Consumer complaint received 2015-12-08
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: ID
Product: Credit card
Issue: Balance transfer

Complaint:
In late XXXX 2015 my husband was contacted by Bank of America about a balance transfer credit card. When he received the card he observed that the interest rate was higher than he had been quoted, so he decided against using it and never activated it. Without our knowledge or permission, Bank of America transferred {$4000.00} to our XXXX XXXX credit card, although our balance with them was less than {$1400.00}. We were unaware of this transaction until we received statements from each company, at which time we contacted XXXX. 
Phone call # 1, XXXX : XXXX XXXX -- -No payments due till situation is resolved, no additional interest or fees will be charged ( or deducted ) from credit balance. 
Bank of America -- -Will submit request to XXXX to get money returned, no additional charges to be associated with this transaction.Will send case to research dept. and will give us results within 30 days. ( We did not receive a phone call regarding this agreement XXXX XXXX : Bank of America -- -Received call re : late payment. Repeated story, B of A agreed to contact dispute dept. 
Phone call # 2 : XXXX : XXXX conference call with XXXX, B of A, my husband and myself. 
Bank of America : Unable to reverse transfer, XXXX must refund money. 
XXXX XXXX : Unable to pay B of A directly. Agreed to mail check for {$4000.00} to us, we in turn will pay B of A in full. Once completed, monthly payments from us to XXXX will resume, with interest on remaining balance starting at that time. 
Bank of America : Upon receipt of payment in full, all interest and additional charges will be deleted. In the meantime, no statements will be sent or collection calls will be made to us, nor will our credit rating be affected. 
XX/XX/2015Bank XXXX : Call re : late payment. Repeated case to representative, again were reassured all charges would be dismissed upon receipt of payment in full, no black mark on credit. 
XXXX : XXXX XXXX : Received check from XXXX for the difference between the {$4000.00} B of A transfer and the amount due XXXX. Called XXXX and explained we wanted to pay B of A in full. They agreed to wire transfer full amount to our checking account within 7 days and instructed us to destroy the original check. 
Bank of America : Called them to explain we would send payment in full when transfer from XXXX arrived, and attempted to resolve credit reporting dilemma. ( We had received a call stating we were going to be turned into a credit reporting agency if late payments were n't made. ) After 2 1/2 hours on the phone with various departments and representatives, it was determined the only way to avoid being turned in to a credit reporting agency was to pay {$250.00}, which would be refunded to us when full payment was made on this account. 
Observation : We have spent countless, frustrating hours on the phone in an attempt to resolve a situation ( unethical, and very possibly illegal ) initiated by Bank of America. I believe this case has been resolved, providing B of A honors its promise to dismiss all interest charges and late fees, and does, in fact, refund the {$250.00} payment made by us to avoid being reported to a credit agency. There is not much more CFPB can do for us at this point, but I feel this agency should be made aware of such business practices being performed by a banking institution of this size and scope.

Company public response: Company chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief