Consumer complaint received 2016-06-15
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CT
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Home equity loan or line of credit
Issue: Loan servicing, payments, escrow account

Complaint:
This complaint is based on a previous complaint I submitted on XXXX XXXX, XXXX, ( case number XXXX ) against Bank of America and its handling of my home equity loan. This complaint addresses the documents the bank submitted in the first complaint, its explanation of the fees and charges it claims I owe, and the current status of my account. 
The bank submitted a poor-quality photocopy of a complex Equity Maximizer document as its defense against my original complaint. I found an original copy of the document in my home files with my name, address and a date pre-printed on it, but not my signature. I signed only an Open-End Mortgage. ( Please see the attachments for the Equity Maximizer and Open-End Mortgage documents. ) I would never sign a document without understanding all the provisions. 
The Equity Maximizer does not state that the interest on the loan must be paid after 10 years, as the bank claims in the XXXX XXXX, XXXX, letter it submitted to the Bureau. I questioned in my first complaint how the bank was applying my interest payments totaling {$7000.00}, which it still has not explained. ( Please see the Account Transaction History attachment ). Since the interest rate has never risen above XXXX percent, I thought that when I paid off the interest, the bank would automatically apply my payments to the principle or the late fees/charges it claims I owe. 
The Equity Maximizer references a Borrower 's Protection Plan that I would have applied for had I known about it while unemployed in XXXX. 
I did not know that the bank has been charging me for a life insurance policy on the loan until I read the XXXX XXXX, XXXX, letter it submitted in response to my first complaint. The Equity Maximizer does state that the bank might require insurance on the property to secure the loan, but I would never have agreed to a life insurance policy. The hidden life insurance policy raises concern about whether there are any other hidden fees or charges the bank has levied against my account. 
The bank identified the charge I questioned in my first complaint as {$1200.00} of deferred interest and a second charge of {$1600.00} as a hold-over amount from the XXXX foreclosure. The bank 's lawyer should have discussed these charges and how they were calculated with me and the court 's lawyer during the foreclosure procedure. 
Since XXXX XXXX, each of my account statements shows a {$310.00} increase over the previous month 's charges. My XXXX XXXX statement shows that the minimum payment due is now up to {$2600.00}. These are excessive fees that continue to rise. 
The bank sent my account to collections after I filed my first complaint, which I view as retaliatory. The bank 's Resolution Specialist called me twice in XXXX before the bank officially responded to my first complaint, but never responded to my return calls. 
I returned a collection call on XXXX XXXX, XXXX, and learned from the agent that my home is in pre-foreclosure and that I should have received a notice in XXXX about paying both interest and principle starting in XXXX. I never received such notification. 
In summary, the bank did not handle my account in good faith or with complete transparency. It failed to notify me of its 10-year re-payment rule, under which it has added exorbitant monthly fees and charges to my account. The bank continued to accept my interest payments without revealing how these payments are being applied to the loan ; the bank carried out this practice as if I were paying just to keep the account open, rather than to re-pay the loan. 
An agent assigned to my account could have updated me on its status and forewarned me about the 10-year repayment rule. 
The bank is paid back in full on the loan when my home is either sold or foreclosed and would not be financially disadvantaged as I, a XXXX on a limited income, would be. 
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 non-monetary relief