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BF - 2-7-2013. Is anyone out there still having a problem? I know I am. I have had this service for 52 months and I have paid a total of $825 into this fraud program. I am getting nowhere at the moment. While people may say "you should have seen the charge"; how am I supposed to know I can't trust Bank of America? I was sent some welcome pack that I must have discarded as junk mail. I assumed all charges were part of the credit card and not some BS optional service. Bank of America cannot provide ANY written or verbal evidence and yet refuse to refund my account. They claim they sent a welcome packet and it was never returned so that is their verification. This is a company that accepted a bail out from the tax payer, ME, and doesn't give 2 shit's about us. They are willing to lose my account then refund my money paid into a scam.

 

I have contacted consumerfinance.gov, BBB, attorney general of PA and I am in the progress. So far it did not work out with Bank of America handling it and consumerfinance. I am waiting on responses from the attorney general and BBB. At this point, I want B of A to pay. If I don't get the money then I want them to get fined. The 22 million in the class action suit is NOT enough. What else can we do? Who can we turn to? Would the case work in small claims court?

 

The steps everyone should take it call them, argue you with, waste THEIR time since they will give you the run around. Then go to helpwithmybank.gov or consumerfinance.gov. Also try going through the Better Business Bureau. Your best bet is to NEVER give up trying. I don't care about how much time I am wasting. I have also notified my local reporters. Good luck everyone.

-BF 

 

Years ago, a friend of mine worked for BOA.  He told me that BOA Customer service would add Credit Protection Programs to customers that they did not like (people that would call and complain, yell at them, people who were rude). This does not give them the right to add anything to anyone's account.  I too had this happen to me...It destroyed my credit and am now paying for their mess.   BOA is the worst credit card company out there and always put blame on outside companies. 


http://www.projectosx.com/forum/index.php?showuser=62338
http://www.excalibur-nw.com/forum/index.php?showuser=27479
http://www.pcigre.net/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=18182

I filed a complaint with OCC.  BOA sent a letter stating I verbally agreed and would not give me anything back.  What is the next step?  Thank you for your help.

Response: I asked for a recording of the agreement which they could not produce because they don't have it. It's a fraud.  


Credit Protection Plus Fraud - Resource Wiki

This "wiki" was created to help organize individuals who have been the victim of Bank of America's "Credit Protection Plus" plan -- a program where many have been fraudulently enrolled without their explicit authorization.

 

NOTE: PLEASE ENTER COMMENTS BEGINNING BELOW THIS FIRST INTRODUCTORY SECTION.  If you've been enrolled in the Credit Protection Plus program without your permission, please edit this page and add your initials as others have done prior.

 

I’m going to try to do this wiki group justice by summarizing the key content from prior posts into this summary.  My purpose is simply to make it easier for new individuals to this resource wiki to get a “Cliffs Notes” version and not have to pour over the many comments posted over the last few years like I did.

 

If you’ve found this wiki, there’s a decent probability that you’ve begun your process of complaining to Bank of America about getting charged for the Credit Protection Plus plan without having authorized them explicitly to enroll you in the program.  And, depending on how far you’ve gotten, they’ve probably given you the run around, offered to give you a “courtesy refund” that is far less than what you were charged, or both.  Although the program is through Bank of America for their credit cards, the program is actually administered by a company called Central States Indemnity (CSI) – contact link/info provided below.  Interestingly, this company is owned by Berkshire Hathaway.

 

For the last couple of years, people appear to have tried different approaches that have been met with various results.  Some have taken Bank of America to small claims court and others have complained to various news organizations.  However, the most effective approach seems to be to file a complaint with a division of the Department of the Treasury at http://www.helpwithmybank.gov/.  The only thing I’ll mention is that, if you are like me and didn’t catch the extra charges for an extended period of time (3 years in my case), then your chances of successfully getting a FULL refund are less likely.  This is because apparently the company (either CSI or BOA) only have to keep actual records (signed statements, telephone recordings, etc.) for 2 years and, therefore, it becomes impossible to prove that you didn’t explicitly enroll.  If you caught this within the last year, however, this seems to be the best approach.

 

I will summarize the various contact information that people have provided over the last couple of years.  The hope is that I list these people just get bothered so much that they decided to remedy this issue.  The one thing that I’ve done that I didn’t see in prior posts, is to start to pester Berkshire Hathaway because they own CSI.  It would be nice if they got pressured by bad PR to ensure their companies engage in appropriate business practices.

 

visa terminal

 

Contact Information:

 

OCC at The Department of the Treasury:

You can file a complaint at http://www.helpwithmybank.gov/.

 

Bank of America:

The Executive at Bank of America who administers this product is: Thomas J Myrick 201 North Tryon Street, 15th Floor, Charlotte, NC 28255. 

 

Although this group is involved in the Credit Protection Plus plan, they are actually Bank of America employees and this is a Bank of America phone number: 1-800-441-7048 (extension 24717).  They are the “Credit Protection Products” department within Bank of America.

 

Someone in PR: Ms. Blake Zabin at 1-800-441-7048 (extension 26178).

 

Central States Indemnity (CSI):

https://www.csidirect.com/contact.aspx

 

I called Michael Alston (VP) at the phone provided in the link above.  He forwarded me to Kyle Thomas and his number is 402-997-8274.

 

Payday Loan Australia

 

For anyone interested in potential class action representation, please contact:

Robert S. Mullen, Esq.

Robert Mullen and Associates, PLLC

800 Starkweather

Plymouth, Michigan 48170

Tel: (734) 455-2700

Fax: (734) 455-2577  

Robert Mullen and Associates, PLLC is currently seeking a Michigan plaintiff interested in representing a class of similarly situated individuals regarding claims pertaining to the Credit Protection Plus program.  Anyone interested in participating in such litigation, please contact our office at your earliest convenience.

 


                                               BANK OF AMERICA DEBT CREDIT PROTECTION PLUS / PAYMENT PROTECTION PLAN CLASS ACTION LITIGATION

 

          The law firm of Carey, Danis & Lowe is currently investigating claims that various credit card companies, including Bank of America, are engaging in unfair and deceptive trade practices in connection with the sale and administration of their particular debt suspension / debt cancellation plans.

 

You may qualify to act as a class representative in a class action against a company if:

 

  1. You were enrolled in Bank of America's Credit Protection Plus or other payment protection plan without your consent; OR

 

  1. You ever enrolled in one of the above plans and were a senior citizen, a self-employed worker, a part-time worker, a seasonal worker, or had a disability at the time of enrollment or anytime thereafter.

 

If you would like additional information about this case or are interested in acting as a class representative in a class action against Bank of America or other company, please contact Tiffany M. Yiatras or Casey Flynn at 1-800-721-2519.  You may also email us at tyiatras@careydanis.com.  We would like to help.

