Articles

I transferred my loan to Union because they wouldn't give me envelopes to pay extra on my LOC. And, I hated going there but, I would have stayed if they gave me envelopes to use.

Yep they got me also. Many years ago I had an alpha type checking account with B of A and wanted to close it. They wanted money left in the account for 30 days to cover any outstanding checks. None were written and they charged me for all kinds of services and still didn't close the account as agreed then started charging me for not having enough in the account. That put a bad mark on my credit for many years. Now I'm hearing stories that B of A is buying out Countrywide (My mortgage co.)

I think if WaMu were to open a branch up here B of A would be out of business in a week.

Been there, done that. I had the EXACT same thing happen with BofA. The corporations have taken over America and pretty much do as they please. BTW, if you voted for the current administration and its party in 2000, you voted for this--you just didn't know it. Early this decade, the Congress handed over credit card legislation to the banks to write as they saw fit, then passed it.

It's what happens when we don't pay attention or when we let ourselves get distracted by inconsequential things (like lapel pins)... and fear. "Oh, look, there's a terrorist!"--and while we quake and blindly do as we're told, they find new ways to steal what we little we have left.

Meanwhile, the only power you have in this matter is to avoid using these institutions. Actually, avoiding credit altogether is a sound idea.

Or when you let someone else tell you how to vote, as in: "God wants you to vote for George Bush."

Quite frankly, the last time I talked to God, s/he had an entirely different opinion...

Scott, run, don't walk, away from BofA. They do not deserve anybody's business. I dropped them ten years ago for similar issues and have never looked back. It was one of the smartest decisions I've ever made. Good luck!

Just a quick comment on Vineyard Bank (and no I don't work for them - just happened to switch from BofA to Vineyard a few months back) even though their offices are few and far between - they reimburse you for ATM fees from other banks. That way (at least if you just need money) you can get it regardless of where you are.

Last fall I applied for a home loan with BofA to take over my daughter's house due to her divorce. We have been with BofA for 30 years and have our home financed through them. I specifically told them I would be out of state on two occassions during the process. While we were in Hawaii, they sent the paper work to the house with a date to sign the documents while we were away! When I got home they said because the time limit for their commitment of terms had expired I would have to pay an additional $1500 in points and they still wanted me to close on the dates I had given for our next journey out of state or would not honor the interest rate. After numerous calls and much complaining, I was finally put in touch with a supervisor who made things right! Keep going up the line Scott - don't deal with the flunkies!!!

I feel your pain. I had bad experiences with B of A too! I switched everything over to Arrowhead Credit Union. Nice people, no drama!! I will NEVER do business with B of A nor do I recommend them to anyone. PS: US Bank is bad too!

OMG! Where have you people been? I closed with them over 15 years ago. I hate the "BIGS", bank at First Mountain Bank in Running Springs and hope to hell they stay in place until I die. I love them!

Hi Scott, sorry I didn't provide any info with those links yesterday, was too tired to type. I had duplicate payments taken out of my checking and applied to my bofa credit card. I disputed and fought until my face was blue and got nowhere, all I wanted was the duplicate payment returned! I read an article in Readers Digest of this month titled "Consumer Relief: How To Get What You Pay For" and is very valuable information. One of the most effective ways of being heard by big companies is by banging on corporates door via e-mail. Consumerist.com has a wealth of information at your fingertips on how to acquire top corporate execs. email addresses, and it is very effective!! I tried this Monday of this week and got a call and e-mail Tuesday at 8 in the morning stating the duplicate would be applied to this month’s payment, which it was. Below is the letter I received on Tuesday just to show you how prompt and courteous this lousy bank can be when they realize you have found the top of the food chain. Below the letter I will provide you with all the e-mail addresses I sent my own letter to. This is very effective and I am almost sure you will get the results you want.

Mr. xxxxx,



Good Afternoon. I would first like to thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention, regarding your Bank of America credit card account ending in xxxx, and the payment that was withdrawn from your checking account. I sincerely apologize on behalf of the bank for any discontent or inconvenience that we may have caused you with this matter.



