Bank of America review: fixed to variable interest rate 59

I, too am suffering from the same horrible fate... I opened a "Gold Option Loan" with BOA in June of 2008. This was a $16, 000 loan with a 10% interest rate (due to my young age) and was set for 60 months. I was scheduled to pay $286.00 each month. This is my 59th month of paying $300 a month (which is an extra $14 a month). I have been fighting for the last two years to find out why my interest rate jumped to 18.98% without my permission, advisement or consent. I have also questioned why the terms of the loan state that the loan should be fulfulled next month and even though I have paid them exactly $18, 000, I have only paid $3000 on the principle of the loan. I mean really, how can you keep $15, 000 out of $18, 000 as interest? And how can you come back almost 5 years after the beginning of the loan and state that the loan has now become an 11 year loan?
I have contacted CS numerous times as well as going into the local BOA branch and I am getting no where. No one can tell me how much I have paid on the loan, why it isnt paid for, where my money has gone, why I havent paid any more principle than I have. No one can provide me with a copy of all loan transactions, copy of the loan contract, terms, or anything. I am at wits end.
If anyone can help or has any valuable information, please email me at kirbyjbr@yahoo.com

heres the worse...I was on autodebit---they raised mine because they claimed I was "late" 1 day---I was on their autodebit and they were taking it from anoth Bof A account! Finally had it--paid off in full, early and closed the account--guess what, they drew another 470 dollars leaving me a credit! They promised to transafer it back, never did- finally 5 weeks later I got a check and a letter saying they would no longer withdraw on this closed account...got a statement yesterday, now I have a 940 dollar credit as they debited 2 more times! Un-freakin-real

Well in Nov of 2007 i opened a Gold option Line of Credit with BOA and due to hospitalized and unemployment i had to stop making my $230.00 month payments which by December was jacked up to $261.00 and after three different phone conversations of PROMISING to get my loan into a smaller monthly payment of $120 and saying " If you pay us $x by this date we can enroll you into the program" but after i pay the amount they ask i wasn't qualified to be enrolled so i stopped paying period for several months now i owe about $6, 000 after they've added $49 late fees and other fees. But my question is whats going to happen now i am working part-time and i can't afford high monthly payments. I've heard my state is one of the only state that is illegal to garnish wages but has anyone else had to stop making payments and if so did they sue you? thanks Amy

My wife was sent this offer in the mail, it was called a Gold Option Plan. She came to me and showed me how she could get a lower rate on her credit cards. She asked me if I wanted to take out this because it would lower our monthly payments. I looked at her and told her not to do it because it sounded to good to be true. Well to make a long story short, she took out the plan and while she was talking to them on the speaker phone, I told my wife it was a mistake and she should not do it. They asked her who I was and she said her husband. Well here is the clincher, they put me down for the loan.

When I found out, I called bank of America and told them to review the tape that at no time did i agree and they assured me that I was not on the loan. Fast forward to 4 years later when we had lost our home due to the effort my wife was making at paying the $660.00 a month payment to save her credit. She lost her job and everything went south.

Does anyone know how I can contest this debt. There was never anything that my wife had to sign and it has been so long that the debt is now with a debt collection agency. My wife does not owe anywhere near what they say she owes. She paid back over 28 thousand dollars back on a 20, 000 dollar loan. The interest rates were higher than what she was promised. This whole ordeal has been a nightmare. In the end, BOA foreclosed on our home because we could no longer meet our Mortgage payments due to this milestone place around my family's neck. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

If anyone could send me the agreement i would really appreciate it. My email is ospreymc@charter.net

I've been trying to work on my credit score, and it hasn't changed by much all year because they've effectively lowered my overall credit limit, keeping my debt to credit limit ratio the same. I currently have the Gold Loan LOC and a credit card with them. I've been paying well over the minimum payment for the past year on both accounts, and I've NEVER made a single late payment. Through prioritizing my LOC this past year, I paid it down from $16, 000 to $7, 000 and BofA has been lowering my limit as I've been making these payments. They lowered it to $14k, then $12k, then $9k. They lowered my limit 3 times in less than 1 year! On top of that, they've also lowered my credit card limit as I've been paying that down, too, to prevent transfers between those two accounts, like onyourmark's posting. I'm absolutely disgusted by how they do business. I started with MBNA in 2002, not BofA. I just transfered my LOC elsewhere (I expect they'll want to auto-close my LOC once they find out the balance is zero so my credit score will likely not change by much again) and will pay off my credit card balance soon. I'm also looking to purchase a home in the near future, so needless to say, they won't be getting that business. I will NEVER EVER do business with BofA again. There are many other banks that are much more personal, helpful and ethical.

