a letter months ago refusing the interest hike and they still did it. BOA has become my worst nightmare.
I have worked so hard to get good credit to be able to buy a house and now I am consumed by BOA. They are my worst nightmare because they have made it unmanageable for me and I am sure for many others who are struggling to support their families at this difficult time in the economy.
Beverly of Tucson AZ (04/30/08)
My MBNA Investors credit card, which I have had in excellent standing for over 15years, was apparently purchased by Bank of America in Jan 2007. During the purchase/transition, Bank of America was able to maintain the balance and interest rate; but, the automatic payments (more than double the min amount due) that I had set up, and had been occurring correctly under MBNA, did not transfer and continue under Bank of America. Since the only activity on my credit card was the paying down of a balance at 2.9% until paid in full, I did not routinely review my monthly statements.
Around Mar 2007, I received a call from BofA regarding my past due credit card account. Having explained the situation I was advised that I had to open a new user name linked to the BofA card services site, and re-setup the automatic pmt. Setup attempt failed, spoke to BofA rep who tried to help me; then, the rep transferred me to Tech Support who walked me through setting up my new ID and recurring pmt. Unbelievably, it still did not process my payment. Now, late again, the rep connected me to Tech Support, again, and this time, they said that I could not setup an automatic payment with my type of account (Business & Personal now both with BofA). That's when I requested a supervisor of Tech Support. Obviously, still not the solution. He had me setup 2 different ID's; and, on one of the ID's I could view either account; but, I could only generate payments by logging into that 2nd ID.
Once again, we setup the payments together to insure that this rediculous situation be cleared once and for all. After all of these failed attempts, they had raised my interest rate to 30%, charged many late payment fees; and, then to top it off, when I tried to call back the same rep I had been speaking to on 3 separate occasions, he was in a meeting, he was not in at the moment, I left messages that were never acknowledged or returned, finally, I was told that he was not at the number I was calling. Strangely enough, even with a first and last name, an extension number, and the city he was working from, no one could track him down...we don't have a company directory available.
After 8 months of this passed, I finally spoke to someone and their supervisor who said that in order to fix things, I needed to set up a payment plan. Since I had maintained making the payments for the 8 months that had passed, they gave me a set interest rate until paid in full, no more late fees, no collection calls, and no negative remarks on my credit report; and, I would continue making payments for the same amount I had been making. so far, so good even though I don't feel that they have fairly compensated me for all of the hassle and the extra amounts that were added to my debt with them.
As a result of their oversight and continued errors in correcting it, my impeccable credit score has suffered severely, other long standing credit cards have significantly reduced my credit limits, while raising my interest rates. I lost so much time from work, jeopardized my business, and negatively affected my credit score.
Randy of Columbia SC (04/29/08)
Credit card payment due 4-13-08 Sunday paid at bank branch 4-12-08 Saturday. They credited it 4-14-08 Monday and charged me a late fee.
$39.00 and an excuse to raise my rates.
Bruce of Plaistow NH (04/28/08)
They increased my BOA spending limit from 8000 to 18000 and on the other hand increased my rate from 11% to 24%.
Helen of Salem OR (04/26/08)
I called B of A to ask about interests rates on credit card ballance transfers. I said I was considering a transfer from Kay Jewlers, after the lady from B of A talked to me I told her I was not interested that the rate would be to high and that I was not going to do it after all. I kept paying kay jewlers for the next two months a payment of 435.00 then I get a letter from B of A stating that the balance transfer is almost complete. I call and say I did not authorize this. they tell me there is nothing they can do. I have to contact Kay Jewlers and have them send back the money. I call Kay Jewlers they tell me they cannot send back the money now that they received it. I asked about my two payments they said that yes you have a credit of 880.00 we can send that to you in 14 days.
I call back B of A again to say that Kay Jewlers won't send back the money. I again state that I did not authorize then to transfer any money. The person Adam says did she read you your rights from the agreement. I said yes, but after hearing it I said I was not interested and canceled. They said there was nothing I could do. My first payment was due june 1st.
Even though the loan is at 1 percent till januanry 2009. there were hidden transfer fees and interest payments. Also a risk of being late would sore the interest payment over 23 percent. The laon I had was interest free for a year unless late and would have been paid off sooner.
