Consumer complaint received 2022-09-14
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: VA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Other problem

Complaint:
I had a certain amount of available credit open on a credit card. 
I decided I was okay with spending that open amount on games that my kids and I were playing. I figured that when the transactions got declined after hitting the credit limit, then I would remove this card and we would no longer make in game purchases. And I would start paying the credit card off .... 

This eventually occurred. Transactions started getting declined. My credit limit is XXXX. 
So I expected that to be my balance. 
I even made a {$1000.00} payment expecting this would save me from that card showing 100 % utilized. 
I eventually found out that the credit card company had allowed us to exceed the credit limit by {$10000.00}!!!! 
I thought I was going to be able to get that cleared up when I called into their customer service. That this had to be a mistake. But they advised me, it was not a mistake. That they allow their customers who have good standing with them to exceed their credit limit. 
I advised them I have good standing with many credit cards I have, and when I hit the limit, transactions get declined. 
I advised them, with the many other credit cards I have, if I am good standing with them, they will send me a letter and let me know they are increasing my credit limit. Those other cards don't just increase the limit I can spend on the backend, they increase my actual credit limit. 
I told them this was VERY SHADY behavior! Nobody EVER tried to exceed their limit and said, " Why was I only allowed to go XXXX over my limit! '' Or good thing our credit card worked on this {$9500.00} purchase, since the card only had only showed {$200.00} was available for spending. 
I wouldn't have a problem if it was a smaller amount... Even XXXX... 

They said, I can request for them not to let me exceed the limit anymore. I of course, said how is that not the default, as that is the definition of credit limit... 
If I have a credit card with a limit of $ XXXX. I should never expect to get a bill for $ XXXX!!! 
I asked to speak to a supervisor twice and then a manager. Each time I didn't get anywhere different. 

These were my complaints to them : - I owe $ XXXX more than I thought was even possible- Which of course means, I owe a lot more in interest payments on this card than I thought was possible. As well as a larger minimum monthly payment - My credit report shows that I am 150 % to the balance on this card, so it is also negatively impacting my credit. 
They said they could submit for me to try and get a credit limit increase. 
I advised them that this would have been the correct way for them to allow me to charge more and this isn't really them doing something to help the situation they put me in. 
I told them, that I want a solution like, forgiving some of the balance as that $ XXXX shouldn't have been allowed to be purchased. 
If not that, then maybe don't charge me interest on the XXXX over my limit... 
This keeps the bank from profiting further off this shady practice, and allows me to pay it off quicker. 

I also continuously asked if there was some additional case they could open up, for a higher up team to review the case and come up with a solution. 
They said that wasn't a possibility. 
I told them to go ahead and submit the credit limit increase, so we could try to lower the impact on my credit score. 
After I got off the phone with them, I did try to find someone or a group to contact at the bank to try and get further help still... 
I haven't gotten any responses from that effort yet. 
I found out the other day, that the request for my credit limit increase was denied... 
So they are willing to let me charge more on my credit card, than they are willing to approve me to have a credit limit of!?!??! 
That makes no sense... It doesn't seem like

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation