I'm Thinking of Stopping Paying Bank of America

[dehaiti]

Today, I received notice that my credit limit had been cut on two of my BOA credit cards. They cut them to basically what I owe.
I have NEVER been late and always paid much more than the minimum yet they decided that "I had enough credit".
This is the second time they have done this in the last two years yet my credit score is good <720+>. The first time I called and discussed it and they reinstated the limit but now I am just sick of them. I really don't need their damn credit cards and could pay them off in a couple of months, easily. I just was using them in order to maintain a credit history for my daughter's upcoming college. Now though they have seriously angered me. I am considering not paying them at all. What can they do? Lower my credit score? They just did that when they cut my limit. Can they call me? Yep, until I tell them to stop. Can they send me letters? Yep, I can throw them in the garbage too. I can get by without any credit and until we do something really radical this sort of thing is not going to change.
Thoughts?

[ananda]

1. Why is your business there?

I switched to a credit union and love it. I was with Chase,
and I will have all my money out of there mid July. So happy.

[George Wythe]

27. I will never understand why some people prefer banks over credit unions.

[littlewolf]

2. depending on the state you live in ...

They can take you to court get a lien on your property / wages .....
better response is cut up the cards .. get a card thru a credit union ...
pay off the DOA cards and tell ppl of the problems you have had with
them and recommend that ppl not do business with them ....

[silverweb]

3. What ananda said.

Credit unions are the way to go.

Switch your business over to a local credit union, then pay off BoA ASAP and tell them to go take a flying f***.

You'll be glad you did!

[RKP5637]

4. I paid mine off and dumped BOA. They're a creepy outfit and I let

them know if, of course knowing they really give a F what I think. If you have a 720, why let BOA ruin it for you, just pay off the balance and dump them, they aren't worth aggravating yourself over IMO.

[kevinbgoode]

5. I had the same issue with another credit card

and the same kind of situation. Eight months later, they are begging me to "use" the card and I won't - I just keep paying the balance off as quickly as possible and no longer shop with them.

This is one reason why I think "credit reports" are a major scam. The companies which own us dictate our creditworthiness with or without reason, even if the business issuing that "notice" to the credit bureaus have poor credit with their own customers.

I say, if you can, shop around for a lower interest account (or go to a local credit union) and pay them off. When you send the final payment, close the account and send your OWN letter to the credit bureau explaining that you chose to close their account because their credit terms, credit contract, and use of credit was entirely unreliable and their unreliability damages the credit of thousands of customers. Cite the outside examples of their errors in mortgage handling if you like, but focus on how their unpredictable business practices make them a poor credit risk for consumers. Ask the credit bureau to place a copy of that letter in the credit files of Bank of America and tell them you would like verification that your report is included among credit information of Bank of America.

If these companies can use our credit reports to obtain or claim our viability for everything from credit to purchasing car insurance and employment, we should be able to affect the credit ratings of the companies we serve as well.

[Lint Head]

6. A credit card is an unsecured loan. They cannot attach anything.

I found this out first hand. I witnessed a judge actually tell a creditor that the money lent had no substance in value because there was no way to title any object bought with a credit card. It's no different than rolling a secured loan into another one and paying off the secured loan with the addition loan funds.

[Travis_0004]

9. Sorry, but you are wrong.

A credit card is unsecured in the sense that they can't repo anything, such as a car loan, or home loan. But they can garnish wages, and it happens every day.

[Coyote_Bandit]

10. They can only garnish wages after

they take the brrower to court and get a judgment.

[Lint Head]

12. You are correct. Garnishment is a court ruling.

[juajen]

14. Does this apply to school loans also?

[yellerpup]

7. You borrowed money

from a credit card company and agreed to certain terms (in very small print) of repayment. By all means, pay them off in a couple of months as you say you can. If you are determined to live without using credit cards, good for you. It can be done if that's the way you want to go. You contracted debt, received goods or services and now you are obligated to pay them back. Screwing up your own credit score is not an effective form of revenge. There are better ways to express your displeasure.

[napi21]

8. don't hurt yourself to spite B of A. they won't care and you'll have to suffer the credit loss.

Why not open another cc at a different institution, use it and pay as you have been (more than the min) for a few months, then write to BofA a stern letter, addressed to the VP of Consumer Relations, o whatever title they use, explaining that you have paid off the cc's you had with them and are canceling the agreement; you wil not be treated like a deadbeat and still do business with such a disgusting corporation. Then CANCEL THE CARDS!

You may think you can survive without credt cards, but in today's world it's a difficult thing to do. I know I couldn't get by for more than a day or two without mine! I buy a lot of things online and it's nearly impossible to do that without a cc. I use my ards for everything and pay them off everymonth so I don't have to give those greedy btd's any of my money in interest. H! It's funny...I'm reall the customer they don't want because I cost them money!

