Consumer complaint received 2019-11-01
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: TX
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage

Complaint:
Victim of Unfair Lending : Bait and Switch. 

We are reaching out to communicate and seek resolution of deceptive mortgage lending by Bank of America loan officers. We were convinced to accept a home mortgage loan offer with a promise of an additional discount of 0.25 %, {$600.00} towards the closing cost and a free escrow waiver. Then 3 days before the closing Bank of America Loan officer refused to apply the discounts and threatened to delay the closing forcing us to accept a mortgage at a higher interest rate and without the promised benefits. Below is an outline of events and documented evidence. 

XX/XX/2019 : We started our loan application ( Loan Application Number : XXXX ) in late XXXX with loan officer XXXX XXXX ( NMLS ID : XXXX ). Mr. XXXX offered us an interest rate of 3.875 % and assured us that the loan will be approved well in advance of our closing date of XX/XX/2019. When we expressed that this rate was not competitive enough, Mr. XXXX immediately presented us with an offer that if we transfer some of our saving account funds to Bank of America or its subsidiary Merrill XXXX, we will receive an additional discount of 0.25 %, {$600.00} towards the closing cost and a free escrow waiver. He suggested that all of the rate discount will be taken care of after we pay for the appraisal and the mortgage is approved. 

XX/XX/XXXX : During my phone conversation with Mr. XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, one day after we started the mortgage approval process, he stressed that based on our exceptional credit rating he will be able to close the loan in 30 days. Since we wanted the process to move smoothly we agreed to move forward with Bank of America and immediately received an email from Merrill XXXX for a meeting to discuss fund / security transfers. I expressed that we will be traveling overseas and need to reschedule. Mr. XXXX emailed me on XX/XX/XXXX stating, Disregard the appointment. I had to set this up to set up your loan for the offer. [ Attachment 1 ]. 

XX/XX/2019 : I received an email from Mr. XXXX XXXX confirming the details of Merrill New MoneyBonus Offer that promised 0.25 % rate discount on top of other benefits [ Attachment 2 ]. It was clear from his emails that Mr. XXXX was getting feedback from Mr. XXXX regarding the progress of our loan. I reached out to Mr. XXXX regarding my intention to transfer the funds and he advised me not to transfer funds right away because the loan was being reviewed by Bank of America underwriting department and changes to account balance will result in delays. He suggested that I wait for the final approval by the underwriting department before we transfer funds to avail the discount offer. 

XX/XX/2019 : Since we were almost at 30 days since we had started our approval process, I reached out to Mr. XXXX inquiring about our final approval. He expressed that due to end of month closing activities, our loan was waiting in the work queue pending approval. With only 2 weeks to closing we were extremely concerned that we had not received the promised discount and reached out to his Mr. XXXX manager, XXXX XXXX XXXX. Ms. XXXX called to discuss the situation and assured that the process will move quickly and we had no reason to worry. 

XX/XX/XXXX-XX/XX/2019 : We were increasingly getting concerned about the delayed approval process and were calling XXXX XXXX multiple times every day. He continued to assure us that the loan will be approved and that we will get our discounted APY of 3.625 % and {$600.00} in closing and a free escrow waiver. 

XX/XX/XXXX : Three days before our closing on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX CST we received an email from Mr. XXXX that our loan was finally approved. I reached out to Mr. XXXX to initiate the fund transfer and opened the accounts with Merrill XXXX for the funds to be transferred. We also initiated transfer of approximately {$400000.00} in securities from XXXX to Merrill XXXX for the down payment. I called Mr. XXXX to confirm the discount on our loan. To our surprise, he notified that he will not be able to apply the discount, because he apparently received communication on XX/XX/XXXX from his management that funds needed to be transferred 10 days prior to closing for him to apply the discount. I reminded Mr XXXX that we were holding the transfer of funds following his own advise and that he never notified us of the banks internal policy changes. I reached out to Mr. XXXX again to inform that we had already initiated the transfer and asking him to explain why we were not notified earlier of the change in policy after we received the offer. Mr XXXX informed me if I insist on the discount he would have to resubmit the loan for approval and closing will be delayed indefinitely. He also threatened that he would send my loan to underwriting since I was trying to move funds from an account that I had used to get the loan approval in the first place. With 3 days left to closing and unwilling to lose {$30000.00} that we deposited as earnest money ( and closing the house on time ), we had no other choice but to accept the terms. I left a voice mail to Ms. XXXX on XX/XX/19 and emailed her requesting a phone call to discuss the situation. I have tried multiple times to contact her over phone and email, even setup meetings ahead of time which she missed. She acknowledged receipt of my formal complaint through Bank of America Website however for last 3 months I have tried and failed to get a resolution. 

XX/XX/2019 : We closed the purchase on XX/XX/19 with our loan was funded at APY of 3.875 %. We did not receive the additional discount that was promised to secure our business, nor did we receive the {$600.00} in closing discount, and did not receive a free escrow waiver. In fact, we did not receive our final closing disclosure till the very last minute at the closing after we transferred our funds to the title company. 

We believe that Bank of America and its loan officers falsely understated the APY, overstated the closing cost, and misled us to secure our business. In addition, they created unnecessary stress and anxiety that affected our family. We ask that Bank of America look into this matter as soon as possible and provide a clear resolution and compensation befitting to the damages.

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