refinance
I have my existing home loan with Bank of America. In July I contacted them about a refinance. We agreed to the terms and the process went forward. They have all the documents and the appraisals is complete. They told me that the loan could take 90 to 120 days to complete. I'm past the 90 days and no one will return a call. I have called the loan processor repeatedly, her boss repeatedly and her boss repeatedly. Not one call back! I have no idea if this loan is moving forward or not. I'm out the appraisal fee and loan application fee. Of course, banks do not honor an appraisal from another bank. No honor amongst thieves, I guess. Now, I'm stuck with no refinance and a needless hit on my credit score that lowers my chances of getting another bank to refinance my high mortgage rate.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
abusive credit card fees
Because of the extravagant finance fees and charges you are debiting my above referenced Bank of America Visa credit card payment every month, and which (contrary to what is stated on my statement as being 12.24%) actually amounts to whopping 56.29% of my monthly payments to you, I contacted Bank of America to see if we could work something out that was fair to both your Bank and myself to pay down the debt. I have also avoided using the said Visa card with the one objective of paying down my balance.
In essence, out of my total credit card payments of $1, 816. 50 made between Aug /2008 - Aug / 2009, (Bank of America determines the date and minimum amount it debits to my account every month) you have charged me $1, 022.56 as financial fees ( or 56.29% of my total payments in the last 12 months) and credited only $793.94 to my actual debt’s balance.
I first spoke to “Tiffany” who identified herself as a Senior Account Manager who kept me on the line for about 10-15 minutes giving me scripted arguments as to how Bank of America goes about calculating the percentage of my payment that actually go to your coffers rather than to decreasing the pending balance on the account. She said minimum payments are calculated “according to the balance I keep on my account” which is NOT true. As you can see your minimum payment charges for December of 2008 kept increasing from then onwards, as my balance diminished (if ever so slightly ) through March of 2009.
She then said that is due to the “days in the billing cycle which change every month (?!) “ even though I have been expressly making “auto” payments for at least the last year and a half in order to avoid any possible late fees or charges in that respect. Additionally, Tiffany said that was not “what I signed up for” and that “I was supposed to “use the card”, which I was not doing. So, I guess I am being penalized for being fiscally responsible as well: dammed if you do and damned if you don’t.
Finally Tiffany decided to connect me to your “Financial hardship” department. The lady on the line said her name was “Sarah”. She said she would need to ask me questions in order to “evaluate” whether Bank of America could “offer” me any options to the present set up (which she insisted was better than “the norm”). That would make me think that your norm then is to take over 39.68% of people’s monthly payments as “bank fees and financial charges” which in principle, ought to be illegal.
Sarah kept asking me questions as to the specifics of our household income, (monthly payments, food, utilities, car insurance, prescription drugs co-payments, etc.) for about a good half hour. I also explained to both ladies that I am self employed as a Realtor and we basically live exclusively from my husband’s income, who is filing for bankruptcy and we were making efforts to maintain my Bank of America credit card monthly payment.
Even though she could see that we are in the RED as far as budget goes, she concluded that there was nothing that Bank of America could do for me. That is appalling to me since “We, The Taxpayers” have done so much for Bank of America in the last year to bail your bank out of “hardship”!
Best regards,
Sylvia Quintana
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Wow. You clearly have no idea how credit cards work. Your APR is a % of your balance not a % of your minimum amount due. And if you have too many bills compared to your monthly income you won't qualify for any hardship program because it is going to look like you can't afford it. Oh, I guess it's people like you that borrow money you can't afford to pay back creating a "hardship" for the bank, right?
They were in hardship because they were loaning money to people that didn't pay them back.
expired debit gift card
I had a gift card that was given to me by my company that I hadn't used and had been expired. I called BOA and told them that the gift card was expired and asked if there was there any way I could get my money back. There first tactic was to get my name and social security number or my drivers license number from me. The fellow on the phone told me there was a 50% percent chance I could get my money back. He said a manager would call me back in 2-3 business days. No one called me back to resolve the issue. I called back again and they told me to talk to a "Halle Barry" department manager which is a code word for "count on never seeing your money again." I have called numerous times and "Halle Barry" is always busy or gone. My advice is not to waste your time with Bank of America as I am going to be removing my savings account with them.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
id theft
In January 2008, I started working with Bank of America/Countrywide on a home modification. It is now October 2009 and I still have not received any help. This month I did get a phone call stating that I was approved for a home modification from an employee named Rhonda Hudson at Bank of America. I spoke with Rhonda for the next two weeks re: my home modification. She always called me. During our last conversation, she told me that she had to set up a payment plan and asked me for my banking info which I provided her. A few days later, I called Bank of America to speak with Rhonda Hudson the negotiator in Home loans. I was told that there was an employee named Rhonda, but that she worked in customer service. I spoke with the real Rhonda who informed me that she had never spoken to me before. She also explained that she had a dispute with another employee who did work in negotiations, that may have used her name. I have spoken to numerous people at Bank of America including supervisors and nobody has helped me. Everybody apologizes and then thats about it. This supposed employee had access to all of my information including my home loan and tax info since B of A has customers submit this when you apply for a modification. I have spent roughly 40 hours either on the phone with B of A or trying to put credit freezes on mine and my husbands credit, or dealing with Social Security. B of A didn't even bother to pay for prvacy assistance. To make matters worse, I had to zero out my accounts and re-open new accounts. Yesterday when I checked my mail, I had notices stating that I had over drawn my account. When I contacted the bank...I was told that there was a on line banking bill that had gone through and a purchase at a fast food restaurant that was purchased 3 days prior to the closing of the accounts. When I tried to explain to the representative what had happened, she wasn't willing to work with me. It literally took me screaming at her to make her finally credit me the 3 over drafts that B of A wanted to charge me.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
mistreatment of customer
I recently obtained a debt consolidation loan to pay off some credit cards. When I contacted Bank of America to inquire about settling my balance, I was told there was no such option for customers in good standing. You see, I've never missed a payment, always paid more than the minimum balance, and over the last 4 years have been given BY THEM a credit line of $13, 000 of which I carry a balance of less then a third of. When I asked the customer service agent if I could speak to their customer retention department, she told me "It won't do any good, since you're in good standing, they'll just transfer you back to me". She then offered to transfer me to someone to see if maybe my interest rate could be lowered. The next person I spoke to was very nice and the conversation started off well, and she said that I already had the best interest rate they offered. Then, it went downhill from there, and she stated that they needed to "update" my information. After going over my income and such, she stated that the credit line I'd been given, again BY THEM, was entirely too high for my level of income and she'd taken my credit line down to $4800.00. I then asked her was it their policy to penalize a customer for being in good standing, and she kept dancing around the subject and stated "it was their policy, and I'd been given that credit line in error". So now my credit line is less than it was when I was originally issued the card 4 years ago and earning a lot less than I am now. I told her that once my statement arrived, I'd be paying off the balance and canceling my card. I'm sure there are other banks out there that would like to have my business. She kept trying to talk and I told her it didn't matter how she tried to spin it, what they were doing was just plain wrong and hung up the phone.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
fixed to variable interest rate
I opened up my BofA Gold Option Line of Credit back in Feb 08 to consolidate older lines of credit to a lower fixed rate to pay them off sooner. I was guaranteed that the line of credit would remain at a fixed interest rate for a set term of months and that was it. That was the only reason I opened the account.
