From msnbc.com:
When is a grace period not really a grace period?
When you have to pay a $6 fee for using it.
Some Bank of America mortgage customers will receive an unwelcome Valentine’s Day gift when the bank’s policy for grace period mortgage payments changes on Feb. 14. Essentially, it means those customers will have six fewer days to pay their mortgage each month without facing additional fees.
Consumers who use the bank’s online payment tool, Mortgage Pay, will risk a $6 fee if they fund payments using another bank’s checking account and the payment falls during the final six days of the traditional 15-day grace period. Consumers who make payments from Bank of America accounts are not subject to the fee.
“Let me get this straight. They tell you that you have a grace period, (then) they say, ‘Oops, you only have half of it if you don’t bank with us,’” said Gail Hillebrand, a lawyer for Consumers Union who specializes in banking issues. “That doesn’t seem fair. … This looks like a new ‘gotcha,’ and we have enough of those already.”
I never thought I’d see this type of ‘customer loyalty’ program. Certainly gives new meaning to loyalty, more like indentured servitude! Those marketeers, what will they think of next :).
One of the many reasons I no longer bank with BofA.
Farmers and Merchants for the win!
It’s the new business banking model. Gouge your customers with dozens of nickel-and-dime fees.
Thank God for credit unions.
I’m sure the Bank of Ameriwide folks ran it past their legal folks but it looks like the servicer is modifying the loan contract by adding fees not specified in the contract. Some consumers’ group will be all over BAC about this, no doubt.
The great hunt for loopholes in the new consumer protection laws continues apace.
Simple solution use your own banks bill pay to pay the mortgage or set up direct payment automatically. This is so simple to work around that it suggests BofA would really like to can the service completely or move to a $6 charge for any usage of their service. If your current bank does not have bill pay, move to one that does. I think in general its better to push money than have it pulled, unless you set up an automatic payment system, which of course ensures that the bill is paid on the due date.