Consumer complaint received 2018-03-27
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: NJ
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Sub-issue: Old information reappears or never goes away

Complaint:
To Whom it May Concern, This letter to shed light on the inappropriate and incorrect manner in which Bank of America is reporting information that is not compliant with the United States Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA, XXXX ). 

For the last two years, I have reached out numerous times to Bank of America to get this rectified. The account referenced about was initially opened in XX/XX/XXXX when it was still being managed by XXXX. Once Bank of America acquired the XXXX  brand in XXXX an updated card was issued. The account initially went delinquent with late payments in early XXXX. By XX/XX/XXXX I enrolled in the payment plan to pay off the high balance that was {$9200.00} on an {$8800.00} credit limit. The terms of the plan required me to pay $ XXXX   monthly until the debt was paid. Additionally, the funds must be auto-deducted from my account each month, no further interest or fees would be billed to the account and once I paid the balance of the card under the credit limit ( {$8800.00} ) the account would be closed and I could no longer utilize it. The account was officially closed in XX/XX/XXXX once I paid the balance under the credit limit. 

Each month from XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX, I never missed a payment or made a late payment on the account. This was for several reasons. One, I did not want to cause further destruction to my already fragile credit profile. Two, per the guidelines of the payment plan I would be terminated from the program should I become non-complaint. Three, the funds were auto-deducted from my Bank of America Checking Account on a monthly basis so as long as the funds were available I had no recourse in stopping a payment from processing. Ultimately, the entire balance was paid off in XX/XX/XXXX. 

From my understanding and previous experience, utilizing all of the facts above this should have been removed from my credit report 3-4 years ago. The criteria for removing items from ones credit report per the United States Federal Government in the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( please see attached ) states in 605. Requirements relating to information contained in consumer reports [ 15 U.S.C. 1681c ], a. ) Information excluded from consumer reports. Except as authorized under subsection ( b ) of this section, no consumer reporting agency may make and consumer report containing any of the following items of information : 4. ) Accounts placed for collection or charged to profit and loss which antedate the report by more than seven years. 5 5. ) Any other adverse items of information, other than records of conviction of crimes which antedates the report by more than seven years. 5 b. ) Running of Reporting Period 1. ) In general. The 7-year period referred to in paragraphs ( 4 ) and ( 6 ) 6 of subsection ( a ) shall begin, with respect to any delinquent account that is placed for collection ( internally or referral to a third party, whichever is earlier ), charged to profit and loss, or subjected to any similar action, upon the expiration of the 180-day period beginning on the date of commencement of the delinquency which immediately preceded the collection activity, charge to profit and loss, or similar action. 

Ultimately, this states that a credit card debt of this nature should be removed from ones credit report seven years from the first instance of delinquency/collection whether that is internal or forwarded to a third party. I initially went delinquent and went into collections in XXXX. That is why the payment plan was created. I never missed any payments or breached the agreement in any way as I sometimes payed more than the balance due and frequently paid before the due date. I have reached out through correspondence in XXXX and XXXX without success to deduce why my credit report is still being hampered by previously paid debts. 

I spoke with numerous Bank of America representatives today by phone and I am now being told that this item will not be cleared from my credit report until XXXX as that is when the account was closed. Per the FCRA information listed above, account closure is not a valid reason to keep reporting on ones credit report. I have attempted to explain this to the representatives on the phone and ask for a more appropriate party to speak with but it does not get me anywhere. I have also attached to this correspondence one of my credit reports that shows the payment history from XXXX-account closure that speaks to my impeccable payment history as it pertains to this account. 

Another representative suggested that it was because the six delinquencies present on the account that the credit report was not updated. When I asked her to read me the date of the delinquencies all of the sudden no information can be found. The six incidences she is referring to took place in XXXX which have no bearing on the present account status. I am looking for information as to why this item continues to be on my credit report year after year. I reached two years ago ( XX/XX/XXXX to BOA and Credit Reports ) and received a letter stating I was ineligible for removal but there was no rationale listed. I sent another letter on XX/XX/XXXX ( to BOA as the credit agencies informed me that BOA has to fix the issue ) and have had subsequent calls with BOA since that time and have been bounced from representative to representative without resolve. 

I am looking to move on with life and purchase a home and am trying my best to get inaccurate items removed from my report. I am disheartened as BOA seemingly makes up the rules as they go along ( similar to the overdraft scandal from XXXX ) and the customer pays for this. I paid all of funds owed nearly 5 years ago on a delinquent account from 11 years earlier. I need this removed from my account immediately so that I may move forward.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation