Consumer complaint received 2015-10-14
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: NC
Product: Credit card
Issue: Advertising and marketing

Complaint:
I am a credit card customer of Bank of America ( BoA ). In XX/XX/XXXX, BoA sent me a letter with a promotional offer on balance transfers and a sheet of " Access Checks. '' The promotion was described as a 0.0 % APR on balance transfers through a certain date. At the end of the promotional period, the APR would change to my regular APR of 15.99 %. I used one of the " Access Checks '' to pay off the balance of a credit card with XXXX XXXX XXXX. When I have done balance transfers in the past, similar " Access Checks '' have been provided for the purpose of completing the balance transfer. I expected this to be no different. After the transaction was processed, it appeared on my BoA statement as a " Direct Deposit and Check Cash Advance, '' which consequently carries an interest rate of 21.99 % after the promotional period. I bank online and rarely look at the statement details, so it was two months before I noticed this discrepancy. I immediately contacted BoA Cardmember Services to inquire as to why the interest rate on this transaction is higher than the rate advertised in the promotional offer letter. The explanation offered was that the check could be used for anything so they carry a higher interest rate. The examples given were deposits into other personal accounts or payments to other people. However, that is not how I used the check. It is even noted on my monthly statement that the check went to XXXX XXXX XXXX for payment on a consumer credit card. Since I clearly used the " Access Check '' for a balance transfer, I then asked : If BoA has record of where the check went and can confirm that it was used to transfer a balance, would BoA be able to redesignate the transaction as a balance transfer under the promotion? The representative said no, she would not recategorize. The only ways to do a balance transfer and get the promotional terms in the offer letter were to either ( a ) call BoA directly or ( b ) complete an online balance transfer. This was new information to me. The agent further stated that the different terms of the check were printed on the check. I saw no such terms. If I had, I would not have used it. I would have done an online balance transfer. I asked to speak to a supervisor. After being left on hold for more than XXXX minutes, the BoA agent came back on the phone and said that the supervisor was on another call. I offered to wait. She said he would be on another call all day and would call me back within XXXX hours. 
This is unacceptable for several reasons:1 ) It is a predatory practice to offer one set of terms and deliver another once the consumer has acted in reliance on the offer. 
2 ) If these secondary terms ( 21.99 % rate on " Access Checks '' regardless of the use ) were indeed printed on the check, they were not conspicuous enough to grab attention and inform the consumer of the different terms. 
3 ) When the consumer requested a conversation with a supervisor who has authority to make decisions, BoA 's Cardmember Services supervisor refused to take the call in an attempt to shut down a valid complaint on a predatory practice. 

I will hire an attorney and file legal action if BoA does not resolve this issue in a timely manner.

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