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Update from my last post, #18....Well, I got a lot of calls back today from BofA, because I mass emailed the bank execs, Congress, the Senate, and the news media.... Ms. Reilly was really courteous and professional, and lowered my interest rate some, but it still stings. I was told BofA agreed not to raise rates or change terms on credit cards, not lines of credit. Well played, you got me there! Semantics, that's all it is. But as I celebrated this small hollow victory, another letter came in the mail today that said the Citi card with the perfect payment history went from 8.24% to 29.99 percent, just like that, because of the economy. Needless to say, that account was closed immediately. I can't believe this is how loyal, on-time customers are treated. This is going to be a bad month for creditors when they lose their customer base. This is ridiculous! Debt free, guys! It's the only way to go! I'm starting to learn that.
Unfortunately until we get real banking reform we are going to continue down this road. Banks have a great P.R. machine that is putting the blame flately on the consumer. They are taking no responsibility for what they have created.
Those of us angry (yes...I got the letter from BOA too and I'm one of the good payers with the good credit score...blah blah blah) should just finally do what scares us the most. Don't pay them!! See how they feel if everyone just gave up and they received nothing! I know...credit scores are important and that's not how good credit should work in America. But I see it this way...us good folks who pay their bills and pay them on time are going to continue paying for the dead beats who said, "I'm going to be debt free and pay my penalty of bad credit for a few years and start over"! Now don't give me flack...I'm not talking about those poor families where jobs were lost and they struggled due to no bad actions of their own. I'm talking those people who work and decided they'd buy a car, rent a home or apartment right before purposely foreclosing on a mortage, and who took every credit card they had and selfishly purchased life's desires --- then said "I'll just let it all go and not pay it back! Let some other sucker pay!"
It seems those folks who said, "I'm selfish and just not gonna pay" are some of the happiest people right now And I think people are catching on that to be "under middle-class" is really the way to go right now~ To think of what I can do with that $650 payment to BOA each month!!
Not only did they deceptively market their product, the agent that took my loan over the phone assured me it would not change to variable. I asked for a coupon book for my payments and was told that they do not send them out, but the payments are fixed. As to the ability of counsel to write a contract that allows the bank to abrogate all responsibility and void the original intent of the contract, I am sure there is some contract law that allows such deceptive practices. When the verbal commitments, and clear advertising messaging systematically defraud a large customer group, and the effort to change the portfolio is timed to happen before pending legislation has become active then both State and Federal statutes are being violated and such action is not tolerable. They need to be in the national spotlight and beaten down until they honor their original commitments. The fact that my tax dollars are bailing them out adds insult to injury. If the prime rate goes to the Wall Street Journal average 9.842% my loan payments will go up 70%. I am not happy and have no alternatives. I chose BofA over other loans because of their promise that they would not change it to variable.
Same complaints here as everyone else. . .I can't believe it. Interest rates are at historical lows. The government has printed lots of money and done tons of bailouts. Inflation & higher rates are sure to come. Granted, there are debates over how soon much higher levels of inflation will show up and how soon the Fed will or will not raise rates, but it will be here eventually.
So, Bank of America, knowing that interest rates are probably not going lower and will likely go higher, changes our rates to variable rates and sets the variable rate at our fixed rate. They didn't say, “well, we're going to a variable rate but, good news, your starting variable rate is lower = hopefully, compensating you for the fact that there will probably be days in the future where it'll be higher than your current fixed rate.” No, they choose to start our variable rate at our current fixed rate. So, that is awesome for them. However, based on various economic variables, there is no chance/probability on earth that we'll likely EVER see our rates lower than we have now AND we’re actually in a no-win situation.
While Bank of America's decision would seem to put them at a "no lose" situation, I thought about buy some of their stock to offset the risk of higher interest rates. So, when my rates go higher, I have a chance to benefit from their increased revenues. HOWEVER, as some others have commented, I see people defaulting on their Gold Option LOC and/or stopping to pay it the minute the rate/payment goes up. In fact, people that are debating that option might just wonder why they'd be making payments right now if that's the likely inevitable = if they are going to end up doing this and ruining their credit in 24 - 36 months anyway, why would you give Bank of American another 24 - 36 payments now?