 

“The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements.”

Attorney advertising material

7/28/2011

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Feb 16 2011 - Full Credit Received for $279 going back 4 months

 

I so much appreciated everyone's information on here, so I'm adding my own story which turned out well. I spoke with a rep at BOA in October 2010 about reducing my APR. After helping me, they talked to me about their credit protection program. I told them to send me some information on it, but I didn't sign up for it. 3 months later, I find these charges (thanks to mint.com). I called BOA and they transfered me to the Credit Protection Plus group. I explained the situation and they said it would take 2 weeks to do a "review". About a week later, I received a letter saying that they reviewed the account and determined that I did authorize adding the service to my account. They provided an 800# to call. I called that # and politely explained that I received the letter, but that I still disputed their findings and wanted my money back. I was put on hold for a few minutes. The rep came back and told me that they would refund the amount in full.

 

I'm guessing this went easier for me because the amount was relatively low compared to other people that have had to go to greater lengths. Good Luck!  

 


GK9941 - January 18, 2011 - Full Credit Received for $849 of Charges going back 14 months.  Here's how:

 

     ( a )  December 20, 2010.  Contacted Credit Protection Plus and initiated an "audit verification of my enrollment".  They said that I was contacted by phone in November 2009 and that I signed up for the program at that time.  I told them that this was untrue, that it was "fraudulent", and that I wanted to hear a copy of the recording with my acceptance.  They told me that they were not required to keep recordings of acceptances because they are "not an insurance company".  It was at that point that I initiated the "enrollment audit" with them.

 

     ( b )  January 4, 2011.  I received a letter from CPP.  The "audit" was conducted and it was determined that the charges were valid.  Charges started in November 2009 and amounted to $849 before I contacted CPP and put a stop to the charges in December 2010.

 

     ( c )  January 7, 2011.  After receiving the "charges are valid letter" from CPP, I called them and talked to Boris Maksimov.  Boris offered me a $250 credit.  I initially accepted this credit.  After I got off the phone with him I found this site on the internet and decided to ( 1 ) file a complaint with the Comptroller of the Currency, and ( 2 ) file a lawsuit in small claims court against BofA to recover my $849.  I called Boris back (about 30 minutes later) and told him that I rejected his offer of $250 and that I was going to do ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) above.

 

     ( d )  January 7, 2011.  I filed a complaint electronically on the Comptroller of the Currency website at:  http://www.helpwithmybank.gov/.  (Please see a copy of the complaint that I filed below).

 

     ( e )  January 17, 2011.  I received a call from Tom Jordan with the CEO and President's Office at Bank of America (602) 597-4449.  He was calling to inform me that BofA had received my complaint from the Comptroller of the Currency and was providing a FULL REFUND of the $849 of charges going back to November 2009. 

 

     ( f )  January 17, 2011.  The credit was received on my credit card in 2 pieces - one refund for $250, and a second refund for $599.

 

This matter is now completely solved to my satisfaction with a 100% refund of the 849.00 of charges. 

 

I encourage you to FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY.  The text of my complaint follows:

 

RE: Bank of America – Credit Protection Plus

 

Program Complaint:

(1) I was fraudulently signed up for a “Credit Protection Plus” program by Bank of America.

(2) Fraudulent charges of $849.00 were billed to my credit card by Bank of America.

 

Requested Settlement:

(3) Immediate refund by Bank of America of $849.00 to my credit card.

 

Summary:

I never “verbally” accepted the Credit Protection Plus program as they claim. I accept NOTHING verbally over the phone related to my credit cards. I never received anything in writing were I signed and confirmed my acceptance of this program. I have requested proof of my acceptance – either written or verbally – from Bank of America. They claim that they are not required to keep these kinds of records. They refused to provide any proof of enrollment.

 

Facts & History:

 

---- Sunday, November 21, 2010 ---- After discovering this billing on my statement in November 2010, I promptly called the Bank of America customer service number on my statement (800-552-7302) to find out what this charge was for, and to dispute it. I was informed that they would reverse the charges.

 

---- Sunday, December 19, 2010 ---- They did not reverse the charges. I then called again on Sunday, December 19, 2010 when I found that I had been billed for another month. This time they told me that they couldn’t do anything. Instead, they referred me to another telephone number that I had to call between the hours of 8 AM and 4:30 PM EST (I am Pacific Time Zone). That number was 800-441-7048.

 

---- Monday, December 20, 2010 ---- I called that number on Monday, December 20, 2010 and talked to a person at Credit Protection Plus. In the process of disputing the charges with this person, I was informed that I had “accepted enrollment” in the program “verbally over the phone” back in November 2009. I was stunned. I vigorously denied EVER accepting anything over the phone that would be billed to my credit card.

 

I told him that I wanted PROOF that I had signed up for this program – in writing or verbally. I told him that he wouldn’t find anything because I had never “accepted” this program. I also demanded a full refund of the charges to my credit card going back to November 2009 (which was a total of $849.00).

 

The Representative said that he could “cancel my enrollment effective December 20, 2010”, but that he could not do anything about the prior charges. He did, however, start a “verification of enrollment” process that he said would take about 10 days to complete. He also said that I could write a letter regarding the proof of verification to: Credit Protection Plus – Special Investigations Unit – PO Box 34888 – Omaha, NB, 68134.

 

---- December 20, 2010 : Letter to Credit Protection Plus ---- That day, I wrote and mailed a letter to the address provided requesting proof of my enrollment, or a full refund of all charges that had been billed.

 

---- Tuesday, January 4, 2011 ---- I received a letter from Credit Protection Plus stating that: “Our records indicate that [Firstname Lastname] applied for the Credit Protection Plus Plan program by phone on November 10, 2009 … and the charges that billed to your account during this time are valid.”

 

---- Wednesday, January 5, 2011 ---- I promptly called the number provided on the letter (800-441-7048 x26107) and talked to Boris Maksimov at Credit Protection Plus. Boris told me that they “don’t keep records of customer acceptances – either verbally or in writing – because they are not required to do so by law”. Therefore, he said, you have no proof that you DIDN’T sign up for the program. Unbelievable! I asked Boris if he had received my letter dated December 20, 2010. He said he had not, but that my letter would not matter anyway. He offered me a $250 credit of the charges. I told him that this was unacceptable and that I wanted a refund for the entire amount of $849.00. He refused. Sincerely, [Firstname Lastname]

 

---- end of complaint ----

 

 

 


 

pcbubba (10/26/2010)  After several phone calls to both CSI and BOA, and a letter from a Boris Maksimov of the Credit Protection Products Department stating the charges billed to my account were valid, I today was told by a Tammy, at extension 26107, that BOA would refund half of the charges that I had accrued.  This was after an initial offering of a refund of the three months, like many other posters have written.

