Bank of America BACKSTABBERS!

[thefed]

2 months ago, I got an offer from BofA for a 0% BT. They transferred $25k to my checking for a $99 fee. Last month was the first due payment, and I paid $500 instead of the $250 minimum. (FYI:The cash is in my savings earning about 4%)

Sooooo....today I go to make a payment online,and they tell me that I cant do it due to the status of my account. The STATUS? whaddaya mean? I've had the card for 6 years, always paid on time, sometimes carried a balance in the beginning but not in the last few years...and last month I paid 2x (accident actually)

So I call them and am told there is a complete hold on the account. It cant be used, and I can only pay by mail, or phone for $15. This is because I am close to the limit they say. WTF!! Had I known they'd disable the ONLY WAY I PAY...I wouldn't have done a thing!!!!I'm furious. I dont even have checks...wrote the last one a few months ago...and never re-ordered because I dont use them! so to order checks, it'll take too long!!



I'm currently on hold for a manager...and I'll keep you posted!

[thefed]

Person #1 says I have a hold on the entire acct. for approaching my limit-surewoulda been nice to tell me this was a possibility as they so graciously sent me the $$$

Person #2 says its due to an error with my checking acct. SO I need to go into a Bofa office (none in the area) to open a checking to continue online payments!!!Seems like blackmail

Person #3 says they can activate my ability to pay online for one more month. the reason? I ABUSED the system by paying $250 twice in one month. I had it set up thru their site to pay automatically on the day it is due...and I forgot...and manually submitted an online pymt.

I currently am waiting on a callback from management who is conveniently not there - and nobody knows when the phantom manager shall return!!

[clifp]

I wonder if this and the crap American Express was pulling are related to new credit policy by these companies.

Or it it could just be a way of increasing fee income. Collect $15 on phone payments is good deal you the bank gets its money faster and the get $15... If they automate the phone process, like I used to pay my Geico bill even better.

[maddythebeagle]

https://www.myeasypayment.com/

where did you make the payment...try this site...otherwise, I send min. payments from my banks billpay system...

[KB]

Your bank should be able to make you up to 10 emergency checks ASAP. Then you'll have time to order more if needed.

[samclem]

Stoozing--fun, fun, fun--until it isn't.

[maddythebeagle]

I am still waiting for the entire series....Chase, BACKSTABBERS!, Citibank BACKSTABBERS!, Discover BACKSTABBERS!

Collect them all!

[thefed]

well here's 2 more to add to the series:

CITI Backstabbers: Looked at my business acct because I pay on the 21-25th monthly....normally due on 27th or 28th. To my surprise, my recent payment was due on the 21st! Only 23 days from the day the statement was closed!!! I KNOW they do these things to catch us slipping,but come on! My payment history shows for the last 2 years due dates of the 27th-30th!! My 0% APR was jacked to 31%!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW. A call was all it took...... the REASON? They said it was due to the year change....you know....months in 2008 are only 23 days long!!

THEN

DISCOVER BACKSTABBERS: I go online to make a pymt on my fiance's card (Discover 0% for life)...low and behold there's a finance charge of 90 bucks! I call, and they told me they sent a letterin November notifying her they'd be raising the rate to 19% as part of a company wide evaluation- no fault of hers (impeccable credit). She could've opted out by responding in writing...they would've then locked it at 0% but closed the card. If you know anything about the Discover 0 for life, you must make 2 purchases a month to keep the 0%. Essentially,she was screwed either way. The kicker: SHE NEVER GOT THE LETTER!! No online notification, no email, nothing.

After going r+r with them, we settled on leaving the acct open but reverting to a 12% rate...yes, this is the best I could do!!! So she NEVER defaulted under the original terms...but per their contract,they can screw you as needed. Needless to say I submitted an online pymt this evening to pay it in full.



It AMAZES me they get away with this crap!! It AMAZED me they weregiving away free money...but now its apparent there are ulterior motives. My father took advantage of the 0% Discover, and got the same letter last year sometime....he never missed a pymt or purchase and had a HUGE balance of 25k or so jacked to 19%!!!

