Wes,

Here is an outline of what has transpired over the last month or so with Bank of America (BOA).

First of all, I figured out what happened to me on the car loan. The date on the contract was wrong to begin with….so BOA entered it incorrectly into their systems. It basically generated a 5 year deal, due to the error, instead of the agreed upon 4 year term.

While I thought this would cure my problems it seems that the people at BOA have been putting forth other arguments to explain away what happened to me and how they ruined my credit rating. In short, we have no agreement on exactly what happened.

The front line retail banking people (Lee Payne and Van Le) agree that something doesn’t look right at all. However, those in the collection/recovery department have other explanations. Craig Andrew, a supervisor, from BOA in North Carolina first told me that what I had done was to purchase a vehicle a full year in advance of when I received it and that we had a “gold standard” contract that he would be holding me to and further that I still owed $8300.00+ and needed to get in touch with Calvary (the collection agency) and make payment. In speaking with him further, on the morning of June 23rd, 2006, he realized that his position made no sense whatsoever. He couldn’t explain why the dates of the contract and the term of the contract were implausibly incongruent. Even so, he stated that I had no right to return the vehicle under the contract and that I had “voluntarily allowed Bank of America to repossess” my vehicle. You will remember this because that same morning right after my call with Craig I asked you to review my contract with BOA to be absolutely certain that I did in fact have the right to give the vehicle back to them. Upon review you determined that I did in fact have such a right as prescribed in the contract and that I did execute that right under the agreement and at their request. Somehow my rights under the agreement are lost on Craig on other management personnel that have looked at the agreement. But wait, their story will change yet again.

I explained to him the absurdity of his claim and further explained to him and the retail bankers that his argument would never hold water in court. Furthermore, that the preponderance of evidence would indicate that I did exactly as the contract prescribed and took the vehicle back to the location they requested me to upon the appointed date. The fact that they subsequently ruined my credit was their doing altogether.

This volley of conversation led the retail banking manager Van Le to make further calls to more supervisors in an effort to clear this mess up and avoid the costly litigation with which I have been forced to threaten them with on a weekly basis to get any attention whatsoever at the corporate level.

Tonight, July 25, 2006, at 6:07 pm, I spoke with Van Le for some 25 to 30 minutes. You’ll never guess what they (Van & Craig) have figured out now! They have decided that I did in fact have the right to return the vehicle under the agreement. Wow! That’s big news! Right????

Well, not so much. They now tell me that while I did, in fact, have the right to return the vehicle to them that I still owe them the $8,300.00 and change. BOA’s position is that I still owe the money and that they have not erroneously reported my credit to the bureaus. Well, needless to say, I was surprised that I would have agreed to such a deal in the first place. Nor did it wash well with what Suzanne had told me my options were at the close of the deal back in 2001. Not being too sure, I began to read the contract while I was on the phone with Van Le, however, the print was too fine to read. So, I told her I would read it with a magnifying glass and call her back but that I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t have agreed to something like that nor did I recall the original agreement with the car dealer being explained to me in that way. BOA believes, according to Von Lee, that the agreement says that I will make 4 years worth of payments for 629.00/month. Then at the end of 4 years if I choose to “give the car back to them” then I owe a 350.00 disposition fee and any mileage overages at .15 cents per mile over 15,000 miles per year. Plus, now here’s the kicker, I am somehow then responsible under the agreement for some amount of money that BOA will come up with using a formula of which I am unfamiliar. Basically, they are saying that even though I am to pay a disposition fee and mileage overage that I am liable for some outcome of the vehicle.

I can assure you that isn’t what Suzanne from Bank of America explained to me as my options when she called me in November of 2000. What Suzanne told me was that I had three options under the contract. I could just continue making payments at my current payment rate. Or, I could purchase the vehicle for 29,000.00+ dollars in cash. Or finally, I could return the vehicle, pay a 350.00 dollar disposition fee and any mileage overages at .15 cents per mile over the allowed 15,000 miles per year and that would fulfill my obligations under the agreement. I chose the last option.

Had Suzanne told me that I was somehow responsible for yet another 6 or 8 thousand dollars based on whatever BOA says the vehicle brought down at an auction or wholesaled off, I would have acted completely differently. The fact is she didn’t, nor can BOA supply any documentation to that effect

Alas, I did read the contract with a magnifying glass. You know what is says? Here it is retyped to 100% accuracy so you can actually read the damn thing without a magnifying glass:

Last payment options: You may pay the last scheduled payment on or before its due date or have the option to either: (A) refinance the last scheduled payment after giving us at least 30 days advance written notice of your intent to exercise this option. This balance will be financed at the APR indicated above (and in any event not exceed the maximum lawful rate) and with the regularly monthly payments indicated above; or

(B) sell the vehicle to us(or at our option to our affiliate)and have the sale price applied to the last payment. The sale price will be the amount of the last payment less 1.) $350.00 disposition fee 2.) any mileage deduction (.15 per mile over 15,000 miles per year) and 3.) any amount for excess wear and tear. Amounts for excess wear and tear include the cost of the following: replace damaged or broken glass; repair body fenders, paint and other exterior parts, replace missing equipment with equipment of comparable quality, missing wheels or wheel covers, repair damage to the interior including stains, tears or broken parts, replace tires which are not part of a set, each of which has at least one eighth inch of tread at the shallowest point; restore to reasonable running condition, or any other cost to restore to salable condition.

Additionally, you may sell the vehicle to us only if each of the following conditions is met: 1.) You have given us at least 30 days advance written notice of your intent to exercise this option; 2.) the vehicle is delivered to a location specified by us on or before the due date of the last scheduled payment together with all executed documents to transfer ownership of the vehicle including current registration, title to the vehicle which shows no lien other than our lien; 3.) you have paid all amounts owing under this agreement except for the last scheduled payment; 4.) you have serviced the vehicle as described by the manufacturer and participated in all manufacturer recalls; and 5.) you have not altered the vehicle. If you deliver the vehicle to us in satisfaction of the last scheduled payment, and meet each of the above conditions, we will bear the entire risk of loss or benefit of gain if and when we dispose of the vehicle.

Truly, I don’t know which of the conditions of the agreement I didn’t meet. BOA doesn’t dispute that fact that I made all payments owing under the agreement. They don’t dispute the fact that I took the vehicle back to the location at their request and I did so on the appointed date under the agreement itself in satisfaction of the last payment which, by the way, washes with what Suzanne told me in the first place.

Let me say that after careful review of the contract and being run around for the last 5 weeks (never mind 5 years) that this all looks like a bunch of bullshit to me.

First, Craig Andrews says, “we have a “gold standard” contract that they are confident doesn’t allow you (meaning me) to return the vehicle at all.” Then Van Le says that I actually could return it but that I was somehow responsible for a loss at sale. Upon reading the agreement, I don’t think it says that at all. In fact, it says quite the opposite. Why is it that I have to discern for myself what their contracts say? Do they not know?

I am asking you again, just as soon as you return from vacation, to file suit against these people and make them pay not only for wrecking my credit and costing me countless dollars and lost sleep, but also for jerking me around for the last 7+ weeks and lying to me about what the contract says.

At the end of the day it is exactly as I told them 7 weeks ago. I did exactly what I supposed to do and what they asked me to do and I did it on time in every case. In exchange, they ruined my credit and altered every purchasing decision of any magnitude I have made for the last 5 years.

Lastly, I called Van Le back tonight and left her a voicemail telling her that I know that the contract doesn’t say I have to pay for the loss on the vehicle.

Thank you,

Clay Weger
Former A+ credit holder