My husband and I consolidated our credit a couple of years ago and got a Gold Option personal loan from Bank of America. The loan was for $32, 000. For the past year the intrest rate for that loan inexplicably shot up to over 20% APR - The balance of the loan is about $30, 000.

We have a credit card, also from Bank of America, in my name with a $28, 000 limit on it since 2005. For a few months I've been getting checks for balance transfer and cash advance promotions, the most recent being for a promotional apr of .99% till Sept. 2010. I usually carry a very low balance on this card.

Husband called BOA to try to get them to either lower the interest rate on our loan or facilitate transfering most of the loan balance to the CC. Basically, we would use one of the cash advance checks for up to my credit limit, deposit it in his checking account and use that to pay the loan. Once he told them what he wanted to use the cash advance for - they immediately lowered the available credit on my CC from $28, 000 to $4, 000 and claimed to not be able to lower the interest rate on the loan.

If we DIDN'T call them, didn't tell them what we were going to use the money for, they would be none the wiser. We would STILL owe the money to Bank of America, we just wouldn't be paying them an obscene amount of interest on it. I've never experienced anything like it. Do NOT give BOA your business. I am so disgusted.

Hello everyone. I just received my letter today from BoA. It states that my account will remain at 7.99% non variable and that my repatment will not extend as long as I make timely payments and do not reaccess my account. They did reference the fact that I filed a complain with OCC Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The letter also states that my account remains subject to potential future changes according to the account agreement. Hope this helps. It was signed by Stephen Fraser from the Office of the CEO and President.

You would think of all the money I have tied up with BoA this would be a non-issue...anyway, there is relief but looks like you all have to complain to get it.

I just received a call from a representative of Bank of America informing me that they will be keeping my account at the original terms. They have made a businsess to do this on all of the gold option accounts based on the complaints that they have received. I asked to get something in writing but she declined and said I would just see it on my next statement. I really would like to get something in writing and think I will pursue that. They did not have any problem with sending me a letter that their business decision was to change my account to variable.

I have the same situation as all the rest in this forum. Please keep me informed. I would like to be include in class action lawsuit also againts BOA. phllpln@yahoo.com Pleas we need to stick together on this one.

I just got off the phone with Bank of America and the rep told me that Bank of America is canceling the new terms of the variable rate with this Gold Option Line. She said that the decision was made on November 18th, 2009 and that we will receive new statements in the mail within a week or two. She said it was because of the economy. Honestly, I think BoA realized that people would just stop paying their debts or either find a credit union to do their business with. It was really a bad business decision and whoever what responsible for it was obviously very greedy and didn't consider thinking that people would just stop paying.

I will wait until I receive my letter.

I have a Gold Option Loan with B of A that I was originally told was a fixed rate, and now they have changed to variable. I was also told in the beginning that it was a "line of credit", but now they said it is a credit card. Even after having a high credit score and paying on time, they cut off my ability to use my account.

I have been on the phone today for 2 hrs being passed from one B of A associate to another, only to be told to just "file bankruptcy" or use their debt consoldation program.

I feel at my wits end, as I have been unable to find a lender to help me refinance this loan at a reasonable rate. I did open up a Wells Fargo Account to try to work with them.
I just feel like I'm trying to be honest and reasonable, but I'm just beating my head up against a wall.

I am having the same issue as well and am meeting with an attorney in the San Francisco bay area tomorrow November 13th, 2009. I will update a posting after to let you all know what transpired.

