Consumer complaint received 2018-01-23
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: FL
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Credit card debt
Issue: False statements or representation
Sub-issue: Attempted to collect wrong amount

Complaint:
I want to begin by saying thank you for providing a wonderful service to consumers where their voice can be heard against unscrupulous creditors and their horrendous tactics against consumers. I also want to state that I am an honest person and will admit that I did fall on hard times and failed to pay Bank of America money that I charged on one of their credit cards a few years back. This complaint I am filing is not about whether Bank of America was owed money but rather their misleading representations, bait and switch tactics, and their continual to simply waste everyone 's time and not deliver on promises they made simply in an attempt to extort money out of me. 

To give you more clarity on the situation, I began contacting Bank of America in XX/XX/XXXX. In the ensuing conversation I informed B of A that I was aware I had defaulted on them and was now in a position to attempt to make amends. Unfortunately, I was not able to pay them in full and was hoping to come to an arrangement with them. After some discussion, B of A and I agreed to a lump sum settlement of {$750.00} on a {$1200.00} balance due by the XX/XX/XXXX. I was content and so were they. However, as an informed consumer, I asked if they could forward me the agreement in writing so the agreement was documented. B of A agreed and I gave them my address so they could forward me the letter. And although they technically did send the letter, they sent it to a wrong address. Instead of using the address I gave them, they simply used a previous address that was in their system a few years back. When the letter was forwarded to me a month later, the deal had already expired weeks back ... 

I then called Bank of America on XX/XX/XXXX when I received the letter but I was n't able to get through to a representative for 2 days so I waited until XX/XX/XXXX to try again. Remember, the agreement had expired on the XX/XX/XXXX which was 13 days prior to me receiving any documentation. I finally reached a representative by the name of XXXX. I had informed XXXX of what had transpired and that I still wanted the settlement offer to go trough and was simply asking for the offer in writing with a non-expired date to protect myself. XXXX seemed very annoyed and took down my correct address but I was no longer confident in her by the way she used her tone with me and her responses towards me. It was as if I was inconveniencing her even though I was literally telling her all I needed was something in writing and I would happily pay them on the spot. I then asked if it was possible for them to either e-mail me or fax me a settlement letter so I could simply pay them right then and there instead of waiting for another letter. After much griping she finally agreed to send it to me by fax. I gave her the fax number and she said I would have it within 24 hours. I did n't receive it within 24 hours. I did n't receive it at all. 

I called a few days later and would never reach the same representative and was even hung up on twice. I explained the same situation to the representatives who did answer and asked for a fax with a settlement offer as was promised. I would always get the same answer that it was coming. Both by mail and by fax. I would never receive it. Finally I decided to stop worrying about it until after the Hollidays. If bank of America was not desperate to obtain money owed to them I was not going to spend my Hollidays worrying about giving it to them. Keep in mind that all calls about this debt and this settlement were initiated by me. NEVER did I receive one phone call from B of A about this just to show who is interested in resolving this debt. 

After the new year I decided to call Bank of America and see if I could get this resolved once and for all. I called them on XX/XX/XXXX. I first reached a representative by the name of XXXX XXXX from Texas and this is when " all XXXX broke loose. '' XXXX was very cordial and very soft spoken and seemed like he was going to simply resolve the situation once and for all but then tried to pull a fast one on me. He said I 'll go ahead and send you a fax right now but I need your cell phone number so we can send you a confirmation text. I sensed some skulduggery happening so I simply refused and asked for the fax so I could pay them but he said " just a minute, who is your employer? At this point I knew he was not trying to help me and was pulling a bait and switch tactic. I told him that I was upset and that I was not a fool and was not going to give him the name of my employer. The only reason they would ask for that was so they could sue me. I wanted to speak to a supervisor instead and he then transferred me to a representative in the collections department so they could give me " the letter right away ''. 

