Comments on: Bank of America’s “Borrower’s Protection Plan” is a Scam

By: lew

lew — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 07:52:25 +0000

Hey all …. not to go aginst the grain, but my dad was in the hosipital for two days last year and bank of america did wave the payment for a month ! It was a big help …… but B of A lake all the rest still sucks.

By: floridee

floridee — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 04:07:33 +0000

I called and cancelled this 10 months ago and the charge was taken off of my monthly payment with is auto-debited. However, it suddenly appeared again 4 months ago, which I just noticed(my bad for not paying attention). Coincidently, my husband was on disibility when we took out the mortgage and is still on disibility, so they never should have placed the insurance in the first place.
When I Googled the insurance to read up on it, I found that it is not even available in the state of Florida. So…..my question is: 1, how can they charge for insurance when it is not available in my state and 2, how could they have placed a policy on someone that was not employed at the time the mortgage was taken out?? I am thinking I need to talk to an attorney…….anyone have any input for me??

By: floridee

floridee — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 04:05:08 +0000

By: lew

lew — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 02:52:25 +0000

By: floridee

floridee — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 23:07:33 +0000

By: floridee

floridee — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 23:05:08 +0000

By: Judy

Judy — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:38:12 +0000

I purchased the Buyers Protection Plan and when I was laid off the Bank paid my mortgage for 1 year. It was very helpful

By: Alex

Alex — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 08:42:00 +0000

Thanks for sharing . This information is useful for me.

By: dustinljackson37

dustinljackson37 — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:32:06 +0000

DENIED!

So.... I've been paying into the BPP for about 18 months now. My job is in the commercial construction industry and there has been a massive slowdown as most everyone knows. My last day of work was July 28th but the prospect of work with my employer was continually on the horizon. "We might be starting a new job on Tuesday.. Now a week and a half, now the job has fallen through because the banks wouldn't release funds" A common story. Up to this point, my wife and I had decided to just live off of savings because we'd been there before and work always came through.

Now we need to use my state disability and apply mid-September and get approved September 20th. I then get the ball rolling on the BPP for involuntary unemployment and call BofA with a question on the application. They ask whether or not I applied for unemployment within 30 days of my last working day. The answer was, "No, more like 45 days" and the woman went on to tell me that my request for benefits would be probably be denied. What?? I went on to explain the absurdity of the situation to the woman and she actually agreed but couldn't do much. I sent in my forms anyway and I'm waiting to hear back.

Why would this even matter? How does it affect Bank of America? Why would they punish someone for paying into their program and trying their best to not have to use it? I dug up our signing papers and see the 30 day stipulation in the fine print so they have "legal backing."

We'll see what they do but they might have to find new customers to replace my family which has 2 checking accounts, 2 savings accounts, 2 credit cards, a mortgage and a line of credit through their glorious establishment.

Now is the time to step it up BofA. Sigh...

By: Thembisa

Thembisa — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:40:02 +0000

On hold with BofA as I type this. Cancelled my BPP 2 months ago by phone, but the magically "have no record of this call" so have been continued to get billed for it for the past two months. Any advice on how to get out of paying this? I'll jump through the hoops so they don't get away with this scam.

By: WagnerR

WagnerR — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:22:58 +0000

Read on the other comments. To bad you work for a worthless bank. My credit is top notch
and a promise is a promise, but they are a fraud. I have tried for 8 month to get them to honor there buyers protection plan, but I dont think they have any intention of doing so. They must of picked their emkployees, protection plan dept.,from the unemployement lines.

By: WagnerR

WagnerR — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:18:48 +0000

Tony, If you have not received your loan from BofA I would suggest you back out and find a bank
that is honest and you can count on.

By: WagnerR

WagnerR — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:13:52 +0000

Hey Jim,
It is a scam. Iam at the end of my free one year and they sent me a notice that they will be taking out $68.00 the lst of Nov. I called and cancelled. Today in the mail I received a confirmation of
cancellation. I also have been fighting with them for the last eight months on a disability claim and
Iam not winning so far. Each time and every time I talk to them they say they need something
else to complete the claim. They will not call you, they will not e-mail you, or they will not use the
postale service. I have even talked to a V.P. of the dept. and he said it looked like my claim should pass, but still more info that is need that was given on the original application.
I would be willing to join in on a class action law suit. And if I can I will file for the blance owing on
my mortgage. Give them my tax money and then they rip me off.