 

She went through all the motions, telling me that I was responsible for the decision to enroll, even telling me that I had given them the city in which I was born, which indicates to them that I was a willing participant.  She also tried to put it all back on me, asking me if I ever checked my statements, why did I wait so long (10 months) to complain, and so on.  I used the word "predatory" several times during the discussion, but never got to "pulling the trigger" by telling her that I was prepared to notify the OCC.

 

Tammy first told me that she was only authorized to offer me a refund of three months in good faith, but when I said I was looking for at least half my money back, she quickly accepted. 

 

I was told to look for the credited amount on my next bill, in November 2010.  Stay tuned; I will report back at that time.

 

I think that if people do call with a particular sum in mind that they would be willing to accept as a settlement (say, 50%), the BOA folks are able to make an offer.  If people call demanding a 100% refund then they may find the folks at BOA unwilling or unable to be accommodating.

 

The updated information that I have received is as follows:  Boris Maksimov, Credit Protection Products Department, P.O. Box 15114, Wilmington, DE 19850-5114.  1.800.441.7048, ext 26107, M-F, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern.

 

Good luck to everybody, and thanks to this wiki for the helpful information and good tips that I received.

 

(Update) 01/17/2011 pcbubba:  Received the refund of 50% (a little more than $200.00) as promised in December of 2010.

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GW (03/02/2010):

I created a blog on this issue and submitted it to Digg: http://digg.com/business_finance/Bershire_Hathaway_and_Bank_of_America_Develop_New_Strategy.  Everyone should go and Digg it so that maybe people will notice.

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(Update) 11/02/2012 EKL: I received a letter today saying that there was a settlement!!!!!!!! Got a letter with this website www.creditprotectionsettlement.com. It describes that BOFA was engaged in unlawful practices and that they agreed to pay $20 million dollars, and that they would eliminate any further "protection" programs for independent reasons. This is great news! I hope that many of you other subscribers will receive the good news as I have. They give you two options which is 50 dollars for "enrollment without consent" or 100 dollars for "attempted benefits that weren't received". I know its unfortunate for those who expected a larger return, but at least it gave BOFA the punch in the face they deserved!
Here's what the letter I received said:

In the lawsuit titled In re Bank of America Credit Protection Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, case no. 3:11-md-02269-TEH, settlement class representatives asserted claims that defendants (BOFA) engaged in unlawful practices concerning various credit protection programs.....blah blah blah (lists all the programs), and (i) involuntarily enrolled certain customers in credit protection, (ii) engaged in improper marketing practices in their representations of credit protections coverage and benefits, (iii) and improperly denied benefit claims. They also say that BOFA has denied all allegations, but agree to payout $20 million. They also say that 6 months of credit protection will be given to current customers during the wind down period if that matters to any of you. 

(Update) 04/05/2010 EKL: I got a call from April Miller from the office of the CEO / President, regarding my problem and she requested additional evidence that I asked for.  I received a letter today stating that BOFA's addendum dating back Feb.21st.2008 had me as enrolled in the program, but even after complaining with the OCC I still have yet to receive the evidence I had asked for. Pretty much I got a letter stating that I had signed up through online banking and that's that. They gave me a "courtesy" refund for 2 months which I don't care for and refused on several occasions. I am upset that even with the OCC complaint that my case was handled this way, especially when the only thing I asked for was proof that I had signed up for this plan. Other than the letter, BOFA sent me about 35 pages of statements which I find irrelevant since I had already checked my statements to demand my full refund.  All in all I am malcontent with BOFA, I enjoyed the many years of service they gave because behind my back these little problems kept occurring in the background. Bottom line I hope many of you get your problems resolved, and now I am going to save up and pay off my card and close anything BOFA. As a struggling college student, these kind of fraudulent acts committed by banks are further putting students like me in debt and action must be taken.

 

(update) 03/16/10 EKL: So I called in asking for them to send me proof that I had signed up for this program and I received a letter today. It said "Our records indicate that you provided authorization to enroll in this plan through the Internet site on 02/21/2008"

Which is absurd, when I called CSI the operator told me I had sent in a POSTCARD through the mail and now they are telling me I did it through the Internet? I don't see how I can win this fight because they keep telling me how I authorized it, and I keep asking to send me valid proof that I authorized it via signature or something, and I get nothing. They also told me I signed up in February of 2008, I double checked my records and they started charging me in September of 08.

 

RESPONSE for EKL:  You can win, of atleast partially win, this fight.  I spent probably a couple of days on it and got half of my money back for 3 years of fees in the program.  I recommend two paths: (1) go through the normal processes that they lead you through and when you seemingly get to a dead end with BOA, then you move to (2) which is filing a complaint with OCC (link provided at beginning of Wiki).  BOA takes those compliants seriously as evidenced by someone calling me from the CEO's office скачать фотошоп.  I didn't get 100% back, but half is better than nothing.

 

EKL (03/02/10):

Im a college student, and i havent noticed in over a year. Im always moving around between campus and home so i switched to online statements and now that im super short on money because of tuition and expenses i started to notice that my credit 

card limit kept going up near the max limit. Being enrolled in this "program" without my permission is upsurd, i really wish they would refund all the money because as a student im pretty much stuck in this account till i can afford to pay everything off.

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GW (03/02/2010):

I am glad that I found this workspace and all the information that everyone has provided prior has been very helpful.  I was, of course, a victim of this scam and didn't catch it for 3 years!  I just normally look at my credit card balance/charges online and these fees don't ever show up on your current billing cycle online.  Anyway, I'm currently jumping through the normal hoops (i.e., call, complain, they send a letter, I'm supposed to send a written letter, etc.) to try to get my money back. So far, BOA has been absolutely no help.  They continue to pawn you off to the third-party company that is supposedly responsible for this (as if they are completely innocent and can't do anything).  I actually called BOA customer service and nicely asked if there was a department that would take complaints and try to solve customer issues as a last resort before they lose a customer.  I told them that I was going to close my credit card account, multiple bank accounts and move my business to Wells Fargo.  They said "no" and "sorry".

 

The fascinating thing to me, in researching all of this, is that a lot of people apparently really hate BOA.  I was happy with the company until today.  But, just do a search on Youtube.  The Daily Show just did a bit on BOA and included Youtube videos as well in this episode: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-february-23-2010/make-it-rain---bank-of-america

 

In addition to the straightforward tactics I mentioned in the first paragraph above, I contacted Michael Alston ("Mike"), who is a VP at the company that's actually responsible for this via the link that someone provided below @ https://www.csidirect.com/contact.a.c.spx.  He told me that he'd get someone to look into this issue for me.  Well see what transpires from there.  Lastly, and maybe most importantly, I noticed that this is a Berkshire Hathaway company and I also emailed them.  I would suggest that others in this situation email Berkshire Hathaway and attempt to draw attention to the problem of one of their companies scaming people out of hard-earned money.