Lastly, I see the door open for a class action lawsuit against their misleading practices/deceptive practices. I have my copies of all original paperwork, the notes made, and the BofA employee names. I think there’s a lot of potential for the BOA customers to have success with this. It doesn't seem to matter whether there was any fine print in the pages and pages of paperwork we signed for this. The fact is, in this current and recent economy & economic environment, people don't have the same sympathy for the big banks like they do for the struggling consumer that's finding it hard to maintain their lifestyle & pay bills.
I plan to do some searching on my own, but if anyone finds a law firm or group of attorneys willing to take on the class action lawsuit, please post the information here - so we can all know about it & stay informed. Thanks.
Last edited by NotHappyCamper; 10-20-2009 at 11:38 PM..
Reason: error in text
Add me to the list. I was promised that the rate and the payment would not change for the life of the loan. I called in and asked why they would do something like this in the middlle of a recession and was told that they were changing the terms of the loans in order to be more competitive in the marketplace (read - make more money). I cannot say I am surprised, but I think in this case the backlash will bite them in the behind. I have filed a complaint with the Federal Reserve and I suggest that everyone else does as well. It is online and only takes a minute - Federal Reserve Consumer Help: File a complaint
I cannot wait to see what happens in this. We were all deliberatly lied to by the loan reps in the begining. Regardless of what the terms say it is an illegal (and immoral) practice for a company to have its representatives to lie in order to get people to sign a contract. If Washington really wants to set an example and move this country forward, they need to make this right.
Last edited by rwoodac; 10-22-2009 at 07:00 AM..
Reason: grammar
MXBXR, I am trying to get a copy of the original account solicitation. Do you have that? If so, could you email me a copy at nations63@aol.com? I have the original account disclosures (the ones with all the fine print) but not the ones that bragged about the account being a fixed rate.
Looks like I am the latest victim..I too have perfect credit, never been late, pay more than the minimum and have been with them since they were MBNA. I pay them almost $800 a month and I called to see what my payments would be if the prime rates jumped from 0.25 to 1.00.
My current rate is 7.99% and the agent told me if the prime jumps 0.25 then my new rate is 8.24%. Is that correct or will it really be that the current prime rate of 3.25 that jumps to 3.50 now makes my rate 11.49%????
This is going to be terrible and like many of you, I might stop paying too....or try to work out a deal.
I also was a victim of the non-variable rate scam. In my view, the small print on the solicitation does not support BofA's case. It does not specify that any rate change, etc., will apply retroactively to existing balances. They claim they sent a longer list of terms and conditions after the loan agreement was made via phone, which specified that they could basically change any of the terms to whatever they wanted whenever they wanted, and apply them retroactively, but I never received any such thing, and I certainly would not have agreed to such terms. I have filed a mail fraud complaint with the U.S. Postal Service, a fraud complaint with the FTC, a complaint with the BBB, a complaint with the Federal Reserve, and complaints with the state attorney general both in my state and in Deleware. If you've also been a victim of this scam, please file these complaints as well--it's the only way something will be done. I don't think any court will uphold knowingly false statements in a socitation simply becuase the small print says "all of the above is a lie" or because they have some hidden list of terms and conditions they claim to have mailed after the deal has been secured based on the solicitation and info provided during the phone call (and which, in my case, I certainly did not receive). It's also very curious that their soliciation doesn't mention APR changes being applied to existing balances, but their actual notice of change does (it would seem the omission of this crucial fact from the solicitation is intended to mislead; especially since they all of a sudden recognize the importance of this when they send the actual notification of the change). If this gets to court, I hope the discovery phase reveals a trend of not mentioning applying changes retroactively to existing balances in solicitations, but then mentioning it in the actual change notifications. This would provide strong evidence of the intent to mislead/deceive/defraud in the solicitations.
Below is Ken Lewis' e-mail address. I have e-mailed my complaint directly to him as well as some other BofA addresses I was able to get. I have told them that I have filed complaints with Comptroller of the Currency, Several States Attorneys General, both of my Senators, and Congressman as well. I urge everyone on this site to do the same. It is time we stand up to these predatory practices. I for one am going to a Credit Union and keeping my money at home, not with these MEGA Financial Institutions that have been created.
Let's keep the pressure on this one!! ken.d.lewis@bankofamerica.com
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And I think people are catching on that to be "under middle-class" is really the way to go right now~ To think of what I can do with that $650 payment to BOA each month!!
