Consumer complaint received 2022-09-29
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: VA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Home equity loan or line of credit (HELOC)
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
My wife and I applied for a HELOC on XX/XX/XXXX. Credit score XXXX, XXXX year Bank of America customers with multiple accounts, never a late payment on any accounts. Credit card balances paid in full every month. Only debit is a car loan with a balance of {$19000.00} on a XXXX XXXX appraised at {$36000.00}. 

We have 100 % equity in our home ( no mortgage ). Applied for a HELOC of 14.3 % of Bank of America 's own appraised value. The process was awful. Multiple requests for the same documents. The XXXX processor XXXX XXXX failed to return e-Mails and more often than not did not call with updates as he promised. I wasted many hours chasing him down. 

On XX/XX/XXXX we received an approval letter. The closing was scheduled. Then Bank of America rescinded the approval. My wife lost her job after the application date of XX/XX/XXXX. Bank of America did not bother to check her employment until after the approval. My wife and I are now both retired. We live off savings and will shortly draw minimal amounts from our IRAs. My wife also started her pension. Bank of America refused to consider those sources of income. 

A couple days later I received a customer satisfaction survey which I promptly filled out expressing my dissatisfaction with the process. The next morning I received a call from a Bank of America representative asking for more detail about my complaint. I explained about our sources of income and she agreed that they should have been considered and that she would see to it that the process was re-started and expedited. We agreed. 

Was contacted by XXXX XXXX and asked for more detail on our savings, pension, and IRA accounts which was provided the same day. On XX/XX/XXXX I received a call from XXXX XXXX saying that the package was going to underwriting. That was the last unprompted call received despite a promise of weekly updates. 

I called XXXX XXXX several times over the next few weeks and got either a busy signal or voice mail. Calls were not returned. I left voice mails for his supervisors XXXX XXXX and later XXXX XXXX asking for callbacks and never received XXXX. 

XXXX XXXX did reach me in late XXXX / early XXXX to ask for permission to run an additional credit report. I gave permission and asked to be notified when the report was run so that I could lock my three credit bureau accounts again. I was never notified. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received a copy of the second appraisal performed by Bank of America. This appraisal was for {$23000.00} more than the original appraisal. Our requested HELOC amount was now 13.4 % of appraised value. 

I manage to reach XXXX XXXX on the phone on XX/XX/XXXX to ask about status and the credit report. He told me that the package still had not gone to underwriting but that the credit report had been. About 15 minutes after the end of that conversation I received a notice from XXXX that my credit had just been run by Bank of America. So I was lied to. XXXX XXXX also promised to call me by end of day on Friday, XX/XX/XXXX with an update. I had not heard from him at XXXX on that date so I called him. Went straight to voice mail and I never heard from him. 

On Monday, XX/XX/XXXX I received a call from Bank of America stating our loan had been denied due to too much debt. The call came from someone not familiar with loan - not XXXX XXXX. I explained to the person my dissatisfaction and gave her the facts. She took notes and promised that I would receive a call back from XXXX XXXX and his supervisor in 24 to 48 hours. As of XX/XX/XXXX I have received no call.

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