I then spoke to a representative in the collections department. Unfortunately, I then had to get transferred to the recoveries department ... I then reach a representative XXXX and I have to do the same dance that I 've been doing with everybody since my agreement in XXXX. I simply wanted a settlement offer in writing and I gave her the same deal I gave everybody else over these past 5 months. I will pay you on the spot if you could simply provide me with the letter. I was getting very sick and tired of being given the run around and everything I was being put trough was the exact reason why I wanted a letter in the first place because they obviously were not trustworthy and I could n't take anybody at their word since every representative I 've spoken to up to this point had lied to me. She said faxing letters was possible and that it would take 24-48 business hours for it to arrive. I said great, no problem. She then back pedaled and began trying to question why I wanted a settlement in the first place. Wait WHAT! 

I asked her that I had already negotiated a settlement months back and that they knew my circumstances and hence why the agreement was reached. I told her I had been on this phone call for a ridiculous amount of time just to simply obtain a letter that was promised to me for months. ( The phone call ended after 58 minutes and 1 second ) She then started trying to place blame on me asking why I waited so long to call back to fulfill the settlement agreement. XXXX then went and said that they ca n't submit a settlement letter since the original agreement had not been fulfilled and that they would have to see if they could even offer me a settlement ... I had enough at this point. I asked for a supervisor immediately. 

I was then transferred to a supervisor by the name of XXXX XXXX. Again I gave her the entire ordeal and explained to her everything that has happened since the beginning. She also feigned surprise as had XXXX earlier when I told them I did not appreciate them asking for my employer information instead of providing a settlement letter as promised for 5 months now. She apologized profusely and again feigned sincerity but in the end she gave me the same excuses as to why she will not provide a settlement letter. She too tried to blame me for not fulfilling the settlement even though she was aware B of A sent the letter to an address I had not lived at for years and I was fortunate to even receive the notice nearly 2 weeks after the agreement had expired ... The fact that I attempted to reach out to them on numerous occasions and provided my address, e-mail address, and fax to receive another letter did n't seem to matter. They were more interested in shutting me down and place blame on me then actually trying to collect their money and fulfill their promise to me. She even went as far as saying they ca n't fax settlement letters even though every representative before her said they could.. 

In the conversation I caught her in many lies and obviously she was not even trying to help me but just appease me. In fact, XXXX told me she ca n't offer a 50 % settlement offer again. I told her that was not the terms of the agreement. She then said I 'm sorry 56 %. I was even more upset as that was n't the term either. She did n't even know what was being offered to me or what the terms of the settlement were! I told her {$750.00} on {$1200.00} was not 50 % or even 56 %. She said I 'm sorry I was told it was {$700.00}. She then said " your right that it was 60 %. '' She even said " I 'm sorry in a condescending tone and said " there are no notes for me on this account '' SERIOUSLY! NO NOTES AFTER 5 MONTHS OF CONVERSING WITH MULTIPLE REPRESENTATIVES INCLUDING THREE PRIOR IN THIS PHONE CALL! Again, this entire ordeal was a farce and Bank of America was trying to extort me for money by pulling bait and switch tactics. There were many more things that XXXX said which were lies but for the sake of not wasting any more time I will simply say that she lied on many occasions, said " i 'm sorry '' in a condescending tone at least 4 times when I presented her with facts that caught her in a lie and her company 's blatant disregard for me. 

This has been the single most horrifying experience I 've had with a creditor and I 've had it. Unfortunately, bank of America is also holding me hostage. Because this debt is unpaid, my credit report shows that I owe Bank of America and this will hinder any future creditors I deal with until 7 years pass and the debt falls off my credit report. This will cause me to be denied for credit and have less favorable terms with creditors who do extend credit to me. Furthermore, the report only shows what Bank of America chooses to show. It does n't reflect that I have been single-handedly trying to pay them their money according to the terms they agreed upon. It also does n't reflect that they have been lying to me and attempting to extort me for money on false and empty promises. It does n't reflect the grueling amount of time and the mistreatment I have been put trough by Bank of America when I am simply trying to pay them. It is unfair and is completely not reflective of what is being reported on my credit report. At this point I would contend that their reporting of this account on my credit report is a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act as well as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. This account is not being reported accurately as I have done everything in my power to get them to fulfill their end of the agreement so I can pay them their money based on the terms they agreed to. Please help me and publish this so that people know even to this day Bank of America is still trying to bully their customers and acting in shameful ways. In the meantime I am going to contemplate on whether I should retain council as this is actually causing me harm and preventing me from moving on with my life.

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