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• TO DN FROM JH (7/23/09)  IS IT POSSIBLE FOR THOSE OF US WHO GIVE YOU CONTACT INFORMATION TO GET A COPY OF THE JUDGEMENT.  IT MAY HELP OUR CASES AS WELL. 

DN (07/22/09) If you've read my earlier post you may remember that I sued BofA in small claims court here in Oregon.  They failed to repond withen the 14 days, and I have now recorded a judgment for the initial $1662.50 in CPP charges, plus about $200.00 in court fees and an $85.00 prevailing party award.  We just received a letter from CSI (the plan administrator) again stating their position, then saying that Bof A had agreed to refund the money as a "Courtesy"  The $1,662.50 has been refunded to our account.  I then recieved a call from somone in the "Chairman's" office.  Basically they wanted me to acknowalage they had made it right for the office of the OCC (we also filed a complaint there).  The OCC complaint is the reason they gave back the money!  This lady didn't even know about the suit, and got quite flustered when I let her know I had a judgment against the bank over this mess.  She asked me to forward a copy to their legal department (the one in Delaware) along with my demand letter for payment of the balance.

    • JH (7/22/09)  My husband just called me at work to tell me that in February 2008, nearly 2 years ago, I agreed to be a part of the Credit Protection Program. I have no recollection of ever signing up for this program. Our balance has slowly been increasing overtime with these charges.  Now, because of the balance we have been put into "Penalty" which increased our interest rate to 29%.  This is outrageous.  We plan to persue this as far as we can, and we will be using the information listed on this site.

 

     • SD (7/15/09): EVERYBODY!!!! After fighting with BofA for a year and refusing to pay them for this scam and the interest that           accrued and getting up to four harassing phone calls a day, and filing with my state attorney general and the OCC and           contacting a reporter, I GOT MY BALANCE CLEARED AND MY ACCOUNT CLOSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was the reporter who had the           effect; she contacted BofA, they lost her query of course, she followed up on them and then one day I got a phone call from           BofA expressing concern that I was unhappy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The person who called me is in PR I believe. Here is           her name and phone number: MS. BLAKE ZABIN 1-800-441-7048 ext 26178.

          Ms Zabin asked what they could do to relieve my unhappiness and I said 1. Remove my balance, 2. Remove the balances of           everyone else on this website, 3. Compensate me for the hours I'd had to put in trying to rectify these false charges. She           told me "As a courtesy" BofA could remove my balance........ which made me furious! I told her that was like being physically           beaten constantly for a year for no reason and then "As a  courtesy" the beating could be ended!! 

          I suggest contacting any reporter who does consumer rights. I still want to be part of a lawsuit. Best wishes to everyone on           this site!!

 

 

     •   SD (4/27/09): Heard Joan Goldwasser of Kipplinger's magazine on the radio talking about bank fraud and I ended up           writing to her about this. Friends (lawyer and an economist) suggested emailing various journalists in the financial field.            Lots of online articles are followed by the author's email address. I'm going to give this a try; anyone else game? I have also           recently filed a complaint with the O.C.C., but would like to join with others to do a group filing.

          Another thought:Outreach. Because for almost a year I thought that this was an innocent mistake on the part of B of A that           they weren't taking responsibility for, I didn't look for others in my boat. It wasn't until I finally became suspicious that this           was intentional fraud that I started googling and found you. Surely there are untold numbers of people out there wasting           time struggling with the bank or worse, paying these false charges. The only idea I have for outreach is to mention it on           whatever online groups and message boards we are part of. I'm happy to have found this wiki page!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      UPDATE (3/10): My claim was denied by the OCC. I had to call twice over the course of 2 months to get them to              mail me the results. Those who got money back from them are very lucky. I can't believe they are letting BofA get         away with taking advantage of innocent people. I have been fighting this for a year now and feeling pretty                          disappointed.

 

 

 

 

 

(If you create a PBwiki account when you make the edit, you will be notified of updates to this wiki.) 

 

Confession of a telemarketer

 

I worked as a telemarketer who is working on behalf of BoA in selling their Credit Protection Plus. Im telling my story because I feel guilty in being a part of the bank's accomplish in scamming its credit card holders. Everyday we're calling thousands even millions of members to scam to the protection we're offering. Even our superiors and managers know that we're fooling good people.We were actually trained by our superiors to let do these things:

>mislead our customers that the program is free, there is no charge ever

>easy to cancel anytime with full refund (in reality:hard to contact the toll free#)

>no risk & no cost program

>convince the card members that sending them the info will not charge them (truth is once they say yes to the enrollment question,they'll be CHARGED upront)

>for our senior members who can hardly hear and understand,they are the favorites because we can enroll them easily by telling them it's a gift from BoA

>for language barrier customers (can't speak english well), they are also the favorites...they will always say YES...

 

Our strategy is like this, during our product presentation,before the recording part of the conversation, we will all say the beauty of the program, no charge/free,that they can activate their benefits easily,to the extent that we're saying lies to the clients just to make sales because we were pressured by our superiors.now,during the taped recorded part of the conversation,specially on the reading of the disclosure,which almost all members don't that whar we're alreading to them id the terms and conditons of their purchase,what we do is we really read the info very fast so that they won't understand what we're saying..what to them is only some review of their benefits..eventually they'll easily say YES to the enrollment and billing question.

 

Im not proud to be working with Bank of America. Bank of America is a big liar.They are allowing us to fool their customers just for them to have a lot of money on their pockets..on the expense of others. I would like to apologize to the millions that we're scammed...we're just doing our job...

 

Links (feel free to add links here!)

 

 

Bank of America: enrolls you in "Credit Protection Plus" without your permission 

Consumer complaints about Bank of America - consumeraffairs.com

Bank of America is shaaaaaady!

 

 

My dealings with Credit Protection Plus

 

I didn't use my Bank of America account for several years. Then I get a bill from them saying that I owe them 70 some odd dollars. I noticed the only transaction was the fee for the Credit Protection Plus. I call the bank of america credit card company and tell them I wanted to report a fraud because I didn't order this. I handed used the account at all. I didn't realize at the time it had anything to do with bank of america. They tell me to contact the credit protection plus people.

I called them and they gave me the run around. They are some serious, sketchy people. I told them I wanted the fee removed. They insisted on getting my address information. I told them I wanted the fee removed. They insisted they needed this irrelevant and unrelated information. Finally, I gave in and just told them my new address information. After talking with them for several minutes I couldn't get them to actually address my request. They just kept telling me how important it was to have credit protection. Eventually, I just hung up.