Susan of San Diego CA (04/24/08)
Bank of America sent me a credit card offering a promotional rate of 2.99% for any balance transfers. Like an idiot I decided to take advantage of the offer. After transferring about $12,000 over to the account I never received a bill. I called the credit department to inquire and they told me I was already late and as a penalty my interest rate has now been increased to over 14%. I expressed my disappointment as I was wondering why I never received a statement.
I thought how convenient for them that I never received a bill and now they can increase my rate. The rep was very nice and told me that she was going to reinstate my promotional rate and deduct the late charges. I called back a few weeks later after receiving a statement that said I was paying the 14%. The costumer service rep told me that yes your promo rate has been reinstated but your bill may not reflect until next month. A few months went by and still again I was paying over 14% according to the statements. I called again and this time the rep said no we were never able to reinstate the promo rate. She had no explanation as to why two other reps had told me otherwise.
If I had been told the truth the very first time I called and wasn't mislead, I would have paid off the card or looked at other options to save money on the interest rate. Meanwhile, I paid over hundreds and hundreds of dollars in interest rates because they flat out lied to me, TWICE.
Reynaldo of Bronx NY (04/23/08)
In July of 2007 My family and I were away on a cruise vacation. After I came home I recieved my statement from the bank stating money that had been transfered out of my credit card account, which I never authorized. The amount was $28,400 transfered to my brother's Bank of America account which was never authorized. MY brother was calling Customer Service to activate a pre-paid $500 credit card,
The customer service rep. that he spoke with told him that he had a creditline that could be transfered to his account she made the mistake of taking the money from my account to put it into my brother's account when he never had any credit. He was denied a $10,000 loan that he applied for due to lack of credit. The customer Service Assistant was the one who made the mistake, one by transfering my money into his account, 2 by not verifying my personal information, and 3 the money was deposited into a BAnk of america account which I don't have one.
The bank is trying to make me responsible for thier mistake, therefore trying to affect my credit. They want me to pay them the money when I never authorized the transaction in the first place.
Lewis of Colonial Heights VA (04/23/08)
My wife has a secured Credit Card thru Bank of America. She recently decided to pay off the card and close the account. On April 11th, she went to the local branch of Bank of America and asked for payoff information. She received a print-out from the bank and paid the total amount. She then requested that they close the account and return the amount she was using to secure the card. At that time, she was told it could take up to a year to receive that back because they don't know what charges may be pending on the card. I'm not sure why it would take a year to figure this out.
Anyway, just yesterday, she received another statement from Bank of America for that Credit Card claiming she owed $35.00 for an over the limit fee. She contacted Bank of America and spoke to Joyce. She explained she had been to the bank on the 11th and paid off the card and didn't understand what the $35.00 fee was. She was informed that the $35.00 was an over the limit fee - it had been posted on April 10th but didn't show up until April 21st. My wife attempted to explain to this nice customer service person that she had gotten payoff information directly from the bank and was never informed of that fee. She was told it often takes days for these charges to show up on the bill.
Her newest statement indeed shows the charge posting on April 10th and I am at a loss why in this day and age of computers, she wasn't informed of it when she received payoff information on the 11th. She was told if she did not pay the $35.00 they would not return the amount she was using to secure the card and it would go on her credit report. Now I know why Bank of America has so much money - they would make her forfeit her $300.00 for a $35.00 charge. This isn't the first issue she has had with this Bank. When she deposited a certified check one time, they held the check for I believe 24 hours. Her account was not negative but they still held the check. This kind of defeats the purpose of a certified check.
She was told if she did not pay the $35.00 charge, she would forfeit her $300.00 fee she was using to secure the card plus be reported to the credit companies.
Eli of Cupertino, CA (04/16/08)
I had a bank of America Visa since 2004 but never used it. they called and offer me 0% on balance transfer for 1 year. I took the offer and they trasfer the money to my account.
I was waiting to receive a statement from them how much I have to pay and when but never got one. After two month some one from the credit card dept. called me and say that I never pay my monthly payment. I told him that I never got a statement, and I didn't understand that I need to pay.
