Consumer complaint received 2016-01-06
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: NY
Product: Credit card
Issue: Closing/Cancelling account

Complaint:
I am in debt to Bank of America with a past credit card balance. Bank of America hired the law firm XXXX, XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. Their address is XXXX XXXX XXXX - XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, New York XXXX. I had several harassing conversations with their representatives. Firms telephone # XXXX. This firm and Bank of America are in violation to the Fair Debt Collection Act. They have consistently mocked, ridiculed, harassed and refused negotiations with me. This has been done all under the pretense that they are 'collecting a debt. ' The firm has recently entered a judgement against me for the original amount I owed plus court costs & legal disbursements, {$17000.00}! 
The firm that Bank of America hired is in direct violation of the FDCPA because they : 1 ) talked to a 3rd party about my debt 2 ) they made alarming personal comments to me 3 ) they refuse to attempt ANY negotiations with me because of their discriminatory reasoning. 
Due to a disastrous divorce I was unable to pay my Bank of America credit card. I had several conversations with the firm hired & consistently told them of my situation but was willing to negotiate an amount to settle the account. I have been in contact with them over the past year. They in turn ridiculed, mocked and harassed me with calls, letters and now a judgement for the full amount plus their incidentals. They specifically mocked my ability to repay the entire amount and went to great lengths to intimidate me. At XXXX point " XXXX XXXX '' from the firm was yelling at me that I " live better than him! '' He had XXXX a previous potential sale of my house. I told him I was forced to put my house up for sale after the divorce but was lucky to have the support of my family so I took it off the market. He made several alarming comments, told me my kids were my problem & that I needed to find the money to pay. He also reminded me that he knew where I lived. I was alarmed to say the least! On another occasion he looked up my old XXXX records and saw that I owned a XXXX. I told him it was old ( XXXX ), from my previous marriage and had over XXXX XXXX miles on it! He belittled me to no avail and I was bombarded by him with several legal notices, documents and letters of collection. 
I strongly believe that collections is NOT based on assets but on ability to pay. The firm refused to negotiate to any extent, they wanted only the full amount. Their discriminatory reasoning was that I had what they wanted & I had to pay the full amount no matter what. Not a dollar off was ever offered. 
I also, strongly believe that the CFPB is designed to regulate the banks from taking these draconian personal tactics to collect debts. I am a single mother, with XXXX children & with the support of my family have been trying to work with the creditors that are willing to negotiate with me. I am trying to rebuild my life & have successfully repaid XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX in a repayment plan with XXXX. 
I do NOT want any further communication with any of Bank of America 's sub vendors, specifically NOT with firm who I had contact with. I would like the judgement entered against me on behalf of Bank of America to be removed in its entirety due to the several violations to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Act. Lastly, I would like to negotiate directly with Bank of America to settle my account. Any & all communication must be done in writing only via mailed correspondence. Thank you for your attention in this matter.

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