Then I called the credit card people and told them that I talked with the credit protection plus people and they had said they would remove the fee but had failed to do so. They handled the matter for me somehow. I could almost see the knowing smile on the operators face when they did it.

LS -tobeerrant at gmail

 

We're getting screwed by Bank of America!

In March of this year (2008) we took out a personal cash advance loans from Bank of America. In June I noticed on our bill a charge for $201. for Credit Protection Plan. Neither my husband or myself agreed to the protection plan but I thought, 'well, $200. a year would be reasonable and welcome if anything did in fact happen that prevented us from making the payments'. Neither of us called then, but noticed it was also on the July bill. Wait a minute! Each month? You've got to be kidding!! At that point my husband called and promptly got the run around. They assured him that one of us must have agreed to it or they would not have charged us. My husband demanded it be credited back to us, and assured THEM that we did not agree to it. We were told they would 'look into it' and get back to us, and credit our $$ back to us if they were at fault.

Today we got a letter in the mail from Bank of America stating that "our records indicate that you applied for the Credit protection Plan program by phone on March 21, 2008. As outlined under the terms and conditions, was provided from March 21, 2008 to July 11, 2008, and the chargesd that billed to your account during this time period are valid."

It goes on to say "thank you for this opportunity to be of service," HA!!! Bullshit, pure and simple.

This is truly a scam and even if they do discontinue it at this point, they still bilked us out of 2 months worth. That would add up to a whole lot of money...there is no way we would ever agree to such a plan.

We would never do business with Bank of America again and would never recommend them to anyone.

lp

Wisconsin

westiemm@yahoo.com

 

August 2008

My wife and I had a BofA card and stopped using it in August of 2007, about the same time the FIRST Credit Protection Plus charge appeared (we would learn later). However, we stopped getting paper copies of our statement right after that and continued to pay off a set amount each month thinking that no more charges were accruing. We didn't think much of the card until we decided to pay the entire balance off this month (August of 2008). When I logged on to view the statement, there was the credit protection plus charge. What's this? Turns out that my wife called exactly 1 year ago to dispute a late fee. At that time, they enrolled us and my wife swears she was never even asked about it. All she was doing was disputing a late fee. Turns out we were charged for 12 MONTHS of this crap we never signed up for. When we disputed it they claimed it was our fault for not checking our statement. WHAT? We never authorized it in the first place and therefore never knew about it. BofA sent us to Fae Dixon at Credit Protection Plus. She's the manager there. She tried the same crap about not picking it off the statement sooner and we shot back that it was a fraudulent charge to begin with and never authorized. We threatened legal action. She immediately backed down and "as a service to our valued customers" offered to refund the ENTIRE years worth of charges plus finance charges. Hmmm. Seems like they've been down this road before.

JW

Boston, MA

JW,

I tried a similar tactic to get them to refund my account and they gave me some BS about an investigation. Did you get an immediate refund after threatening legal action?

Thanks,

Jason

jasondol@gmail.com

 

December 2008/January 2009

 

I called on December 26 and was told that even asking for additional information counts as enrolling.  I called BS on it, but they said they'd cancel my account, investigate, and mail me the result of the investigation within 2 weeks.  I waited, finally called back on Jan 13 and spoke to a supervisor.  She said they mailed something 12/30 with an access code to listen to a recording of me enrolling by phone.  I never got this, and she confirmed my address and re-sent it but said she herself hadn't heard it, can't provide me this code, and that they have an analyst in Omaha who "makes sure these mistakes never happen."  

I know I said no, and at worst I might have agreed to be sent additional information just to get the guy off the phone, but until I hear exactly what I said I really don't have a leg to argue on.  If I did accept additional information, knowing that apparently there's some clause in the paperwork saying it counts as enrollment, I'm just going to have to make the "but you can't prove I ever received any paperwork" argument.  I'll let you know how it works.

Addendum:  February 12, 2009.  After countless phone calls, my tally stands at this: they've "mailed" me "proof" that I signed up on the phone 3 times now.  I've received none.  I've had at least 3 managers promise to call me back.  None have.  I've spoken to about 20 reps and 6 managers now, and the story went from "anything you say counts as enrolling" to "they'd only enroll you if you explicitly asked to sign up."  The second-to-last manager I talked to verified my number before not calling back, only she had a completely wrong phone number for me.  The last manager I talked to, when I asked her how long this dance of "we just mailed you proof today" and "i never received the proof" would continue, told me that I should just write the Disputes Department:

PO Box 34888

Omaha, NE 68134

Why they couldn't have told me this two months ago, I'll never know.

If you are calling them, you are wasting your time.  The only people at that call center are the enrollment people, and most of them are too young and naive to realize they're working for crooks.  "We wouldn't sign you up against your will, of course we'd have proof!"  Sorry, kids, you work for the Bad Guys.

The only way to get a refund is by requesting it from the Disputes Department, via mail.  Or so they just told me.  The people you call are only there to waste your time. 

Good luck.

-CB

 

JS -- CB, I'm sending a letter out to that address tomorrow.  I had the address from their website, so it's good to have the address verified.  I'm stating one month from the delivery of the letter to when I expect a refund, after which point the complaint letters go out and I start thinking about legal action.

 


 

Company that runs the Credit Protection Plus Program

I have been battling with them for 4 months over a "Benefit Activation". I sent them all the information they requested and then some. I finally got so frustrated, I gave up on trying to get my money back. On top of that, they sent me a letter stating that I used up my benefit activations and that they were cancelling my account. Come to find out they are still billing me, even though they notified me telling me my protection account is canceled. Anyway, if anyone wants to file a complaint with the Attorney General and the BBB like I am, the actual company is:

State Side Processing

1941 South 42nd Street 385

Omaha, NE 68105

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      http://www.boingboing.net/2008/06/30/bank-of-america-enro.html

 

 

6/12/2009-SG After reviewing my credit card records in April of 09 I realized there where charges even though I hadn't been using the card. I looked further into the issue and found the charges to be coming from Credit Protection Plus. I called there 800 number listed on the charge in April and asked what it was and why it is being charged. they said it was credit protection and that I verbally signed up for it on the phone. I told them I don't want it and never signed up for it and it needs to be canceled immediately. they said ok. I checked my account in May and there was another charge. so i called again and they told me there was no record of me ever calling. I told them that I never wanted the service and it needed to be canceled and i wanted my money back. they offered 2 months of payment. I told them I never signed up and needed some kind of proof that I had done so. they said they would have to mail it. on may 8th 2009 I received a letter simply stating that I verbally signed up by phone. This is not proof I can write a letter that stating that. now my credit card account interest has skyrocketed from 17% to 27.99% and all charges previous to 05/22/2009 has disappeared from my online transaction log. before this incident you could look back 1 year. so now I am stuck with a ridiculous interest rate. the charges I have incurred from Credit Protection Plus since October 2008 and I can't prove any of it because all the recodes have been deleted.

our terms of service state that if you dont decline the extra information that is the same as signing up even though you had to say no to the service at least 3 times before they offer the information about it. This is so shady.

if they are so big on terms of service I should write them a letter stating that my terms of service have changed. now when they tell me "NO" they will owe me 4 million dollers. this alaws me to ask one more time for my money back. they will say no and thus be indebted to me for 4 million dollers.