I went to bank of America and made a payment. I also asked the maneger to call the credit card dept. and tell them to wave the late charges. He did it and they agree. I told them to send me the statements. I never received the statemnts. I called them and told them to fax me the stsements. They fax it and after receiving them I got shocked the interest rate was 31.4% insted of 0%.
Thomas of Hampton VA (04/14/08)
I have had this account open and crrent since it's inception in 2001. I have had a couple of late payments, but they are rare, never more than a few days late, and I always notified the bank. At these times I was assured there was no problem, they would work with me, and even remove the automatically assigned late charges. Which they did. I was not however given information as to why they'd be happy to work with me. I find (now) that even one late payment allows them to jack up the APR. So, there's a real conflict of interest there. So, I inquired with the bank as to why my APR had risen so dramatically. And was told about the late charges the were gonna work with me. More like work me over with. I was informed that they were not willing to lower the rate at that time. At that time I had about $14,000 of a $22,000 limit used.
Several times during the life of this account the bank, without an request by me, raised my credit limit. I guess they wanted to make the most of the new higher APR. At this, I went to the federal government's Office of the Controller of the Currency. I was told this agency oversees the banks. Shortly after I filed my complaint, I got a call from Bank of America. As a result of the complaint, they were gonna re-revue my account. And this time, they certainly didn't lower any rates. They informed me that my debt to income ratio was incorrect and they had to adjust our account. That translated into bringing the limit down to just above the balance. Additionally they suspended the account until you bring the balance down by a few thousand dollars. And if that wasn't enough they refused payment on a computer I had ordered despite the fact that the order was placed before any of these actions took place.
To allow this purchase to go through would've put me $300 above their newly assigned limit. And since they didn't judge a computer as a necessity, they would not let it go through. I was told if it had been to pay a utiliy bill, or some groceries they may have been able to approve that. So, thinking I had a least the small amount left below my limit to utilize, I tried to use the card, and discovered it had been closed. I strongly support legislative action, on the federal level (have you noticed all these companies base themselves in Deleware?) to stop these rediculously one sided credit card contracts. I can't imagine any other sort of contract that is so slanted in favor of one side.
Bank Of America has caused me a delay in getting a needed computer. They have made my monthly bill skyrocked with there raising of the APR. And to add insult to injury, they closed the account.
Sandra of Wheat Ridge CO (04/11/08)
BOA for no reason almost doubled my interest rate to 27.5%. I have good credit. I tried to phone them and was on hold for over an hour. I never was able to reach anyone. The only time I hear from BOA is when they call to sign me up for their service plans, and usually it is someone I can't understand because they are calling from India.
Kara of Kalispell MT (04/10/08)
I called to dipute a charge on my credit card. The charge is for $4,980.82. Which I had aquired after being sick for 25 hours at a Mexican hospital in Cabo San Lucas where I was taken advantage of. I should have never been charged in the first place due to the fact that Mexico is a socialist government. I called my card company which is Bank of America/Alaskan Airlines/Visa they gave me the run around and told me that they could not dispute the charges.
However my sister was with me in Mexico and suffer from the same illness and same fraudulent charges. American Express did not give her the run around and all took the time to investigate the charges and found that she should not have been charged for her stay in the hospital.
Not only Iam I still sick from my bacteria infection I received in Mexico but I know have a maxed out credit card on a high intrest rate of which I'll never be able to pay off.
Joel of Rego Park NY (04/09/08)
Bank Of America just raised my interest rate from 15.9 to 26.99% for no reason. I have been paying my credit card on time and I have never been late with a payment and never missed a payment. I think this is disgusting that at a time when so many things are going up in price that BOA does this for a good paying customer. Can you please do something about this BOA is going to force hard working honest people into bankruptcy.
they are making very hard to pay my rent buy food
and take care of my sick mother. if they continue to raise their rates for no reason they will people into bankruptcy
Peter of San Francisco CA (04/08/08)
Enclosed in my monthly credit card bill is a scratch-off game that states when I play it and see $10.00 credit in all three windows of the game I get a $10 credit in my account. However in the small print on the back it states I will be charged $119.99 if I accept the $10 prize. I am frankly outraged that BofA would stoop to this scam to make money. I can imagine so many people playing this game and not reading the fine print as indeed I almost did myself. Can we stop them from doing this sort of unhanded thing?