In Nov 08, I called BofA and tried to negotiate a lower interest rate on the LOC, but was turned down. A few days later I receive a letter in the mail saying that "due to a periodic review of my account, it has been closed." My credit score is in the 740s, and I had never missed a payment on any of my debts! I can only assume it was because I called to negotiate for a better rate. I promptly closed my remaining accounts and moved my checking and savings over to a credit union.
Now it is Oct 09, and I have received a letter for BofA saying that my fixed interest rate will now be variable, tied to the prime rate. That is not the agreement I signed on for. I called to opt out of this outrageous change of terms, but was told that it was being done on ALL GoldOption lines of credit and nothing could be done about it. This seems to me to be a case of bait and switch. If I recall correctly, the new credit legislation going into effect soon affects fixed rate interest, but exempts variable rate interest. It appears BofA is changing their terms to circumvent legislation, and something needs to be done about it!
I just received my letter saying my rate will remain fixed, but it didn't reference my OCC complaint. I'm satisfied, and they lowered my interest rate 2% before they decided to keep the rate fixed, so I got a good deal out of it. Just goes to show you that we must voice our opinions loud and clear and talk by moving our money elsewhere if need be!
Good evening! My name is Rob, and I am the one who originally posted this complaint. Since then, BofA has called me several times over the past weeks, and they have lowered my interest rate down to 15.99%. Now, tonight, I get another call from Megan Riley with the Office of the CEO and President of BofA, and she informed me that due to my complaint with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, my account will stay fixed at the lower rate, no variable. Whooohoooooo! I've talked with Megan before, and she has always been courteous and helpful each time. This was truly welcome news! We can win this! Don't give up, guys!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
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.
unwarranted overdraft fees
I'm dedicated to avoiding overdraft fees. So dedicated that I rely on checking my bank account AND e-mail MULTIPLE times a day to ensure that there have not been any changes, updates, low balances, etc.
And BofA DOES IT AGAIN! I received an e-mail last night claiming an "extended overdrawn fee to be applied on October the 19th because of consistent overdraft fees within a week".
I'm checking my bank account online, and I see NO RED! I'm wondering "where's the overdraft?"
The lady on the phone this morning points me to a little link that is a "new" feature, which shows ACCOUNT TRANSACTION HISTORY. I think to myself "why would I need a separate link for that if BofA had already integrated that into my account screen?"
Here's why: If you don't know where to go, and they don't tell you, then you go where you know and it shows that nothing is wrong. Then, after your deposits clear, they take the money and say "Sorry Charlie, that's 'unfortunate'" I'm done with this bank and any others. And I will be on the FRONT LINES...AGAIN...if another bailout for these crooks is even suggested.
Be wary, BofA customers.
Bank of America debit cards IMMEDIATELY remove funds once the card has been swiped. The transaction is then available IMMEDIATELY for viewing on the account, which is what attracted me to BofA's online banking in the first place. I know this because of consistent transactions taking place on my account. The only check I actually write is for rent, which was long cashed before any of this nonsense.
Also, my account was set up to indicate, via e-mail, a "Low Balance" alert if I reached a certain amount in my account. I received no such indication from the bank, though it is part of the service they provide, I signed up for it and technically, since it failed to provide me with necessary information, constitutes a bank error, in which I am entitled to have the charges reversed.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
no way to get ahold of them
I purchased a home on a 203k streamline that BOA Home Loans promptly purchased. They were quick to disperse the first half of the funds to cover the initial start-up of home improvement. However, more than one month since the faxing of final paperwork, we have received no word, letter, check, or ANYTHING. When trying to call their department at [protected], you can either press 1 to call your rep from their directory, or press 2. when I press 1 and try to contact Ashley Munding, it says her number cannot be accessed from that service. However, if you press 2, you get a message about how they are too busy to take your call and if you waiting for final dispersement, that it could take 5 business days. I have been waiting more than one month. Try explaining that to a contractor who wants to be paid! I dare anyone to attempt to get ahold of this department and their regular customer service department refuses to attempt and while waiting to speak to a manager they transferred me over to the above BOGUS number.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I purchased a home on June 15, 2010. My loan was then transferred to BOA, who unfortunately purchased our mortgage from our original lender. Per our contract we were to receive our first disbursement no later than 30 days after closing on July 15, 2010. BOA purchased the mortgage on June 16, 2010. We were then told that we would need to contact BOA for our disbursements and to pay our mortgage to them directly, our first payment being due August 1, 2010. I began contacting BOA immediately. Upon calling BOA initially they did not even have any of our information on file, nothing! I persisted and called weekly by week two they had the address and account number set up, but explained they were waiting for the complete file from our previous lenders. At this point I was understanding. Until they continued to give me the same excuses every time I called. I even contact the original lender who confirmed all information and files had been sent to BOA. Our previous lenders even contacted BOA, it was not until this point that BOA stated they had our complete file. Then they had to wait for verification of vendor codes. It was one thing after another. After calling every single week for two months we finally received our INITIAL disbursement. This was a around August 10 or so. We then had to contact BOA AGAIN to receive paper work on how the entire process works, they did not even send any documents! Only the mortgage statement of course!The work on our house was completed by August 27, 2010. The final invoices and letter of completion, etc. were sent in and received by BOA on August 30, 2010. The next step was to have the house inspected. We again called BOA who has once to contact us during this entire process, in order to set up an inspection. The woman who was inspecting out home FINALLY contacted us and came out to inspect our house around September 16, 2010. Being use to having to call BOA in order for anything to be accomplished, we called yet again and they had yet to receive the inspection report which they state would take 3 to for business days! They had nerve to ask us to contact the inspector, which I explained was not my job and that I should not have to even call BOA for them to request the report from the inspector in the first place! The inspector finally sent her report in on October 1, 2010 which again is well over BOA's expected timeframe listed in the documents they provided us with. It is October 13 and we have still been contacting BOA on a more daily basis now. We even contacted them to request the final title search as they had not even done that once they received the inspection report! It is very sad that I have to call and remind a large Company like BOA to do their job! It is ridiculous really. This is suppose to take only 10 to 14 business days, which would have been well over if they would have contacted the inspector instead of waiting for us to call. As of today our contractor is threatening to place a lien on our home do to not receiving the final payment. I am able to contact BOA's 203k department, however they always come up with a new excuse as to why the final disbursement cannot be sent out! I am sure even when it is I will still have to contact them regarding the interest that is to be credited back to our mortgage based on the amount of time we have had to wait. This is a never ending battle that should not even be occurring. I would never recommend BOA to anyone! Not even my worst enemy! DO NOT TAKE A HOME LOAN WITH BOA IF YOU CAN AVOID IT! We however were "forced" into it.
I am a General Contractor that had the misfortune of getting involved with 4 of these 203K loans. All 4 came in at the same time or after the first one I would have never done another one. Everyone of them the first check was 90 days after closing, so here are people that per there contract they have to move in to there home but can not get supplies or materials to start. Then the worst part is after completing the work, invoicing, owner returning final forms and having the final inspection by the appraiser ALL for took another 90 days to get paid on. One of them a supplier filed a lien since they had not been paid due to Bank of America taking so long to pay. Since a lien was filed BofA would not release the final check to pay them because of the lien that had been filed for non payment. I can really start to make your head hurt. EVERYONE PLEASE WARN ALL FRIENDS AND FAMILY NOT TO GET INVOLVED IN A 203K LOAN!