 

UPDATE: got called today. luckly I have a nice phone system at my office and it recodes everything. here is a link to the .wav file. god these people piss me off. since my frst post I have rolled my debt into a home equity cash advance loans at 4% and zeroed out the card. I am now a happy member of Chase and so is my business. BHURN IN HELL BofA!!!

sorry about the long link. didnt want to host off my server

http://sites.google.com/site/guentha/Home/g9000-20090624-145000-1245880200.818.wav?attredirects=0

Guentha@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

05/28/09 - In response to that:

1.  I'm sure we have all been offered the service over the phone, or seen it as a mystery charge that suddenly pops up on your Discover bill, for instance.  So it is not ignorance of the program that is at issue here.  We know it's a bullshit service and that is why we decline it.  For example, over the phone with BoA.  We say "no".  Who cares if it is a 3rd party vendor, it's offered through BoA.

2.  If you call the phone number, they are not available when you are. The whole point of online banking is that it is convenient, yet you don't see the charge on your monthly that pops open online, it is a charge hidden from plain view.  You have to go to the statement from the previous month.  Hmm..they must add the charge just before they reset to the next month, and the info conveniently goes to the archives. Online should mean real-time.

3.  Maybe you are right. Do you work there? Sounds like it.

4.  Again, convenience of online banking facilitates the hidden, unauthorized charges.

5.  Thanks for your advice on this point, I will question every charge and look at all statements. But I will surely not be surprised when another credit card suddenly adds the Credit protection charges.  Even if I spot it the first time they do it.  The point is, we now question Bank of America, and whether or not it has been a month or a year, they are still unautorized charges that should be re-imbursed.  It is not our fault, we said no.  We now say no.  It is fraud.  It would be our fault if we said "yes" to the credit protection.  We know it is a scam.  We did not give them money, they took it.

 

5/28/09 - I'm not suprised at all that you people are so completely ignorant of this whole "Credit Protection Plus" thing. First off: it's not even a BoA product. It's offered through a 3rd party vendor!!

Secondly: if you bothered to actually call the phone number that's printed on your statements next to the charges, you'd be able to ask to cancel the service.

Thirdly: NO ONE from BoA has been fired for this because it's NOT a BoA product, so no BoA employee EVER enrolled you in it!!

Fourthly: READ  YOUR STATEMENTS!! People, really...are you so stupid or blind that you don't bother reading the monthly statements? It's all right there if you bothered to read it!

I actually READ MY Statements, I question ever charge and make sure I know exactly where, when and how much I spend. Remember a Credit Card is NOT YOUR MONEY! IT's Credit exended to you through the bank that issued you the card. If you don't pay or don't bother keeping up on your statements, it's YOUR OWN FAULT!!

 

05/27/09 - That is very interesting, but not surprising.  So even if BoA did not instruct their employees to sign people up against their will, they are complicit in that they know that their employees have done so.  It's funny, when I left a message for the techs online, because the credit protection offices were conveniently closed, they fired back a standard repsonse that included a statement that I didn't have to call them back, cuz they know it could be inconvenient, or something like that.  Of course if I take my time to call to cancel, they can charge more!

 

5/27/09 - SD - I called BoA to close out the account on my other BoA card and when asked why, explained about my experiences with the ironically named "Credit Protection Plus" and that I felt that I'd been scammed. The person I talked to was quite familiar with this, and said that people there had been fired for signing customers up without their permission... and then he clammed up!

 

05/26/09 - I checked my account yesterday and discovered these outrageous charges to my credit card. Whoever the f made up this scam deserves a round of applause, or perhaps a stoning.  I vaguely remember making a phone call to inquire to what my apr was or if there were balance transfer offers available, and being pressured to take just the free information about the program. Well, this morning I was offered the standard 2 month refund and "call it good" or to dispute the charges. I chose the latter. Josh was adequately prepared and schooled in how to respond to my complaint. Must be standard practice for BOA to deceive and defraud its customers. I really hope to get this matter resolved as I have charges going back to October, about $75 per month. This leaves me feeling victimized and stupid for not realizing this sooner, a sucker. I will write a complaint letter to the OCC as suggested below and I am lucky to have found this site to see that there may be hope. AB

 

5/26/09- I just found this group as I am now in a battle regarding my $800 fees from Credit Protection Plus too. I had no idea that I was paying these monthly fees for over a year! They do not have a voice recording OR my signature to prove this transaction and are only offering me two months in repayment. Per Denises's post below, I have now written a letter to the Treasury Dept and am hoping for the best. LW

 

5/19/09 - I forgot to mention that my the claim has not been accepted yet.

 

5/19/09 - Just like you all, I found out about "enrolling in the program" even when I specifically declined it, on April of this year through my bill.  I have had the credit card in question for about 4 years and I never used it till March of this year. They did call me in February to make me aware that my credit limit was increased to 10K and to see if I had any balances elsewhere I wanted transferred to this card with a 4.99 APR till march of next year. I received over 10 calls asking me to make the transfers. I explained time and time again that I was not interested for I pay off the cards and the info they saw was outdated. In April, when I became aware of the charges I called to question and cancel, they explained the program and benefits and aked me to reconsider. Since I only used the card in March and April, the fee was only about $ 80.00. 

 

I kept the program and accepted the charges because the rep said that in case of an unemployment claim I would be able to continue to use my credit cards and they will make the minimum payments for up to 18 months. THE PROGRAM WILL "PROTECT MY CREDIT". The next day I filed a claim for I have been unemployed since October of last year. A week later, I tried to use both of my BOA credit cards and they were both declined. As it turns out, the credit limit on both cards was reduced to the amount charged on the cards. I went from 25K credit limit to 9K. Filing a claim WILL HURT  YOUR  CREDIT. The scam is huge, I will answer questions as presented. I have to tell you there is so much there that I would like to share. I just don't want to make this first note not overburden for anyone to read. AM.

I would like to join on this as I have been scammed by BOA. The sam goes far deeper of what I have heard here and I woul like to share with you and join the campaign.

 

 

5/19/09 - Hi JS how are you doing with getting statements from members of this WIKI?? - Thanks FM.

