Consumer complaint received 2023-05-19
Product: Credit card or prepaid card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Getting a credit card — Application denied
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (NY)

1. ) On XX/XX/2023, my wife, XXXX XXXX, and I each submitted applications online for credit cards with Bank of America. This would be the second credit card for each of us. We pay off our current credit cards each month and have no outstanding balances nor have we had any outstanding balances for many years. My Bank of America application reference number is XXXX. 
2. ) At the time of application, I believe that both my wife and I had credit scores exceeding 800. We have been married 37 years. We own our home and car outright and have no outstanding bills of consequence. As of this writing, we have about {$60000.00} in checking and savings accounts at Bank of America and approximately {$500000.00} in government bonds with the federal Thrift Savings Plan ( TSP ). We are retired. Last year our gross income was about {$91000.00}. ( We were retired for all of last year. ) 3. ) My wife 's application was approved immediately upon submission. My application was not immediately approved. ( My wife mistakenly put down her monthly income ( {$6300.00} ) instead of her yearly income on the application form. Bank of America, nonetheless, issued her a credit card with a limit of {$9800.00}. ) 4. ) On XX/XX/2023, I received a call on my home phone from someone claiming to be from Bank of America. She asked me my name, and then said that she had a list of questions that I needed to answer with regard to my credit application. I stated that I had no way of knowing whether she represented Bank of America or not. She was either unable or unwilling to provide proof that she represented Bank of America. She insisted that I begin to provide personal data. I refused, explaining that I did not provide personal information over the phone unless I am sure of the identity of the other party. She did not respond. In particular, she did not offer to send a letter nor did she offer a call-back number. Because I could not verify her identity, I ended the phone conversation. 
5. ) On XX/XX/2023, I went to my local branch of Bank of America. They checked on the status of my application and informed me that my application for a credit card had been denied on XX/XX/2023. From my local Bank of America office, I called the credit card services division. They informed me that the decision could not be reversed but that I was welcome to reapply. The problem, of course, is that their refusal to issue me a credit card will adversely affect my credit score as will the act of making a second application. Moreover, the Bank of America representative with whom I spoke on the phone on XX/XX/XXXX could not guarantee that I would not be called again to provide personal information -- assuming that the first call was a Bank of America employee -- something that was never made clear. 
6a. ) I have provided proof that I was treated differently from my wife, although our credit histories are in every material way identical and have been identical for many years.

6b. ) I have shown that there was no rational reason for denying my application. 
6c. ) Assuming that the call that I received on XX/XX/2023 was from Bank of America, I have suffered harm from Bank of America 's unreasonable policy of demanding personal information over the phone without providing reasonable identification. In particular, Bank of America 's unreasonable policies and decisions will/have already adversely affected my credit score. 
6d. ) My refusal to provide personal information over the phone to the caller without reasonable assurance of the caller 's identity was reasonable. I would have been negligent to do otherwise.