Joan of West Plains MO (04/08/08)
I have a credit card with B of A and have extremely good credit with them. My credit limit is $20,500. I owe 2,183.57 and have been paying about $150 a month. The min. pay is $49.00. I need to mention that there are two balances one for ATM/bank and one for purchases. Well I started wondering if both balances were going down equally so I got out my last 3 statements and to my surprise the ATM/Bank balance has been going up.
I would like to know how they can do this. I don't use the credit card, don't have a checking account, don't use the ATM, pay on time. I think they are doing some creative financing here and I'm really upset. I pay finance charges every month, they can't add any more onto a balance. And the one with the higher interest rate to boot. When this is payed off I'm through with them. I hope you can HELP!
they are taking extra money from me.
Frank of Magnolia MA (04/08/08)
This web site is full of stories about Bank of Americas practice of raising interest rates without cause. I have four B of A credit cards (due to Fleet and MBNA). The rates had been at a reasonable level but they have now all crept up between 18 and 26 %. The credit card that went from 16% to 26% last month I have had for 20 years. I have an excellent credit score, always make twice the minimum payment and have never been late with a payment. When I called to inquire about the rate increase, I was basically told that not only was that card raised to 26%, but my other cards would follow.
I carry a substantial credit card debt, but will now make every effort to transfer these balances and close all four of these accounts. My home mortgage is with Countrywide but with Bank of America plan to buy them, I plan on refinancing with someone else as quickly as possible. If congress wants to help the financial crisis we are in, they should consider better regulation of credit card interest rates. Personally, with these high rates, if I dont have the cash, I will do without.
Not just to me but to all the consumers who now have much less cash to help the economy grow. With the congress trying to stimulate our economy, Bank of America is hindering that growth with there increasing rates without cause. Their actions may be legal, but they are not moral.
Matthew of Omaha, NE (03/27/08)
My parents opened a credit card account with Bank of America back in 1998. I was likely put on as a secondary user as I was in college. My parents debt and account was discharged in December 2007 based on their Federal filing. Now, BOA is coming after me for the full debt even though this is not my account.
I have tried to resolve this, but BOA is impossible to work with. BOA uses bullying tactics and continuously threatens ruining me. BOA has sunk to the point of leaving messages with third parties about my declining credit, even though they know how to contact me. BOA is now threatening to write this off as bad debt and ruin my credit for seven to ten years. Also, BOA is indicating it will send it to collections.
Veronica of Roy WA (03/25/08)
I called BOA in January to see what kind of interest rate they could give me for a balance transfer from another higher rate credit card I had. The person I spoke with at BOA said they could offer me 0% through the month of November. I was happy with that and accepted it and they paid off my balance from the other card. WELL, when I received my bill, I was charged 15.99 percent. When I called BOA I was transfered several times and finally spoke with someone who told me that there was never such an offer made and they couldn't change it, I was told I had to pay the 15.99, even though 0 percent was offered to me! OUTRAGED, I told the representative that I DEMAND that this matter be resolved. After over an hour on the phone, she finally told me that someone, a supervisor, would listened to the recording that took place between me and the representative that made the original offer of 0% to me. OH, MY! A recording they have on file of the original offer! Well, the issue should be cleared up, but I will have to wait 2-3 weeks for a letter that will tell me if they've decided to adjust my interest rate back to 0. We'll see.
Helen of Pocatello ID (03/24/08)
We had a Bank of America Credit Card. Approximately 2 years ago, Bank of America merged with another bank. We were notified that we would receive a new credit card with a new number, which we did. Last year, one year after the credit card number was changed we were billed for some wine, which we did not order, and were charged on our old credit card number and Bank of America honored a credit card that was supposedly no longer in existence. We were billed over $300. We called the wine company and they agreed, we had not ordered the wine, however, Bank of America would not remove this charge from our credit card.
We were charged for something we did not order .
Randy of Tyler TX (03/24/08)
For at least 4 years, I've gotten a statement from BOA, even though I tell them to cancel this unsolicited account. My account magically re-appears with late fees on top of their yearly membership fee. I opened a statement from them today to find that my account is 2 months pass due....pass due on their fee. I'm spittin' nails !!!
