Bank of America took over MNBA and maybe putting Americans into bankruptcy

[MariaRegina]

I just got a call from an MNBA representative who lives in India where the Bank of America customer representatives are now located in a deal to cut costs. I could barely understand the guy as he spoke so rapidly and did not enunciate. As I am a linguist and teach ESL, I am used to dealing with accents, but this guy had a very thick accent and his rate of speech made him incomprehensible.

It seems that since Bank of America has merged with MNBA, they are now forcing people to pay for credit theft protection. It used to be that the banks would cover for theft, now they will not cover for identity theft anymore.

Note that the theft protection is voluntary but if you don't have it, you could go bankrupt if the thieves get hold of your account number.

So, if a thief hacks into BoAs computer center and obtains your credit account information and uses it to charge, you are liable. This is what the rep told me.

So they want $0.99 per $100 of the active credit balance per month.

What this means is an average balance of $10,000 will incur a $99.00 per month theft protection charge plus the regularly occurring finance charges.

This is usury.

Be aware and try not to use credit cards anymore.

 

[Khaleas]

Hmmm, sounds odd. Each time in the near past I've called BoA reps they have not been Indian... and at least BoAs own credit cards are protected free of charge (well, as it says, most are, I know my basic VISA is). What is more important is that most card issuers have limits on how much they will refund you.

Total Security ProtectionTM



Get greater defense against theft, loss, or unauthorized use of your consumer cards. Total Security Protection is free and automatically available for most Bank of America Visa consumer credit cards and Check Cards.



Secure features

• <LI class=standard-text>Zero Liability. If your card is lost or stolen, Bank of America reimburses you for any unauthorized card transactions up to the amount of the loss, when reported within 60 days from statement date. <LI class=standard-text>Guaranteed credit. Your account will be credited by the end of the next business day for unauthorized transactions if your card is lost or stolen.1 <LI class=standard-text>Fraud monitoring. Reviews how and where the card is being used and is designed to block potential fraud if abnormal patterns are detected. <LI class=standard-text>Photo Security®. Puts your picture on the front of the card to reduce fraud. <LI class=standard-text>Verified by Visa™. Provides password protection to prevent others from using your card online.
• Bank of America Privacy Policy for Consumers. Commits that your customer information will not be disclosed to third-party marketers for purposes of marketing their own products and services

However, they do offer something like this

Cardholder Security Plan®

The optional Cardholder Security Plan1 can credit your Bank of America credit card account up to 12 Monthly Benefit Amounts2 in the event of:

• <LI class=standard-text>Hospitalization <LI class=standard-text>Total Disability <LI class=standard-text>Involuntary Unemployment <LI class=standard-text>Unpaid Family Leave of Absence
• Or up to $10,000, in the event of Death

Cost
This protection is affordable at a monthly cost of just 79 cents per $100 of your outstanding credit card account balance. Best of all, if you have no monthly outstanding balance on your statement, there's no charge for the Plan that month.

 

[MariaRegina]

I'm wondering if this was a fraud call.

The guy knew our names and the name of our account that we carry, so it didn't sound too suspicious. But it did sound like a boiler room operation with other operators in the background.

I just don't like telephone solicitations. There is so much fraud going on over the phones.

 

[Moros]

Banks are awful. The only reason I use one is so I can use my VISA check card to make e-purchases.

 

[walking.away.123]

Be sure it's not a fraudulaunt call you got.
S.

 

[Kolya]

I have too many cards as it is. Here all the major banks have been calling me and my wife to give us cards, like it's candy they're dishing out. I have a card at each of the 4 major banks, plus amerian express and Barlaycard (A big British bank) I'm hoping that by the end of August I can nail them shut, as we just sold an apartment and made a good profit.
But I hate credit, but for one reason or another I had to use them this year. I just organised a loan for my son to buy a car, but he's going to pay me back.
Stay out of debt. There's something afoot, and I don't know how long before the bubble bursts.

 

[Khaleas]

I have too many cards as it is. Here all the major banks have been calling me and my wife to give us cards, like it's candy they're dishing out. I have a card at each of the 4 major banks, plus amerian express and Barlaycard (A big British bank) I'm hoping that by the end of August I can nail them shut, as we just sold an apartment and made a good profit.
But I hate credit, but for one reason or another I had to use them this year. I just organised a loan for my son to buy a car, but he's going to pay me back.
Stay out of debt. There's something afoot, and I don't know how long before the bubble bursts.

My main problem was that at 27 I had no credit history in the US (they do not transfer in the Finnish one, not even my Finnish Master Card). When I got my green card I finally got the ball rolling. Since I wasn't working I couldn't get any sort of loan but my other income qualified me for credit cards (funny thing, that income counts even if it is not from the US). For me it has been a way to build a credit history... even now with the wedding I'm racking up a bunch of award points because my mom gave me the money but I just put it on my card first and then charge whatever I need to.
One of the main reasons I use cards is I hate checks (they fell off the radar in Finland in the beginning of the 80s). I pay all reccuring bills online and most other things that I can too. I use checks as little as I can as they are the biggest risk for id theft.

 

[Kolya]

One of the main reasons I use cards is I hate checks (they fell off the radar in Finland in the beginning of the 80s). I pay all reccuring bills online and most other things that I can too. I use checks as little as I can as they are the biggest risk for id theft.

That is it with me too. I Haven't written out a check in 8 years. Come end of month, I've paid all my bills on-line in 5 minutes. And if someone needs to be paid, I ask them their bank A/c #, and it's done in a trice. When mey kids ask me for cash, it's in their acounts via my cellphone in 2 minutes.
Why do I love the 21st century?