Consumer complaint received 2021-01-23
Product: Credit card or prepaid card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem when making payments — Problem during payment process
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (NJ)

In XX/XX/XXXX, I opened my first credit card with BofA ... 
I was a recent graduate, with my first job in XXXX I was sought out by BofA through an ad campaign and approved for a {$5000.00} line of credit ... the line helped ease the blow of moving expenses ... I used the card to bridge the gap between groceries, rent, and my own paychecks ... 
I worked hard to pay my bills on time it was difficult at first, but I was eager to make a living for myself and my family. I took on an extra job waiting tables to build some savings, and things were finally starting to look up for me for the first time, I didnt have to figure out how I was going to time my rent and my credit card payments. I had savings now, and I was able to set up an auto pay on rent and on my credit card for a higher but responsible monthly payment of {$300.00}. 
With my monthly bills under my belt and credit balances steadily declining, I started setting my eyes on buying a car, so I could live further away from my job in the city ( and avoid rising rent costs in XXXX and XXXX neighborhoods XXXX. I knew a good credit score was needed, so I set out to start tracking my credit reports. I logged into my report one evening after work, and my stomach sank - a number of alerts, showing a delinquent credit card account, months of missed payments, and a score that had plummeted. 
How could this be?! I had the card on auto pay and I had more then enough savings to avoid any insufficient funds issues. It must have been a mistake. I called BofA to understand what had happened but the agent on the phone started out by verifying my identity, notifying me that my card was delinquent, and that I owed the full balance. They asked if I could make the full payment for the card balance over the phone, and if not, what monthly amount was right for me? Right from the start, before even getting a word in, it was obvious that this process was not set up to hear me out. Agent after agent, I was met with the same request for the full balance and little information on why my autopay stopped. It appeared they had as little information around the circumstances as I did. 
I visited my local branch, hoping for a more humane environment to learn what was happening. The branch manager looked up my account, talked with one of his colleagues in credit card operations, and gave me a helpless look. It was at this point that the branch manager let me in on what seemed like a secret : Setting up auto pay over the phone number that was provided on my credit card appears to run out after a year XXXX XX/XX/XXXX for me XXXX he told me if I had set it up in the branch with him, it wouldnt have stopped. He was unable to do anything for me, although he did offer consolation that I wasnt only one person this had happened to. 
I wasnt defeated yet. This sounded to me like a system issue, and once I let BofA know about it, they would fix it and resolve my account, right? Feeling empowered with this knowledge, I called BofA a number of times, asking whether there was anything I could do to bring the line current and reopen my account given the autopay error.. but I was met with the kind of powerless responses from agents who would admit the situation was unfair, but were not empowered or encouraged to make things right. I was told to reapply for the same credit limit, but since I already had the derogetory mark from this delinquency, the model did not approve me. 
I felt like a complete number the agents I was talking to were not allowed to be human beings, to use discretion to make things right even after admitting that there was an issue. The only suggestion I received was to reapply for the same line, with a credit history that had already been tarnished by the situation I was calling about. I couldnt help but feel like the victim of a broken, reckless system.. and then I was notified BofA sold the account off to some other collection agency, so my hope of resolving this with BofA was destroyed. 
After so many calls and this final news, I felt defeated and just started believing this is normal.. left to accept the blow to my credit history and available credit, the blow to my ability to buy a car or even think about a house. A blow to my future. After all, as the branch manager explained, this situation has happened to other people too, right? 
As time goes on, the disparities between how banks treat big companies and individual consumers couldnt be more clear to me. Its an easy business decision to use your discretion as a human being and to make things right when the value of a relationship is there to lose. I cant even XXXX a scenario where a bank would fumble an automatic payment on a large corporations line of credit and push them into default, let alone leave the issue unresolved after learning of their error. 
In retail banking, where our individual voices are so small and our wellbeing is so easily overlooked, its obvious to me that agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Borough are vital. Even after doing well at my job, keeping my other debts current, and continuing to build a responsible savings, that {$5000.00} line of credit is the highest I've ever been approved for right out of XXXX. 
This issue has affected my ability to purchase a car, to buy a house for my family, and to build my credit. To build a future. I just want a fair shot.