I have moved to the US from abroad, and had no credit history. I have decided to build it by opening a secured Visa credit card account with the Bank of America.
They took the money for the credit card deposit out of my savings account the very day I handed the application in at the bank, and held it for FIVE WEEKS before issuing a card to me. All this time, I had no access to my money.
Nobody I spoke to at the Bank of America (associates on the phone or associates in the branch) could give me a concrete answer on how much interest the deposit will earn. Only after closing the account was I told that the money did not earn any interest for me.
After my credit history was established I decided to close my secured credit card account. The account was promptly closed, but the deposit was not returned to me. I called the bank, and they said the money will arrive within 30 days.
After the check wasn't in the mail then, I called again to be told that it should arrive within 30-45 days after closure of the account. The associate on the phone was impatient and would not provide any information on my account status besides that her screen said to "advise the customer to wait until the 45 days elapsed" before she could talk to me any further.
October 23 was when the 45 days elapsed, and there was still no refund check in the mail. I called them on the 24th. I was told "Now we can accept your request for a deposit refund. It should process within five business days." I could not believe what I heard.
After rudeness and stalling on the phone for 45 days I finally was allowed to ask the Bank of America for my money back! After I said this, the associate hung up on me.
I know that secured credit cards are usually used by people have to establish credit history from scratch. All these people do not have a choice, and Bank of America is preying on them.
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