Tennille of Moncks Corner SC (03/21/08)
I have been disputing charges on my BOA account since Nov 2006. I was locked up from Oct. 11, 2006 to November 15, 2006. Before this happened, I already filed a dispute with the bank regarding charges on the acct. October 10, I deposited money into my account to bring my account at a positive balance and to pay my electricity bill, which still left me with a positive balance. When I returned home, I got a letter from BOA stating that my account was closed due to an overdraft. Immediately, I called the customer service department, and they told me there was nothing they could do since the account was closed--and I would need to go to once of the branches. I went to several branches who told me the same thing. I even called the fraud department and the recovery department for BOA who told me that I would have to send proof stating where I was at the time of the charges.
In Jan. 2007, I also found out about another account that I had back in 2003 which was closed out due to fraudulent actions taken on my account--which they are saying now that I still owe. For this account for 2003 three copies of the police report was faxed; however, they LOST my police report, and the department only keeps records for 2 years. I was then told by a branch manager that BOA policy's is that the consumer cannot open another account with the bank if there is another account that is charged off. If that was the case, then why were these accounts in 2006 kept open. Due to these accounts being open, I was led to believe that the previous account was taken care of. However, I sent the first letter off in June 2007 for the Charleston Detention Center. I keep calling and calling and still have not heard anything.
Now it March 2008, and I got another letter from the detention center and gave it to the branch manager at BOA on Ashley Phosphate Rd. They told me that there was nothing that could be done regarding it, and that I would have to hire an attorney to get everything straightened out.
Every time I deal with this bank regarding the same thing, I get chest pains like I am having a heart attack along with a migraine headache that stops after about 2 weeks.
Karl of Ocala FL (03/21/08)
Bank of America is stealing money from their customers. Basically what happens is they take the money out of your account for purchases made with a debit, they hold it in pending for 3 or 4 days, and then if you go over at all (even a dollar), they recalculate all pending charges plus the one that you're over--and charge you the overdraft fee on all of them. So in the end, instead of paying one fee of $35.00, you pay $35.00 on all the charges pending. It can add up to hundreds of dollars by the end of the day.
This is a crime. This is stealing from the customer. There should be some kind of regulations on these kinds of transactions to protect the customers. If you look on the internet there are thousands of complaints regarding this matter. Bank of America just took the food out of my son's mouth for a week. Times are tough, and money is tight. I know there are fees associated with a overdraft; and if you make a mistake, charge me--but this is out of control. One fee would have been fine; I made an honest mistake, but they charged me FOUR $35.00 fees. Thank you.
There can be hundreds of dollars in overdraft fees for one item.
Marvin of Santa Fe NM (03/17/08)
I have had a Bank of America credit card for 3 years. I have paid faithfully yet my interest remains at 22.49%. I called to get it lowered and after 2 hang ups and 45 minutes on the phone with several reps, I was told that all they could do was to consolidate all my debt and charge me over 17%. My other debt is at an average of 8%. That is all they would offer.
David of Ripley WV (03/16/08)
My billing dates vary from the 7th to the 18th of different months. They caught me when they first took over the credit card company that I was doing business with, but I watch them very closely now.
I had to pay a late fee.
Charles of Chandlerr AZ (03/16/08)
The due date was changed and my interest rate went up to 24%. I've had my share of companies that do this to you. They won't reverse the late fees or over the limit fees even though it's their fault you went over.
I've had to pay overdraft fees, late payment fees, causing some financial hardship. Plus, even though I closed an account, I was told I still have to pay the annual fee. That's not right.
Ryan of Mooresville NC (03/11/08)
As of March 3, 2008, Bank Of America charges overdraft fees for pending transactions that put your account in the negative, whether they ever go through. I just got hit with a bunch of them. One is a transaction that shouldn't have been charged and is being canceled. Another is a bar tab that they put a hold on the card to run a tab, and then I paid with cash. Of course they say all the banks do it. I really wonder about the legality of this practice..