Escrow closed in August of 2009 for me. In September of 2009 I received a letter with a check that Bank of America had purchased my loan. It is now February 24, 2010 and I am still waiting for my final disbursement. I have had to pay contractors with savings, and tax returns and still owe them money. I have over two months of logged calls to them. I have threatened suing, i have told them the contractors have threatened liens. Which they did, thats when I started making payments. I threatened not to pay my house payment so i could pay the contractors and they said we would be responsible for all incoured charges. Bank of America is not interested in helping you. They are above the contracts that have been signed. I am on board with a class action. Good luck to anybody who falls into the hands of Bank of America!
Don't worry there are more people than just you out there in the same boat, I too am in that same position. I even have a lawyer trying to get in touch with them and runs runs into the same problems I had, funny huh? We have both emailed and phoned tried sevferal different phone numbers and extensions. I had even gotten the supposed supervisors numbers and email addresses and nothing works. I think there should be a law firm out there somewhere willing to take this on as a class action suit. there are dealing with fedral money and have guidelines to follow, and if they do not pay us there aree supposed to apply the difference to the pricipal of the loan and that has not happended either, I talked to the refi dept about refiing the loan hoping they would apply the monies owed and was promptly told that my house lost over 33% in just a few short months and they could not refi me. Sounds strange does it when I had an appraisal done that seemed not to be the case, however until they apply the monies to loan or pay me to pay the contact the file is considered open and no one will refi me. Spoke to 4 other people about it. this sucks. I wonder if I wll get any of the money that they will owe me for intrest on the difference of the balance of my mortgage?!
mortgage? homeowner insurance
I used to have my mortgage with Countrywide but it changed over to Bank of America. My Homeowners Ins. was not included in my mortgage, I paid it seperately. For a while I had no income because of health issues. I was recently declared disabled in July and was awarded SSI. Right about the same time I got a letter from BOA saying that they noticed that my insurance had lapsed and that if I did not get my own insurance by such and such date in September 09, that they were going to be putting their insurance on my bill every month. The first letter said that their bill would be around $810. I immediately called the insurance co. that I had with my car, since I have AARP, and set up my homeowners with them, which was around $779. The insurance company sent me paperwork to sign, which I did, and I called BOA, to tell them that I was sending them the paperwork for my new insurance and letting them know over the phone that I had it in place. Then, I got a call from my new insurance company saying..."Ooops! We made a mistake. We do not cover you for Wind and Hail in your Area." So, here I go again, immediately looking for insurance again. I ended up going back to the original Insurance Agent that I used to have before my insurance had lapsed and she found me insurance, including Wind and Hail for around $600. I was thrilled. While sitting in the agents officed that day, she called BOA to make sure that everything was ok with the new insurance and she also Faxed the paperwork to BOA. This was in the beginning of August. still within the time frame that BOA gave me to have my own insurance by a date in September. Ok, so now everything is ok. I thought. The next thing you know I got a letter in the mail from BOA telling me that they were going to bill me $1803.97 for their own insurance that they were going to start billing me for because I had not gotten insurance yet! I called BOA and talked to one of their insurance people. He looked up my account and told me that Yes, I was correct, that I did have my own insurance. He apologized to me and told me he would take care of the error. Well, once again, just today I got yet another big important letter from BOA, telling me that they are billing me $1803.97 for their insurance. They were going to be tacking it onto my monthly mortgage bill. I called them immediately and I was on the phone for an hour and a half, being put on hold for long periods of time. After talking to this guy, he informed me that they were going to be billing my monthly mortgage bill for $88, for the time frame of June and July for when I did not have insurance. OMG! I was furious. I said to him what the heck are you talking about? In their own letter they gave me until September to get my own insurance, which I did in August. He kept insisting that they were still going to bill me for June and July, even though that is not what the letter says. Finally, after yelling at this guy, after literally crying, because I was so frustrated, he told me, after putting me on hold again for a long time, that he spoke to his Manager, and that BOA was going to be sending me a check for $88. Because...they are billing my mortgage account for the next 12 months for the $88. So they are going to send me a check to pay for this bill, that I should not be being billed for to begin with. I asked him, why can't you just delete this bill from my account. If you are going to send me the check, than you are admitting that it is wrong to bill me this, so just delete it. He told me that they can't for some unknown stupid reason. I cannot believe what BOA has been putting me through. I have been with them for many years and I also have a credit card with them. I plan on remortgaging my home in the upcoming months. When I do, I am getting rid of the credit card bill that I owe them and I am cancelling it. I will never do business again in my lifetime with BOA.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I am sure, The problem is they can't read! My insurance company sends a monthley statement, to remind me of the payment due date. BOA receives the same thing. They read it as a canceled, which nowhere in the statement is that stated. So its a trip or call each month to the Insurance company to fax the Declaration. However BOA has it in a mailing cycle which lasts three months. (Must cost thousands to do this each month.) My agent say this happens a lot..Also if they wanted to insure every one you would think it would be competitive wiith the cost they are in that position. Heck no lets steal a little money with an over charge nthats legal.
mortgage refinancing
I refinanced my loan with countrywide mortgage now bank of america. my closing was 6/24/09 first payment 8/1/09. My 10/09 statement informed me that my payment would be increased graeter than $2, 100.00 per month from approximately$1, 65000. Thinking this was a error since my initial payment before refinancing was appox $1, 900.00. I wa smade aware that my escrowed taxes was misappropriated towards my refinancing expenses consequently leaving me deliquent for my property taxes over $4, 000.00. Had I was informed in written or verbal format I would not have refinanced. I feel what BOA did to me was elegal. I have informed my local attorney general office and will be sending more emails to anyone who will listen and act on my behalf. When President Obama made the legislation to help home owners like myself this is not what he had in mind of people taking disadvantage of.
Carol grant
[protected]
[protected]@yahoo.com
8 drummer trail
bloomfield ct.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
My prior mortgage was with BofA, and I refinanced with them, took from February to May to complete. My first payment was due 7/1/09, and I received a new payment book in August; My monthly payment, with escrow, was $1100 before the re-financing at a much lower rate. The "new" payment book was for $1, 900 a month!
Long story short, they received my tax bill for "summer taxes" and assumed the annual taxes must be twice that. However, the summer bill is for the entire annual amount. They had recalculated my escrow account based on an erroneous assumption.
Recommend you verify your tax bills, home insurance bill, and anything else in escrow with the party that does the billing. It took me two MONTHS to get this right, and I used the title company that handled the refinancing. During that two months I received FOUR new monthly payment books! They kept re-doing the enscrow, with incorrect amounts or assumptions. The employee at the title company was VERY helpful and had actual "names" of people to deal with instead of 800 numbers.
Just an FYI: the more informed you are, the better the result you will get. According to the Office of the Controller of Currency (the dept that oversees banks): http://www.occ.treas.gov/
mortgage companies are limited to having a balance of only two times your monthly escrow. They have a link on their website to file complaints.
