Debtors' Revolt: Former Bank Of America Employee Boards The Bandwagon (VIDEO)
A former Bank of America employee has joined the fledgling "debtors' revolt" movement.
"I was an assistant branch manager for Bank of America for two years," said Ben Frasier, a 27-year-old father of three in Douglas, Ore., in a YouTube video. "I quit my job because of the unscrupulous sales practices that were required to be performed in an effort to meet sales quotas. What I'm telling the world is that Bank of America will stop at nothing to turn an insane profit at your expense."
Frasier told the Huffington Post that he made his video after seeing Ann Minch's epic rant, in which the Red Bluff, Calif. woman demanded Bank of America reduce the interest rate on her credit card in September. He's not the only one -- dozens of people have since boarded the bandwagon.
"It was all because of Ann Minch that I got rolling on this deal," said Frasier.
Frasier, an insurance salesman, said he quit his job with Bank of America two years ago out of disgust. "If you didn't sell so many credit cards, if you weren't successful pushing it down peoples' throats, you got written up," he said.
His biggest gripe is his own. In his video, Frasier explains that last fall he and his grandfather took out a $30,000 personal line of credit to fix up a foreclosed property he planned to flip. He thought he'd signed up for an interest rate of 5.1 percent, but on his first statement he discovered his rate had somehow risen to 32 percent. He said he sold the property at a loss and has $23,000 in proceeds he wants to use to pay off the remaining balance on the loan, which he said stands at $28,000 after about $8,000 in payments, with less than $1,500 going to principal.
"You're not getting another penny from me until you settle," said Frasier.
Frasier said Bank of America told him it would lower his interest rate, but he says he has not yet gotten a response to his settlement offer.
A Bank of America spokeswoman told the Huffington Post via email that "we have talked with the customer directly and have gone through his account with him. While we don't share the details of that conversation, we believe we have addressed any concerns."
"Our associates talk to millions of customers every day and we work very hard to help them. It is more likely that we can work with them when they call us directly to resolve their issues."
Other debtors who've made videos have gotten results. Ann Minch won a reduced interest rate on her credit card. And Darren Bryant of Pensacola, Fla. heard from Bank of America within four hours of posting his video on Monday (but they didn't make him an offer).
Here is Frasier's video:
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First Posted: 10- 5-09 05:44 PM | Updated: 10- 9-09 12:01 PM