Hi again,
I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the information. I blanket emailed B of A this morning and got a call this evening. They are going to keep my loan at a fixed rate although they said they will not mail me any documents stating this (which I didn't really like). I got the name of the person who called me and I plan on writing a letter to B of A confirming our discussion. I just don't feel like I can trust them at their word anymore...btw, I was the person who was asking for the copy of the solicitation (above) so I don't need it now.

I still can't believe that they thought/think this is ok to do... CRAZY

Hi, I also got scammed by B of A. I was wondering if anyone has a copy of the original solicitation that they would mind emailing to me. Mine said that the rate was non-variable on it. It also said that the interest rate would not change. I am not sure if everyone got the same one, but I am positive of the words "non-variable" on mine. If you have it, please let me know. I want to include it in my complaint. Unfortunately we moved twice since I got the loan and I can't find mine... Thanks and keep up the good fight!

Sonya

Same here, I'm not paying another cent until I get a letter confirming that I'll be on a fixed rate. Some argue that it will screw up my credit score. But what's the point of keeping good credit if banks screw you like this?

I just had the exact same thing happen to me! Is this legal?

David - I may be mistaken but maybe it would be better for you to be at the current APR plus prime? Again, I could totally be wrong but you are paying extremly high interest on this loan that I wonder if it would be less for you. I'm confused on the terms somewhat but it would be worth checking into.

I've been posting on another board regarding this. I, too, think it is criminal. My original loan was with MBNA, so I didn't SIGN anything with Bank of America.

I have contacted two Senators, a Congressman, umpteen people at Bank of America including Ken Lewis, the Attorney General, Federal Reserve Consumer Help, the House Banking Committee, and the OCC. I did most of this today, and I'm willing to do it all again tomorrow and the next day and the next until someone hears this.

If enough of us do this, they WILL HAVE NO CHOICE but to hear us!

If we all refuse to pay,
That should be our only option. I will not be mugged by a bank. My rate is 21.99 and 741.00 monthly. I've been paying $900.00 a month for about 2 years just to get from under the 21.99. Now a new wrinkle. Not Me

Because it is not a credit card, you cannot choose to "opt-out" and close the account. I asked this same question when I called BOA customer service and was quickly told that whether or not the account was closed, it would still be subject to the current rate, which is the Prime + that was disclosed in the letters we all received. I can't help but think that is exactly why BOA did this to the Gold Option loan. In effect, they are FORCING us to accept this rate...unless we choose to default.

Does anyone know if you can close your account and remain under the same terms before the APR changes from fixed to variable? I know it will hurt my credit but if I can remain at the same terms it's better then it ruining my credit because I can't pay.

I contacted the federal reserve in Oct. I received a response today:

The entity you are inquiring about is regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and we have forwarded your correspondence to the OCC to investigate and respond to you directly. If you have questions about the status of the investigation of your complaint, please use the following contact information for the OCC:

OCC Customer Assistance Group
1301 McKinney Street, Suite 3450
Houston, TX [protected]

Website: www.helpwithmybank.gov

Phone: [protected]
Fax: [protected]

Sincerely,

Federal Reserve Consumer Help Center

Just an FYI for those of you contacting the Federal Reserve.

Good luck to everyone and let me know if you can get a class action started. I'm in!

I agree class action lawsuit. I filed complaints with the organizations listed here. In my opinion this was very misleading. If we contacted the bank and told them we would be changing our payment terms we would face legal action. The bank should be held to the same standard. Banks should live up to ethical standards and work with the government instead of trying to create loop-holes that hurt consumers. Soon we are going to see the foreclosure crises turn into credit card foreclosure crisis.

Okay, someone tell me if BofA goes bankrupt, now what?!

Source: theinternationalforecaster.com (this site has been reliable for years)

"Our sources tell us that the reason that Ken Lewis quit as CEO of Bank of America was because the Federal Reserve is dumping as much of the toxic waste as they can from other major banks into Bank of America and they are going to allow BoA to go bankrupt in 2010. There are 40 zombie banks in just Chicago alone. And, no one will take them over because they are so bad off with toxic waste. Corum that went under recently, and was bought by M&B had the Fed take all the toxic assets and M&B took the good stuff."

The only long term solution is for people to stop buying all financial products as all banks are corrupt and cannot be trusted and the government who are supposed to protect us are protecting them.