By: rkinsella12

rkinsella12 — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:53:54 +0000

I am a loan officer with BOA and the BPP can be canelled easily at any time. This guy is way off base. Sounds like he's bitter about something else. Couldnt find anything of substance, so he found something to complain about.

By: rkinsella12

rkinsella12 — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:53:17 +0000

By: Steve R.

Steve R. — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 00:50:26 +0000

Well Jim, here is an innovative humorous Libertarian approach to expose a company's failure to solve a consumer's problems.

United Breaks Guitars

By: Steve R.

Steve R. — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 23:50:26 +0000

Well Jim, here is an innovative humorous Libertarian approach to expose a company's failure to solve a consumer's problems.

United Breaks Guitars

By: Tony P

Tony P — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 07:02:04 +0000

I have tried since 12-9-08 when they ran my credit and did my appraisal to refi with Bof A and i have been a Prima customer since 1988. Current loan amount is $198,000 and home is worth about $575,000 with no debt. For the past 7 months I have gotten jerked around like no one would believe. Every week i am told a different story from BofA and rates have gone to and all time low that i tired to lock in and no over 5%. I have lost a min $3,500 as a result of them not performing in a timely fashion. I am not the kind of person who has ever used an attorney, but enough is enough, i am seriously thinkging about taking legal action as i have so much documentation its not funny from them. I am tired of there stories. I have lost all respect and lost most of my respect to want to affiate them anymore with my clients. I have been a loayal bank oa America customer and tired of endless stories.

By: fanofcoldplay

fanofcoldplay — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:03:42 +0000

I signed up for the free BPP when I got my mortgage never thinking I would use it but I am using it now since I got laid off. So far they have paid one month and are about to pay the second month. I'm not paying the monthly price yet but when the time comes I will because 12 payments equals one mortgage payment.

One thing I am wondering is if BPP will continue to pay my mortgage if I take a lower-paying temp job while I'm looking for a permanent position.

By: DeepThinking

DeepThinking — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:49:29 +0000

I am about to take a mortgage with BoA and the only reason i am stepping into it is because of this BPP. I dont know why other banks/CU do not provide this option.. It can effectively follow the same rules as unemployment. If the nation wants to prevent another housing initiated recession, they need to have proper plans in place, becoz high inflation, currency crisis are all waiting in the pipe line to destroy the economy . All mortgage should have this provision and should not be more than 3% of monthly mortgage.

By: nfcucom

nfcucom — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:22:01 +0000

Okay, that has got to be the greatest post I’ve read in a long while! Thanks for sharing and I totally agree!
If you want to visit my site www.nfcu-org.com.

By: bOfAUser

bOfAUser — Tue, 26 May 2009 00:29:31 +0000

Hey Jim,
My first year of the free "protection plan" expires next month. Before I signed up, I was assured that I would be able to cancel with no problems. Furthermore, I was also told that after the first year that I could take out all the things that I don't need such as disability and just leave the unemployment insurance.

I'm curious as to why you had difficulty cancelling? I've read the contracts over and over again and nowhere does it say that you are obligated to continue paying once you cancel.

By: Jim Harper

Jim Harper — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:28:47 +0000

Bankruptcy.

By: CEOWORLD Magazine

CEOWORLD Magazine — Wed, 06 May 2009 10:49:40 +0000

A business that requires $45 billion followed shortly afterwards by a further $33 billion is bankrupt and will inevitably be nationalised.

Banking companies that may need more capital include Citigroup Inc, Wells Fargo & Co, Fifth Third Bancorp, GMAC LLC, KeyCorp, Regions Financial Corp and SunTrust Banks Inc.

Perhaps nationalisation is a dirty word for Americans, but what other alternatives exist?

By: Jim Harper

Jim Harper — Tue, 05 May 2009 22:39:33 +0000

These are interesting comments. We have such an intensely ideological group here!

(EF, your comments aren't terribly relevant because you obviously don't know where I stand on litigation, mistaking me for a Republican. But you do push your ideological enemies together, which is generally poor strategy.)

