| Bank of America |
| Bank Of America Bank of the Loan Sharks Bank of America finds another way to take your Money. Simi Valley, California |
| 5th of Apr, 2011 by User586957 |
B of A redefines ?grace period with new fee
Posted: Wednesday, January 19 2011
When is a grace period not really a grace period? When you have to pay a $6 fee for using it.
Some Bank of America mortgage customers received an unwelcome
Valentine's Day gift when the bank's policy for grace period mortgage
payments changes on Feb. 14.Customers now
have six fewer days to pay their mortgage each month without facing
additional fees. They r going to have a party with this One.!!!
Consumers who use the bank's online payment tool, Mortgage Pay, will
risk a $6 fee if they fund payments using another bank's checking
account and the payment falls during the final six days of the
traditional 15-day grace period. Consumers who make payments from Bank
of America accounts are not subject to the fee.
"Now you go figure!????. They tell you that you have a grace
period, (then) they say, 'Oops, you only have half of it if you dont
bank with us,' a lawyer for Consumers Union who
specializes in banking issues has stated . "That doesn't seem fair. ... This looks
like a new ?gotcha, and we have enough of those already." Notice of the subtle adjustment, titled "Upcoming Change to Fees," was sent to customers recently.
If your payment is due on the first of the month and you have a
15-day grace period, you can schedule your payment to be drafted prior
to and including the ninth of that same month to avoid a service fee,
it reads. If you schedule your payment to be drafted on or between the
10th and 16th of the month, you will be charged a $6 service fee that
will be included in your total deducted amount.
"They intend to penalize non-checking customers if they possibly
can," complained homeowner s who has been paying
mortgage using another bank's checking account.
Bank of America (which responded after initial publication of this
story) said the firm has in the past assessed grace period late charges
ranging from $3-$6, and the notices went to consumers to clarify a new
policy that raises fees on some customers but eliminates them on others. The move comes as banks continue to crank up new fee opportunities in
reaction to regulatory changes that have cost them billions in
overdraft fee revenue. In early January, for example, Bank of America
announced a new four-tiered fee structure for checking accounts with
fees ranging from $6 to $25 per month. Some consumers who are being hit with the change didn't apply for a
mortgage with Bank of America. Instead, the bank inherited their
mortgage later by acquiring it as part of an investment portfolio
purchase.
My Mortgage Co. was CountryWide which in turn taken over by Bank of
America.
"Do u know you cannot schedule recurring payments
(at Bank of Americas Web site) unless you have a Bank of America
checking account,".
Consumers Union lawyer, said the changes are steering
customers toward opening Bank of America accounts at a time when the
bank is adding fees to those accounts, creating a damned-if-you-do,
damned-if-you-don't situation for consumers.
"If you are offering good service, you should not have to force consumers to come to you. That's not a good sign,".
Most mortgages include a grace period of 10 to 15 days meaning
payments made during those times do not incur late fees. Many consumers
pay at the end of the grace period in an attempt to hold onto their
money as long as possible. What Bank of America does in turn
puts late payments and fees. When homeowners hold simple interest mortgages, paying during the
grace period incurs additional interest charges. "You don't want to have to go around changing your checking account
every time someone buys your mortgage," "This is just
one more way Bank of America has managed to extract money out of you that you don't expect to have
to pay." WAKE UP !!!!! |
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