This means do not buy any loans or use credit cards.

Use cash when you buy stuff. It is not "dangerous" to carry cash. It is more of a risk to have your credit card stolen and deal with the fallout from that than risk the small chance of a mugging. If you live in a bad neighborhood where mugging in broad daylight in a grocery store is an issue for $100 in cash, then you have bigger problems.

The "danger" of carrying moderate amounts of cash is overblown by the ### banks to make us give them our money, then scam us and cheat us with corrupt fees.

Banks are loan sharks who lie and cheat and manipulate and are never to be trusted. No corporation is ever to be trusted as they lie 100% of the time and they do not operate on any kind of ethics. They exploit the good people who have ethics who believe in paying their debts, while they never keep their word and cheat and lie.

Stop being a victim and give back the bank what they give you. Stop paying them as they are cheating you. There is no morality when dealing with a bank or any corporation.

There is no real need in life for these ### banks to exist.

Usuary(interest loans) have been a plague of society for thousands of years and it is fundamentally a scam and exploitative.

Take back our power and never do anything in business that is based on morality or what is "good". Or, with all corrupt banks and corporations, do as they do and don't keep your promises as they never do. It is not their money anyways.

With the US banking system, 90% of the money they loan you is created out of thin air when the loan is made or the charge is made on the credit card so it isn't their money they are demanding back anyways.

I say to be "moral", pay them the 10% and that is fair and you have done the fair and just thing and go to sleep at night without any guilt.

I fully expect ### excuses and lies when I deal with a bank or any corporation and just stop listening to any of their lies and manipulations and don't argue. I just ask for what I want and if I don't get it, I do as they do and do what I want and not follow the original agreement. There is not much they can really do in the end.

Credit scores are useless if you stop buying fraudulant loan products so let them "ruin" your credit. Credit scores are meaningless anyhow.

Stop letting them control your life and act like "credit" is something valuable. Credit and debt is slavery and gives them power over your life.

It is better to drive a cheap car paid with cash and rent than to be a slave to these crooks and loan sharks to have a grand house or car.

Become free and stop supporting an industry built on lies and corruption and evil.

How can this be legal? I also fell victim to their scam and my current monthly payments are $374. per month. When I obtained this "loan" I was assured my interest rate was "fixed at 12.99%. When I look at my current APR, it says 24.99% and I received the same letter last week stating they were changing my terms to prime + 3.25...whatever that means. I have always paid my bills on time, and have a perfect credit score. If the interest rates rise, I'll either be in debt to B of A for the rest of my life, or will claim bankruptcy because they were liars. Anyone out there who can help?

I found the orginal mailing that I received late 2009. Hope this helps someone. Let me know if I should post it anywhere else too. I can also e-mail it if anyone would like. My e-mail is greene.chelsea@gmail.com

Just got off the phone with a supervisor from the Breya, Ca. office. His name is Javier Cintron. As with all of the comments above, my story is the same. I opened a Gold Option account with a non variable rate 2years ago. My loan consultant (aka salesman) was named Jason Tapang. Since this agreement was verbal if I asked him once I asked him 10 times concerning rate increases. The answer was the same. BOA will not change the fixed rate. My credit was based on income and my ability to repay. I was comfortable with the payment terms. If I had known that BOA would change terms I would never have agreed. I have a file from the inception of this process and cannot find the original pamplet that was mailed to me. Apparently this was a business decsion based upon the upcoming changes for credit card companies. The supervisor advised me to write a complaint and send to:

Bank of America
PO Box 15724
Wilmington, De 19850
attn: customer correspondence

This is totally unethical and I am assuming Mr. Tapang was trained quite well in anwers that would close the deal. I am contacting all of my representation with Washington concerning this matter. I will never do business with BOA again.

i come too bank of america they told me i had no more money left

If we just sit here and complain about this nothing will be done we all need to call our local congress man and file a complaint do noting get nothing done Please call if we the people stick together maybe we can get something done if they get an overwhelming complaints about this something will have to be done. I called my local goverment but i cant do it alone so please call some one make that call stop letting them take us for a fool its bait and switch they tell you its a fixed rate and than a few months later they tell you they are changing it to an adjustable rate that should be illegal when will it stop I would have never taken out the card if I had knowen they were gong to change it I called and no one cared at BOA the only chance we the people will have is to take it to a goverment level PLEASE CALL YOUR LOCAL GOVERMENT no one person can do this alone we all need to stick together and fight this CALL CALL CALL all you have to do is google your local goverment and than call if enough people call something will get done

I found the original mailing. I'll scan it soon and upload it for everyone. Thxs.

