Consumer complaint received 2022-10-06
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: MA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Credit card debt
Issue: Written notification about debt
Sub-issue: Didn't receive notice of right to dispute

Complaint:
Complaint against Bank of America in XXXX My name is XXXX XXXX XXXX and my company is XXXX XXXX XXXX. I have had both personal and business accounts with Bank of America for close to five decades. I have recently been in touch with the Federal Consumer Protection Agency to discuss an unconventional and ultimately damaging policy of my bank and they suggested that I file a formal complaint through their agency to be forwarded to Bank of America. 

This is my complaint : In early spring 2019, we were actively preparing for our upcoming summer rentals season when we received a number of communications from Bank of America or their agent that surprised us by offering to lend us substantial sums of money interest free. This was at a time when both our company and personal financial profiles were weak, and our credit scores were frankly not strong. Shortly after this, we received a similar proposal from XXXX. 

The pitch for this initiative made often by third party vendors representing Bank of America and similar from XXXX. was that by accepting the offered new funds interest and payment free for one or two years we could choose to pay off any prior obligations and also fund our upcoming ( summer ) business season without interest or current payment obligations. Of course, what went unsaid by the lending agency was that future obligations to the bank if/when due would end up being more expensive than before. However, our plan was that since we would then be in our earning season, timely payments would come from current revenue. 

For what it is worth, we make note that in these consumer loan arrangements there were no signatures, applications, negotiations, financial information, or undertakings. The lender was not even named, and there were no formal signatures. They just pumped the funds into our accounts. We gladly accepted. 

In short order we received the funds in our bank accounts and started the process of preparing for the season : advertising, making arrangements with XXXX XXXX for catalogs and bringing our guest rooms up to a high standard, and other preparations to deliver top service to our guests and to maintain our five-star rating from prior years. 

Then, shortly after that, the unexpected and unanticipated came crashing down on us. The Covid virus swept away our business and thousands like us. This shutdown from the pandemic was near total for the business sector we were in and we were driven out of business over two years with large losses. 

The nature of our business : providing summer rentals to individuals and families, was doubly shot down due to the intimate nature of having guests and hosts in the same home. What happened next was as imagined, and now after about two years, these loans are in significant arrears. As the economy moved into the grip of an extreme pandemic we lost everything in the face of widespread business failures of ourselves and others. 

We have struggled to stay up to date with the bank 's charges ( fees and exorbitant interest rates ) to our accounts, however at this time, we believe, and request, that Bank of America cancel the outstanding loans promoted to us in this scheme so that the potential for our survival is enhanced. The current obligation claimed by the unidentified lenders as of todays date is around {$16000.00}. 

Thank you for your understanding and for your help in correcting this mistake. 

XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX

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 explanation