[dehaiti]

13. OK, got it

I'll pay BOA off ASAP. Then I'll use the extra energy to be against every legislative thing they are for. I have an account with USAA which is a wonderful outfit thus far. I am switching everything I can to them this week. The crazy thing is this:
Two years ago I was trying to buy a house in foreclosure by BOA/Countrywide. They did not want to make a deal or even acknowledge they were foreclosing. As I investigated further I found out that they didn't want to admit how far underwater they were with their bad loans so they were just going to ignore them as acknowledging them would effect the bottom line. Since I really wanted the house I made contact thru a friend of mine to Ken Lewis the head criminal in charge of BOA and said I would make noises about their unwillingness to admit to the true state of their bad mortgages unless they made me a decent deal. I even offered to let them loan me the money to make them feel better. They VERY reluctantly dealt with me but said they wanted nothing to do with loaning me money. I got my money from another institution, closed the loan and that was that until one month later. BOA had bought my loan from my lender. They bought a loan they said they didn't want so now I also owe these bastards for my mortgage. I swear they rule the world !

[msongs]

21. you will love ussa and its 4.25% mortgage loans if you're into that nt

[dixiegrrrrl]

26. Did you know that some mortgages have a clause that says you have to pay ALL of it NOW

if you default or even get behind on a credit card payment?
BOA being most famous for that clause.

I would certainly read every word of my mortgage contract.


And since you DO have enough to actually pay off the credit cards, do so immediately, and get a credit card thru your local bank or credit union.
Result: good credit score, no chance of accidental failure to pay the BOA card.

Then, after you pay off the card, cut the card up and put it in a drawer.
Let THEM pay to send you a statement every month showing zero balance.

You win. They lose the $$$ they used to get paid from the merchant every time you charged something, they lose the interest you were paying on the balance.
( why on earth pay interest on a balance if you can pay it off?????)

We have 6 cards we stopped using from 6 places over 10 years ago, still get ZERO balance statements.
But do not get any mail asking us to sign up for their card, since we "have" one.

[tblue37]

11. They can take you to court and get a judgment--including huge interest. Or they can

turn the account over to a collection agency.

[snot]

15. They're one of the banksters; also among the first to stop processing payments to Wikileaks.

I moved my business from them after the meltdown in 2008.

[AmBlue]

16. Transfer your balances to a new bankcard.

You won't harm your own credit rating that way, and it'll make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside to boycott BoA. That's what we did.

[EC]

17. Month after month they'll add on interest and late charges

until the bill is high enough to drag your ass to court...that's what they'll do. Pay them off and cancel them - if you are that angry.

[SugarShack]

18. They will turn it over to lawyers to collect...something and no more credit until it's resolved

[AtheistCrusader]

19. They want you to carry a lot more debt. If you aren't you aren't profitable.

They don't really want customers that pay off their monthly balance. A high credit score isn't terribly profitable. They knock off the top and bottom percents, because they aren't profitable.

[golfguru]

20. Why are you borrowing to spend in the first place?

Since you do not pay credit card bills FULLY every month,
you are paying high interest on your balance. So...everything
you buy costs you MORE since you first pay the full cost of each
item, and then you pay MORE in interest.

This a losing proposition! You are living beyond your means!
Cut up the credit cards, and buy only what you have cash for.
It could mean selling you car and buying a clunker, move to a
cheaper apartment and other frugal ideas. In the long run, you
will come out ahead.

[napi21]

22. If you read the OP you'll see that isn't the case with this person.

He said he could pay off the blances and only made payments to boost his credit rating. there's nothing wrong with using cc's as long as you have control over your spending. In fact they come in quite handy most of the time.

[golfguru]

24. It is Not necessary to pay interest to boost credit rating

I never pay interest on credit cards since I never buy
anything which can not be paid off each month. And my
credit is obviously very good since every time I apply for mortgage it gets approved. I buy a car only after saving cash for it first. That way I get interest during the saving years and when car is purchased, I pay no interest.

[customerserviceguy]

23. Pay them off, or refinance the debt

and just keep them in limbo, assuming there's no annual fee for holding the card. If there is, then dump them.

Any of my plastic (except for one, I earn airline miles on) who charges an annual fee is going to be dumped.

[Yo_Mama]

25. Pay them

You don't need sullied credit now and you say you can pay them, so pay them down mostly and shop for a credit card elsewhere after you have paid those balances down in the next few months.

If you have bank accounts at BofA they can seize the funds in the bank accounts to cover the cards.

What's happening is not personal - it is that consumer defaults are going up because of high food, fuel and utility costs. So many CC companies are cutting credit limits.

[Turbineguy]

28. Switch over to a CU

and pay BofA off. Stop doing business with them. Don't do anything to raise their costs. They will just make you more miserable. They know how and do it every day.

Stockholders will notice a numerical loss of customers in a different way than deadbeats who can't pay.

The consumer has the power to withhold business or change to a different institution. Competition between commercial banks has deteriorated to the point that the bank that treats you less bad gets your business.