Why do I think BofA hates consumers?

In a nutshell:

A charge was placed on my MBNA (now FIA Card Services/Bank of America) credit card after I had implicitly advised the merchant (a local contractor) and MBNA that I had revoked any implied permissions due to the fact that the contractor hadn't completed the job he was hired for and also had and caused a lot of damage to my home.

The CSR at MBNA had said the charge would be declined. She lied.

So I disputed the $6900.00 charge and sent MBNA a ton of of documentation to back up my case (including a post-job inspection report).

Of course the opposing merchant bank protested the chargeback. In his defense, the contractor merely supplied a couple of incomplete documents (you cannot tell what they are for or where they're from).

I followed up with MBNA (at this point Bank of America) every few weeks via phone to check and see how the dispute was progressing. They continually stated it was fine, and when asked stated I didn't need to send them anything else. Several times I recieved letters from Bank of America asking me to write them a letter stating that I was still disputing, but asking for nothing else. Each time I sent them the letters they asked for plus additional copies of the original documentation.

The day after yet another frustrating call to customer service, during which I was told the "rebuttal period" was over, Bank of America issued me a letter asking for the same documentation I had been sending over and over since the start of the dispute process 60 days earlier. But they apparently wanted it written in very specific verbiage. I received that letter on the date it was due. I called Bank of America and was told I was out of luck, the dispute was already closed in favor of the contractor. I asked for an extension and was denied even though I advised them I would get them what they needed.

I complained all the way to the Office of the Chairman. I was told they could do nothing for me, although one woman called the contractor on my behalf. He admitted fault, and offered a $300.00 settlement for the $5,000.00 worth of damage he'd done to my home.

Even that didn't sway Bank of America to believe me.

I've since found (through long hours of research) that many of their actions were violations of the TILA, FCRA and FCBA:

- Closing my account, without my permission, just because I filed the dispute
- Closing the dispute when I'd advised them I'd get them the documentation they wanted in the wording they wanted
- Reported the account negatively to the credit bureaus without first informing me they planned to do so

Right now the case is with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Bank of America claims on its website that they "take your business seriously and will do everything we can to help resolve a dispute in a timely and thorough manner" but in reality they have an anti-consumer bias and will do anything to keep the merchant banks happy, regardless of the pain and suffering it causes their own customers.

The purpose of this blog is to post ALL of my evidence. Every last shred of it. Telephone calls, paperwork... everything. You tell me (as we go along, there is a lot to post) if you think I got screwed or not.

* Note this blog was created February 2008, but many of the posts are backdated to when the events occurred for ease of reading/tracking.