Consumer complaint received 2022-08-11
Product: Credit card or prepaid card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest — Unexpected increase in interest rate
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (KY)

I opened a credit card with BOA, activating the card on XX/XX/XXXX. The card had a 0 % introductory rate on purchases that expired in XX/XX/XXXX. I used the card without incident until XX/XX/XXXX, when I had accumulated a balance of around {$10000.00}. I called BOA Customer Service on XX/XX/XXXX or XX/XX/XXXX ( my records are not clear ) to confirm the end date of my introductory 0 % interest rate period. The primary purpose of my call was to find the exact date my 0 % introductory rate ended and pay off my balance before then, avoiding any interest charges. The Customer Service agent told me that yes, my 0 % rate was ending in XXXX. The agent then asked if I would like to extend the 0 % introductory rate until XX/XX/XXXX. I distinctly remember asking them to clarify if I heard right - and they repeated that yes I would have 0 % interest until XX/XX/XXXX. This sounded like a very good deal so I agreed. Since I was already near my credit limit with the existing ~ {$10000.00} balance, I asked the agent if they would also increase my credit limit. They said yes and raised it to {$20000.00}. This completed the call and I thought nothing more of it until XX/XX/XXXX. 

Upon receiving my XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX statement, I saw a {$130.00} interest charge. I called BOA Customer Service on XX/XX/XXXX and explained that I should not have been charged the interest due to my introductory rate being extended. The agent put me on hold, I believe to listen to the recording of the XXXX call. After about 15 minutes the agent came back on the line and confirmed that yes, the agent on my XX/XX/XXXX or XX/XX/XXXX call had told me they could extend the 0 % interest rate - but - they were not authorized to do so. So in effect, the 0 % rate had not been extended ( unknown to me until I received my XXXX bill ). Because I was calling after business hours the agent explained that they would " make a note in the system '' and I should call back another day to have it escalated to the correct department that would refund the interest that was improperly charged. The agent on this call was conciliatory and agreed with me that this was an internal issue with BOA processes and not my fault. 

I called BOA Customer Service again on XX/XX/XXXX and spoke with a different agent. This agent agreed that yes, I had been misinformed in the XXXX call. But they said, inexplicably, that the " interest charges are valid ''. They could not explain to me the logic of this and refused to refund the {$130.00} interest charge. This alarmed me so I immediately paid off my entire balance of {$11000.00} balance the next day. But I DID NOT PAY the {$130.00} interest charge. 

Since then, I have called BOA 5-6 times, and have been unable to resolve the dispute in any way. Interest and penalties had accumulated to a balance of {$520.00} as of XX/XX/XXXX. The last insult happened in a call I made XX/XX/XXXX. The BOA Customer Service agent said the account had " gone into collections '' but offered that they could resolve this matter if I only made a {$300.00} payment to " make the account current ''. Then, he could refund my {$300.00} back to me, and credit the rest of the {$520.00} balance, zeroing out my obligation to BOA. I agreed to make the temporary {$300.00} payment to facilitate fixing this, out of the desire to clear my name and establish good standing with BOA. But I did NOT acknowledge owing anything legitimately. This turned out to be a mistake, because my next ( XXXX XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX ) statement showed the {$300.00} payment but {$220.00} still due. Another call to Customer service resulted the agent telling me that there was " no notes in the account '' regarding the XX/XX/XXXX call promise to refund the {$300.00} and XXXX out my balance. 

At this point I filed a written dispute to BOA on XX/XX/XXXX ( delivered via Certified Mail within the 60 day dispute period ). I stated the {$300.00} was collected improperly, and without my consent applied by BOA to my ( invalid ) balance due. I will attach that letter and proof of delivery. I received a letter back asking me to call BOA regarding the matter, to supply more information to them. However I called on XX/XX/XXXX and spoke to several agents in the course of several calls, none of which were able to access my dispute letter or address what information they want to gather. I take this as another of BOA 's stonewalling tactics. Today, I am filing this complaint with the CFPB as a result.