America's big banks have taken a lot of hits in the past few years. JPMorgan Chase is in hot water over collection practices, HSBC and U.S. Bank were caught forging lost mortgage documents, and Bank of America has sped up its foreclosures. Chase Bank even got in trouble for erroneously reporting that customers were dead. Well, Bank of America is back in the spotlight again for reporting that Arthur Livingston, a Bank of America customer for 19 years, was deceased. Livingston has been listed as deceased by Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion since May 2009, and he only found out when he applied for a loan in October last year. After months of hassle, he will be paying thousands of dollars more than he would have been if he had gotten the loan when he applied, mainly because the numerous credit inquiries have messed up his credit score. Additionally, he is currently living in a rental house with his family, and by the time their new home is ready, they will have spent around $12,000 in rent.
Arthur Livingston's situation is understandably frustrating, and I can't blame him for wanting Bank of America to compensate him for all the troubles he has run into for their mistake. Unfortunately, these situations have happened before, and they will probably happen again. The lesson that consumers can take away from Arthur Livingston's story is to regularly check their Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion credit reports, especially before applying for a loan. Then if an error occurs, you can catch it right away.
Do you know what's on your credit report? Is credit restoration right for you? Learn more about My Credit Specialist's credit restoration services here, and keep up to date on the latest credit and personal finance news on Facebook and Twitter.
Since the recession, Americans have been wary of getting into any debt. Credit card use has gone down, and consumers are focusing their attention on saving as much as they can. Bank of America and Wells Fargo have noticed this trend and found a new way to make some money off of their frugal customers. Debit card customers with Bank of America will have to pay a $5 monthly card usage fee, and Wells Fargo's customers will have to pay an extra $3 every month to keep using their debit card. These new fees have already been slammed by many consumer advocates, and even President Obama weighed in on the issue, saying, “Banks can make money. They can succeed, the old-fashioned way, by earning it.” Ouch.
Here is my biggest problem with Bank of America and Wells Fargo implementing these fees. Usually when a company adds a fee to their service, the customer knows what this money is going towards. Even in the case of the Netflix price hike, I understood that they were trying to get the streaming rights to more movies and keep Starz while attracting other networks to give them exclusive streaming. If Bank of America and Wells Fargo are going to add on new fees, then they should tell the customer where this money is going. Will they waive ATM transaction fees? Will there be more Bank of America ATMs across the country? What advantage will Bank of America and Wells Fargo customers have that they didn't have before?
Bank of America has made headlines in this blog numerous times because of their poor customer relations and notoriously bad business practices. This is yet another reason why Bank of America customers should switch to another bank, and Wells Fargo customers should consider switching as well. After all, what are Bank of America or Wells Fargo doing that another bank or credit union couldn't do just as well and without the fees?
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