 

5/19/09 - FM, well things seem to have stalled out for the time being perhaps just from those who don't check the wiki often.  I compiled everyone's e-mail addresses and will start requesting individually by the end of this week, once I can get other life matters out of the way (moving!).  I'm at about eight total from maybe 30 possible statements.  I got in touch with my local Senate representative (Sherrod Brown, OH) after I had written my letter in to them, and they sent me back a couple of release forms allowing him to use my story on my behalf if it's something that comes up.  I'd recommend anyone (and this will be an individual thing) to contact your representative and reiterate your story to their offices.  In any case, I'll start going e-mail to e-mail shortly.  Thanks to those of you who have already sent information in!

 

 

I GOT ALL MY MONEY BACK! Update from member Denise Hughes

     I am updating this and hoping this helps somebody else receive all their credit protection plus money back. Just to recap, I had incrued over $800 in 8 months from Bank of America adding this to my credit card without my permission. I called several times and the most I was offered was a two month courtesy refund.  I knew I said I didnt want this when I called about a routine credit card matter in mid 2008 so I was not going to give up that easily. 

     I wrote to the attorney general, all my local tv stations(consumer segments), and any other consumer watchdog group I could find from googling. I also wrote the bank itself.  This has been playing out for about 3-4 weeks now. Last night I got a voicemail from the corporate office of BOA saying she understood my matter had been resolved and wanted to know if I wanted to give any other feedback. I was so angry when I returned her call, I exclaimed "being offered 2 months of the fees back is NOT resolution". She said "oh, I see that you havent looked at your account in the last few days because there is a credit of $800+ dollars that has been applied"  I nearly thought she was kidding! Long story short, it is my impression that one letter in particular was the reason the bank took me seriously and quickly put through the full refund. I had written to the US Treasury(see link below to write online) and apparently the letter got the banks prompt attention.  I only wish I had started my mission with that instead of all the other things I tried!  I just wrote exactly what occurred and when and explained the cost to me and my family. I truly hope this helps others here.  I never thought I would receive the entire amount back because through all my research online, most people who complained said they only received the token two months back and just one that I could find got half back.  Since the Bank of America official specifically mentioned my letter to the Treasury, I assume that was the clincher. Anyway, here is the link

                                              http://www.helpwithmybank.gov/      I hope my happy ending brings many more!

 

JS -- great news Denise!  The helpwithmybank.gov website is run by the OCC, where I was given six months of fees back.  So this is definitely the best path for all of us, and why I'm trying to get a group of us from the wiki together to send to them.  So hopefully everyone sees this and decides to contact me! (see below bolded message I left 4/12)

 

HB - Congratulations Denise!! Perhaps there is hope for us all yet. Jim, any update on the progress of the letters? I urge everyone to send theirs! I did.

 

 

I just found charges going back to last june from this co. I never authorized nor received anything from them. They seem to be working in concert with bofa. I am told they will "investigate" and respond within 7-10 days. The company offered to remove a couple of months fees if I go away basically. This is fraud and will be persued. Has anyone received proof (recordind etc. that they ordered whatever this is? JIm 

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From S Winn (7-27-2009)- In June of 2006 I opened a Visa Credit Card with Bank of America and over the past 3 years, I have maintained an average balance of $5,649 to which they have charged an average 23% interest rate.  Despite my consistent payments of well over the minimum due, my increasing credit score, my sustained account activity, and my persistent requests for a lower interest rate, Bank of America has made numerous increases to my rate maxing at 29.88% in May of this year.

From my very first statement in June of 2006 there was a bank charge added, at the same time and based on the same balance as the Finance charge, which was labeled Credit Protection Plan.  It was my belief that that these two monthly charges by Bank of America were the bank charges I agreed to when signing the contract for the credit service.  I never questioned the charges, as it was also my belief that no one, particularly my trusted banking institution, could lawfully set recurring charges to my credit card without legally binding signed consent.

Over the past 3 years I have been charged a total of $1,771.31 in monthly charges for the Credit Protection Plan.  This balance has also accrued interest totaling $30.21 meaning my credit card balance was increased a total of $1,801.52 for what were labeled as Credit Protection Plan charges.

I have since been informed via other scammed Bank of America customers and the bank representatives that the Credit Protection Plan is a “voluntary” plan to protect my credit if I were unable to work.  When I opened the credit card, I was a struggling college student.  I now make $30,000/year as a social worker.  I would never have voluntarily signed up for a plan charging me $600/year “just in case”.  I have now realized I have been a victim of fraud at the hands of the bank that I had trusted.

With this information, I went to my local branch and submitted to a representative a formal written demand for cancellation of the unauthorized charges detailing the facts herein and I later received a call from Bank of America to address my complaint.  The representative stated that according to their records, I agreed to the Credit Protection Plan over the phone and information detailing the Plan had been sent to me in the mail.  I informed the representative that I had never agreed to the Plan and never received any documentation detailing the plan or requesting authorization for the charges.  The representative reported to me that they have no proof of consent and it is not necessary for them to have consent to charge for the Plan.  The representative stated my account had been credited for two month’s worth of charges but they were unwilling to credit the remaining charges.

SW - I just joined the ranks. I have charges going back to February of 2008. Approx $1500. Unbelievable. I find it interesting that they offer either 2 months back or Proof of Enrollment...not both. They said if proof of enrollment is not found, then they would refund the money...unlikely. I'll start writing my letters now.

KS - 10-01-09  - Yesterday I found 3 months on my bill. I never heard of this until then. Aggravated, I ran the 800-942-1083 number in Google and found this page. I called them today, ready for a fight, but the agreed to give me a refund for the whole amount. (only about $13.00) They say it will show on my next bill. If there is no update to this after 30 days or so, it is safe to assume that I got my refund.

They asked me for my zip, last 4 of the credit card account, my address, and my mother's maiden name. I told Sandra a couple of times that I was very uncomfortable giving this information to a third party. She said she understood but that it was necessary to verify that I was the person on the account.

This probably means that they discovered me by looking at my credit report, since I never gave this info to them. I doubt that I will, but it may be possible to sue for unauthorized access to credit report - $1000 in small claims court. SHOULD THIS QUALIFY, YOU COULD PRACTICALLY SHUT THEM DOWN IF EVERYONE DID THAT AT THE SAME TIME.

She claimed that they sent me something in the mail explaining my benefit including a 30 day free trial. What a colossal scam!

MORAL TO THE STORY: If you do not read the fine print on all your JUNK MAIL, you better be looking at EVERY line of your credit card bill EVERY month!  

KS - 12-30-09

Thanks for setting up this wiki. Took me a while to find out that the charges where not Credit card finance charges but related to the Bank of America credit card protection plus plan, since the charge come from Bank of America they seem to be designed to look just like finance charges and stayed under my radar for a while. I was enrolled into the scheme against my will and without my knowledge, BOA started charging without my consent and is still delying / denying. I found out in summer and still trying to recuperate my loss. Class action sounds fine to me.

