Simply unbelievable!
I have been paying my Bank of America VISA via Bank of America's BILL PAY for over two years! Because I am single, disabled and live alone and frequently find myself in and out of the hospital, I need to have all my bills set up on an autopay system. I am incredibly diligent in paying my bills ON TIME and maintaining my integrity thru the credit that has been extended to me.
NOW however, even under my best intentions using B f A's auto Bill Pay system, I am living a total nightmare! What makes it worse, is no one seems to be listening! Could you PLEASE HELP ME SOLVE THIS as it involves both B of A Bill Pay and B of A VISA?!
These are the facts:
I pay my BofA VISA card payment via AUTOPAY (ie 3/10 payment for 4/3 due date, 4/10 for 5/3 due date, 5/10 for 6/3,6/10 for 7/3, etc)
— Because I don't want to ever pay late charges, I have autopay set up to pay at the beginning of the billing cycle!
(1/9/06 - 6/9/06 statements reflect payments ALWAYS RECEIVED ON TIME — NO LATE FEES!)
I only use my BofA VISA for balance transfers, therefore my minimum payments have consistently remained the same!
Because my min. Payment due is always about $20 each month, I prefer to pay $30 extra to principal each month.
Last but not least, BofA Bill Pay division changed their payout policies in February replacing the original 'send on date' to a new 'PAY BY' date... Apparently this pushed all payments AHEAD by 2 to 5 days!
Now, this is the problem:
Apparently, the 6/10 AUTOPAY fell on SATURDAY, so my BofA VISA payment was sent EARLY and APPLIED 6/9/06!!
Because the VISA statement CLOSED 6/9 — the intended 6/10 payment wasn't applied to the appropriate 7/3 due date! Due to Bill Pay generating this 6/10 payment early, the VISA payment was improperly applied to the wrong month!
BECAUSE OF THIS ERROR the VISA statement ending 7/9/06 shows NO PAYMENT RECEIVED! Because the computer shows no payment received for the JULY due date of 7/3 — a $39 LATE FEE was charged 7/4/06. Yet, had my 6/10/06 VISA payment been applied as intended for 7/3/06 due date, no payments would have EVER been late!
Worse yet, since July shows no payment made, I lost my 7.9 FIXED rate on August's balance, pushing my minimum payment UP! Sadly this early BillPay error also pushed my FINANCE CHARGE from $16 a month to nearly $40 a month (period ending 8/9/06)!!
Because I was ill, I did not discover this growing problem, caused by Bill Pay's error, until the end of August. It took time to unravel on 9/3, but once done, all 3 late fees were happily refunded, yet the increased interest rate had not been corrected back and resolved.
Also, on 9/3, I was instructed to pay the nearly $200 min payment to resolve the issue, because the computer couldn't distinguish the error. Clearly frustrated that I was paying the price for a B of A error, I still paid the payment due, to demonstrate good faith. Yet, it was only until I realized the FINANCE CHARGE was too high, when it hit me the interest rate hadn't been readjusted!
THIS IS WHERE THE NIGHTMARE REALLY BEGINS
Because the initial problem caused by an early Bill Pay error was complicated, and seemingly only half the problem was resolved in September, I ended up talking to various supervisors regarding the need to return the interest rate back to the 7.9% FIXED rate that I had prior to the BillPay early payment error.
Tho, because the issue appeared to already be settled via the refunds & file notes, I continually hit a brick wall. So, with each request to speak to a Supervisor, the brick walls got larger and larger. Naturally, the notes on the file became a bit cumbersome, which in turn seemed to create a bit of an attitude with each Customer Rep and Supervisor.
The rudest encounter occurred 9/21 while talking to Mr. Best, who insisted that I'd fallen into a pattern of regularly paying late. Its unbelievable the power one supervisor has! Apparently, instead of listening to my plight and looking to resolve it in kindness, a very negative report had been generated establishing me as a 'bad & late payor' to the credit agencies, thereby dropping my FICO score 52 points! UNBELIEVABLE!
Today in yet another conversation with a supervisor by the name of Ms. Lewis (she shared she was a friend & worked in the same call center with Mr. Best) emphatically told me that she's seen hundreds of files like mine, and after reading the notes on the file, my interest rate would NOT be adjusted back to 7.9 fixed, instead it would remain at the 15.24% rate that Mr. Best had deemed appropriate, because she agreed with Mr Best's assessment that I had continually paid my bills late each month!
This was simply untrue! Instead of listening and reviewing the facts, she based her decision on someone else's notes! THE FACT IS - HAD MY 6/10 PAYMENT BEEN PAID AS ORDERED on 6/10 as originally intended in good faith, opposed to the 6/9 payment generated early by BillPay, NONE OF THIS WOULD EVER HAVE TAKEN PLACE!!!
I decided I'd try one last time. So, in addition to my earlier discussion today, I also spoke to Kris in the BofA Bill Pay division. What truly amazed me is SHE GOT the problem the first time I explained it to her! Recognizing the injustice and disservice, she quickly put me on a conference call with the credit card division to resolve the matter immediately. GUESS WHAT? Another brick wall!
Jason instructed us that earlier that morning, Ms. Lewis had put in an inquiry as to why I was denied my request to reinstate my old rate, therefore I would have to wait until the results came back. Tho, he did share, he didn't have a clue how long this type of review would take — In the meantime, he stated there was NOTHING he could do — except add more notes to my file!
Yet, this is the kicker... He stated that generally this sort of thing isn't put in writing, therefore I wouldn't be notified by either email or snail mail of the decision, so I would have to call back! WHO DOES BUSINESS LIKE THIS???
All I ask is that BofA Bill Pay work with BofA VISA to rightly reinstate my 7.9% FIXED interest rate to resolve this matter. Also, now it seems it is imperative that BofA VISA also send a new report to the credit agencies ACCURATELY portraying my diligent attitude and regular payment history (regularly paying over double the minimum payment due) in order to restore my FICO SCORE that they singlehandedly destroyed!!!
In closing, its seems incredibly wrong to penalize a valued customer of over 20 years (with an impeccable record) for paying their bills EARLY AND ON TIME due to a computer error and new company policies!
Moreover, its disgraceful to report a good payor to the credit agencies without looking into the TRUE FACTS! That's like continually spanking a child for
behaving! IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!
I'm curious, BANK OF AMERICA... Is making a tiny bit more interest on my little credit card that important in the overall scheme of things? Its truly shameful... instead of showing appreciation for the 20 years I trusted you with my money, you've mistreated and ripped off a valued customer!!! Is this really what you call GOOD BUSINESS?!! Its SIMPLY UNBELIEVABLE!
M.J.
Cucamonga, California
U.S.A.
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