Bank of America VISA sends out "special offer" checks monthly for balance transfers. I received some in the mail and chose the 0% interest until Sept. 2012, with a service fee of 4%. I wrote one check and it went through with no problems. When I called them to transfer funds to Travelers Insurance to pay my home insurance, they took the info and mailed the check. Travelers changed their mailing address for payments after sending out the bills, so the check was returned to Bank of America VISA. It's hard to believe Travelers would change addresses for receiving payments without giving a forwarding address. VISA sent a letter claiming they tried to contact me (meanwhile I get emails from them all the time) to let me know the address was incorrect. I physically took a check to my insurance agent and paid my homeowners insurance. Today I got a letter from B of A VISA saying I was charged a $35 returned check fee and they had denied the check for being STALE - and it was a replacement check for the one that would have taken another 2 weeks to send back to Travelers. After 4 account managers, I finally was told even if they had sent the same check out themselves, the promotion was from last month so they wouldn't have honored it anyway. What kind of BS is that? If I lose my homeowners due to all the screwups (and no notification from Bank of America), then they can call my home loan due and I lose my house. MAKE SURE YOU READ THE FINE PRINT and don't trust Bank of America's VISA card. It took me 4 account managers to update my phone contact info...DO NOT USE THEIR CREDIT CARD CHECKS!!! And do not do balance transfers through them over the phone - unless you don't care if your bills are paid or not.

This is a notice to all BofA existing and/or future customers as a warning only.

In December of 2008 I received an automated phone call from Bank of America stating that odd activity had been happening on my credit card account (thanks to BofA for the notice). I was asked if several charges were in fact mine - which they weren't - and I was immediately connected to a Fraud Specialist. I live in Southern Florida, and the activities occured in Southern California - 2 stores. While talking to the Fraud Specialist, I was informated that they had undergone a conversion in November, and had sent me a new card (which I never received). Apparently (they told me) somehow my new card was diverted to somewhere in Southern California because the purchases showed in BofA's system as being done with card in hand. At any rate - the account was closed, and a new card was issued and mailed to me.

Two things came to pass. First - the card that supposedly was diverted to California actually arrived at my home address the following week. Then, in another week, the new account card arrived. Second - and the major reason someone was able to use my account - neither new card required activation by calling a BofA number to authenticate that the right person had received the card. Because of this change in their processes alone, someone was able to make charges on my account, from which I was required to complete an affidavit and return to BofA to keep the charges from returning to my account, plus the time I was without the card just before Christmas.

To existing card holders - be aware. As you approach the end of your current accounts valid dates, keep a close eye on your statements to watch for suspicous activity. If BofA were smart, they would return to requiring authentication for replacement cards, but if they don't then they're creating a potential issue for many customers.

Thanks for reading,
John