Consumer complaint received 2017-10-16
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: IN
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Home equity loan or line of credit (HELOC)
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
XXXX sold my second mortgage to Bank of America. Both companies had my updated contact information. XXXX, of course had been in communication all along with me as I had nearly perfect credit and had my payments on autopay. Bank of America had my info because I had a credit card with them for the last 16 or more years and also on autopay. This is a complaint because it also happened when XXXX sold my mortgage to XXXX. For some reason, their system reverts to old contact information and incorrect information. This did n't just affect me, it happened to many people. The notice of the change got sent to an address that I have n't been at since 2014. I had it on autopay so nothing would go wrong and payments would n't be late. All of a sudden, I figured out something was wrong because I was getting notices that payments were late from Bank of America on e-mail. It is funny I had never gotten notice of the change from them. I finally, after hours of trying to figure things out, did. I was at my other house, so away from my files. XXXX had already deleted my online account with them, so I could n't give Bank of America the info they wanted to pass the security screening, because I was paying more than the minimum each month. So, I could n't pay the XXXX payment by phone to them. I also could n't set up new autopay. All because I was away from my usual home, had n't been properly notified, and XXXX had so quickly deleted my online account with them, and because their systems had everyone 's information all messed up and had gone back to some old address for me as well as phone numbers I had never had. Now, if the law is that they have to notify you, but they just send it to any old address, does that really constitute proper notification? If a customer, who is not being done some big favor, but is really in a business relationship with this other entity, has the business situation unfavorably changed in such a way as to waste, in my case, it has ended up being about ten or more hours of time on the phone, at times two hours at a time with B of A, because their customer service is so horrible, should n't that partner be entitled to some compensation for his/her wasted time? But instead, I have to worry about how this has adversely affected my credit rating and what late charges I will be stuck with. I actually think it is a scam to cause a certain amount of late charges amidst the confusion so B of A can make extra money. They are notorious for dishonest conduct. I did not choose to do business with them. They have a terrible reputation, and this is why. There needs to be a better way, if consumers have to be subjected to the sale of their loans without any involvement, of ensuring their notification prior to the payments becoming late. How about when the payments are on autopay, the new servicer is required to set up a way to just continue the payments on autopay? How about we have the new servicer send notice to the bank from which the autopay is coming to then be forwarded on to the account holder that the autopay needs to be changed to go to the new servicer? To just say the new servicer can send the information to any address they have ever had on file for you in the last 25 years is ridiculous.

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 non-monetary relief