Consumer complaint received 2023-11-25
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: PA
Product: Credit card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Problem with balance transfer

Complaint:
Dear Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, I am writing to submit a formal complaint against Bank of America regarding my experience with their Ultimate Cash Rewards credit card and the associated balance transfer process. I applied for the credit card in early XXXX, specifically attracted by the 0 % APR balance transfer offer that was being promoted at the time. 

Upon approval of my credit card application on the same day, I proceeded to initiate a balance transfer for multiple credit cards, with the transfer amount based on the balances at the time of my credit card approval. Unfortunately, during the entire submission process, I was not provided with any information regarding the timeline for the execution of the balance transfer. 

The significant issue arose when I discovered that the balance transfer would only take effect over XXXX weeks after the credit card approval. This became problematic as it resulted in a situation where credit card payments were due before the transfer occurred. Bank of America failed to communicate this critical detail during the application process, leaving consumers uninformed and vulnerable to financial repercussions. 

Bank of America 's website recommends continuing payments on existing credit card balances until the balance transfer is officially executed. Following this guidance, I diligently made payments on the specified credit cards, effectively clearing the monthly statement balances. However, over two weeks after approval and after I had already made substantial payments towards the intended transfer amount, Bank of America finally executed the balance transfer. 

This delayed execution not only caused a negative impact on my credit cards but also allowed Bank of America to impose balance transfer fees on the unnecessarily over-transferred amounts. Despite bringing this unfair situation to their attention, Bank of America remained unyielding and refused to refund the balance transfer fees for the excessive amounts or reverse the unnecessary over-transferred funds. 

I believe that Bank of America 's failure to disclose the timeframe for balance transfers, coupled with their recommendation to continue making payments on the affected credit cards, puts consumers like myself in an unfair and exploitative position. The delayed execution of the balance transfer, combined with the unnecessary over-transferred amounts, demonstrates a lack of transparency and fairness in their processes. 

I urge the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to investigate this matter thoroughly and take appropriate action to ensure that consumers are protected from such practices in the future. Bank of America should be held accountable for its lack of transparency and the resulting financial burden imposed on unsuspecting customers. 

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

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