Can any business entities in America get way by lying to its customers, providing substandard services, while getting bailed out by the government? Yes, that company is called Bank of America.
Can any executives go to sleep at night knowing that their staff is un-ethically ripping off the people in need of their products and services, 3 years into the recession and 2 years into the bail-out? Yes, they work at Bank of America.
In October 2010, after learning about the benefits and reasonable closing time of the Make Home Affordable Program, my husband and I applied for a new loan. The program was designed by the Obama Administration to relief the cost burden for home owners responsible for properties under market value. We provided all the documentations required in a timely manner, trusted the banking personnel, and diligently followed up week after week. There went December, January, February and our 3 months cost saving opportunities. In response to our follow-up phone calls and emails, Bank of America staff excused themselves for being understaffed and challenged with internal communication difficulties. We were promised once and again by Bank of America staff that the loan was closing in mid February 2011. We authorized the bank to include our March payment within the closing documents and were expecting to close in early March. There came early March, after the Bank and us agreed upon a confirmed closing date, our loan processor contacted me to move the date by one week again. The reason was because there was a power down that caused internal communication delays. We were also informed that we might be liable for late charges for our March mortgage. Our experience with Bank of America up to day has been an extreme disappointment. It is not only unprofessional, unfair but also unethical for the Bank to ask its customers to absorb any cost that’s incurred by the Bank’s inefficiency and mismanagement.
The rules of doing business in America haven’t changed across industries. When I purchase something less than my expectations, I expect to be greeted by a representative with a smile and a full refund. When I am offered with poor services, I expect an apology with compensation for the positive feedback, and a promise that the service will improve next time. Business people in America work hard to build their reputation and prosperity. Bank of America has done nothing but bullying American people.
When I did a quick online search and found out that Bank of America and its Mortgage Refinance has high reviews, it gave me the chills. Of course the review was done by paid research companies. I just cannot sit back and let all the other innocent people jump into the trap like we did thinking that the big fat Bank is going to help us through this recession.