Consumer complaint received 2021-04-13
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: VA
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:
This is a copy of the letter I have sent to Bank of America twice without a response. 


=============================== Sent by XXXX : XX/XX/XXXX Sent by Certified Mail : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX Bank of America Credit Cards XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, DE XXXX To Whom It May Concern : I am disputing Bank of Americas finance charges assessed on my XXXX  XXXX  credit card ( ending in XXXX ) for the following reasons. 


BACKGROUND : I applied for a Bank of America ( BoA ) XXXX  XXXX ( XXXX ) credit card via a promotional form I received during an AS flight in early XXXX. 

Several weeks later and despite a FICO score of XXXX, BoA rejected my application by mail. 

Following a discussion with a BoA customer service representative ( CSR ), BoA agreed to review my application. 

Several weeks later, BoA again rejected my application by mail.

The following events occurred over the next several weeks : ( 1 ) I applied for a BoA AS credit card online using my VA address, ( 2 ) I received a BoA AS credit card at my OR address apparently as a result of my original, twice-rejected application, ( 3 ) BoA approved my online application and mailed another AS credit card to my VA address, and ( 4 ) I received a third rejection letter from BoA by mail. 

BoA has a record of and can verify all these events. 

I attempted to setup an online account with the BoA AS credit card sent to OR but it was invalid. 

I discussed the matter with a BoA CSR. The CSR reviewed the record, verified my information, and provided a valid credit card account number ( from the card BoA sent to VA that was being forwarded to me ). The BoA CSR then advised me how to setup the account and walked me through the various account settings to allow me : ( 1 ) to receive email notifications of bills ( payments ) due, and ( 2 ) to make payments to avoid finance charges ( which I do with all my credit cards ).

DISPUTE : I will be happy to pay BoA for merchandise and services I charged to the BoA AS credit card but I dispute any and all finance charge. I am disputing these charges because : ( 1 ) BoAs CSR failed to provide accurate information on how to set up my account to avoid paying finance charges, and ( 2 ) BoA failed to send me e-notifications of bills due.

Email Reminders Because you're getting eBills, you automatically receive an email when the bill arrives. You can get other email reminders to track the status of the payment. 

BoA failed to send me e-notification between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, when I received three, indicating a large outstanding balance. I assumed my account had been hacked. Had I received email notifications as agreed, I could have resolved this matter in a timely fashion. Please feel free to check your records and provide any e-notifications you may have sent me before XX/XX/XXXX. 

Furthermore, BoAs system and terminology regarding payment options is misleading, confusing, and fraudulent. BoAs four ( 4 ) payment options : Amount Due, Minimum Amount Due, Account Balance, and Fixed Amount do not correspond to standard industry terminology or generally accepted definitions. It is designed to mislead and is fraudulent. The two ( 2 ) BoA CSRs to whom I spoke clearly had no understanding of what the terms and options actually mean. 

The CSR I spoke to in XXXX checked my account settings and was at a loss to understand why my account was accruing finance charges. She put me on hold to do further research when she apparently learned that Amount Due and Minimum Amount Due are the same. She informed me that I should have been advised to choose Account Balance ( the generally accepted meaning of which is Statement Balance plus Outstanding Charges since the last statement closed ). Please feel free to check your CS recordings to verify these facts. 




ACTION REQUESTED : Please reverse all finance charges resulting from your erroneous information and failure to provide email notifications and inform me of the total amount of goods and services charged to my now terminated BoA AS credit card for resolution. 

Thank you. 

Sincerely,

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