Consumer complaint received 2020-04-11
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CA
Product: Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan
Sub-product: Personal line of credit
Issue: Getting a line of credit

Complaint:
On XX/XX/20, I applied for a Home equity line of credit with Bank of america. The application number is XXXX. 

I applied for {$300000.00} equity loan. Bank of America had a promotional offer at 1.74 % the first year of the HELOC. This was a great offer and so I applied immediately. I submitted all the documents quickly to try to get the process going as soon as possible. 

Initially, the BoA representative told me they would assign a representative to me within 1-3 business days. Then, it was extended to 5-10 business days. Then, it was extended to 14-18 business days. Each time I called, the representative said they were very busy, and someone could not get to my application. 

Finally on XX/XX/20, I was assigned a representative, XXXX XXXX. He assured me everything was going smoothly and asked for some more documentation. He also told me the new limit I could apply for the HELOC was {$220000.00}. I submitted the documentation immediately. He called me again on XX/XX/20 and let me know he is ready to submit everything for approval. 

Everything seemed just fine until this thursday XX/XX/20. XXXX left me a voice mail saying I had been denied the loan. He could not tell me the reason but I will get a mail and I can call that number for more infomation. 

I called XXXX back. I have been waiting for almost a month, and suddenly my application is rejected, and what is the reason? XXXX says he can not say anything, but I will receive a letter in the mail. I told him I felt like a criminal. What is going on? 

I have had another experience like this in the past with Bank of America, in which they reject my application ( the experience was getting a mortgage ) and do not tell me the reason. In that case I received a letter explaining NOTHING, besides they decided to reject me. I am certain it will be the same this time. 

I want to know why Bank of America rejected me. I suspect the promotional offer of 1.74 % was too low and they decided to go against the offer they made, and cancel my application. This is NOT a reason for me to have gone through this process for almost a month, then reject my application AND tell me I can not know the reason of rejection. They are rejecting me because they are not willing to own their promises of a good promotional rate. Otherwise, why not tell me on the spot the rejection reason? They know they don't have a good case. I wasted a month on this shady transaction waiting for them to mull over their false promises, then decide it's not worth honoring the promotional rate. 

Either give me a really good reason why my application was rejected, or process my application fairly and honor the promotional rate Bank of America had offered me. This practice is deceptive and worse - deflecting the reason to the letter ( which then has NO information ) is incredibly insulting. I can't even move on to another HELOC application for fear that they may reject me because there is something I am not aware of about my application. 

Honestly, if this was the first time I would have just let this pass. But due to my mortgage application a few years ago that ended the same way, I have decided to call Bank of America out. I have been banking with Bank of America for 20 years. 20 YEARS!! This is NOT how you treat a loyal customer. No wonder XXXX XXXX laughs at you for being the bank for the poor and uneducated. 

I submit my complaint hoping someone would rectify this travesty and make Bank of America responsible for their actions. Thank you.

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