@EF and Joe, my recitation of the facts may have been poor, so I'll clarify: BofA hasn't gotten a dime from me, and they're not going to. I've had to jump through more hoops than I should to get out of these payments, and I took a little time beyond that to level my criticisms about the company publicly. (It's a good rule of thumb: if a business burns up your time, burn a little more to let your community know about it.)

And Joe, my dissatisfaction here doesn't deceive me into thinking that I would be less dissatisfied under a more heavily regulated regime. The dream of regulation bringing businesses to heel is a popular one, but it's always going to be consumer oversight that does the best job of that.

Nezumi, I have accounts with a credit union, and have been happy there - so far. Well said.

Steve R. - thanks for your fair comment and kind words. I don't think the balance has changed as much as you say. Organizations have gotten larger, but so have the tools that consumers have, and their organizational capacities. There are all kinds of media that one can use to affect corporate behavior, including blogs like this one. The consumer is not alone. It's only upon becoming a flaccid beggar for government help that a consumer grows weak.

I've seen you say before that libertarians should call for companies to act ethically - I think it's implicit in my criticism of BofA that I expect them to act ethically. So I don't disagree with you - I'm just more interested in direct, straightforward honesty, where the term "ethical" tends to import lots of interests I might not care so much about, like whether they have a program for recycling used aglets or other Corporate Social Responsibility fads.

Good times.

By: Steve R.

Steve R. — Tue, 05 May 2009 13:31:14 +0000

Jim is being consistent with Libertarian principles and trying to live by those ideals, so he shouldn't really be "attacked" for that.

Jim's experience, to me, points out two fundamental "flaws" with Libertarian economics.

First, I never hear that corporations, such as Bank of America, be honest in their dealings with the consumers. The Libertarians consistently advocated that it is the consumer who is responsible for protecting their self interest. Nothing wrong with that, but there should also be a recognition that if a corporation does something misleading or dishonest that the Libertarians (in mass) make visible PUBLIC demands for a return to honesty, not remain silent.

Second, economics (as with any science) consistently evolves. Libertarian economic thought is "stuck" on the concept that one persons economic power can affect the policy of a corporation, such as Bank of America. One person in the 18th century could affect how the local butcher does business, but the sad reality today is that one average person has virtually no economic power to modify the behavior of a large nationwide and/or international corporation. Additionally, corporations today deal with many products. A debate that emerged during the Sony root-kit debate was: "Do we boycott all Sony products or just the music products?"

I also have an editorial take on the Libertarian call for "no regulation". Based on my prior comment that there are no calls for corporations to act ethically, the mantra of "no regulation" degenerates into a license to steal as Jim is finding out. I might as well also throw-in our financial crises which was caused by the lack of ethical conduct by those who freely choose to "steal" even if it meant the destruction of our financial system.

The right to freedom from regulation means having the ethical standards not to abuse the consumer. If a company does not have those ethical standards, regulate them. Jim I wish you well.

By: nezumi

nezumi — Tue, 05 May 2009 13:26:56 +0000

I've been bent over the barrel by Chase and I'm expecting the same from BoA. This sort of thing is precisely why I've given up on banks and go for credit unions. USAA and NFCU are both fantastic. Enroll your wife in the military if you have to, it'll be worth it.

By: Joe Six Pack

Joe Six Pack — Tue, 05 May 2009 12:27:35 +0000

U, a smarter than average consumer, get hosed by a huge US corporation — and you still go libertarian. Really? Do you get what that's almost laughable? With a consumer as smart as even you, the market didnt work. You think its gonna work for joe six pack who hasnt even got a clue what you are talking about?

By: eee_eff

eee_eff — Tue, 05 May 2009 03:37:12 +0000

It’s a year later and I’m scheduled to begin making payments for this rip-off in my mortgage payment starting on July 1st. Bank of America evidently lied to me about letting me cancel a year ago.

Sounds like a good case for class action (oops--I forgot--you guys are all for tort reform) Sounds like a good case for a law--(oops you guys are all libertarians, AKA Corporate Power advocates, and any regulation is bad bad bad)

hmmmm....Sounds like Jim got what he deserved.