Good luck.
overdraft fees
I called customer service to report that my debit card is misplaced/stolen. I asked them if they could stop any future charges on the account. The customer service representative
says that I will get charge $30.00 in order to do that. I am already charged for overdraft fees since I reported the card missing and that they did not do a thing to stop future charges on the account. I went to the banking center and they said that they cannot help me to reverse the overdraft fees, and despite of the fact the I do not have a card, and do not have money on the account but overdraft fees that I cannot afford to pay due to financial problems, Bank of America still charges me for monthly account maintenance fees. There were 2 unauthorized charges on the account and since there is no money in the account Bank of America took the opportunity to rob more money from me by charging NSF fees of $35.00 for each unauthorized charges, so I now owe them a total of overdraft fees of $227.00. I wish someone can tell me what I could do inorder to fix this problem. Bank of America should be stopped doing this financial hardships to consumers.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
said they paid my taxes and did not.
I closed my home loan and they sent me my escrow that was in my account stating my insurance and taxes were paid for 2008. In June, of 2009, i received a threatening letter from a tax service that my taxes had accumulated over 500.00 of fees and penalties. I called them and they said to send the copy of whatever i had to pay and they would see about paying me back on those fees. I did and have not heard back from them. I had to pay 1004.00 for my property taxes that should have been in the amount of 458.00.
Thanks Bank of America! Good quality of service from ya!
Debbie Young
Debbie! You are certainly not alone. They did the exact same thing to me last year. In fact, I nearly lost my home because the local Treasury stated that my property tax was past due in 2008. After days of long phone calls (placed on hold), I finally got a response from BoA's investigation department. Supposedly, they claimed that the TAX ID address was wrong, and that was the problem. They supposedly sent money for my property tax in the amount of $1, 2oo dollars (give or take) for property that doesn't exist. It didn't exist because the "city" was wrong; the address and zip code were right. Here's the strangest part. The local Tax Office claimed that they never received the payment, yet BoA insisted that the check was cashed. They finally paid the amount, but they took the money from this years ESCROW, which is now in negative balance. A $200 dollar fee was added for being late on last years property tax paid in November, and instead of BoA forking up the bill, they charged me.
They then paid 2009's Property Tax, but never returned what was overpaid for 2008, thus leaving my ESCROW negative.
I'm paying BoA $938 dollars a month (almost $12, 000 annually), and according to their report, my 2009 interest payment was roughly $8, 082.31 dollars. OK, so about $589 went to home owners insurance, and according to the local Treasury report for 2009, $755 went to state property taxes. That's a total of $1, 344.00 dollars in total Tax/Insurance payments for 2009. My annual total Mortgage payment is payments sent to BoA was $11, 732.16. Let's do some simple math.
Mortgage Payments = $11, 732.16
Total Tax/Insurance = $1, 344.00
Total Interest deduct = $8, 082.31
My balance should be $2305.85, which would have been nice if they applied that to my principal. Unfortunately, because BoA never sends me a monthly bank statement, and it's nearly impossible to establish an on-line account (need a pass code which I've yet to receive), I do not have a clue what my actual balance is. Last I checked back in October 2008, my balance was $132, 000 from an original $135, 00.00; a difference of about $3, 000 dollars.
Now my point is currently my ESCROW is being reported as -$968! That's NEGATIVE $968 dollars, which according to my figures above, SHOULD NOT EVEN BE!
Conclusion folks! Watch out for BoA and other similar thieves. They're stealing money from ESCROW and using it to store up their own profits. On top of that, they're reporting negative balances in order to place your mortgage into default. They'll demand the negative balance, and refusal could result in foreclosure!
I'm seeing this sort of thing happen to a lot of people!
Stand up folks!
Joseph from SC
loan deception
We obtained a loan from Countrywide which is now Bank of America. It was originally a predatory loan and we modified in March 2009 with Countrywide. Once we switched to BofA ownership, we hoped for better service and a responsive team to our inquiries. But that has not happened. As it turns out, we were told that the company is one and the same. New ownership does not mean better management or equitable treatment.
We are battling to keep our house and want to work with the bank. All we get are people in India. Yesterday we spoke with BofA about our loan and the loan retention associate was in India with no power. They read scripts, put you on hold and never really modify the loans. After the big bailout, the predatory loans such as ours is still smoke and mirrors. Lower the interest rate but continue to pay on an interest only loan. To make monthly payments manageable, lower the interest and add the amount due to the backend of the loan. Smoke and mirrors. That is all you get.
With both Countrywide and BofA CEOs either in trouble or ousted, how is a consumer supposed to handle their financial obligations in a responsible manner?
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
kevin blount
This is a complaint about kevin blount in tax dept. He likes to sleep with different employees here in countrywide. Need to warn people he has std sexually transmitted disease. He is also abusive. Not to mention in jail of family violence.
Please stop this guy!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
TO THE ANNON: Let me say this you must not care whether or not a man is married. Thats your fault. You cannot be pissed at him, you got yourself in this situation then you need to learn how to get out. Do you believe in Jesus, you are a fornicator.If a man or woman is not fully divorced in everyones eyes that person is married. You must have a very low self esteem just like this Kevin Blount. You know what maybe both of you deserve each other. You are mad after the fact you didnt know this person sleeps around. You pretty much sound the same. This man is considered adulterer.
I had an affair with Kevin Blount, he told me him and his wife are separated, come to think they were not separated at that time. He actually lied to me. What I really found out he was telling everyone here at Countrywide how his wife is this and that, the truth is Kevin was lying all that time so everyone (all the women) will feel sorry for him. He is a porn addict he loves to watch dirty videos and always on porn sites. He doesnt care how any one look, he is straight sorry. I hate him to this day as he infected me with STD. What goes around comes around. He is good in talking women out so they will believe him. He is dirty filthy and straight disgusting person, I dont even want to call him human being as he is such an animal. Trust me he is disgusting.
This is a huge company and I think they were recently bought out by Bank of America. If this is a problem, someone needs to take this to HR dept. Thats the issue now a days is people having relationship with each other in work places. There shoudl be an investigation done to this person. I think this person grew up wih no family of love, usually they look to others to find that, they crave for attention. Its very sad. I bet if you really look at this guys family background, theres nothing there. A gentleman should respect their wives no matter what, especially if theres children involve, not only this guy ruined the marriage but also the childrens lives, as to mention on the above complaint this guy went to jail for family violence, that right there should tell you. This person should stay in jail, need to learn his lessson. "Kevin Blount whoever and wherever you are wake up smell that coffee you ruined your family". To the wife and kids Im sorry this happened hope one day he will wake up.
KEVIN BLOUNT-WHY ARE YOU STILL WORKING AT COUNTRYWIDE? MAYBE YOU NEED TO THINK ABOUT CHANGING CAREERS, MAYBE "ESCORT SERVICE". BETTER YET GET YOURSELF TREATED. THIS MAKES ME SICK TO MY STOMACH.
scam artists
Countrywide home loans is requiring and has taken out a $2, 000 flood insurance policy (Which they are deducting from our escrow account) on our property on mission beach road in marysville because they say it is within a flood zone and it's required by fema. The fema map we find online through fema shows our property in flood zone x which is not in a flood zone. We have called countrywide and they say it's out of their hands, that their "new" map says fema has us in a flood zone. The only way to change it is to get a loma (Letter of map amendment) from fema. We think countrywide is scamming us and maybe others.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
deceptive payment posting practice
my bill was due on Aug 28th. It was paid on Aug 20th.