THIEVES!!!

It's not my fault we don't default naturally....and are wise enough to hoard their free $$$....so they have to throw us curve balls to make SOMETHING on the deal.

[Goonie]

Originally Posted by thefed

2 months ago, I got an offer from BofA for a 0% BT. They transferred $25k to my checking for a $99 fee.

I've been getting the 0% thing from them every couple of months....actually just got another one today. I almost did the same thing, but only for about $6K......then I vaguely remembered they did something (though I can't recall anymore what it was) that p*ssed me off the last time I took them up on their offer. That vague memory prompted me to run their wonderful checks through my handy-dandy cross-cut shredder!

Now, after hearing your plight......I'm glad I made confetti!

I hope things work out in your favor!

[UncleHoney]

I've had only one credit card for over 35 years and after reading a lot of fine print my opinion is "if you play with the snakes be prepared to get bitten".

My policy is to game the system and use their money but pay off the card in full every month. It's been over 25 years since I paid any interest on balances carried from month to month.

My only bad experience was with First Bank USA/Bank One about 8 years ago. They were playing games with delaying the posting of payments till after the due date and got their butts in big trouble with a class action suite. They nicked me for about $10 when they cashed my check two days before the due date and didn't post it till two days after. Needless to say they got one last payment and then I canceled the card.

My current card (Visa) is through my credit union and they don't play any games and change the rules without telling you. The people are easy to deal with and you can actually talk face to face if you have a problem with a charge. I even got a call one time about a strange 5¢ charge, a tipoff of unauthorized use. They canceled the card and Fedex'ed me a new one the next day.

For me, I say screw the rewards, screw the kickbacks and all the Zero this and Zero that and just give me a card with a reliable provider.

[clifp]

I use to play the 0 balance game but gave up after Chase pulled a fast one on my with their deliberate misleading statement about when the 0% offer read. I wouldn't have been so made but I talked to two different customer reps who told me the date I thought it was. Sadly it was the month before.. $200 in finance charges yikes.

[Want2retire]

I have a very low tolerance for this sort of aggravation. What makes ME happy (though obviously not everyone) is not dealing with credit card companies. Ah, bliss! Of course, there is no one correct decision for most of our everyday questions and problems in life. For me, being without credit cards has created zero problems and has eliminated so many. My life is much simpler now and I like it that way.

Sometimes I wonder if a lot of people keep their credit cards because they don't know anybody who doesn't have one, and it's "expected". If that is the case for anyone, guess what? Now you know someone who doesn't have one and doesn't miss them, either.

[retiringby50]

Originally Posted by maddythebeagle

I am still waiting for the entire series....Chase, BACKSTABBERS!, Citibank BACKSTABBERS!, Discover BACKSTABBERS!

Collect them all!

Me too! I always pay my credit card bills in full, BUT there's one that always seem to fall through the cracks, mostly because payments come from different accounts, so I had preferred to mail in checks from different checking accounts until I figured out I could set that up online. However, one month I forgot and learned that banks are doing this two-cycle finance charge thing and been for years!

BEFORE
Let's say my bill is due on 2/4/08, but I made a minimum payment instead. My next bill is due on 3/4, and I decided to pay the entire bill. The next month, whether I have charges or not, there is no finance charge BECAUSE I paid off my bill last month in full.

NOW
My bill is due on 2/4/08, but I made a minimum payment instead of paying in full. My next bill is due on 3/4, and I decided to pay the entire bill. The next month, whether I have charges or not, THERE IS A FINANCE CHARGE! The positive way of explaining this to me is "but we only charge you the finance charge from the billing date until we received your payment!"

Rip off!!! Unfortunately, most banks are doing this, so it's hard for me to cancel my credit cards in protest (I think retail stores and smaller banks, as well as Discover Card, don't do this yet). I used to work as a call center rep for B of A, and I had to explain Average Daily Balance (which was how finance charges were calculated) to customers, and that was hard enough. I was really having a hard time understanding this "new" way! I had to speak with at least 3 reps and googled the info online before I understood... probably because it just seemed so wrong to me.