Bank Of America Won't Give Credit To Just Anyone
It seems you have to send in an application before you can get it. Even if you're 6.
Yes, B of A sent a credit card to a 6-year-old child. From WCCO.com:
CBS station WBBM-TV in Chicago reports an Aurora mom was somewhat amused last April when she received a credit card application addressed to her then-5-year-old son. As a test she had young Bennett Christiansen fill out the application and she sent it in. She was stunned when Bank of America sent her kid a shiny new card with a $600 limit.Amy Christiansen said her entire family had been receiving credit card applications addressed to each member of her family, including Bennett, who has since turned 6, and Christiansen's 3-year-old child.
Christiansen said she decided to allow Bennett to fill out a credit card application from Bank of America. He accurately wrote in his birthday in 2002, his annual income of $0, and the fact that he is an "other," that is, neither a homeowner nor a renter. He signed his name in writing that was obviously that of a child, she said.
A short time later, Christiansen said she received a credit card with Bennett's name on it.
One of B of A's usual spokes-enablers comes forward to offer no explanation (and actually, her name is spelled Riess):
Bank of America spokeswoman Betty Reiss was not immediately able to comment on Christiansen's specific case, but said issuing cards to children was not the bank's policy."We do not knowingly solicit or grant credit to a minor," Reiss said.
Yeah, like Bank of America didn't "knowingly" give a total of $12,000 of my money out to thieves. Seven times in a single statement period. From tellers to thieves with a fake driver's license in my name with the wrong expiration date. No PIN was required. The signature wasn't verified to be mine. Seven. Times. In places in Texas and the middle of California where I have never been and will probably never go.
Who would expect this level of flagrant laxness from the biggest bank in the country? Certainly not me. I later found out a bombshell about B of A, according to a B of A employee I spoke to on their phone line: "California accounts aren't in the database nationally." She further explained that B of A's banks don't all have access to the same database.
Which brings me to the question...in all these little banks Bank of America bought and schmushed together into one big, customer-maltreating bank...are all the rest of B of A's computers connected to one another?
Your guess is as good as mine!
> One of B of A's usual
> spokes-enablers
Powerful new example of cynical mockery. Well done.
Crid [cridcridatgmail] at August 11, 2008 12:49 AM
How timely!
My wife's a member of the American Motorcyclist Association. They're advertising a Bank of America VISA card deal as a "member benefit".
The word is, "Hell, no!"
Radwaste at August 11, 2008 2:08 AM
I occasionally get CC applications for a dog that I owned 8 years ago (not BOA though.) Unfortunately she isn't around to fill one of them out.
Dale at August 11, 2008 3:20 AM
Damn...
I have no words.
Kim at August 11, 2008 3:28 AM
Well, my girls are already 12 and 15 years old, where the hell are their applications?? o_O
Flynne at August 11, 2008 5:44 AM
Just met someone (victim) whose best friend (thief) took his driver's license info and used it to get a Bank of Scamerica credit card issued jointly and had the statements sent to his address (thief's). Thief's mom called victim and asked why his credit card statements were coming to her son's (thief's) house. This is the only way victim would have ever found out. $10,000 in debt. When he told me the bank, I laughed out loud. Inappropriate timing, as he was verra pissed, but then I referred him to this blog. Poor guy...BofA did take his name off the account, but as this was recently, I'm sure the poo hasn't started rolling downhill with collectors trying to get him for it quite yet.
juliana at August 11, 2008 5:45 AM
Bennett better get to canceling that credit card. He doesn't want to have to start a lemonade stand or sell his pokemon to pay the card's annual fee. :/
Jamie (SMS) at August 11, 2008 8:10 AM
I called my banks and asked them to send me neither credit applications nor "convenience" checks. I don't want either falling into the hands of someone who would like to go shopping on my card.
Steve Daniels at August 11, 2008 8:12 AM
How does a dog get on a mailing list? Don't get me wrong, I've heard of this happening before. But how?
Amanda at August 11, 2008 1:56 PM
Re: Dogs getting on mailing lists. I used my cat's name on one magazine subscription. He has received more credit applications, charity solicitations and magazine subscription offers than I ever have. He has also gotten phone calls, which i don't allow him to take.
Robin at August 11, 2008 2:58 PM
The most amazing thing happened to me this afternoon regarding an old Bank of America credit card that I got through L. L. Bean, and had cancelled.
L. L. Bean had switched from B of A to Barclays at the beginning of July, so I simply applied to Barclays for their L. L. Bean card. I also had a credit of $169.00 on the old B of A card (I returned a down comforter with some loose stitching) so I had the money transferred to the new Barclays card and closed the B of A account.
So I called the Barclays account to find that the money had indeed been transferred to that account. I assumed that my B of A balance would be zero. Would you believe that a B of A statement arrived in the mail this afternoon with a credit of $338.00? It said that in addition to my previous balance of $169.00, I received an electronic payment of $169.00 on 8/1.
Now I could have been dishonest and done nothing, but I called the B of A 800 number on the statement, and went through the phone menu to get a real person so that I could explain that there had been a mistake and I really should have no balance at all. The woman on the other end simply said that the record showed that I had a previous balance of $169.00 and a credit of $169.00 on 8/1. I tried to say that this was a mistake, and I should have no balance. She didn't seem to get what I was saying, and said that if I felt there was a mistake and the account was inactive, a check would be mailed to me with the credit on it after 6 months! I said that was OK, and got off the phone.
I mean WOW! I guess ineptitude can work in a customer's favor as well.
I guess I can still be honest and not deposit the check when it arrives in 6 months.
I may be a fool, but at least I'm an honest fool.
MIOnline at August 11, 2008 5:04 PM
Maybe this will be their undoing. When these debts go unpaid and comes time to sue, they're gonna fail because a minor can't enter into a contract.
Something really does stink in Denmark/BOA (apologies to Denmark, an old saying around here). It doesn't make any sense that they would not care about the things losing them money.
Unless they are counting on corporate welfare or something. (Meaning they get to screw over through tax dollars even those of us running like hell away from them and no way will ever be a customer.)
I don't know if that's it but something's underneath all this unscruplous doings. They've got to have some motive to seemingly not care if they operate at a loss.
T's Grammy at August 12, 2008 6:32 AM
I don't know if someone's mentioned this to you already, and I know I'm way late in the game - but this is further proof of this bank's idiocy.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/immigration/bankofamerica.asp
Jessica at August 31, 2008 11:27 AM
That is the correct blog for anyone who wants to find out about this topic. You realize a lot its nearly hard to argue with you (not that I actually would need…HaHa). You definitely put a brand new spin on a subject thats been written about for years. Great stuff, just nice!
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