Consumer complaint received 2022-08-16
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: PA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers
Sub-issue: Confusing or misleading advertising about the credit card

Complaint:
I have been a Bank of America credit card customer for 10+ years. My credit card has been unused for the past few years ( {$0.00} balance ). After receiving innumerable marketing letters and emails, one caught my eye. The offer was to " upgrade '' my card to a new " Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card '' with a promotional interest rate of 0 % on all new purchases until XX/XX/XXXX, a rewards program offering 1.5 % cash back on all purchases, and a {$200.00} cash back bonus after making {$1000.00} in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening. 

As I had a few large purchases to make, I thought this seemed like an excellent opportunity. So, I completed my card upgrade on or around XX/XX/XXXX. The process ended with a confirmation screen informing me of the successful upgrade. My new card would arrive in the mail in a few weeks, and I was encouraged to start making purchases immediately because my account number would not change, and everything would transfer to my new card. 

I waited a few days, and on XX/XX/XXXX, I began to purchase the goods I had in mind, assuming that as I had successfully upgraded my account, I would receive the new promotional rate and the appropriate cash back bonus. Accordingly, I made XXXX purchases on XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX totaling {$5000.00} that first billing cycle. 

When I reviewed my account statement on XX/XX/XXXX, I noticed that I had only received cashback rewards for the purchase made on XX/XX/XXXX. I called customer service on XX/XX/XXXX, and after being transferred repeatedly and explaining the situation to several reps, I spoke to an agent in the rewards department who understood why my other purchases had not been credited and assured me that he would take steps to revise my rewards account. The company did adjust my cashback credit on XX/XX/XXXX to include the purchases made on XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. They also awarded the {$200.00} bonus for {$1000.00} in purchases on XX/XX/XXXX. 

I continued to use the card for new purchases believing that I was receiving a 0 % interest rate. When I received my card statement in XXXX, I was flummoxed to notice accumulating interest. On XX/XX/XXXX, I called customer service and was shuffled from rep to rep until someone seemed to understand the problem. After nearly an hour, I spoke to an agent that I believe worked in the promotional department. He informed me that the purchases made on XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX were not classified under the promotional rate and were accumulating interest at the standard rate. In our conversation, he informed me that even though I had upgraded the card on XX/XX/XXXX and was encouraged to start purchasing immediately, in the fine print of my account disclosure, the promotional rate did not begin until XX/XX/XXXX. I was shocked and expressed concern about having been deceived by a company I trusted. He understood that I felt tricked and agreed with me that this was inappropriate. He took copious notes that he read back to me and had me record a statement confirming. He assured me that I would receive written documentation regarding the situation in the mail in 10 days. I left the call feeling satisfied that the agent had rectified the problem, just as the previous agent had rectified the problem with the cash rewards in XXXX. 

After not receiving any documentation, I called customer service again on XXXX and went from rep to rep for XXXX minutes. The final agent I spoke with that day informed me that the company had transferred {$4000.00} to the promotional rate on XX/XX/XXXX. I protested that I still had interest charges on my account and requested that he remove them. I again explained how I felt deceived by the company. He offered to remove the current month 's interest charge, {$70.00}. He told me that he was unable to do better. I explained that I did not believe this was appropriate. 

Today, XX/XX/XXXX, there is {$660.00} that Bank of America has incorrectly classified under the standard interest rate. As a result, there are also {$220.00} in interest charges that the bank needs to refund.

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 monetary relief