Consumer complaint received 2020-12-11
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: MI
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Other problem

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2018, Bank of America applied an " erroneous payment '' to my card. I immediately called and asked what it was, and they said they didn't know. I offered possibilities, such as an aforementioned erroneous payment or a mistake in my student loan payments, and they again had no idea. However, they expressed by the end of the call that it was my money to use ( I did my due diligence ). Again, I was proactive and tried to resolve the situation. Most importantly, I repeatedly told them I did not know if the money was mine and was not asking for any sort of free handout. They reassured me that I was able to treat this money as part of my account. I had an entrepreneurial business to keep afloat and did so, and based on what happened in the ensuing three years, I wish I never trusted Bank of America. Weeks later, on XX/XX/2018, the money was suddenly withdrawn from my account with no warning, and I was financially penalilzed. I called ( again, proactively ) to ask what was going on. This is where I got the explanation of an " erroneous payment. '' I was livid. Through far too many back-and-forth calls, Bank of America verbally agreed to several stipulations. I asked for them in writing and they refused ; again, I was too trusting. These stipulations were as follows : to take *whatever time I need* to pay back the money, that *no* interest or fees would be charged to my credit or debit account in that time, and that a courtesy {$100.00} would be credited to my account ( the latter of which I cared least about ). 

The next billing cycle, I was hit with a late fee and interest. I called ( yet again, proactively ) to ask what was going on. They said I would have to call in myself every month to remove interest and fees, because " their system wouldn't allow them to do it themselves. '' Once again, I had been lied to. Once again, I as a customer had to deal with Bank of America 's problems as a company. I told them that this was unacceptable and I would be calling back when I was ready and capable to pay the difference, and they again verbally agreed with this. On XX/XX/2018, I filed a formal complaint/request with Bank of America to wrap up those fees and interest before squaring up and also to reclaim some sort of further compensation for their continued ineptitude and general inability to function as a reliable financial institution for my very basic needs. On XX/XX/2018, I received a genuinely reprehensible letter stating that, since they had already credited me {$100.00} and given me back {$200.00} of interest that I never should have been charged in the first place, " the bank considers this matter to be formally closed. '' Later exploration within their customer service department demonstrated that they suddenly had no record of any of my previous conversations with them, and that I would be required to pay interest and fees for this sudden, predatory loan that I never asked for or agreed to ( in fact, quite the opposite ). I never had financial issues before that day. I've been in dire financial straits ever since. 

Around this time, my business fell through and I was diagnosed with several serious medical conditions that made it incredibly difficult to function, let alone work off this sudden debt. I have been in the same situation to this day. I filed one last desperate " commit case '' in-person at a branch location on XX/XX/18 with the same response- Bank of America had no record of my entire ordeal just months prior. I cried a lot that day. 

I genuinely haven't been able to look at my bank app without full-blown XXXX XXXX ( diagnosed, with records ). I haven't been able to use my credit card at all for nearly two of these years. I've gone to additional therapy for my financial burdens ( again, happy to provide records ). I've tried to work to pay this off when medically I shouldn't have been doing so. My credit, which has never had any issues, is tanked now because I've only been paying off interest that, once again, I should never have been issued. I've had to live in my car on the road because of all this, which is now unsafe to do because of Coronavirus. My not-at-all-wealthy parents have scraped together enough money to help me pay off the remaining balance on this card, but I shouldn't have to. They shouldn't have to. I shouldn't have had to deal with any of this in the first place, and the worst part is, I've done everything right. At this point, Bank of America owes me more money in interest than the remaining balance. Has Bank of America done this to anyone else? How do I ensure that they can not give anyone else a backwards loan such as this? How can we stop this in the future? All of my claims are truthful and I've supported them with dates, so Im ready to move on with my life- and, at long last, from Bank of America .

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