Our records indicate that we spoke to you on March 13, 2008 to set up the Fixed Payment Program. At that time, our Customer Assistance Department scheduled a payment by telephone for $xxx.00 to post on March 19, 2008. We also show a second payment of $xxx.00 was scheduled by telephone with our Customer Satisfaction Department on March 19, 2008, which is what caused the duplicate payment on the account. As you have previously requested, we will apply this duplicate payment of $xxx.00, which posted on March 20, 2008, towards your April 29, 2008 Payment Due Date. Therefore, you will not be required to make an additional payment on the account at this time, and your next Payment Due Date will occur on June 1, 2008. Your account will remain on the Fixed Payment Program, with monthly payments of $xxx.00 each.





Mr. xxxxx, thank you for your feedback and for affording us the opportunity to respond. Although it is never pleasant to hear our customers have been dissatisfied, we appreciate you taking the time to share your experience. We hope that you will continue to maintain your esteemed relationship with us, and allow us the opportunity to regain your confidence in our ability to service your financial needs. If you should have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me directly at the telephone number or email address provided below.





Kelly Steinbeiser

Customer Advocate

Office of the Chairman

Phone: 1.800.441.7048, extension 78271

kelly.steinbeiser@bankofamerica.com

Send your complaint to these e-mail addresses; let me know if it worked for you:

liam.e.mcgee@bankofamerica.com bradford.r.dinsmore@bankofamerica.com michelle.shepherd@bankofamerica.com diane.morais@bankofamerica.com maryellen.baker@bankofamerica.com Ken.D.Lewis@BankofAmerica.com
britney.w.sheehan@bankofamerica.com nicole.nastacie@bankofamerica.com joe.price@bankofamerica.com keith.banks@bankofamerica.com michael.jones@bankofamerica.com brian.t.moynihan@bankofamerica.com jeffrey.r.carney@bankofamerica.com

*That rules them out. Arrowhead Credit Union, formerly the San Bernardino County Credit Union, has more in the county, but none outstide of San Bernardino County.*

and to add to Barrys comments.. there are two in Corona (Riverside Co.) and one in almost every Stater Bros that has been built or remodeled in the past few years.

I have my paychecks auto deposited. They always show up in my account 2 days earlier than my co-workers that use other banks.

Here ya go Scott, I don't expect too much to come of it though.

http://redtape.msnbc.com/2008/05/federal-regulat.html#posts

Hey, Scott! If you guys want to picket their bank location in the lower village, I can carry a protest sign, and start the chant: "What do We Want?" JUSTICE!!!! "When do we want it?" NOW!!!! I bet you'll get a quick response then. Just run it by the sheriff's office first so they know the what's and why's for the picket....

Someone I know had his account linked to his daughter's when she was a teenager so that he could transfer money into her account on occasion. When the daughter became an adult, a full-time worker, and self-sufficient, he went and separated the accounts. A year or two later, she bounced a few checks and when she didn't pay the fees, they took them out of his account. He went down and closed his account and then opened another one so there would be no history between the two accounts. A year or two later, the daughter again bounced a few checks again, and they again took the fees out of his account. Now, I agree that they should go after her, but it does not seem right that a parent should have to pay the fees for an adult daughter.

Not only was it wrong it was illegal. Then he opened another acct. with the same bank that ripped him off?
Ron White said it best; you can't fix stupid.
MAY I HAVE ANOTHER SIR!
ROTFLMAO!

Scott, regardless of what you do regarding your accounts, make them square this away first. This of course makes no sense at all and will be reversed when the right decision-maker gets involved. People are reluctant now because they don't have the authority over the conflicting departments. It's just a question of altitude.

We bank at B of A and used to do a lot of business traveling for which B of A is and was very handy. We have had to go at them a few times over the years but ultimately got what we thought was right.

