Consumer complaint received 2017-12-06
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: UT
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:
In September, my wife contacted the Bank of America to cancel a business credit card she was no longer using. The representative inadvertently cancelled the wrong card, instead canceling the personal credit card we had with them for more than 30 years. Soon after discovering our personal card had been canceled -- the card was denied as we attempted to make a purchase -- we contacted Bank of America. They acknowledged that the mistake was theirs, but told us they could not simply reinstate the card. The customer service process was a nightmare and I 'll spare you the details, but eventually ( in a callback several weeks later ), they explained that because of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, restoring a closed account, even one that was closed by their mistake, required us to go through a re-application process. As an aside, the original three reps with whom I spoke -- yes three, starting with a front line rep and progressing to her supervisor, then his, a " resolution specialist '' -- insisted that " by policy '' they had to go through a re-application process and never once cited Federal Law. They made it sound like it was just an internal policy/process which, quite naturally, I assumed could be waived since the mistake was theirs. 

If they are correct in stating that the Fair Credit Reporting Act actually requires a re-application process whenever a closed account is reopened, even when the bank makes a mistake such as this, then I 'd say the Act has gone too far in regulation. My wife called to cancel the business card on a Saturday afternoon. We discovered the problem on a Sunday evening. We called on Sunday evening and again Monday morning. The account had n't even been closed for 48 hours. It was a bank mistake, but they said they could not just uncheck the box that said " account closed '' and restore our credit card. They claim Federal Law ( the FCRA noted above ) prevents them from doing so. If that 's the case, the law is far too restrictive. 

Can you please tell me : Does the Fair Credit Report Act actually prevent them from corrrecting their error and reopening my account? Yes, I could have gone through the re-application process, but I do n't think this should be necessary. They made the mistake. They should be able to fix it. 

I have already contacted the FTC ( though my Senator, XXXX XXXX ) and their legal team has asserted that nothing to their knowledge in the FCRA should keep the bank from fixing their mistake and re-opening our account. However, they said your agency is also involved with the Act, so I might wish to contact you, too. 

If you confirm, as they did, that the FCRA does not prohibit Bank of America from " simply '' reopening my account after *their* mistake, I will contact them myself. 

Thank you and kind regards, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, UT

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