The next month my bill was due on Sept 28th according to the automated greeting on the 800#. I paid my bill on Sept 8th. How is this wrong? According to bank I did wrong, I was late becuase I paid too early. They refuse to post my 9/8 payment to the bill due 9/28 because they want me to wait til after the 9th of the month to pay. How can they refuse an "on time payment" ? They charged me late fee, plus took away my promotional rate and with the interest assessed (an extra $200) I got hit with overlimit fee. Why is it that I can only pay my bill over the course of a half month rather than a full month. Its not legal for them to refuse payment on the first 12 days of the billing cycle. If I have until 5 or 6pm on the 28th to pay my bill, I understand that there may be a few day window before i can pay my next bill but they are telling me it is wrong to make a payment on the 29th, 30th, 31st, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th . If I make a payent on any of those dates it will back credit it for the bill that was due the month prior even though my payment was for triple the min amt due. the next month they wanted a $590 pmt instead of $129...i called and clerk said they would allow me to make a reg pmt of $129 since I wasnt late with last pmt. I did just that then they hit me with anothe rlate fee and overlimit fee because i did as she said and paid a different amount then the amount of the bill. This is still going on.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
money taking out my checking account
I have evidence that monies have been taking out of my checking account at the Bank of America. I have talked to several investigators about my hand writing and the spelling of my name that is spelled incorrected on the counter bebit and cash withdrawal slips. I can not get any help. I have started the process for a civil action case.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
My husbands x wife was a manager at BOA in Weston up until last week. "I think she is not there any longer" She was just arrested on a felony theft charge. I contacted the bank earlier this year because my BOA debit card was used by her when she went to NY on vacation.. I made a police report and several complaints with the bank. I even went into her Branch and spoke to her manager Toni and she blew me off. They do not care and are very corrupt. I would be more than happy to help anyone who is in need of a witness for their negligence.
poor service; criminal activity
Today, I went to deposit a business check at the Muirs Chappel Branch in Greensboro, NC. It was the single most upsetting experience I have ever had at a financial institution. The entire staff conducted themselves like child-thugs; complete with obstinence and face-making. After sitting in the drive-thu line nearly 15 minutes, watching 6 or more customers stream through that were behind me but in different lanes before I was even acklowledged, I entered the bank to personally make the deposit. I found two staffers rough-housing in front of a lobby-full of customers, pretending to kick each other in the genitals, as a line streamed out the door with a number of visibly angry customers. The teller who made my deposit, told me there would be a hold and then gave me back the check I was depositing, a major error, which I'm sure they'll discover at the end of the day. She sent me to the bank VP, Jeff Pack, who was nothing short of contrite and condascending before I even discussed the situation with him. It was as if I had interrupted his internet surfing and was nothing more than an inconvenience rather than a concerned customer. He proceeded to have me wait in his office nearly 30 minutes, only to return saying they could not waive the hold because I had five overdrafts in 180 days. When I disputed this inaccuracy and asked him to substantiate this claim, he said he could not and would not because he was not accusing me of anything. I was nearly dumbfounded but went on to explain that I was concerned about fraud on my account since I have NEVER bounced a check in my 12 years of business there, as reflected on my banking statements. Again, he told me that he could not help me and gave me an incorrect customer service number to contact. Also of note, at no time did anyone ask me for ID yet freely doled out personal information about my business account. When I demanded to close my account, he again said he could not help me and that I needed to go to my original branch in Washington State. As I left his office and walked through the loby, clearly upset, he yelled for all customers to hear "I hope you have a real nice day", thick with sarcasm and hostility. When I finally found the correct customer service number to inquire further, they confirmed that my account was in "excellent" standing, "flawless" since it's inception in 1998. Further, they indicated Mr. Pack did not have access to the information he claimed and confirmed he had "lied" (their words, not mine). They indicated a complaint would be made and disciplinary action taken, including a formal apology to me, but I will be astounded if that is in fact the case. Effective immediately, I am closing my account and will disuade anyone and everyone I know from conducting business with BOA. I hope the SCC shuts them down with the current fraud charges to spare honest citizens from the humilation and abuse they have subjected me to. Down with BOA!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
payoff and claims dept
My wife and I lost our home of 22 years to a housefire on July 8, 2009. We called B.O.A. on July 9, 2009 to inform them of the fire to the residence. It was a total loss. On August 18, 2009 the insurance submitted a check to us along with B.O.A. for the balance of the loan. B.O.A. deposited the check on August 25, 2009.
I called on August 27th to confirm the check was received only to find out that nothing had been done with it because I had not submitted a letter of intent of which I had no idea I had to do that. I submitted through fax the letter of intent. On August 31, 2009 I called B.O.A. to make sure they received the fax only to find that they could not submit the letter of intent until I gave them permission to do so. Again I had no idea I had to do that.
They finally submitted the check fo payoff on September 3rd. I was promised that the loan would be paid off between 10 and 14 business days. As the 14th day approached I called to check on the progress of the payoff and to request that they expedite the refund from my escrow account. They said that it had to be re-submitted on the 15th. By this time I am unable to think clearly as I have already been put on hold since September 3rd (and over 30 calls to B.O.A.) 9 hours and 23 minutes and talked to over 8 people in India, and at least 30 more between Simi Valley, California, 3 cities in Texas, and two in Arizona. I finally demanded to speak to someone in Corporate and a nice lady by the name of Rhonda in California (I think), hooked me up with Marie in Texas who in turn made a phone call and got the loan paid off within 20 minutes on the 14 th day. I have been bruised menatally from the chaos and the run-a-round dealings with Bank of America. I am in the process of filing a complaint with the State's Attorney General over the treatment and misinformation and lying that has went on. there is a man that works for B.O.A. in Ft. Worth Texas by the name of Reuben that should count his lucky stars that I was not within range of his smug arrogant self. I was pushed to the limit by this lethargic arrogant, little over minimum wage individual. I can honestly understand how some people may be lead to do things they noramlly would not consider. I have been lied to, told I would receive a call from 13 different people all of which has never happened. The real kicker, they won't have my escrow money of 32, 000 back to me for 10 to 14 days. In addition I am getting foreclosure notices daily from them on a property that is no longer there and they owe me money. That's Bank of America. No wonder people go over seas and hide their money.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
same comment as before
Richard Hobson
My comment is explicated above & I hope you will support my claim
& restore the disputed monies to my account.
Richard Hobson
This is Richard Hobson, Bank of America account number [protected]
I received a phone call from your Claims Dept. that they need more
information on my claim before they can approve my claim.
My claim is that I was deceived by an entity known as "AntiVir" who
raided my debit card account of (under but near $100).
Apparently there are two AntiVirs (one valid (2) one fake; and I got
deceived by the fake one.
They claimed that they would cleanse my software of any & all viruses.
But they were a Trojan Horse or malware or spyware entity and
instead spread more viciously viruses which totally disaabled my computer.