One funny story: I had to transfer $50K into a retirement fund or have penalties. Obviously, I waited to get the most from my float so I waited until two days to get a cashiers check. Then they would not issue one good until seven days later. They told me that that was the earliest their internal systems would process it and they had to have a seven day hold on a check of that amount (even tho from their own accounts into another). I said that was dumb so they said I could go to the main branch in LA and they would handle it. I went there (three hours in commute traffic) and they issued a check. I went back to the local branch who said they still couldn't transfer the money since there was a one day hold for their internal system. I said OK, how about me just cashing the check? They said OK, and rounded up $50K and my wife stuffed it in a shopping bag while they filled out IRS paperwork. I drove up to the door so she wouldn't have to walk though the parking lot with a shopping bag filled to the top with cash, and we proceeded to drive to another local B of A branch where we DEPOSITED the cash in our account (and did the IRS paperwork all over again) and then the bank wrote a bank check with no hold. To this day, we laugh about that round-about trip that made no sense at all.

Good luck, Scott.

WE TOO HAD PROBLEMS WITH BANK OF AMERICA , MY HUSBAND IS NATIVE AMERICAN SO HE GETS A CHECK FROM HIS TRIBE DIRECTLY DEPOSITED INTO OUR ACCOUNT EVERY MONTH , SO WE PAY & SPEND ALL AT ONCE EVERY MONTH ,WE HAVE BEEN WITH THEM SINCE 2003 YET ALMOST EVERY MONTH THEY BLOCK OUR ACCOUNT BY FRAUD PROTECTION BECAUSE ALL THE PAYMENTS PURCHASES ETC AT ONE TIME , E HAVE NUMEROUS TIMES SPOKE WITH THEM ABOUT WHY ALL THE SPENDING AT ONCE THEY SAID THEY EVEN NOTED IT ON OUR ACCOUNT , WE APPRECIATE THEM BEING CAUTIOUS FOR US BUT WE GO THROUGH THIS ABOUT EVERY 3 MONTHS SINCE 2003! MEANWHILE ALL OUR PAYMENTS DON'T GET PAID , WE GET EMBARRASSED SHOPPING WHEN OUR CARD IS DENIED AND WE HAVE $10,000 IN THERE! IT'S CRAZY ! ANOTHER INCIDENT HAPPENED LAST YEAR , MY HUSBAND WENT TO B OF A IN BANNING (WHICH HAS A LINK WITH THE TRIBE, WHICH IS WHY WE HAVEN'T CHANGED YET) ANYWAYS HE TOOK OUT $2000 , WELL I ALWAYS DO ALL THE ONLINE BANKING SO I WAS SETTING UP A NEW BILLPAY WHEN I NOTICED 2 TRANSACTIONS FOR $2000 ON THE SAME DAY , SAME TELLER , SAME TELLER #, SAME HOUR , BUT HE ONLY TOOK $ 2000 OUT BUT OUR ACCOUNT WAS SAYING $4000 WAS TAKEN OUT , SO I ASKED HIM HE SAID NO HE ONLY TOOK THE 2 , SO I PRINTED THE PAGES OUT , HIGHLIGHTED THE DUPLICATE TRANSACTIONS WENT TO THE BANK TO PROVE IT WAS THERE MISTAKE ONLY TO GET A TOTAL RUN AROUND , BEING SENT TO TALK TO THIS PERSON , THAT PERSON ETC, LEADING UP TO A PERSON WHO ALREADY LEFT FOR THE DAY ! WELL AT THIS POINT I WAS SO ANGRY WE HAD SO MANY OVERDRAWN FEES DUE TO THERE MISTAKES , FINALLY AFTER BUGGING THEM FOR DAYS , THEY RETURNED THE MONEY BUT NOT THE LATE FEES ETC WHICH TOTALED ABOUT $700 BY THEN ! THIS WAS THERE MISTAKE OR SHOULD I SAY THE TELLERS! THEN TO TOP IT ALL OFF THEY MADE IT TO WHERE I WAS UNABLE TO ACCESS ONLINE BANKING FOR AWHILE ! DUE TO THE AGREEMENT WITH THE TRIBE AND B OF A WE STAYED , BUT MORE PROBLEMS BEING AND WE HATE THEM THEY ARE THEIVES , SO REGARDLESS TO SAY WE SWITCHED TO WAMU AND THEY ARE SO MUCH BETTER , NICER AND HONEST , I WISH WE COULD GET RID OF B OF A AND HAVE WAMU UP HERE !