Consumer complaint received 2019-03-09
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: WI
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest
Sub-issue: Problem with fees

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I logged into my Bank of America ( BOA ) credit card account to make a credit card payment, due that same day, on XX/XX/XXXX. I noticed that my current payment due was {$62.00}, which was unusual, as I hadn't made any purchases with the card, and my typical payment was around {$24.00}. I pulled the statement and it indicated I had a {$38.00} fee charged, along with interest on the balance in the amount of {$15.00}. These two amounts equal {$53.00}, so I was additionally puzzled why this didn't add up to the stated current payment due of {$62.00}. At that point, I called in to customer service and spoke with a representative named XXXX who assisted me. After discussing the situation with her she assured me at that time that she would waive the fees. I then asked her what the total amount was I needed to pay that day to avoid any further issues. She specifically stated I only needed to pay {$24.00}. I also asked XXXX what the cutoff time was for payments to avoid late fees and she stated the time was XXXX XXXX on the due date. We ended the call at that point, and I made an on-time {$24.00} payment immediately after ending the call, assured my issue was now resolved and my account was in good standing. 

On Saturday, XX/XX/XXXX, I logged in to BOA again to make my regular credit card payment and I again noticed that there was a discrepancy on my statement. The statement did reflect that my previous month 's minimum payment of {$62.00} had been met. However, I had been charged a late fee regardless, in the amount of {$37.00}. The statement also indicated I had a current payment due of {$60.00}, with a past due amount of {$37.00}. As I had been told by XXXX that we had taken care of everything during my phone call on XX/XX/XXXX, I realized I needed to call customer service again to get the situation resolved. I also made a payment of {$24.00} on XX/XX/XXXX, and planned to call BOA within the week, on a business day. 
Next, on XX/XX/XXXX, I placed a call to customer service and initially spoke with a representative who was unable to adequately explain the discrepancy. After several minutes, I asked to speak with a manager. He informed me that no manager was available, but he could put in a request for someone to get in touch with me, and this would take between 24-48 hours. I indicated I preferred to speak with someone that day and informed him I would hold until one was available. He then indicated I could speak with someone and I was transferred to a representative in the collections department. Again, this representative was unable to assist me, but based on my explanation of what had occurred during my 2/2 phone call with representative, XXXX, he offered to request a fee waiver for me, but only if I paid the entire amount due, which I then learned had increased to {$130.00} as of the XX/XX/XXXX-XX/XX/XXXX statement. He reported he didn't know if my request would be granted. I declined at that time, as I didn't believe I should be required to pay penalty fees that occurred due to their representative 's error. I asked to speak to a manager. 

This collections representative then transferred me to XXXX XXXX, who stated that he was a manager in the collections department. I had a lengthy discussion with him regarding my billing issue. When he learned that XXXX had given me inappropriate information regarding the payment due on XX/XX/XXXX, he admitted that she had told me the wrong total. He informed he had not listened to the conversation. He further stated that even though my statement as of XX/XX/XXXX showed I needed to pay {$60.00} to make my account current, he claimed that total was incorrect, and it was actually {$97.00}. I informed him that there was no indication anywhere in my account or on my statement that I needed to pay {$97.00}. The {$97.00} amount was listed on the following statement, which hadn't been completed or even made available to me yet. Further, that the {$97.00} included a late fee, which wasn't appropriate for two reasons. The first being that, as XXXX had eliminated my previous late fee, and I had paid {$24.00}, I had effectively brought my total due back down to zero. I told him I didn't understand why I was being penalized as I had zeroed out the payment due. He disagreed and said I had a penalty fee due to not meeting the minimum payment requirement. 

As we were speaking, XXXX XXXX XXXX 's demeanor steadily changed and he became more argumentative and hostile, speaking over me at several points, requiring me to become more assertive in tone to make my points. He continued to make references to me making 'late '' payments, and then the discussion changed to what he considered to be a late payment, as previously he had stated that the fee accrual was due to not meeting minimum payment requirements. 

I informed XXXX XXXX XXXX that I had, in fact, made my payment for XXXX on time, and he stated I had not, and that warranted the late fee and additional fees accrual we had been discussing. I told him I made the payment the afternoon of XX/XX/XXXX, and the due date on my account was XXXX XXXX on the 2nd of the month. I also reminded him that XXXX had also provided that as the cut-off time. XXXX XXXX XXXX stated that was wrong, and if payments were processed after the due date, then they were still late. 
I asked him how my payment could be late if it was made before XXXX XXXX and he said it was because I didn't pay through a BOA financial account. Because I had paid through my own bank, and the payment took a couple of days to process, it was still considered late -- even though I made the payment prior to the listed due date. 
I then asked him how this could be as I have never encountered this before with any other credit card company I've worked with. I asked him where I could find information to support his statement on their website. He was unable to direct me the information as he didn't know. I then located this information on the BOA website and read it over the phone : " If you pay your Bank of America credit card account from a Bank of America checking or savings account, any funds transferred as a payment to the credit card account before XXXX XXXX ET, including weekends and holidays, will be credited on the date the payment is made. However, updates to account balances and funds availability may take up to 2 bank business days. 

If you pay your Bank of America credit card from a checking or savings account with another financial institution, your payment will be requested as an electronic transfer within 24 hours from the time you submit it online. A debit will appear on your checking account and on your credit card statement online within 2 business days. '' I informed him this was the only information I could find even remotely relevant to our discussion and reiterated that I had not had any issues with BOA in the past when paying on the due date. XXXX XXXX XXXX made a statement that the information above regarding payments supported his claim that I had indeed made late payments. I asked him how that made sense, as the information doesn't indicate anything at all about late fees or being penalized for process times. He was intractable throughout the conversation. 

I ultimately ended up informing him that I would be paying off the balance and closing the account. 
In summary, I have significant concerns with BOA 's lack of transparency in billing and deceptive billing practices. XXXX offered to remove a penalty fee on XX/XX/XXXX and then provided me with erroneous information on what amount I needed to pay to keep my account in good standing. When I acted accordingly, and paid the amount dictated to me, I was hit with an inappropriate penalty fee after the fact. They refused to correct XXXX 's error or remove the subsequent penalty fees that had accrued as a result of her error. They made false claims about what information was available to me on my statement and indicated amounts due that were inaccurate or unavailable to me for review. BOA manager XXXX XXXX first claims that on XX/XX/XXXX I made less than the minimum payment, resulting in a penalty fee I am responsible for. BOA manager XXXX XXXX then made a directly contradicting claim, attributing my penalty to late payments. He also made a statement claiming that even though I paid before the posted cut-off time, that I was late regardless due to processing times. Overall, their actions have cost me money that I should not be liable for, and they have provided inadequate information for me to continue to keep my account in good standing. 

*After my conversation with XXXX XXXX XXXX, I was able to locate information on BOA 's website regarding payment cut-off times and account crediting which contradicts his statement and lends further support to the fact that I did not pay late on XX/XX/XXXX, nor did I on XX/XX/XXXX. Their website states that payments made prior to XXXX XXXX of the due date are considered on time and are credited same day to the account. There is no mention of processing times causing payments to be late. 

Please review the included documentation for supporting evidence. I have included 3 credit card statements, screenshots of payments made, and a screenshot of their website with link pertaining to cut-off times and account crediting.

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