Psht, Bank Of America Doesn't Need Your Consent To Give You A Credit Card
Hector didn't know whether or not he was going to accept Bank of America's offer of a new credit card with a $3,500 limit, so the bank made his decision easy by issuing the card without his permission. When Hector discovered the surprise credit line, he called Bank of America with two requests: explain how they could open a new account without his consent, and keep the account open until he could figure out the new line's impact on his credit score. Of course, without a peep, Bank of America immediately canceled the new credit card, leaving Hector wondering what might happen to his credit score...
Hector writes:
On Tuesday June 23 I went down to my local bank to deposit some money. Things started out weird right away with the teller I got, as she didn't seem to have a working computer, and as so she had to go into the back to place a money. She also ended up putting my funds into my checking account, instead of a savings account but hey, no biggie. When she came back with my deposit slip she informed me I was approved for a 3, 500 credit line. The interest she quoted me was actually lower than the one I had in one of my credit cards, so I was kinda interest. I asked her how long the interest held up for and what the interest would be after the initial offer. She couldn't give me that answer, so she waved a personal banker over to answer that.The personal banker gave me the information I needed, and I told her I would think about it and would come back I I decided to take up the offer. Please keep in mind that at no point did I agree to anything, nor did I sign any paper or such. The total time I spent discussing this credit line was about five minutes.
I didn't think about BOA and their offer until Thursday evening when I logged into their website to check my funds. This is when I found a powermaster visa card now under my name, with a 3,5000 credit limit. To say I was surprised was an understatement.
I instantly called up BOA customer support, who told me that the card was opened by the bank location on June 23. I then I asked about filing a complaint and wanting to find out how exactly this happened. The woman on the phone was more than happy to take my complaint, but told me that the only answer I would receive would be through mail two to three weeks from now. I asked if I could have anyone phone me or email me, as I didn't want to get some sort of form letter and she told me that there was no way to do that.
On Friday morning I headed to the bank and asked to speak to a manager. I ended up speaking with a Tony, who sat me down on the personal banker side of the location. I gave him all my information and he once again verified that yes, a credit was opened under my name. I told Tony not to do anything with the account yet, as I needed to find out whether this would affect my credit. I also told him that I wanted someone to contact from their location to provide me with some answers.
I have not heard from anyone yet, but I just logged into my BOA website and see that the card is no longer there. I'm slightly bothered by the fact that they just closed the card even though I told them I first wanted to be contacted and find out whether this would affect my credit.
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Comments:
The sooner we all boycott the ridiculous sham that is the FICO score the better.
Wanna buy a house? Make the bank/lender (usually a credit union) do it the old-fashioned way, and screw the credit score.
I believe I have two credit cards that I just threw in the safe without activating. Both were from store credit cards that became general credit cards (which I didn't want). It didn't seem to affect my credit one way, or the other.
Since a credit score has a direct and tangible value to a consumer, why can't credit issuers who do random crap that affects your credit score be sued for damages?
Dear CC company - your mistake dropped my credit score 60 points, cause all my credit cards to increase to default rates. I cannot afford the monthly payments, was turned down for a car loan and refinance. I am now suing you for XXXX $$$ because of the economic consequences of your mistake.
It shouldn't affect your credit rating due to the fact that it was opened and closed in such a short time span.
@OminousG: Ever tried talking to the credit agencies? Customer service isn't one of their strong points.
Funny! BOA just sent me a solicitation to become a Merrill Lynch client because I need someone to "trust". Ha ha ha ha! Yea right: Trust BOA + Merrill Lynch? This is too funny. Merrill Lynch was irresponsible and traded my account for order flow and helped Enron perpetrate the fraud that collapsed Enron. BOA was incompetent and lost $20K of my money but found it when I had total documentation of the transaction. BOA charged me 31% interest for several months due to their error and cost me 100+ hours of my time to fix. I will never be a Merrill Lynch client again and never a BOA customer again. EVER! EVER!
It sounds like that the original teller accidentally opened the account. Hence her statement about your being approved for a $3500 limit. BOA doesn't usually pre-approve you for their cards (even though you already have an account with them). They usually require an application. You should ask the manager to speak with the teller than helped you.
Bank tellers get incentives if they can get a customer to open a credit card account. Some tellers, out of desperation, pressure, or plain dishonesty, will just do that for you. I know this because the same thing happened with Washington Mutual. They all suck.
@SkokieGuy: Except (and I'm not sure this is how it works), but I doubt you'd be able to show a direct correlation between them screwing up and your score changing, as I doubt the credit rating agencies would be willing to share their algorithm, as then it would be out there for all to see.
boa did this for me too. they offered me overdraft protection, i agreed. i thought it was tied to my savings, but a couple weeks later i got a card with a $5000 limit on it. needless to say its maxed out and not doing a damn bit of good protecting from overdrafts. not that i have them anymore.
