topic Re: BOFA is not BK friendly in Bankruptcy

BOFA is not BK friendly

credbuilder84 — Fri, 23 Jul 2021 19:26:16 GMT

Im 6 months post 13-discharge. FICO in the 650s and went on app spree. Approved for Ollo, Cap1, MerrickBank. Denied for BOFA Secured. They were IIB for $300.

I call the backdoor number and he tells me denied because of IIB and there is no clear timeframe when I will be eligible again. I asked if I pay the chargeoff balance would it help? He doesnt know.

I dont know if having a banking relationship with them factors at all. I have 30k+ in a checking account (10yrs) with them I thought it would help but I guess not. Maybe time to move my money to another bank that will give me credit.

Should I recon again?

Re: BOFA is not BK friendly

blindambition — Fri, 23 Jul 2021 19:37:10 GMT

Sorry about the denial!! Chase, Citi, BofA, US Bank, Amex, and WF aren't BK friendly, especially if they were burned. The blacklist could last an indeterminate amount of time. Depending on how much they were burned.

Amex is at least 5.5 years, and Chase is not even an option while BK is on reports.

Id suggest time in the garden... let new cards age and grow.

Re: BOFA is not BK friendly

Horseshoez — Fri, 23 Jul 2021 20:27:58 GMT

@credbuilder84, I didn't even burn BofA in my Chapter 13 while at the same time having both checking and savings accounts with them for myself, wife, and children. After my discharge last year I applied for a BofA secured card and was denied for the following two reasons, both of which were fabrications:

BofA claimed I was either in an active bankruptcy or was "about to file for bankruptcy".
BofA claimed I had applied for their Platinum Plus Mastercard.

I appealed the denial by sending proof of my discharge and to correct the assertion I'd applied for a fairly high end card instead of the secured card I'd actually applied for; I was denied a second time. That was enough, all of the sudden, all 8 of the accounts my family and I had with them were closed and we literally walked across the street to TDBank and put our money there. The only question which hit me after all of this transpired was, "What the heck too me so long to drop-kick BofA and move over to TDBank?" The ease and cost of doing business with TD is literally superior in every metric compared to BofA, and they were more than happy to give me a secured card with a $5,000 limit, which they graduated 6-months later to an unsecured Signature Visa. Don't get no better than that.

Re: BOFA is not BK friendly

CH-7-Mission-Accomplished — Fri, 23 Jul 2021 23:42:33 GMT

@credbuilder84 wrote:
Im 6 months post 13-discharge. FICO in the 650s and went on app spree. Approved for Ollo, Cap1, MerrickBank. Denied for BOFA Secured. They were IIB for $300.

I call the backdoor number and he tells me denied because of IIB and there is no clear timeframe when I will be eligible again. I asked if I pay the chargeoff balance would it help? He doesnt know.

I dont know if having a banking relationship with them factors at all. I have 30k+ in a checking account (10yrs) with them I thought it would help but I guess not. Maybe time to move my money to another bank that will give me credit.

Should I recon again?

I got in 3 years post Ch-7 discharge with a $500 secured card (after burning them for $5K.). The card graduated some time later -- I want to say 6 months -- and I asked for a CLI from the $500 and a product change to the Alaska Air card and I told them I wanted the 40K Alaska Air miles sign-up bonus. They increased my credit limit to 5K, gave me back my 500 bucks and did the PC and also gave me the 40K bonus. I will tell you though that every time I have asked for a CLI in the past 4 years it has been denied due to burning them. So I'm stuck at a 5K limit. I can live with that.

If I were you, I would write a one-page letter to the CEO of BofA, explain what happened, ask for reconsideration to be allowed to open a secured card for $500 and enclose a cashier's check for the $300 loss amount and under memo write "pay BOA amt of Ch 13 loss." I bet you will blow them away. But if you really don't care about banking with BofA (I personally hate them), then just go elsewhere. Credit unions are your best friend -- commercial banks are not.

Re: BOFA is not BK friendly

credbuilder84 — Sat, 24 Jul 2021 01:17:40 GMT

Wow thats a great idea and I will try that.

As much as everyone hates BOFA, they have been the most convenient to use for me atleast. I have a business checking relationship with them and I do all of my business transactions with BOFA exclusively. Yes, I can move to a different bank, but its not as easy as closing a personal account and opening new. Reason I have kept banking with them is because they have shown me the best customer service of all the national banks Ive been with.

I may have an unpopular opinion but they have been excellent to bank with. Sucks they are not extending credit but that is my fault.

Ive heard a lot of complaints of BOFA with people irl and the one thing ive noticed about all of them is that they are always having money issues. If youre always broke and going negative, national banks are not your friend. Thats just my anecdotal experience. Roast me.

Re: BOFA is not BK friendly

credbuilder84 — Sat, 24 Jul 2021 01:46:22 GMT

They are definitely not an overall excellent bank. I was just basing my experience through their customer service. CS is one those things where YMMV.

Re: BOFA is not BK friendly

jmw1 — Sat, 24 Jul 2021 02:26:57 GMT

If you BK but did NOT burn BofA, they will welcome you back after a long while. Credit limits will always be low. There seems to be a maximum $5k wall for anyone who BK or had closure by BofA due to lates even if you are top tier Preferred Rewards.

$30k to BofA is nothing. It's the lowest tier of Preferred Rewards. They don't care if you've been with the bank for 30 years.

I would move elsewhere to someone who wants your business a lot more. If you use someone who has ATM rebates, you can still use BofA's premium ATMs where you can pick $100, $50, $20, $10, $5, and $1 bills. That's the only thing I really like about BofA.