I took my computer to Staples & they supposedly cleansed my computer
to the tune of $99.99. Is there any more information you require and
should I mail it or email it?
scam charges
We have a mortgage with Countrywide. We are now being harassed and threatened with foreclosure. Countrywide had inflated my husbands income on the application and also added my daughters social security that she draws from her dad who is deceased. This money is for her care, not for the home but they inflated that also. We have attempted to contact them numerous times to have them work with us to lower our payments so that this would not happen but each time they refused or became so rude that they would eventually hang up. They are charging us escrow when we told them that we would handle the taxes and insurance ourselves and also charging us late charges when on the transaction statement for 2008, under the "late charges" column it is all $0.00. They have raised our payment 3 times. Our contract is for $490.05, then it went to $642.81 now it is $697 beginning in Feb. My husband does not have a job that makes us millionairs, we are just hard working honest people that do not want to lose our home of 14 years but what can we do? We cannot fight this Predatory Lender that is an American Terrorist preying on the hard working people to cause them emotional, physical and mental abuse. There are currently 260+ homes in the state of Tennessee alone that Countrywide has as foreclosures. 15, 108 in the United States, how many more are going to be allowed to become victims? I'm sure we will, we have purchased a 27' camper and plan on moving into that just so that we can get away. How sad is that? America used to protect us against terrorists, maybe we are fighting the wrong ones? I hope that someone will read our story and find it in their hearts to help us so that we don't lose our home and make Countrywide stop all of their illegal and predatory practices.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Anyone needing help to combat loan fraud can go to www.mjpassoc.com. Call us at [protected]. We charge NOTHING for a consultation and NOTHING up front. Countrywide is a huge conductor of predatory lending. We will help.
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We started a refi. in May, and have yet to close. We more than qualify, have a high income, excellect credit score, and a long positive history with B of A. They couldn't ask for a better qualified customer. Yet, we have been given the run around. Constantly asked for the same info., from numerous people that we speak to only once. There is absolutely NO chain of command. The left foot doesn't know what the right foot is doing. It has caused huge stress and frustration. Then they have the nerve to send out an inexperienced, unqualified appraiser who shot our property value down with numerous descrepencies and misinformation. I mean, how do you miss a bathroom or a fireplace, etc... Bank of America has been a huge dissappointment. It means nothing anymore to earn a great income, have great credit and payment history and be a long standing client (23 years). They should be ashamed to call themselves Bank of AMERICA. They should be called Bank of take um for a ride. Its been a pretty awful right. Suzanne S. california
If you think that Bank of America is going to refinance your loan for a lower interest rate you are dreaming. Dealing with these liars and thieves as been on of the worst banking experiences I've endured.
They will find any reason to deny your request because they all share in bonus for the amount of loans they deny. They are a bunch of cons and you can't believe a works they say.
The office in Beaverton, Oregon is a bunch of buddies that cover for each other. They will lie to you and then treat you like a criminal for calling them out on it.
It's a scam to get more money out of you. You will be out at least $465.00 for the appraisal...another scam.
Ethics and honesty do not exist at the Bank of America in Beaverton, Oregon!
When I think of Brian Moynihan or Barabra Desoer, I think of the song by John Lennon called Piggies:
So if it walks like a piggy, talks like a piggy, by golly it’s a PIGGY!
.
WHERE IS MY LOAN MODIFICATION BANK OF DESTROYING AMERICA!
.
BofA and it’s CEO Brian Moynihan reminds me of that song by John Lennon and George Harrison titled "Piggies" I invite you to listen to this song on youtube and see if it appropriately fits.
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovD9rTzs2q4&feature=player_embedded
.
Have you seen the little piggies
Crawling in the dirt
And for all the little piggies
Life is getting worse
Always having dirt to play around in.
.
Have you seen the bigger piggies
In their starched white shirts
You will find the bigger piggies
Stirring up the dirt
Always have clean shirts to play around in.
.
In their ties with all their backing
They don't care what goes on around
In their eyes there's something lacking
What they need's a damn good whacking.
.
Everywhere there's lots of piggies
Living piggy lives
You can see them out for dinner
With their piggy wives
Clutching forks and knives to eat their bacon.
.
When I filed my lawsuit against Bank of America, I thought of the many others out there in the same situation. It was then that we decided to educate the public on what these piggy banks are doing, as well as unite us all together as one voice. Please help me turn this David vs. Goliath modification process, into a Goliath vs. Goliath.
.
Please stand with me and Brookstone Law Firm, and send an email to Bank of Abusing America that states that we will no longer tolerate their potentially illegal, fraudulent, irregular and abusive business methods.
.
So please send your email directly to Bank of America and include the following:
.
1. Your name
2. Your complaint concerning your experience with Bank of America.
3. Please end your email “I support John Wright vs. BofA Lawsuit!”
4. Please send a copy of your email to piggybankblog@earthlink.net
5. Please send your email to BofA CEO Brian Moynihan:
brian.t.moynihan@bankofamerica.com
.
I HAVE HAD ENOUGH AND I AM FIGHTING BACK!
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I have created piggybankblog.com for all of those who have been abused by Bank of Destroying Americas potentially irregular, fraudulent and simply abusive home loan modification process.
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Divided we might have fell America. UNITED WE MUST STAND!
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoOJMr7OJ0s
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My name is John Wright AND I AM FIGHTING BACK!
.
John Wright
piggybankblog.com
Hi All, my name is Mr. Balance and I worked as a teller at a BoA banking center in southwest Virginia for 10 months.
I recently discovered this site on accident and read many (but not nearly all) posts. It was kind of nice to see some of the other stories and perspectives told from the point of view of the customers and other employees of the bank. It was nice to see that a lot of the bad things I went through as a Bank of America teller were not strictly limited to my particular branch. However, I have my own story to tell about working at such a poorly managed, madhouse of a bank.
When I say madhouse, I really do mean it. From my very first day as a teller to the last, our banking center was always (as they say in Top Gun) "run by the seat of it's pants." There was never a time when people weren't waiting an hour minimum in line to see a personal banker. There never a time in which managers were really ever happy with the number of "referrals" we were getting. Nor was there a time when customers would cease to get extremely angry with us.
I would usually show up around #### in the morning to be a part of the opening procedures. It never failed to amaze me how so many people could screw up the opening procedures (most of these people worked there much longer than me). Luckily, the only time BCR ever came to watch us, I was there bright and early to do the procedures correctly.
From the very moment I would step into the banking center to the very moment I left I was a BoA selling utensil. I was strongly directed to get what they called "referrals." Referrals are given when a teller creates an open dialogue with the customer convincing him/her that he/she needs another one of our products (i.e. credit card, extra account DDA or SAV, CD, mortgage, HELOCs, ... anything). My goal was 40 a month as a fulltime teller.
40 a month, no problem right? Uhhhh, it was more like trying to convince a room full of radical Islamic militants to convert to Judaism (and I'm not even Jewish!). But seriously though, I was supposed to get all these people to sit down with personal bankers on the spot so they could then sign up for new accounts, get credit cards and all that in the breif 2-3 minutes they were in front of me (and 80% of the time I worked the drive-thru) without a problem. I quickly found out that customers never physically went to the bank to hear me make referral attempts on them.
Most of my referrals I had to trick the customer into. For example, we used to always get these credit card offers that would spontaneously "pop-up" at me during a transaction I was performing for a customer. I was encouraged to widen my eyes, bulge my smile, jump up for joy and say...
"congradulations Mr. So-and-So you've just been awarded a Power Rewards Visa! I think you'll find the low rate of prime (which would usually be around 7-8% as a conservative estimate) + 3.99 to be a great rate (those are CRAP rates)! Plus, for every dollar you spend you get a point that you can use to buy all sorts of crap you don't need in this Visa "Rewards" catalogue. So what do you say Mr. So-and-So, is it alright with you for me to send this directly to your mailing address!? All you have to do is activate the card once you get it!"