Stephanie of Brick NJ (03/09/08)
I have a credit card that was originally with MBNA and was taken over by Bank of America. I was set up on a payment plan: $300 a month taken directly out of my B of A checking account every month, paying it all over in a few years. They have been taking the money out every month. I applied for a mortgage with B of A and was turned down, that my credit score was too low. I always had good credit. I went to look at my score, and it had dropped significantly. Why? I was listed as 180 days late for my credit card payment for B of A, owing an enormous minimum payment. I pulled up my checking account; yup, they were still taking the money out every month. I called customer service and was told I was stupid with money. They claimed I was not on a payment plan, yet they couldn't explain why they were taking money automatically out of my account. I am still fighting with them. They refuse to take off the late fees or write to the credit bureaus. To top it all off, they called at one in the morning and talked to my roommate who they proceeded to tell all my credit history too, without finding out if they were indeed talking to me.
As soon as I can get rid of this credit card I will and I will never use B of A again. I cannot currently get a decent mortgage. My fiancee and I are getting married in 4 months, and we cannot buy the house that we want. They really have ruined my otherwise perfect credit.
Heather of San Francisco, CA (03/07/08)
I am a BofA checking account customer, but also have a promotional rate on a BofA visa card where I recently transferred most of my debt. I made two online payments in the amount of $250 each to this BofA credit card: one on 2/29 and another on 3/3. Payment was due on 3/3.
Normally BofA posts payments to its own accounts on the same day that the online payment is made (and their online deliver by date assured me that it would), but my 2/29 payment did not post until 3/4, one day after the due date. In my opinion BofA delayed the payment in order to assess late fees and jack up the interest on my promotional rate.
To test my theory, I submitted one more payment on 3/6 in the amount of $1, and sure enough it posted on the same day. In fact, that $1 payment has posted, but my second payment of $250 (made two days prior) has yet to post.
I now have an unjustified interest rate hike on a promotional card that amounts to hundreds of dollars in interest charges each month.
Jesus of El Paso TX (03/05/08)
I conciliated the credit card debt into the 0% interest for ten months. I set up AUTO PAY to pay above the minimum so I would have to worry about it. Three months passed, and I open a statement; it showed late payments for every month. I called BoA and they stated I set up AUTO Payment incorrectly. The interest jumped to 24%. They would have to review the account for 6 months to consider reducing.
Charles of Whitesboro NY (02/29/08)
I have been paying for credit card protection for my Bank of American American Express card for years. This, of course, is to cover your minimum monthly payments if you become unemployed, disabled, hospitalized, etc. I have been unemployed since December. The credit card protection program sent me paperwork so they could pay my monthly bill while I was unemployed. I sent in all the paperwork through mail and fax. This process took months, and while I was waiting for approval I still had to keep up my payments. It is now February and was told they had everything needed to credit my account $1800 which is the amount I have had to pay while waiting to get approved.
I was told now today (2/29/2008) that I do not qualify for any reimbursement. So I have paid hundreds of dollars to have this protection plan, and they gladly took my money every month for a service that apparently they do not supply. They have not heard the last of me. DO NOT APPLY FOR THE CREDIT PROTECTION. You will ultimately be paying for a service that they do not honor.
Being on unemployment and having other bills to pay, this has drastically made a big financial burden on me not to mention marital problems. I was told 3 months ago that this will be covered. Boy, was I fooled.
Erin of South San Francisco CA (02/29/08)
I informed B of A of my company downsizing and outsourcing my department to India. In turn, my hours will be reduced from 40 hrs a week to 28 hrs. I have never been late once, pay early using the B of A web site and have never asked for an increase in my credit limit for a credit card I have had since 2001. I requested that my interest limit be reduced to the same interest rate I have been receiving in the mail and online as well as on the B of A web site to something lower than my current 24.75%. (By the way, even through the sub prime and prime rates have decreased, B of A has not reduced their interest rates to date.) I was given a short financial analysis with the credit specialist, and I was asked how I was planning to make this payment. I explained if the 25% interest was removed for a 12 month period, I can still make the principle. Direct Merchant and Chase both agreed and have been paid in full. The B of A rep stated that he was not going to make any changes and that filing a debit consolidation and or chapter 11 filing would be my best choice.
I had a bank representative suggest to me to file a bankruptcy as opposed to their getting paid the principle of my credit card. I could not believe what I was hearing. I called back a few days later, and I received the same information from another rep.
