Consumer complaint received 2020-11-07
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CA
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:
I received a letter from Bank of America dated XXXX XX/XX/2020 stating that as a result of a recent review, my credit limit on the card in question was reduced to {$500.00}, with a cash advance limit of {$250.00}. This is a drop in credit limit from {$20000.00} to {$500.00}, which significantly impacts my overall credit score. 

Bank of America 's reason for doing this was because I failed to pay off a balance of approximately {$2.00} over a two month period. I was not aware that Bank of America charged some sort of fee following the payoff of their card earlier in the year. I was charged {$30.00} for not paying the {$2.00}. Upon receiving the letter mentioned above, I immediately paid the card off in full. 

I pay my bills electronically, however I depend on monthly mailed statements from my debtors to prompt me to do so. Bank of America went paperless on my account in XX/XX/2020 without informing me. I did not authorize this. Bank of America immediately changed my account back to paper billing, so I know this was their error and not simply a matter of policy. My email 's spam filter sends Bank of America emails to my spam folder, so I was not aware I still had a {$2.00} balance. Had I been receiving paper statements I would have known and paid the bill. The person at Bank of America that I spoke to by phone said they do not know why the paperless billing was started and that there was no request from me in their records to begin this practice. 

I requested from Bank of America that they restore my account to the previous limits in order to restore the damage they did to my credit score. They refused unless I made a formal request for consideration, which they still could refuse. I was advised this action may further impact my credit score, so I am now filing this complaint. 

It is my belief that Bank of America is taking discrimanatory action against me because I do not use this credit card account regularly. I had an XXXX+ credit score prior to this and I feel that Bank of America 's actions are much too harsh for someone who missed one payment for {$2.00}. I believe Bank of America reviewed my account and saw the infrequent use and is now taking actions to force me to close this card. I do not pay bills late, and prior to this had never made a late payment to Bank of America. I have had this credit card for approximately 15 years. 

Lastly, I received another bill from Bank of America this last billing cycle with a charge of {$1.00}. I called Bank of America to inquire about it, and they informed me that the fee was levied to my account in error, and immediately reversed it. This makes me think the {$2.00} charge was also levied in error and because I did not catch it, Bank of America charged me the {$30.00} and lowered my credit limit. I believe that Bank of America may do these actions purposely in order to levy further fines. 

I appreciate your consideration in this matter.

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