Bank of America charges a fee for not having an account.

A few weeks ago I received an email from Bank of America Mortgage.  I normally do not receive emails from banks, but because my mortgage is with Bank of America, I of course was very interested.  This particular email was informing me that beginning February 14th if I pay my mortgage during the grace period (1st through the 15th) after the 9th, I will now have to pay a $6 fee.   Well that isn't exactly correct, my fee is charged only if I pay online.  Shocked by this fee, I quickly called Bank of America and found out the following:

• If I pay my mortgage using a Non-Bank of America Checking Account after the 9th day of the Grace Period then I am Charged a $6 Fee.
• This includes, the online website, or ACH (Bill-Pay).
• I can call each time this happens and they would consider reversing the fee. (Yeah right)
• I can avoid the fee by mailing a check to Bank of America. (Wouldn't this cost them more?)
• I can avoid the fee by going into a local Bank of America Branch and making the payment. (But there isn't one even in the state of Utah)

After receiving this information I ranted about my new found hatred for Bank of America on Twitter.  Bank of America Twitter agents quickly contacted me and called me.  They were quick to tell me the following:

• The $6 fee has always existed (LIE! I checked, I have never been charged this fee and I paid my mortgage every time online via ACH, 5 times after the 9th)
• I can now pay on the 25th to the 8th of the next month. (Oh great I have now received permission to pay my mortgage 5 days early, that really makes up for it)

MSNBC's Red Tape Blog had a nice post about this same issue I found very interesting (SEE HERE)

Bob Sullivan posted:

"...the bank is creating two tiers of service, and giving advantages to mortgage consumers who switch their bank accounts to Bank of America. If the idea catches on, that could lead to a maddening situation for homeowners who are already frustrated by the number of times their home loans are bought and sold by banks."

Bob is right!  In fact if you think about, Bank of America knows most people will not be able to up and refinance.  So they now charge a fee many will most likely have to pay.  Making them millions in new fee income and leaving the rest of us out in the cold.

If your mortgage lender or broker wants to work with Bank of America, tell them - NO WAY!

Comments Welcome.