This has placed a great financial burden on me and my family - but I refuse to be late and or file a bankruptcy to destroy my credit rating. I have had to take 2 part-time jobs - taking me away from my family. But at least I have a life without the stress and the repercussions of having a Bank of America rep call me or send me to collections.
Elizabeth of Sausalito CA (02/19/08)
I received in the mail today (2/19/08) from Bank of America, a welcome package for the Credit Protection Plus Program linked to my Bank of America credit card. I never requested to be part of such a program, and after seeing that I would be charged monthly, 95 cents per $100 of my balance, I definitely wanted to end participation in this program and figure out why I had been automatically signed up for such a program without my consent. I called the program phone line: 1.888.668.6938. A representative told me that on 2/11/08, I had spoken to a representative about the program and opted into the program, thus I was receiving the welcome package and monthly charges would start soon. On 2/11/08, I did in fact call Bank of America credit card in order to change the last name on my account and receive a new replacement card, as I had recently gotten married and my last name had legally changed. NEVER in that conversation did I say I wanted to be part of the Credit Protection Plus program, nor do I even recall the representative telling me anything about the program.
I have been a loyal BOA customer in good standing for over 10 years and this blows my mind that Bank of America might be scamming customers who don't monitor their BOA mail closely, much less their monthly statements (I, myself am set up on automatic e-bill payment and rarely receive BOA correspondence in traditional mail.) Either the representative who assisted me on 2/11/08 with my name change inadvertently, or purposefully, selected my account to receive this plan, or Bank of America is automatically enrolling many BOA credit card customers without their consent (either because they request a replacement card or other factors) is corporately abhorrent and irresponsible.
Had I not caught this early and canceled the program I was signed up for without my consent, I would have been charged $80 monthly on my credit card bill. I caught this early, so I was not charged anything.
Greg of Aurora CO (02/17/08)
At roughly the same time, I opened a Bank of America credit card and a MBNA credit card with the same available credit limit. Long story short: after many increases in APR and fees, my Bank of America card has a $5,000 less balance than my MBNA card. I feel I am being rate gouged and taken advantage of. Is there anything I can do to go after these pigs?
The loss is that my balance never goes down on the MBNA card. I started with a $17k balance and now it still has a balance of $16k. HELP.
Dale of Minneapolis MN (02/17/08)
This is a follow-up to my previously posted complaint on Bank Of America (then, MBNA America). I had complained about high interest rates on an unsecured re-accessible installment loan. Regardless of the fact that my credit score has since reached well over the 700 mark, BOA still refuses to budge on my 27.98 % interest rate assigned to this account. This is 1/100th of a percent under their DEFAULT RATE. Also, since my complaint was posted on your website, I have lost the re-accessible portion of this loan agreement, and my credit line has been DECREASED to an amount just over my current balance. BOA will NOT allow me to take additional credit from this account which I feel defeats the purpose of having this revolving re-accessible line of credit.
I feel BOA does monitor your website, and is fully aware that my complaint went national, and that I am being charged the high rate as a penalty for the previous complaint. Please post this complaint so other people are aware of the sneaky tactics that BOA took with the MBNA merger.
Joby of Napa CA (02/16/08)
I feel I was charged an unfair amount of overdraft fees. I understanding the bank allowing a few transactions to post and clear with overdraft fees attached if funds were not available in the account; but in our case, they allowed 13 of them to post and clear, each with a $35 fee attached. I take the blame of not being on top of my finances, but according to Amy Borah, the supervisor I spoke with, there is no limit to these fees except that they can charge up to 5 a day for 120 days. In our case with most of these 13 overdraft charges, the original charge was very minimal, actually 10 of them were less than the fee itself. In conversation with Amy Borah, she could not answer my specific questions of how many charges that BofA would have allowed us to be charged before our debit card was declined at the merchant. Instead she repeatedly accused me of my lack of responsibility with my own account balance (which I accept) and hung up the phone before I was done talking.
I feel my wife and I were robbed, I feel my questions are unanswered, and I feel extremely betrayed by the banking institution that we trust our money with. My complaint is that Bank of America is not more responsible with my money by not allowing me to spend money that is not in my account. Again, I understand one or two charges allowed to clear with an overdraft fee, but 13 of them at $35 each I do not. Why is my debit card allowed to clear a $4.62 charge from Starbucks when my account is already -$417.88, four days since my account began to be charged overdraft fees?