Below, I made a summary of Bank of America charges over 2 years (scary to see how much this bank charges you in a year, even without the scam) and the Bank of America credit card protection plan fees are more than all other BOA Bank charges combined (!) , including credit card interest, minimum payments, monthly checking maintenance. Given the non-sense value of this product, just the absolute cost illustrates the wild overcharging and fraudulent nature of the Bank of America Credit Card Credit Protection operation, plus I am at loss of what this "credit protection" is good for and I don't care because I don't need it. Just want my money back and will fight for it. 

MY BANK OF AMERICA FEES OVER 2 YEARS

 

 

What makes me sad is that your own house-bank scams you which obviously raises questions about the integrity of the other BOA operations and products. Are they running my investments or business accounts with the same mindset? For me: time to look for a different bank.

 

Update April 1 2010: I did get my money back through an OCC claim and actually won another OCC claim for $100 (!) legal bank fees that they deducted from my account in error and BoA fought hard not to refund. So far Bank of America  tried to steal a total of $741 dollars from my bank accounts on several occasions that they only handed back after me submitting and winning OCC claims each time. It's unbelievable, this bank is like a psychopath.  

________

 

I just cancelled my BOA Credit Card after being unknowingly signed up for thie Credit Protection Scam.  How can our government bail out a company that willfully and intentionally scams it customer.  I am a top level customer who has always paid off my card every month religiously. A 30,000 credit limit on my Platinum Plus Card proved that.  The Person who represented themselves as a BOA representative insisted that we not only signed up for the plan but we gave them my town of birth (like they dont already know that information and can utilize it at any time).  I now wonder if she has any affiliation with BOA.  I called the number on the card that was listed after the scam charge. Seeing all these posts its quite obvious that either BOA or someone posing as BOA is creating these scam charges.  My reccomendation to you is to to do what I did.  CANCEL YOUR BOA CARD IMMEDIATELY and take your business elsewhere.  My perfect credit rating will be appreciated by another credit card company that doesnt choose to scam its best customers.   Thank the good old USA for bailing out a company that chooses to swindle honest americans.  Maybe they should change their name to Bank of  Alqaida.

 

SG-3/22/10  In February of this year I discovered I had been wrongly charged on my Bank Of America credit card for a Credit Protection Plus Program, that I never enrolled in. The statements that I have accessed online date back 18 months and the charges are there for all 18 months. The total for these charges = $894.83. I never picked up on these charges because many of them do not appear in the online view of transactions , but do appear on the actual statements. I called Bank Of America MArch 1st, 2010 and was told I had to call Credit Protection Plus directly at 1(888)942-1083 to inquire about the charges. I called them and told them that I had never authorized any program and that I expect a full refund. I was told there would be an investigation regarding proof of enrollment, and I should receive a letter in 7-10days. I asked them when I apparently enrolled in this program and I was told March 2007. I have since ordered back statements (online only keeps the last 18 months of statements скачать фотошоп), to find out what other additional bogus charges I was charged. I have now received these hard copies of statements, The total charges ( before finance charges added by the credit card company)equal to $302.18, bringing the grand total to $1,197.01(before any added percentages from the credit card company). In the meantime, I discovered my cousin who lives in Maine had fallen victim to the same exact scam. So now it is March 15th, and I received a letter from Bank Of America, stating that they have "fully researched my account. Bank Of America retains enrollment copies for (5) years for future reference. This account has been protected under Credit Protection Plus for more than (5) years. Our records indicate that credit protection charges have been billed to your account and have appeared on each statement every month you carried a balance since the time of your enrollment. In addition, you received written materials describing the plan provisions shortly after enrollment." Nowhere in the envelope did I find any proof of enrollment. No signed authorization. I have only been told that I possess written materials describing the plan provisions shortly after enrollment, which I do not. Whenever I have been asked about any additional "programs" in relation to my credit card, or "free trails" I have always vehemently declined.

 My credit card account was opened May 22,2006. The bogus charges began March 15, 2007. I am filing a complaint with the Comptroller of Currency Administrator of Banks at the US Treasury Department in the hope that I can have the money returned. 

 Bank of America is a national bank that has been bailed out by our tax dollars, and here they are sneakily stealing people's money under some bogus "protection" plan. It is evident that the public needs to be protected by banks like this. I have since emptied my bank accounts with Bank of America, and am going to close the credit card account with them as soon as this issue is resolved.

 I am a mother of a 3 year old, seven months pregnant with my second child, and a critical care nurse write my essay. I need every penny I make to support my family.  I do not have the funds to hire an attorney at this point. All I want is a refund. SG

 

________

 

KL-5/29/10

 

I just discovered these bogus charges on my account last night. I just filed a complaint with the OCC:

 

"Since January of 2007 I have been unknowingly charged for a "Credit Protection Plus" service on my Bank of America Platinum Plus Student Visa. This service has cost me $0.95 for every $100 of the balance of my credit card. Since December 2008 alone, this service has cost me almost $400. I've ordered my older statements and should be receiving them shortly so that I may provide a more accurate total of the fees incurred. I called their customer service line at 800.924.1083 and the representative told me that I had subscribed for this service online. I stated that I absolutely did not and I expected a full refund for these fraudulent charges. The representative told me that he would be initiating an "investigation" and provided me with a confirmation number (XXXXXXX). From what I have read from hundreds of online complaints, this tactic is just a buffer and nothing usually comes of it, and if something does come to fruition it is never a full refund unless your association gets involved. Here is a link to a Wiki that is dedicated to this fraudulent service with numerous complaints documented: http://credit-protection-plus.pbworks.com/ I have been charged about $20 a month for this service since December 2008. By my estimation I have likely been charged anywhere from $600 to $800 for this service. According to Bank of America, I was supposed to receive a welcome package by mail when I subscribed to this service. I never received any such package or any type of notification. What's more is that this charge doesn't appear as a transaction or line item in the online banking service so I had no idea I was being charged until I viewed one of my PDF statements. This is one of the most outrageous and blatantly fraudulent scams I have ever seen from any reputable institution, and I cannot believe a company which accepted federal bailout dollars could have the audacity to be scamming hundreds of ordinary hardworking Americans out of their money."

 

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I just got a $2600+ refund from BOA for the credit protection plus they’ve been charging me for  almost 2 years.  This page helped allot. 

That Treasury Dept website http://www.helpwithmybank.gov/ really did the trick.  I got a call from BOA in about a week.  they investigated in 3 days and called beach to say they would refund the payments i had made. Thanks.  Now I’m transferring my balance to Family Lawyers Surrey a Credit Union.


 

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