Consumer complaint received 2023-03-05
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: WA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem when making payments
Sub-issue: You never received your bill or did not know a payment was due

Complaint:
I have several credit cards, some of which are with Bank of America. ALL of my credit cards, mortgage, utilities, subscriptions, etc. are always set up with auto pay as a safety net and to protect my credit rating. I pay extremely close attention to the charges that appear on credit cards and typically carry a {$0.00} balance. My credit card use averages 6 % and under. 

In XXXX, 2023 I received a notice from Bank of America that my payment was late. When I spoke with a representative from Bank of America, they reviewed my account and could not determine how my auto pay was removed from that account as it was still active on the other accounts. He offered to remove any late fees, of which there were none to remove. The bill was for a {$75.00} annual fee with a few dollars of interest. I had immediately paid off the balance and asked the Bank ensure this late payment is NOT reported to the credit bureaus. I was told they couldn't do that but that I should contact the bureaus and ask to have it removed if it showed up. It showed up! I filed formal requests with each credit reporting agency. Two have turned it down saying the reporting is accurate. 

Auto pay was set up in an effort to protect me and my credit in the event there is ever a time when I am unable to manage my finances. In XXXX I suffered a major XXXX due to a XXXX XXXX and under went XXXX XXXX. I was not able to manage my credit cards or bill payments but was not worried. I knew that the autopay was in effect and left me feeling confident that if a payment became due, it would be paid. I have the medical records and bills exceeding $ XXXX to prove this incident occurred. 

My question for Bank of America is how, AND WHY, did they remove my auto pay. The representative reported it as having been a computer error and verified that I had set up the autopayment feature on my account. Why wasn't the payment processed? How is this " computer error '' MY issue? Why am I suffering a drop in my credit score due to an error at this institution? Why isn't the issue reviewed and resolved by a human being rather than automated correspondence? If autopay is randomly deleted and can not be trusted, why is is an offered feature of the bank for their credit card payments? 

I want this entry removed from my payment history. I want my excellent credit score, which exceeded XXXX, to be re-established. This is a {$75.00} fee that while I understand it's part of the credit card agreement, I did not initiate the charges and due to my medical emergency was not able to monitor the activities on a card that should not have required monitoring. 

I wrote letters to the Comptroller of the Currency asking for assistance. All correspondence to Bank of America, Comptroller of the Currency and the three credit bureaus was sent Certified US Postal Service. I have contacted Bank of America by phone. I have received a confirmation email from XXXX XXXX, Senior Resolution Specialist Regulatory Complaints Bank of America, I have left several voice mail messages and responded to the email on multiple occasions but my request to speak was never returned. This issue has not been resolved to my satisfaction. I am filing this complaint to ask for a resolution or instruction for filing my request with an agency that is in the position of resolving the issue.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief