Consumer complaint received 2023-02-11
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: PA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Problem with customer service

Complaint:
I have been a cardholder of Bank of America XXXX XXXXXXXX ( BofA XXXX XXXXXXXX Card ) since XXXX. My BofA XXXX XXXXXXXX Card has an expiration date of XX/XX/XXXX and ends in the XXXX. 

I hereby demand Bank of America fulfill its Retention Offer given by Bank of America staff on XX/XX/XXXX and issue a Statement Credit by XX/XX/XXXX. The delay Bank of Americas Retention Offer is a serious violation my trust as well as against commercial law, state and Federal banking and consumer protection law, and good corporate governance. 

Summary of events : I have personally been a Bank of America customer and account holder since XXXX and use it as my primary bank. I have previously held several Bank of America credit cards with no issue. Based on my 16 years of experience with Bank of America, I was previously a loyal customer, and I found Bank of America employees to act with honesty and integrity. My checking account number ends in XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called Bank of America to cancel my BofA XXXX  XXXX Card. I wanted to cancel because I was not interested in paying the annual fee due on XX/XX/XXXX. The Bank of America employee I spoke to ( BofA Representative XXXX ) gave me a retention offer ( BofA Retention Offer ), as is common for credit card issuers.

My recollection of the BofA Retention Offer received verbally from BofA Representative 1 was : if I a ) did not cancel my card b ) paid the {$95.00} dollar annual fee, AND c ) spent {$1500.00} within 3 months on the BofA XXXX XXXXXXXX Card, Bank of America would issue me a {$150.00} Statement Credit ( Retention Offer Statement Credit ). I verbally accepted the offer to BofA Representative 1 and BofA Representative 1 verbally confirmed my acceptance.

I called Bank of America on or about XX/XX/XXXX, I called Bank of America. The representative, a male whose name I do not recall ( BofA Representative 2 ), was able to confirm the Retention Offer. BofA Representative 2 also confirmed that I fulfilled the conditions of the Retention Offer and that the Retention Offer Statement Credit would be credited within 4-6 weeks. I confirmed with BofA Representative 2 that this should mean I would receive my BofA Retention Offer on my XX/XX/XXXX or XX/XX/XXXX Statements. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called Bank of America to check on the status of my BofA Retention Offer. The representative I spoke to ( BofA Representative 3 ) had record of my discussion on XX/XX/XXXX with Representative 1. However, she did not have information on the Retention Offer and became hostile when I asked to speak to a more senior representative. She said the offer must have come from XXXX XXXXXXXX directly, and offered gave me the number of XXXX XXXXXXXX. She refused to confirm if she had evidence of the Retention Offer. BofA Representative 3 showed a particular lack of concern for both common banking protocols and customer service when she actively and intentionally deceived me by asking me to call XXXX XXXX about the Retention Offer. XXXX XXXX is not the card issuer. 

I made another call to Bank of America on XX/XX/XXXX and was again directed by a representative ( BofA Representative 4 ). Representative 4 again confirmed the call on XX/XX/XXXX but was not able to provide the Retention Offer. Representative 4 did not attempt to solve help or resolve the failure of Bank of America to provide the Retention Offer and suggested I speak to XXXX XXXX for what is plainly a card issuer issue. The fact that both Representative 3 and Representative 4 asked me to call XXXX XXXXXXXX shows that this deceit is a piece of BofA 's training. These representatives know, or should know, that XXXX XXXX can not offer a retention offer on a credit card. As such, this consistent behavior could represent deceit, negligence, and perhaps even fraud on an institutional level. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I submitted a written complaint to Bank of America about the deceptive and potentially fraudulent customer service received from BofA Representative 2, 3, and 4, and specified I only consented to written contact. Despite this request, I was contacted by XXXX XXXX from the Executive Office of BofA four times by phone. On XX/XX/XXXX, she told me BofA was unable to fulfill my request. On XX/XX/XXXX, I cancelled the BofA XXXX XXXXXXXX Card. On the cancellation call, it took almost 15 minutes for staff to allow me to cancel the card and insinuated that my XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX would become invalid if I cancelled. I am a lifelong member of XXXX XXXXXXXX and I know this to be false. 

It was upon exhausting officing means of communication with BofA and learning BofA is not interested in making institutional changes to prevent such potential deceit and negligence from its employees that I decided to report to such issues to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ). 

I am an educated and sophisticated customer of financial services, having held many credit cards, bank accounts, and financial products. I am also a native English speak. If BofA attempts such deceitful tactics with me, what will they do to customers without my same understanding of English and financial services. As my parents grow older, I worry about call center employees from financial services companies, like BofA, taking advantage of them. I hope CFPB can remind BofA, through punitive measures if necessary, that deceitful call center tactics have no place in financial services in America.

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