I have 13 overdraft fees adding up to $455. I spent one hour on the phone with the bank, 45 minutes of that spent on hold, ending by being hung up on by a supervisor, leaving me more frustrated and bewildered than before the call--with the only way to get back in hold of the bank being a 45 minute wait time.
Jackie of Clearwater FL (02/15/08)
I used the checks I was sent by the company to transfer balances to them at a special rate. The rate was originally below 10%, but it has quickly increased to 24% and is creeping higher. I have never missed a payment nor been late to pay. I have always paid more than the monthly requirement. I have not been given a valid reason for the rate increase. The interest rate is being increased so quickly that the balance has increased also. My balance includes two categories. One is at 8.9% for the life of the loan and the other which was only a little higher continues to increase.
My entire payment goes to the lower interest balance, and the balance with the highest rate does not receive any of the funds. The balance with the higher interest rate keeps growing in proportion to the interest rate increases. My balance is now over a thousand dollars more than a year ago. I feel that these practices are unethical even if they are not illegal. If I ever get out of the grip of this organization, I will never deal with them again.
Sherry of Ocala FL (02/15/08)
In January 2008 I received a looks like junk mail letter from Bank Of America informing my APR was being raised from 8.9% to 22.99% unless I opt out by Feb. 29, 2008, in writing. I have sent opt out letters by regular mail and certified mail and will send more until the final date. I DO NOT trust them. I still do not believe BOA will hold my APR at 8.9% because of my experience previously.
My husband passed away in 2003, and I had two BOA visa cards at the time. I no longer needed two cards so I had the one my husband used closed down (@ 7.9% APR). BOA informed me that that account would stay at 7.9% for the duration of that bill owed (fixed). I was paying monthly payments on time and double the minimum to pay it off. Sometime in 2007 my rate went up to 14.99% with no warning. Now I had double the minimum. I always paid on time (no late charges). When I called BOA asking about why and how could they raise the APR on a closed fixed rate account, the person answered because we can. I couldn't believe the arrogance. She also said that I had been sent a letter to inform me of the raise and a chance to opt out by a certain date or close the account and keep the 7.9%. I never received that letter. The Account was already closed. After that conversation, I proceeded to moved part of the bill to a 0% interest account to help out.
What I'm afraid of is after I OPT OUT of my other account, what is to stop BOA from raising the rate anyway like they did last year? What if my other charge accounts follow through and raise there rates in a domino effect? Congress should investigate. I know there is no way I can ever pay off this account at 22.9%.
William of Rialto CA (02/15/08)
I have been a DirectTV customer for many years. I was out of town unexpected for a death in the family. When I returned my DirecTV was turned off due to non payment. Since my service was turned off, I wanted a partial credit on my account. Since I had NFL ticket, they charged me the full amount, then turned off my service. I was told that no credit could be issued to my account, and the full amount was due. I refused to pay the full amount due since I had not gotten the service. DirectTV charged my debit card for the full amount without my authorization. I called DirecTV to dispute the transaction, however they stated that was their new policy. I tried to file a dispute with my bank Bank Of America; however my bank indicated that since I have paid DirecTV previously with my debit card they have authorization to charge my debit card. DirecTV charged my card without my authorization for services I did not receive.
Bank of America knowingly let a fraudulent charge go though on my account. Bank of America refused to refund the fraudulent charges.
Danielle of Tracy CA (02/15/08)
Increase from 0.0% to 27.99% interest rate. BofA acknowledges I have good credit, have paid on time, etc. I am a nursing student graduating in May, so will have great increase in salary at that time. My husband and I have other BofA accounts, including a home equity line of credit with them.
I have lost time and energy to deal with changing auto payments and financial stress. I feel as if they are taking advantage of a population that may be unable to navigate terminating the account.
Holley of San Antonio TX (02/15/08)
Bank of America is ripping off America! They have been systematically, according to their own customer service reps, sending out notices of interest rate hikes since last year. Like most everyone else, my interest rate shot up from 15% to 23.99%. Also like most everyone else, I had never m |