However, they would always say no when I said it like that (I didn't include the part about the "crap you don't need"). So a buddy of mine and I started to get them by saying things like, "just to let you know this Power Rewards Visa is being mailed to your address to (insert random address here) is this the correct address?" They would usually reply by saying something like, "uhhhh, huh? Ok, I guess, sure, " which would provide us tellers enough justification to click the accept option on those evil credit card offer pop-ups. My two managers both congradulated us on such trickery when we pulled it off!
I'll never forget the time when I was working a BOFASUX and close to closing time a customer was making small talk with a fellow teller of mine and when she mentioned that she just got a new job (as a grocery store cashier) the teller said immediately, "oh, then you need a savings account!" at which the girl said, "no, I don't really want one, ..." but the teller persisted, and told the girl "well, you need one, so hold on for a second I'm going to sit you down with somebody." AND IT ACTUALLY WORKED! That girl let herself be taken away to sit down and open the saving account she didn't need. Maybe because the teller was older and had a very northern-style aggressive personality that got the calm quiet southern girl to submit, and actually get caught up in the "referring" process. What went through my mind at that moment was me realizing that that girl is probably going to get hit with a bunch of monthly maintenance fees because she wont have the minimum balance in her savings account required to avoid the fees. and that it wasen't that the teller was genuinely concerned for the girls financial future, but that she was just trying to keep up with her referring quota to meet her months goals since she was down on referrals at the end of that month.
I was a robot. A selling device that was supposed to stand there and refer products of BoA all day with a smile on my face. None of our customers needed any extra products... there were only a very few occasions where I actually felt good about a referral, that it WAS the right thing for the customer. The rest were me taking advantage of customers to meet my referral quota.
Most of our customer's needs revolved around changing their addresses, and ordering new debit cards. Both things of which I KNEW HOW to do, but was simply NOT ALLOWED to do. Seriously, I knew exactly where in Merlin to go to change the address and/or order somebody a new debit card. However, my manager (and this was seriously irresponsible on her part) would not grant me the authority to do these things because in PRO (policy reference online) it said that "service issues" were not be done by personal bankers and managers, NOT tellers (ad nauseum). Seriously, the computer gave me a message that said, User Not Authorized when I tried to go in and perform these services for customers. And almost all the other tellers were given access for this. Simply frustrating to a college educated, healthy, and smart person like myself to be treated like I was a little girl who needed her hand held, while they combed my hair and sung me lullaby songs.
The lines to see the personal bankers were rediculously long. It simply took TOO LONG for someone to see one of them. I remember during one of our meetings we were talking about customer delight. I mentioned the fact that a lot of customers get upset because when they call the bank and leave messages for the personal bankers, they were not getting called back! (and these WERE problems that tellers could not fix! Problems with the mortgage, the line of credit, or simply unbelievably complex situations that only a personal banker could fix). Management fussed and hissed at the tellers because they thought that all these phone calls we were getting were problems that tellers were able to fix! YEAH RIGHT! YOU WONT EVEN GIVE ME AUTHORITY TO CHANGE AN ADDRESS! When I brought that up at the meeting mentioned above the response from personal banker #1 was "well we can't, were busy!" Oh ok, my bad, I should just explain to the customer on the phone that we can't solve their problems right now because the personal bankers are busy! that'll work. I would give them the customer service hotline number but most of them had already tried that, and ended up speaking to a bunch of electronic voice recordings in an endless array of options that have nothing to do with the customer's current problem or situation.
Customers would get pissed because if they didn't have an account and wanted to cash checks drawn off BoA I had to have two ID's and a thumb print, and charge them $5 in most cases. Of the two ID's, they would not accept social security cards, or even birth certificates for Christ's sake. People who were working for temp. agencies, not making BARELY any money, and many of whom had children, were being charged $5 and being put through the humiliating process of being ID'd twice, and giving a thumb print just to cash checks for a little over one hundred dollars. I'll never forget the time when a handicapped man came into the bank and presented a check drawn off BoA that he wanted to be cashed, but when all he had was his drivers license, his social security card, and his birth certificate, he could not cash his check because those form of ID were not on the official acceptable ID list. The assistant manager had this list in her hand and began to read off the list to this poor man, who simply had to leave without getting his check cashed. The man was handicapped but we couldn't make an exeption.
Customers would overdraw their account one time, and the MerlinTeller system made me process a hold on their checks for the next 6 months. The check holds really pissed me off. And they really pissed the customers off. I mean, how was a customer supposed to get back on their feet financially when all their deposits were being held SO LONG! I had friends of mine that owned small businesses (HedzWay, and a local construction company/partnership) that would come in all the time to deposit business funds, but they would be held. Nobody would override the holds for me either. A couple of times, I told the computer that the checks were cashier's checks so that they would not be held. It was absolutely rediculous.
The ATM frequently broke down. As did our MerlinTeller stations at times. The phone rang off the hook constantly, and when we answered it, they ALWAYS wanted to speak to one person, our personal banker who had worked there for like, 25 years. The only person in my branch who really knew what they were doing. I felt sorry for her sometimes and tried to arrange her messages neatly and promptly.
The branch was seriously poorly managed. My manager never really worked a full Monday through Friday without taking AT LEAST ONE day off that week, and she rarely ever had to work weekends. She frequently complained about customers that bugged her, and about working so hard, not realizing that at the time I was working two jobs (the other one washing dishes at a local night-spot) at an average of 56 hours a week. And she wasen't the only one. I was one of two full time tellers at the time who really knew what it meant to work "hard" for BoA. I'll never forget those dreadful three weeks when the other full time teller lady had to undergo surgery, leaving me and another part time teller who was barely equipped to handle a busy drive-thru at that point to handle all the customers. JUST TWO TELLERS! One for the front (me) and the other working drive-thru. Needless to say I pulled it off and worked hard to pick up the slack, while serving an ocean of customers by myself, training and helping answer questions for this new teller along the way. My efforts were breifly mentioned in passing during one of our morning "huddles" we used to have.
Those huddles were rediculous! Our assistant manager (picture Marsha Brady at the age of 40 smoking Bank of America crack out of a Bank of America crack pipe!) made us go around in a circle telling the group what we were going to do different to get referrals that day. She would always pass out these STUPID teller "check out" BOFASUX that involved us writing our names on it, writing a question we have (we HAD to have a question) and 3 things we were going to do different the next day to get referrals. Most of the time, by the end of the day, even she was so ready to get out of the "madhouse" bank that she didn't collect them. And when we did, she glanced at them, and probably put them in the trash can. They were useless. Our assistant manager was so annoying that one day she had to be put in her place by the manager (those she was no better really) to stop harrassing the tellers about textbook "best-practices" and referral hounding. She got really quiet for like, two weeks after that. It was weird. But by this point, the working environment at the branch had turned really toxic anyway.
For every problem we had, management had to create a BIG grand solution to it! One day, when a customer walked out of the bank who was looking to invest about $10, 000 dollars into a CD but didn't because she never got a call back (remember what I said about this above) so went to another bank our manager decided she needed to call a mid-day "huddle" or as she liked to call them "coaching" session (coaching was her word for rudely and humiliatingly calling out others mistakes). I always took very concise and poignant messages for the personal bankers. They chose deliberately not to call these customers back. But when that happened management decided to assign an official, "message holder" with all the personal banker's names assigned to an area where messages could be put. She made it abundantly clear that this was our fault. We had failed to take a message from the phone customer, and if we did, we forgot to give the message to the appropriate customer. This is no way was a result of the personal banker choosing not to call the customer back on the neatly conscribed message I would write for them. Irresponsible.
