Just an OT rant

    Posted by dylan398 on 8th of Jul 2009 at 04:20 pm
    Title: OT

    BAC Experience

    Posted by rgoodwin on 8th of Jul 2009 at 05:17 pm

    Dylan I had a free and clear 30K credit line with B of A - something I used ONCE in 18 months and paid off the month after I used it. I have 3 credit cards to my name and only one even has a balance - a small one. So in June, I was checking something about how the credit line worked. That was on June 3. The other day I went online to pay my bill (cc bill) and noticed the CL was not showing up on my account. So last night I called them. On June 4 - the day AFTER I spoke to them - they closed the 30K LOC - their words - Lack of activity. They said I could reapply - what a bunch of horseshit. The line had no activity for 15 months so they just CLOSED it. Never even gave me the courtesy of a letter either.

    My brother has a neighbor that for years had a LOC with his home as collateral - home is fully paid for. He finally went to use the LOC for a business venture. Discovered it had been reduced from $250,000 to $2,500.

    The banks are supposed to be lending - they are not. I posed that point to the BAC person I was talking with and they said they are supposed to make NEW LOANS not keep old loans open.

    We're screwed indeed.

    They should have notified you

    Posted by kingpin777 on 8th of Jul 2009 at 06:21 pm

    They should have notified you before making any changes.

    But from a business perspective its not profitable to have LOC's out that they don't collect interest from. They reduce the capital available for new loans and they do not generate revenue for the bank. Its dead money.

    That's the rationale (no I'm not a banker) but I can't imagine how they can change your loan without proper notification.

    You're suffering from one of

    Posted by algyros on 8th of Jul 2009 at 04:51 pm

    You're suffering from one of the consequences of the free market.  

     

    Are you saying that we should throw out the entire Congress because they haven't imposed enough restrictions on the banks?  In a socialist society B of A couldn't do what they did to you.  In a free market they can and did.

    Algyros - the problem is

    Posted by rgoodwin on 8th of Jul 2009 at 05:25 pm

    Algyros - the problem is - as a taxpayer I am now supporting their poor business model. To take away credit from those that are responsible with it and give out "new credit" (their words not mine) is just wrong. If we had a FREE market and these banks could not be bailed out - they likely would keep taking the risk and just raise everyone's rates. But instead, they have taxpayer money propping up their balance sheets and at the same time screwing the very people that have kept them afloat. It is not a free market.

    I agree about the injustice

    Posted by algyros on 8th of Jul 2009 at 05:35 pm

    I agree about the injustice of using taxpayer money to support a bad business model.  My point is simply that the bad business model itself will not be fixed by a lack of gov't intervention.  And the market itself won't cure it either, at least not in a time frame that would be any solace to you.  Perhaps a free economy would have fixed the bad business model of the old mining companies in time, but generations of miners would have been screwed in the process.   In my view, intelligent and informed gov't intervention can speed up positive market forces as well as lubricate them. 

    So if the government is

    Posted by rgoodwin on 8th of Jul 2009 at 06:07 pm

    So if the government is stepping in with taxpayer money, why are they allowing an even WORSE business model to be developed and executed? The market needs to be free of intervention. Regulations can and should be put in place to protect the masses, but once someone decides to ignore the rules, or in the case of our financial system, go beyond any reasonable man's concept of safe and sound business practices, they are supposed to be allowed to fail. If the government is going to use my money, my children's money, and my grandchildren's money to support the bad decisions rather than prosecute for breaking laws or ignoring rules, then they ALSO need to be directing proper, fair, and equitable ways to execute the use of the taxpayer funds.

    Agreed.   My only point is that

    Posted by algyros on 8th of Jul 2009 at 06:13 pm

    Agreed.

     

    My only point is that unfettered market forces are no more the answer than pure state control.

    Free market or not

    Posted by mamaduck on 8th of Jul 2009 at 07:34 pm

    Algyros - I don't know if well regulated state control is better or Free Market. But there is a fallacy that I need to point out. If there truly was a free market, there would have been no BAC left to give out any loans or cancel credits. Its valuable assets would have been auctioned off to the highest bidder long ago at pennies on the dollar, and some other entity would have taken over its depositors and customers.