Re: BOFA is not BK friendly

credbuilder84 — Sat, 24 Jul 2021 04:03:02 GMT

Thats unfortunate with the card limit. I might have to start looking for another bank.

Re: BOFA is not BK friendly

Anonymous — Sat, 24 Jul 2021 04:30:08 GMT

I'm 3 months post-DC and I also got a secured card with TD Bank. Ironically, I work for them. I saw BOA has a new secured card which I've app'd for but it was denied. So I'm rather disappointed to be honest.

Re: BOFA is not BK friendly

millionsofmiles — Sat, 24 Jul 2021 06:27:58 GMT

I was approved for a $5000 BofA Cash Rewards Secured 2 months post-Chapter 13 discharge. Their service has been far superior to any of my other banks, including TD. I suspect that some who post here claiming a spotless history with BofA but a subsequent denial are perhaps not telling the whole story.

Re: BOFA is not BK friendly

Anonymous — Sat, 24 Jul 2021 15:05:40 GMT

For every person with a negative opinion about BofA, there's likely one with a positive opinion. I definitely fall in the second category. I first opened a Cash Rewards credit card with them 4 years ago and since then they've maxed out my limits at $99,900. I haven't asked for CLIs in at least 18 months although I have the CLI request URL showing for both my credit cards and my request(s) is likely to be approved. I've been so impressed with BofA that since then I've opened two DDA accounts with them; and CMA and brokerage accounts with Merrill Lynch even though BofA doesn't even have a branch in my state.

Whenever I've had to call them they have been extremely helpful. Just yesterday I requested a $35,000 cash transfer from my Cash Rewards card and its already been processed and sitting in my checking account.

Those with bankruptcies in their recent credit history likely need to adjust their expectations and understand that practically all national lenders have some restriction on credit products while major derogatories are still on your credit reports. At least debtors' prisons no longer exist; they are the very definition of "not BK friendly."

Re: BOFA is not BK friendly

Horseshoez — Sat, 24 Jul 2021 15:33:13 GMT

@Anonymous, I've never had a BofA credit card so I have no basis for comparison, but after more than a decade of banking history with them I was, let's just say, disappointed, when they refused me so much as a secured credit card. That in and of itself didn't wholly sour me on BofA, however, when I started looking at the little things like minimum balance requirements to avoid fees and such, that's when my eyes were opened to just how predatory BofA can be. In the case of the accounts I used with them I never had to deal with any fees, however, my college aged kids often dropped the balances of their accounts below the minimums and we'd get whacked on a regular basis for monthly fees. Moving over to TDBank has completely eliminated that annoyance as their minimums are but a fraction of BofAs.

Re: BOFA is not BK friendly

jmw1 — Sat, 24 Jul 2021 15:30:33 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
For every person with a negative opinion about BofA, there's likely one with a positive opinion. I definitely fall in the second category. I first opened a Cash Rewards credit card with them 4 years ago and since then they've maxed out my limits at $99,900. I haven't asked for CLIs in at least 18 months although I have the CLI request URL showing for both my credit cards and my request(s) is likely to be approved. I've been so impressed with BofA that since then I've opened two DDA accounts with them; and CMA and brokerage accounts with Merrill Lynch even though BofA doesn't even have a branch in my state.

This thread is in the bankruptcy subforum. Although positive experiences are welcome, it needs to be in the context of a previous bankruptcy or closed by credit grantor for lates situation in order to be helpful to us here in the BK subforum. Your portfolio of cards makes it apparent you have never filed bankruptcy, so good job there. If you ever fell on hard times with BofA even without a burn, BofA is a waste of time and their memory is forever as far as their $5k wall - that is if you even manage to get to $5k.

Those of us in this subforum have to focus our energy on lenders that are BK friendly and not waste time and inquiries on banks that will never forgive even though they offer juicy $99.9k lines and the best cashback rewards to top tier Preferred Rewards customers. It's time for BK folks to say goodbye to BofA and move on.

Re: BOFA is not BK friendly

millionsofmiles — Sat, 24 Jul 2021 23:00:16 GMT

@Horseshoez You seem to have taken your rejection by BofA very personally, carpet-bombing this and other forums with rants about BofA every time someone discusses BofA or posts a BofA approval. You've made your point. Deal with it. BofA doesn't want your business, and given my, and others' approvals after BK, it might have nothing to do with yoir BK. It seems to really bother you that others have been approved. Relax...it's only credit. It's not like they told you that your baby is ugly,

Re: BOFA is not BK friendly

Remedios — Sun, 25 Jul 2021 01:44:37 GMT

I don't want to lock this thread as I'm sure there might be other suggestions for OP, but please keep in mind this isn't BoA vs TD thread.

Re: BOFA is not BK friendly

icyhot — Sun, 05 Sep 2021 12:57:38 GMT

Was the secured card app a hard pull?

Re: BOFA is not BK friendly

millionsofmiles — Sun, 05 Sep 2021 19:46:28 GMT

Yes...BofA did a single HP from EX.

Re: BOFA is not BK friendly

Kasuito39 — Mon, 06 Sep 2021 17:02:23 GMT

I've been a BOA customer for the last 15 years+ and never had any of their credit products. With a BK 7 from 2017 and based on previous experiences shared here by others, i've opted to wait 5 more years or until my BK 7 drops off to try their credit products. The reason being, I just love the name Bank of America! It just stands out! In the interim, I continue to leverage credit unions products to the fullest!