And when customer delight started to go way down (which was the result of increasing fees of all types, poor service from BoA employees, and overall very sloppy management) the BIG grand solution was to arrange a day in which everybody would show up early so that we could take color-markers and poster boards to make these posters around the themes of "college students, " "drive-thru customers, " "in-state customers, " "out-of-state customers, " etc, etc, etc. We made these rediculous posters for what was going to be called "customer appreciation week" in which we were to hand out drinks, display these posters, give flowers, etc. etc. etc. It was the most rediculous idea I've ever been involved in ever in my entire professional life as an employee of any company i've worked for. Customer delight was not going to increase simply because we drew up some colored posters and handed out carnation flowers for a week. The customers were pissed because Bank of America is a tangled bureaucratic mob of stressed out employees, angry customers, and careerist managers that didn't really have to do any real work. The company is so large that they have begun to lose sight of the original purpose. There were so many nitpicky rules we had to follow as a teller that it made it nearly impossible to conduct normal banking transactions without creating many more problems than the situations were worth. It was hellish trying to do things by the rules and at the same time provide the customer with world-class customer service. There were so many times I had to turn a customer away for something COMPLETELY MENIAL AND STUPID, for checks not even barely over $100 dollars.
Bank of America is a greedy organization run by people who only see customers for what they can get out of them (i.e. the whole referral process) and not as human beings. They will stick you with fees as quickly and as often as they can and not think twice about it. They have a very organized system of finding ways to blame the customer for everything. Nothing is every the Bank's fault. They treat their employees like robotic drones ready to sell products customers dont' need at a moments notice. It is a wonder to me why Bank of America has any customers at all.
For all of you out there who will tell me, "if you don't like it so much, why don't you just quit!" I did. I am now working as a recruiter for a highly successful defense contractor making more than twice the amount I was paid as a teller (which was a mere $9 an hour), and a generous benefits package. And for those of you who say, "why are you badmouthing your employer and fellow employees when you probably made a lot of mistakes yourself!" I admit it. I made a lot of mistakes and I took part in all of the poor service that I described above. I am/was part of the evil. And for those of you who say, "what did you expect it to be, a cakewalk?!" No, but I am glad that I went through this experience working at Bank of America because I learned so much about working in an office atmosphere that I was highly prepared and successful when I arrived at my new job. I currently thrive in my current office atmosphere. And I learned a lot about myself during this time. I learned an awful lot about the way the world works. I also learned that I will never, ever, have anything to do with Bank of America in any way shape or form in the future for as long as I live. I am not an argumentative person and I did not write this post to argue with some of you who I know will post rebuttles to this posting. I simply told the story the way I lived it and there is nothing you or anybody else can do to change my mind about Bank of America. I know as an insider a lot of the shady dealings, and poorly mis-managed practices this company engages in. I am just glad I am no longer part of it.
Thank you for reading this and have a great day!
Mr. Balance
we were refinancing as well. Tons, of problems. The last straw was after receiveing an appraisal, I was told we needed to have a structural engineer come see the property. My loan is already with Bank of America, I just wanted to pay more down and get a better rate. the manager told me that it was because the appriasal was marked subject to instead of as is. My appriasal was in fact marked as is, (did they forget they had already sent me the appraisal) I called the appraiser and she told me BAC hounded her until she changed it to subject to (an engineer report). Well I ordered a report, gee the foundation is fine. now BAC won't answer my emails. I have no idea what their problem is now. I asked for a supervisor's name and no response to that either. I truly hate this company.
It is December 2010, and it hasn't gotten better. our refi has been in a holding pattern since the summer. speaking with someone is hit or miss. one person, as if to imply we are too pushy, sternly reminded us that we are not his only customer. i guess the problem is we don't know our place.
I actually have secretly taped BofA training seminar tapes that tell the story. Apparently, the Obama administration wanted HAMP released for political reasons, and did not care that the banks were not able to process the requests at the time. Basically, BofA is only the servicer in most cases, while Fannie and Freddie (The Govt.) are the boss.
You can hear these secretly recorded tapes where they blame the Obama administration here:
http://www.piggybankblog.com/2010/09/03/bofa-taped-evidenc/
My name is John Wright and I AM FIGHTING BACK!
John Wright
piggybankblog.com
ank of America is the worse bank ever, they totally ignore the Obama Making Home Affordable Program and they do care about we the poor people.
I hate them, their customer service system sucks...no matter how qualify you are is like they want you to still pay what you owe.
President Obama put this plan in motion for all the banks to help us, but he didn't even look back to make sure the banks are doing what they was told to do to help up and expect us to vote for him again come 2012, hell n0. I never ever vote in my life and I never will... If someone in congress had check to see whats going on with the banks people would be able to keep their homes and BANK OF AMERICA WOULD BE CLOSED.
Bank of America is the worse bank ever, they totally ignore the Obama Making Home Affordable Program and they do care about we the poor people.
I hate them, their customer service system sucks...no matter how qualify you are is like they want you to still pay what you owe.
President Obama put this plan in motion for all the banks to help us, but he didn't even look back to make sure the banks are doing what they was told to do to help up and expect us to vote for him again come 2012, hell n0. I never ever vote in my life and I never will... If someone in congress had check to see whats going on with the banks people would be able to keep their homes and BANK OF AMERICA WOULD BE CLOSED.
Bank of America and its President, Brian T. Moynihan, and one Robert Flores who says he's "from the Office of the President, Bank of America" are arrogant [censor]s totally out of touch with the rest of us Americans. Case in latest point is that I go to my local Senator's office for help under this HAMP, BUT the arroganr [censor]s, Brian T. Moynihan, and Robert Flores, leave me a telephone number I have to pay to call them at. [protected]. Zero customer service. Zero brains from Bank of America's Brian T. Moynihan, and Robert Flores. Bank of America takes billions of dollars from each and every one of us taxpayers but won't have an 800 number in Bank of America's President's Office to handle these loan mods coming in from the Congressional offices or even their customers. If I could afford long distance, you arrogant totally out-of-touch [censor]s Bank of America's Brian T. Moynihan and Robert Flores, I wouldn't be trying to get this legally required loan modification from Bank of America now would I?!? No wonder we tax payers had to bail Bank of America out!
What arrogant totally out-of-touch [censor]s Bank of America's Brian T. Moynihan and Robert Flores Need Is Customer Service. Businesses must promise long and deliver short to their customers. They must keep all commitments made to the customer. Never lie to the customer. Never give conflicting stories to the customer. Never give a customer the run-around. Always remember that the customer is always right. Put a mirror in front of you if you answer the phones. Put a smile on your face when answering the phones. HAVE and GIVE to your customers an 800 number you arrogant totally out-of-touch [censor]s Bank of America's Brian T. Moynihan and Robert Flores.
Arrogant totally out-of-touch [censor]s Bank of America's Brian T. Moynihan and Robert Flores, apologize for having a customer wait. Remember that escalatory language always breeds more escalatory language. Arrogant totally out-of-touch [censor]s Bank of America's Brian T. Moynihan and Robert Flores, without the customer, there is no business. Without a business, there is no job for an employee. Not the most difficult sell for most people. No wonder we taxpayers had to bail Bank of America out!