     

    Also if there was a true free market, we probably would have gone through a very sever deflationary depression where millions more would have lost their jobs, homes etc. as well as thousands of financial institutions would have been bankrupt by now and would have disappeared. We may even have had some substantial social unrest and possibly literally blood on the streets. But we probably would have seen some signs of innovation and hope right about now.

     

    Are we going to avoid any of the pain the way we are going now? I don't know, and I don't pretend to have the answer. Only time will tell.

    How about laissez fair capitalism?

    Posted by erikwil on 8th of Jul 2009 at 10:36 pm

    in answer to your "Free Market":

    if there had been a Free Market all along there  would not have been the political muscle to have everybody that wants to get an affordable housing to begin with, regardless if they can afford it or not. In a Free Market you get what you can afford and not what you want.The so-called "Free Market" has been using Big Government to have there cake and eat it too.

    What we have is not a Free Market but a Mixed Economy, which brings out the worst kind  and this is the outcome.

    How about Laissez-fair-Capitalism?

     

     

     

    How about laissez fair capitalism?

    Posted by erikwil on 8th of Jul 2009 at 10:46 pm

    in answer to your "Free Market":

    if there had been a Free Market all along there  would not have been the political muscle to have everybody that wants to get an affordable housing to begin with, regardless if they can afford it or not. In a Free Market you get what you can afford and not what you want.The so-called "Free Market" has been using Big Government to have there cake and eat it too.

    What we have is not a Free Market but a Mixed Economy, which brings out the worst kind  and this is the outcome.

    How about Laissez-fair-Capitalism?

     

    PS:Its the old head trick: Blame the Free Market when there never was a truly Free Market in the first place, and then what caused it all is giving us more of it to solve the problem. Sad thing is that they are getting away with it.

     

     

     

    Title: OT I'm saying they sold

    Posted by dylan398 on 8th of Jul 2009 at 05:00 pm
    Title: OT

    In my view, blaming impending

    Posted by algyros on 8th of Jul 2009 at 05:14 pm

    In my view, blaming impending legislation for sleazy bank practices is like blaming office theft on an impending office restructuring. 

     

    But, again, why are you complaining about the gov't when you're a victim of the free market? Do you really think that if there were no government intervention, the banks would treat you more justly than they do today?  Do you think that with no regulations B of A would be fair to you because Adam Smith's invisible hand would smack it in the toches if it didn't?

     

    Again, in my view, if people want a free market they ought to accept the consequences of a free market.

    Dylan this just happened to

    Posted by billrosen on 8th of Jul 2009 at 04:44 pm

    Dylan this just happened to me recently, about 1 year ago...I got a letter from Bank of America offering a 1 year cash advance at 0%, I had a 69k limit and took the deal of course, I used the 69k and paid down my HELOC which was at 4%, (I don't have a mortgage), thus making 4% on 69k in a year...$2760 in free money. I paid off the credit card in month 12, thus not incurring the jump in rates up from the 0% promotion. In month 13 Bank of America sends me a letter stating do to the high risk of my use of my credit card my available credit was lowered from 69k to $500, yes $500!!! I called B of A thinking there must be a mistake, was told it was correct , then spoke to senior mgt and got nowhere. I told them to take my now $500 credit card, close it out and shove it up their ass. My fico is 780 and I never paid late with any credit card or bill in my life and had been there customer for something like 8 years. No wonder our banks are in trouble...

    It's getting to the point

    Posted by dylan398 on 8th of Jul 2009 at 04:46 pm

    It's getting to the point where I really want to start punching some congress people...I don't ever hit women, but Barney Frank better run if I see him..

    Barney

    Posted by rgoodwin on 8th of Jul 2009 at 05:21 pm

    Dylan - his nose is big enough - so just make sure you give him a black eye or something! LOLOL! Post is hysterical!

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