Consumer complaint received 2024-02-14
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Struggling to pay your bill — Credit card company won't work with you while you're going through financial hardship
Company: ASSOCIATED BANC-CORP (IL)

In XXXX of XXXX, XXXX, an employee of Associated Bank from Wisconsin, walked into my office offering a $ XXXX credit line with a 5 % XXXX, " only requiring the last three bank statements ''. Of course, they requested a bunch of documents. 

I knew XXXX from before, as he had worked with me on another loan when he was employed by XXXX XXXX one or two years earlier. He said, " I know XXXX is not taking good care of you. '' In XXXX of XXXX, I signed the agreement and obtained the loan. 

By the end of the year, the credit line was used for investments we made in IT infrastructure and other business needs. The project was mostly completed, and we planned to start selling our services to customers beginning in XXXX. 

Around XX/XX/XXXX, I received a phone call from Associated Bank asking if I wanted to convert that credit line into another type of loan. I said I preferred to keep the credit line. The person asked how my business was doing. I told her that the business was not great because most of our customers are in logistics/transportation, which was not doing well. 

In XXXX of XXXX, I received a letter from Associated Bank, demanding that I produce a financial statement and stating that if I didnt, my company would be in default per the agreement I signed for the credit line. 

I replied by email asking what was going on and why I should waste my time producing such a document. I asked them if we had missed a payment, or if my credit score had gone down. I explained that I didnt have a missed payment on my credit report, that I was paying my mortgage, and that my credit score was XXXX. I didnt send the report. 

Then I started checking and realized that our accounting person had not made a payment for the credit line. We were late on the payment by about 10 days. I immediately made the payment. 

I sent another email to the bank, apologizing for the missed payment. 

Then, their lawyer sent me a letter claiming that I had misrepresented some documents in my credit line application and that they would default my company, demanding the return of the entire $ XXXX. The deadline was Monday. I read the letter on Thursday. I immediately called their lawyer and got a voicemail stating that the attorney was out of the office. I sent an email to the bank and to the attorney, asking if this was a joke. They wanted to default my company on Monday, but the attorney was out of office until Tuesday. However, the attorney called me a few hours after that. 

I asked what was going on, and they said that I had failed to report that I had a credit line with another bank. 

I was surprised by that because when I was working with XXXX on the loan application, XXXX confirmed that the application documents were good. And he knew about my previous loan. 

I was very concerned and didnt know what to do. I consulted an attorney who asked me what my goal was. I explained that I just wanted to continue making payments. So I did ask the bank, but the bank refused the offer and kept asking me to repay the loan. 

At some point, I made a $ XXXX payment towards the loan, wanting to assure them that I wanted to continue making payments and that they shouldnt be concerned about their money. 

Not sure when, but they increased the APR to around 10 % at some point. 

They proposed a forbearance agreement, which would require me to repay the loan in 90 days, or they would default my company. And yes, they increased the APR to 11 %. 

Their attorney fees were around $ XXXX. 

The forbearance agreement stated I owed $ XXXX. I asked them to check, and they corrected it. And yes, their attorneys charge $ XXXX per hour. And yes, per loan documents, I need to pay for their attorneys. In my opinion, they dont do a good job charging $ XXXX per hour. 

So I was thinking, the lawyer advised me to ask the bank to keep working with me. The bank refused, and I thought I had no other choice but to sign the forbearance agreement, otherwise, they would block my accounts and put a stop to my business. 

I tried to get a loan from a few banks in the meantime and was denied. Three months have passed, and I was served court documents. 

They are suing my company and me personally because of the personal guarantee. They say that I signed a " certain agreement '' and have failed to give them the money. They didnt mention anything about the late payment or misrepresentation. 

When presenting the case to several persons, they said they are surprised at how aggressive the bank is. 

I was asking around, and I got information that another person who also has a loan at Associated is being asked to return the loan. And the reason was that the person was late on their property taxes. I dont know how far that case went. 

In the meantime, I paid another $ XXXX towards the loan. But, it seems pointless, as the fees for the attorney are probably in that range by now. 

In contrast, recently we were a few days late on a XXXX payment. I received a phone call. They asked me about the payment. I apologized and made the payment while we were on the call. The person asked why the payment was missed. I explained that I have a new accountant ( I fired the previous one ). 

" Thank you. Have a good day. '' And thats it. It was all done in XXXX minutes. XXXX XXXX is not trying to destroy my business because of one late payment. 

My attorney says its not likely I can win the case with Associated. I signed the documents, and thats it. 

After I paid XXXX out of XXXX loan, bank still doesn't want to allow me to continue making payments.