i started a thread on this same issue in the last couple of weeks. my bofa fully secured card was a year old on december 30, 2009. i called on that date to the secured department and they said they put in my request and I would get a decision letter in the mail within 14-20 days. i asked her, "isnt it an instant decision?" she said no, the request would be sent to a credit analyst and a decision would be made then.
then on the morning of january 5, on my drive to the office, i got a call from a toll-free number (it was the # for the secured department) and it was a rep who identified himself as a credit analyst from BofA. he said he was calling regarding my request to unsecure. he said he had some questions about the 3 charge-offs on my account from 2005. I explained that i was going through a tough time but that he can see from my report that i have been good before and after 2005. he said that i had "excellent payment history" and that the charge-offs were no problem and that he was going to "graduate" me. i said THANKS! and we both hung up.
i still havent received the check or the letter in the mail. i called in on january 8 to the general customer service line on the back of the credit card and spoke to a very friendly woman my age (she said she was 27 too after i confirmed my DOB). i asked for a product change and she said "sorry, it's a secured card." i said "it's not anymore...it unsecured on the 5th." she looked further and said "oh, you're right! which card were you thinking of?" and i said "amex or bankamericard rewards" and she said "no problem, let me take a look..." and she came back to say "sorry, you need to call back when you get your collateral in the mail because by that point, our systems will fully reflect it as an unsecured product. rigtht now the system i would use to change your product still thinks its secured." and i said sure no problem.
i called back to the regular customer service line on the 11th and spoke to CSR about a product change and he then transferred me to sales. i hung up and called again. the CSR again transferred me to sales after requesting a product change, so i said "wait wait, don't transfer me" and told him "be straight up with me, can i do a product change with you? why are you transferring me to sales?" he was honest and said that their internal policy changed on doing product changes for "emerging products." emerging products are bofa credit cards for customers with non-prime credit, ie people with secured or recently secured cards. they will not change your card from the "emerging credit" category until your credit reports improve to the point that you are considered a PRIME borrower (no BK, no baddies, etc). so i would have to apply for the card i want and cannot have it changed until my credit improves.
so i said ok i'll just stick with the platinum plus. then, yesterday (the 12th) i used the online customer service chat to request a product change. the rep types "which card would you like?" i told the rep what i wanted, then after five minutes of no response, the rep typed "ok Mr. ****, your product change has been approved. please wait 4 to 6 weeks to receive the card in the mail."
i called in this morning and the rep told me over the phone that the product change has indeed been approved and explained a lil more about the rewards i would get.
and FYI, i have NOT received a soft or hard hit as a result of my unsecuring or product change requests on ANY of my reports. you've got to understand one important principle of human nature: when you ask creditors "are you going to do a hard inquiry on my report?" it's like asking your prospective employer at the end of an interview, "oh hey by the way, are you going to check my criminal history?"
it arouses suspicion and the answer to that question will almost certainly be "now that you bring it up, yes...we will check your credit report/criminal history."
so, there you go.
Message Edited by emartin82 on 01-13-2010 12:18 PM
