Consumer complaint received 2024-12-22 00:00:00
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: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted Bank of America 's financial assistance department to renew my financial hardship agreement, which is set to expire on XX/XX/XXXX. During the call, one of their phone agents informed me that my account was four months delinquent and that the financial hardship agreement I entered into on XX/XX/XXXX, had never been approved. This news shocked me, as my past due amount had grown to over {$1400.00}.

When I entered into the financial hardship agreement on XX/XX/XXXX I was in good standing. Under this agreement : I was to pay XXXX XXXX  monthly for six months on the XXXX  of each month at 0 % interest. 
The monthly payments were to be deducted automatically from my checking account. 
I agreed not to use my BofA Visa card for the duration of the agreement.

I also received a confirmation letter outlining the terms of the agreement.

I had followed all of these terms. However, the agent could not explain how my account became delinquent despite the automatic withdrawals I had authorized. He apologized for the inconvenience, stated he did not know why it was not approved after the agreement had already been issued, and offered me a new financial assessment instead of a resolution.

I pushed for answers, explaining that I had made all the required payments on time and had never been notified that there were any issues. I had even called Bank of America twice since entering into the agreement, and neither time did either of the phone agents mention any problems with my account. Specifically in XX/XX/XXXX, I called to ask if I could pay more than my monthly {$140.00}. I initially reached the outgoing BofA recording stating my balance and became alarmed upon hearing that my account was past due. I expressed concern when I was eventually connected to an agent and asked her if this was true, explaining that I had recently been put on a payment plan. She told me the recording was likely an error and confirmed my payments were current and my account was in good standing.

On my XX/XX/XXXX call, I told the first agent I spoke with that I had received a letter in XX/XX/XXXX outlining the agreements terms, as well as a letter received on XX/XX/XXXX, stating my final payment would be due on XX/XX/XXXX ( the latter being the catalyst for my phone call ). Yet, Bank of America failed to notify me that the hardship agreement had not been approved or inform me that my account had become past due ( despite my previous two calls to the bank ). Neither agent on XX/XX/XXXX asked me to verify my contact information to see why I had not received any notifications regarding the status of my account or the change in status of my financial hardship agreement. 

Additionally, I told the agent that I had lived up to my side of the agreement in terms of not using my BofA XXXX. In fact, I had even let my card expire because I was so adamant about not breaching my part of the agreement with BofA. The agent asked me if I received a notification about my credit card being canceled and I thought it was because my credit card was expiring so I disregarded it. I was determined to not use this card and use this opportunity to pay down my debt with a 0 % interest rate until XXXX, XXXX. 

During my call on XX/XX/XXXX, the first agent conducted a financial assessment, but the call was subsequently disconnected. I called back and was connected to a different agent, who explained that they could not identify the prior agent and did not keep records of who handled my call. 

The second agent reviewed my case and concluded that the agent who had set up my financial hardship agreement in XXXX acted in error. She explained that the agent did not have the authority to issue the agreement and should have offered financial counseling instead. At this point, I was in disbelief. I had lived up to my end of the agreement, only to discover that the agreement with BofA was never valid and my account had accumulated interest, finance charges, and late fees over the past XXXX months. Furthermore, my past due amount had ballooned to over {$1400.00}. 

This agent asked if I wanted to proceed with another new financial assessment. In tears, I agreed. After placing me on hold several times, she returned with XXXX options : Pay 80 % of my total balance ( approximately {$11000.00} ) by XXXX, XXXX ( XXXX months from now ). I explained that being on XXXX leave and not currently working, I could not afford to pay this much money in this timeframe while I was paying a mortgage and not earning an income. It seemed like lunacy to even suggest this as an option. 

Credit counseling I was given a phone number, and when I asked who the credit counseling service was, the agent only said that BofA worked with several different credit counseling services. It was ambiguous who I would be working with, and I was suspicious if they would have my best interest at XXXX or would try to exploit me again, as I was already feeling quite vulnerable from my financial hardship agreement not being honored. 

When I asked if there was anything Bank of America could do for me immediately, she suggested I call back in a few days or later in the month. This response was confusing : why would Bank XXXX XXXX hardship protocol change in a matter of days? What are the variables? What determined the threshold? 

In frustration and out of fear, I paid $ XXXX months worth of paymentsover the phone using money from my savings account which I use to pay my mortgage. Despite this, my account remains delinquent, and I owe a past-due amount that I can not afford at this time. If BofA had honored the agreement it made with me on XX/XX/XXXX, my account would be current, as all monthly payments we agreed upon have been withdrawn automatically from my account each month. 

I firmly believe Bank XXXX XXXX actions constitute a bait-and-switch tactic, a conflict of interest, or, at best, gross negligence and exploitation. Bank of America continued to charge interest, finance charges, and late fees while withdrawing the agreed-upon {$140.00} payments from my account. I was not notified, warned, or given any opportunity to rectify the situation until it was too late. I am requesting that BofA honor the original agreement set up on XX/XX/XXXX and refund me the late fees and finance charges incurred as a result of their error. I also request that my credit report be adjusted to reflect no delinquency on my part. Consumers deserve transparency, fair treatment, and good-faith agreements when seeking financial assistance

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 explanation