Hector's letter is ambiguous; first, he writes about being offered a $ 3500 credit line, but then talks of it being a separate credit card. Which is it Hector? The first scenario, i understand happening b/c it happened to me. The bank gives you money with very low interest, but then you change your mind after you see the hidden 5% charge. Are u leaving facts out, Hector? Because Hector didn't get a physical credit card in the mail, i think what he really got was a credit line on an existing account. I'm not a fan of Bank of America, but Consumerist's headline is a little unfair.
It is way too easy to open a CC with some companies. AMEX sent an application to an old address (Haven't lived there in 7 years). The scumbag filled it out, was approved, and ran up over $5000 before I caught wind. I subpoenad the application-all he had filled out was my name and old address-no SS#, no DOB, no mother's maiden name. Great. Thanks.
@LordofBacon: On the contrary, your (I believe it's called) Length of Credit will be seriously impacted if this shows up on your report.
Remember the time when cash ruled and credit was rare? You know, before all those late fees, overlimits, and exhoribant interest rates? Good times...
@Zanorfes: I was really caught me off-guard when BOA made this offer to me. I had gone into a particular branch several times for mundane activities, but I once stopped in to withdraw $7000 to put towards a used car I was buying later that day. I didn't expect for it to be a big to-do, but the teller called over a manager and it took about five minutes for them to bring over the cash. But right before she started counting out the money, the teller went into sales mode and went through a spiel for opening a BOA credit card out of nowhere. After reacting with a "wtf" in my mind, I said, "uh...I'll just take the cash right now." I never knew they enlisted the tellers to do such things now.
If you didn't sign anything, then there is no agreement between you and the company where you have to repay them. Charge it up!
@farcedude: That's why when you sue them, you subpoena them for their scoring criteria and for a full explanation of why your score changed, with details of every change in the past two years.
@Roy Hobbs: I think upon making the first charge, that would imply acceptance of their offer. However, if you didn't sign anything and you don't use the card, you aren't liable for any annual fees, etc.
@Roy Hobbs: doesnt work that way...
You are essentially making the claim that the card isnt yours because you didnt authorize it, by using it you would then be commiting fraud (since its not your card).
@jnrcorp: That's not true. BoA approved me for an $11k AMEX last year while I was there getting a cashier's check.
As soon as you notify the bank that an unauthorized credit card was opened in your name, they are going to protect their own liabilities and shut the account no matter what you want. Your 'investigation' is not as important as their bottom line.
Definitely sounds like the teller opened the line of credit for you...
Where can I talk to a Tony?
@Ichiro51: Yes, the tellers are under immense pressure 24/7 to get you to open new accounts, credit cards, etc. From personal experience I can tell you it was awful to encourage people with terrible spending habits to get another CC. I was giving myself ulcers so I quit.
Bank of America sucks big time. They're a horrible bank and don't care about you at all as a customer, only about how they can get more money from you. I switched to a co-op credit union last year and I'm so much happier (and feel safer).
@xtc46 - thinksmarter on twitter: Agreed, then your on the hook for the money and a prison sentence. If you want to go on a spending spree and then not have to actually pay it off. Get as much credit as possible. Rack up a huge bill on credit cards then snub your creditors until they decide to sue you. Go chapter 13 and pay 10 cents on the dollar.
@JGKojak: Yeah! MAKE them lend you money without checking your FICO score. Just march right in there and tell them that!
In other news, stop buying gas on Mondays. It'll put the oil companies out of business!
@RecordStoreToughGuy: Having disputed an identity theft case, I can tell you that FCRA or no, it's extraordinary difficult and expensive to get credit agencies to quickly fix their own errors.
This happened to my fiance a couple years ago. BofA sent her a credit card in the mail. Now, she had called them up a couple weeks earlier about getting a replacement DEBIT card, so she thought this was it. She never considered that BofA would send her a working credit card that she never asked for.
So she goes to get some coffee at Starbucks. $3.50 gets put on the credit card. That's all she uses it for, because the card that she originally ordered finally arrives and she starts using that. And since she wasn't looking for credit card bills in the mail, the first she hears about the whole problem is when she gets a call from BofA about delinquent payment, and how it's going to impact her credit. She tries to explain that she never ordered a card in the first place, and she thought it was a debit card, but they don't care. By this point she owes something like $125 or thereabouts.
It was only until we actually went to a physical BofA location that we were able to appeal to a human being about the situation. Her credit had taken a big hit, and he said he would fix it. He did.
Or so it seemed.
Flash forward to a couple years later. We've bought a home and are trying to refinance a couple months later. When our lender pulls our credits he notices that the delinquent payment notice from BofA has been REACTIVATED on her account. Years after we had had it closed. Now the lender won't give us a loan until we dispute it with all three credit companies. Of course for that we need an official letter from BofA, so we have to go through that circus again. After a month or so of going back and forth between BofA's customer service lines, we're finally able to get something official from them in order to have our reports fixed. Of course, in that time mortgage rates had jumped up .6 points, so we weren't even sure we wanted to refinance anyway.
Such a headache.
Banks should never be able to issue Credit Cards without your consent.
