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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