Consumer complaint received 2017-01-05
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: AL
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Home equity loan or line of credit
Issue: Loan servicing, payments, escrow account

Complaint:
My ex-husband and I had a home equity line of credit with Bank of America ( CLOSED acct # XXXX ). The home was sold in XXXX, had never been late or delinquent since opened in XXXX. Almost a year later, after closing, while applying for a loan for a vehicle, we pulled our credit and saw a " past due balance of {$200.00} '' that was being reported as delinquent. We had no idea. We called Bank of America and were informed that this balance was " interest that had been accruing during the short sale process '' ( all mortgage payments were made on time during the sale process ). Somehow an error had occurred during closing and this interest/balance was just sitting out there and not included in the final fees... someone saw the mistake and tacked it on AFTER THE CLOSING. When we found out, we offered to pay the balance to clear our credit and we were informed that we " could not make a payment on a CLOSED account ''. They basically said there was nothing that could be done because the account was CLOSED. We continued to contact them to attempt to resolve this, no luck. Last year, while attempting to purchase a home, this was a major problem again and we began battling with them again. Each agent I spoke with said that there are notes in the record documenting what happened ( an error with interest that was NOT a part of the closing, could NOT pay on a CLOSED account ) but there was nothing they could do about how it was reported. Last year after multiple calls again, and agent stated that their " policies had changed '' and they said that it was NOW POSSIBLE to pay on a closed account. I paid the balance of {$200.00} that day and it now shows as " paid as agreed '' on my credit report. However, it is reported differently to the 3 major agencies and when a bank pulls my credit, it shows as " past due '' and " delinquent for 23 months '' ( the time between when it started and their policies changed allowing me to pay on a closed account )... which still negatively impacts my credit and I was denied for a loan 4 times because of this... this is the only NEGATIVE on my credit report. This should NEVER have been reported as " past due, delinquent, etc. '' This was an error on Bank of America 's end at closing to begin with, it was tacked on AFTER CLOSING and we were NOT INFORMED, when we realized this we attempted to pay immediately and were NOT ALLOWED to pay because it was a CLOSED account, our multiple calls, attempts to pay, and Bank of America statement of what happened is reportedly documented on the file ( per several agents ), and once their policy changed I paid this {$200.00} balance the same day. I would like the historical report of a " past due {$200.00} '' TOTALLY REMOVED from my credit report. Because I paid it in XXXX, it will now be reported again for 7 years from the date of last activity. This is not fair, as it was not my fault to begin with, as noted above. This has unjustly, negatively impacted my credit, ability to get a mortgage, and ability to get the best rates for years.

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