I am in the "dishonest/idiot personal banker" boat. I've had Chase do this to me several times - they scoop me up from an ATM line or whatever, invite me to have a seat, and then check my accounts to see what they can sell me while the deposit is "processing."
I'm savvy to it now, although it is worthwhile to know what sorts of promos and new products they have (hellooooo Leisure Rewards!)
@JohnDeere: "needless to say its maxed out" ??
Why is that needless to say? I think I'm a little confused.
Except in this case, all that would be affected would be 1-3 points which is the inquiry for opening the card. If he closes it down it wont change his credit score one way or the other.
I hate BoA SO much. Seriously I loathe them and hate every second of being a part of it. Yet, for some GD reason, I can't bring myself to switch to Wells Fargo - even when I've heard so many good things about that place.
BoA sucks.
Its never even going to show up on his credit report if he closes the card. The only thing you'll see is the initial inquiry to get approved for the card. Banks report to the credit bureau once per month, and this card, if closed down, will never even be reported as an open card, nor will it have any history. There'll be no change to his score.
I'm certain of this, since I work for a bank, and pull credit reports all the time.
I work for a bank too and if you're like most bankers I deal with you think paying a collection will help a clients credit score where it will not (at all). The new account will pop on when BOA reports their tapes. This will in turn lower the age of accounts as some have suggested. It will most likely be a small decrease in scores but the OP should call BOA to keep the account from being reported at all and also the inquiry removed. Credit reporting is 100% voluntary after all. Oh and for those who work for banks; you'll never understand credit fully until you've had to do a few hundred rescores.
Anytime I've physically received (in the mail) a new credit card, there is a procedure where you need to call the issuer on a special 800 number printed on a sticker on the new card, to verify that you received it, and to verify that you're the person it was issued to. That officially starts the clock running on the card, and you're good to start using it. Just did that two months ago, and it was a Bank of America card, too.
Did the OP have to go through that process? I don't see any mention in the story that he got his hands on the actual card, just that it appeared on his online account summary.
Seems to me that if he ignored the whole verification process when he received the card, after a period of time it becomes null and void, as if it was lost in the mail. BofA would call or write to him and say, "did you get a card from us recently?". Say "no, what card?" and tell them you didn't sign up for one.
@Coles_Law: Rob from Cockeyed.com did the application that was torn up and taped back together with wrong info and still got a card too...
@SacraBos: Before bank profits from negative activity fees...
I think that the profitability of ATM fees got them going with the fee train...
@Roy Hobbs: It seems he never received an actual card, just the card and limit showed on his on-line account...
Both bank tellers and retail clerks are given weekly quotas: Hit them and you're rewared; fall short and you get written up.
In this case, the teller should be written up or terminated. What he/she did was fraudlent; the customer neither asked for the account to be opened nor signed a credit application.
A customer's legal consent is defined as one of the following: A signature on an application, typing your name/initials on an Internet-based application or a recorded verbal approval on a phone application.
The Attorney General in the state where this took place should be notified. If BoA is slamming customers on credit cards, they may end up having to get more federal bailout money to pay the fines levied by the state.
@FDCPAGuy:
It wont report. The bank reports the 'history' of the account on the cycle date. Assuming he opened his card today, he's in his first cycle, which probably wont end for another 29 days. So if he closes the card today, when his cycle closes next month, they have nothing to report. It will never have been reported as open since he never made it through one cycle, so they wont report it as closed. It'll be like it was never there.
And to the OP, go and ask the branch manager to remove the inquiry from your report, due to bank error. This *CAN* be done.
I've had this happen to me before only I wasn't even notified I was approved nor did I ask for it. About two years ago I was sent a BoA American Express with a 5000 credit line out of the blue. I am not a BoA banking customer so I don't go to physical branches and I didn't receive a phone call asking to apply. When I called up customer service they claimed the card was opened as a convenience to me so I could use credit already at my disposal by means they reduced the limit of my existing Visa Signature card by exactly 5000.
After a few months and constant credit report checking, there was no hard inquiry to be found and my FICO score remained about the same since I still had the same amount of revolving credit available. This article doesn't sound like the same thing of course but BoA too have sent me a credit card unsolicited in the past.
Keep raising a stink about it and the OP should be fine... I had SunTrust open a visa in my name, which I received in the mail - surprise! When I called my bank, they said the teller must have "accidently" checked the box indicating that I wanted a Visa card in addition to my debit card. I gave them a hard time and the account never showed up on my credit report. No harm done, just annoying (and dishonest on the bank's part, to say the least).... I never activated the card...
I applied for a credit card when I was 18 and away at college so I would be able to buy things online and book hotel rooms for travelling. I didn't hear anything back, and eventually went to my bank and got one through them. 18 months later, the card I had originally applied for showed up at my door. wtf?
If you're worried about its impact on your credit, can't you contact those agencies and tell them the card was an error or something like that?
Not that erases this crazy chain of events, but still. Life isn't ruined.