I have had the exact same experience with BOAs Gold Option Account. This was originally opened through MBNA as a special program for the Michigan Bar Association. I do believe that we can successfully prosecute a class action case against BOA based on the original solicitation materials. In fact, my original advances were made as a debt consolidation loan and were done PRIOR to my receipt of any paperwork, over the telephone with the loan officer that opened the account. There is a clear case for fraud and misrepresentation here.

I would be happy to serve as the class plaintiff and find us all a good class action attorney if someone can provide me with the original solication materials from MBNA for this account. I opened mine in April 2006.

Steven Like
sklike@msn.com

I have started a blog to fight this injustice! Post your story and join the fight!

http://goldoptioncalltoarms.blogspot.com/

Strength in numbers!

Check this out:

http://getoutofdebt.org/4108/bank-of-america-offers-clean-sweep-debt-consolidation-loan-up-to-50000-lets-look-at-the-facts-and-see-who-is-really-cleaning-up#comment-15994

I just received my new statement and my last months payment...which came out of my account was not posted...they did not charge a fee and they had a credit on my account which was not the same total as my payment. What in the heck is going on? I'm so in if anyone can get a class action suit started. I know for a fact that I will not be able to pay my payment if it goes up...they will drive me to bankrupcy.

Nations63 could you please email me the information about the gold option loan. I seem to have lost that information. If you can, i will provide my email address. Thanks a lot.

I also was a victim of the non-variable rate scam. In my view, the small print on the solicitation does not support BofA's case. It does not specify that any rate change, etc., will apply retroactively to existing balances. They claim they sent a longer list of terms and conditions after the loan agreement was made via phone, which specified that they could basically change any of the terms to whatever they wanted whenever they wanted, and apply them retroactively, but I never received any such thing, and I certainly would not have agreed to such terms. I have filed a mail fraud complaint with the U.S. Postal Service, a fraud complaint with the FTC, a complaint with the BBB, a complaint with the Federal Reserve, and complaints with the state attorney general both in my state and in Deleware. If you've also been a victim of this scam, please file these complaints as well--it's the only way something will be done. I don't think any court will uphold knowingly false statements in a socitation simply becuase the small print says "all of the above is a lie" or because they have some hidden list of terms and conditions they claim to have mailed after the deal has been secured based on the solicitation and info provided during the phone call (and which, in my case, I certainly did not receive). It's also very curious that their soliciation doesn't mention APR changes being applied to existing balances, but their actual notice of change does (it would seem the omission of this crucial fact from the solicitation is intended to mislead; especially since they all of a sudden recognize the importance of this when they send the actual notification of the change). If this gets to court, I hope the discovery phase reveals a trend of not mentioning applying changes retroactively to existing balances in solicitations, but then mentioning it in the actual change notifications. This would provide strong evidence of the intent to mislead/deceive/defraud in the solicitations.

Nothappycamper, could I get a copy of your solicitation letter? I have my account disclosures but not the solicitation documents. If possible, would you email it to me at nations63@aol.com?

Also, for anyone who is interested, you may file a complaint with the Federal Reserve here:

http://www.federalreserveconsumerhelp.gov/consumercomplaint.cfm

It only takes a couple of minutes and maybe the more of us that complain, the better our chances of being heard.

This also happened to me. I have had this account since 1995! Recently, they contacted me, had me put all my debt together and then gave me a 10.99% fixed rate over a certain number of months. I think that it was 84 months. They say that I signed an aggrement to allow them to change the rates at any time. I never signed anything. However, I probably agreed verbally when listening in a foreign language.

How do we dispute this thing? How can the government allow this?