Consumer complaint received 2023-07-06
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Getting a credit card
Sub-issue: Card opened as result of identity theft or fraud

Complaint:
I have been recovering from a serious financial hit that put me deep into debt in early XX/XX/XXXX. Recently I reached the point where all my debt was consolidated onto a single XXXX XXXX. I wanted to transfer my debt to a credit card with a low introductory interest rate so that I could pay off my remaining debt more quickly in a short period of time. I contacted Bank of America sometime in mid-XX/XX/XXXX to inquire about their options. They were not able to provide an exact limit or interest rate over the phone, so I waited a few days and looked into some alternatives before completing an online application a few days later. I was anticipating that I would receive the approved credit limit and estimated APR before agreeing to open the account. 

In most contexts " application '' implies a process by which you are either ( a ) declined, or ( b ) you receive an offer that you can either accept or decline. This was the process that I was expecting here. Since the card 's limit and estimated APR after the introductory period couldn't be determined without my personal information, I was counting on receiving this information to make a wise financial decision. However, Bank of America did not present me with an offer to accept/decline the card ; it simply opened the account with a limit that did not meet my needs. 

***Bank of America 's Terms & Conditions ( attached ) that I agreed to as part of the application do not state that the account will be opened immediately upon approval without further consent from the customer. *** This situation has caused significant financial loss for me in the following ways : ( 1 ) Because this card did not cover enough of the balance I intended to transfer ( roughly $ XXXX ), using it would not make an appreciable difference in how much of my monthly payments went to principle. Had I been given all the information before making the decision, I would not have agreed to open the account on the terms offered based on my credit. 
( 2 ) Since I did not get an opportunity to review the limit & APR nor to decline the offer, my only option was to close the account. Opening and closing new credit accounts in a short period further damages my credit and my ability to find a more suitable offer. Given that the excessive movement and closing accounts/loans in a short period of time ( as I paid them off ) was the reason my limit was so low despite excellent credit, opening and closing yet another credit account further harmed my borrowing power, and therefore my ability to find an alternative that better met my needs. 
( 3 ) It will take many months/years for the implications of this account to fall off my credit report, so I will be paying the consequences of this dishonest lending practice for many years. This prevents me from finding ( or even seeking ) low-interest alternatives that would save me from an estimated {$4200.00} over the next year alone. 

Bank of America will respond that by submitting the application that I agreed to open the card. However, the application 's terms contain *no* language that states that the account will be automatically opened upon approval. I'm not familiar with any other circumstance ( mortgage, auto loan, etc. ) where the buyer is not given full information about the financial instruments they're applying for before agreeing to open the account. 

It is a predatory lending practice to open cards without giving applicants an opportunity to review their individual limit, interest rates, and additional terms. It echoes aspects of the XXXX XXXX XXXX case where applicants gave their information for bona fide purposes, and fraudulent accounts were opened without the customer 's consent. While my case does not involve a fraudulent *application* like the XXXX case, I do believe that the lack of transparency or agency on the part of the customer to make a fully-informed decision, and the long-term damage is similar. 

Bank of America can review their call records to confirm that during a call from XXXX in mid-XX/XX/XXXX, I explicitly stated that I would be making my decision based on the limit and estimated APR returned after running a hard credit inquiry. I do not take issue with the credit inquiry, only the opening and closing of the account that took place afterward, and how the opening and closing in a short period of time affected my credit. 

I hope that this argument is clear, but I am happy to discuss in person if you have any questions.

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