Bank of America Accused of Latin@ Exploitation
Published July 01, 2009 @ 12:00PM PT
A group of whistle-blowers has come forward, with the backing of SEIU, claiming that as employees of BOA they were taught to prey on low-income, Latin@ customers to sign up for a plethora of services - of redundant ones - in order to extract as many fees from them as possible. It's a pretty interesting read for the multiple competing interests in the article, and notable for its absence of any input from current or former customers.
The whistle-blowers, current and former employees, are mostly Spanish-speaking women on the front lines of customer sales. Some have been fired for expressing interest in unionizing, and SEIU is supporting them in what's becoming a campaign against BOA because it's trying to organize the nation's largest bank. BOA, of course, insists that it's practices are legal and customary in the industry, which is probably at least technically true, and that customers and employees alike are satisfied. What a mess.
There's some evidence to support the whistleblowers' claims, and the fact remains that BOA has very profitably seemed to prey on low-income, new American communities. Furthermore, BOA recently settled a class-action lawsuit in which they did not have to admit any wrong-doing but were nonetheless shown to be maximizing fees unlawfully - whether in spirit or to the letter.
I find whistleblowers fascinating because most of the time it takes guts to implicate yourself (Brownie turning on Bush is an exception that comes immediately to mind; maybe he's just a disgruntled employee). In this case especially, these employees' actions sound pretty detestable, even if it was all in a day's work. So I'm inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt; I also know anecdotally how miserable and punitive BOA has been regarding home foreclosures in Boston and regarding friends' bank accounts. So I'm a biased audience.
Still, I think there's something to how easy corporate malfeasance becomes, when it's built into the system in a careful set of steps that are officially legal but add up to illegality or legal exploitation. I hope we hear more of this case as it unfolds.
(Photo of "the bank you can trust" by TheTruthAboutMortgage.com)
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Comments (10)
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Author
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Leigh is a PhD candidate in urban planning at MIT, and a consultant on U.S. Gulf Coast recovery. She sits on the Board of the Allston-Brighton Community Development Corporation in Boston, and has worked with non-profits, foundations and local governments on policies and programs aimed at reducing urban poverty and inequality.
I too have found BOA rather hard to deal with, although their internet bill pay is the best of a half dozen I have tried. A while back They announced they would not even require proof of legal residency to open accounts. I guess that's also the reason they hired so many bilinguals. I have actually been more likely to get a person of latin background than otherwise for a long time now.
Posted by Charlie Reed on 07/01/2009 @ 01:13PM PT
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Yet another reason to boycotte BOA.
Posted by Jeremy Keith Hammond on 07/02/2009 @ 07:04AM PT
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I closed my account at BOA after reading a small amount about their activities and choices during the height of the "banking crisis". I saw first hand in their lobby the policies that discriminated against the poor. Five hundred dollar minimum for a savings account, $5 fee for checks, when four doors away the post office charged $1.25. I guess if they believe that if they have to deal with the poor, they might as well soak them.
Posted by sharon donovan on 07/03/2009 @ 01:01PM PT
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This bank and other’s like them where also taught to prey on overmedicated & disabled veterans. And there is a lot more of us then those you mention here. Veterans are of different color, race, religion, and politics, and we all learned the hard way; Freedom isn’t free…
Posted by Pat Smith on 07/03/2009 @ 02:13PM PT
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I have to admit that BOA is the ONLY bank that hasn't mistreated me, but then again maybe that's because long (long) ago my family and I banked at a branch of BOA that had a person who got caught embezzling and they were doing some pretty funky things in the computer - like cashing checks multiple times, so I go over bank statements and bank paperwork with a fine toothed comb and rather paranoidly. BOA isn't the only bank though that I've caught doing their darnedest to take advantage of someone poor, disabled or otherwise at a disadvantage as far as the banking system goes and effectively at the system's mercy for all intents and purposes.
One bank I had 10 years ago (not BOA) tried telling me that three days in one week I'd gone to one particular restaurant for three meals each day - and then proceeded to bounce me around, intentionally misleading me so that there wasn't a snowball in hell's chance of filing a fraud or error report. Suffice to say, they took me for a LOT of money - and this was done before there really WAS online banking so it's not like today when you can go online every day or two to check what you (or perhaps someone else) spent. Whoever did it, had a lead of at least two weeks because of the lag time it took me to get a statement. Even now, if a poor person doesn't have a way to GET online, and they make a banking error, the bank makes a banking error (and I know it DOES happen and it's not always an accident) or someone fraudulently uses the account with fake checks or by whatever means to fake the debit/check card - how are they supposed to know before going to an ATM, trying to use their card or getting an insufficient funds notice? And it sure doesn't help that an increasing number of banks are pulling tricks like adding daily insufficient funds fees to the per item fees...this policy in particular definitely penalizes those who lack access to technology or who won't have the money to cover the items on demand.
Posted by Danetta Amschler on 07/03/2009 @ 06:20PM PT
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I've had problems with Bank of America jacking up interest rates to ridiculous levels at the drop of hat and being quick to tack on late fees. I'm cutting up my card.
Posted by stan z on 07/04/2009 @ 01:13AM PT
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Bank of America is just the tip of the iceberg. The real root of the problem is the Federal Reserve System, which sets the rules for the banks. The Federal Reserve is NOT a govenment agency; it is a private organization OWNED BY ITS MEMBER BANKS. It sets its own rules and determines its own accounting policies. Many of its actions are SECRET.
We need to support President Obama's call for transparency by calling or emailing our congressmen/senators and asking for their support of HR1207 and S604, the house and senate bills to Audit the Federal Reserve. We need to understand what this private, for profit organization is doing to and with our money.
We cannot help the poor (or ourselves) until we know what is happening at the Fed and how our money is created.
Posted by b hendricks on 07/04/2009 @ 05:57AM PT
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""I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs.""
-Thomas Jefferson
Posted by Jeremy Keith Hammond on 07/04/2009 @ 08:43AM PT
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That Tom was one smart dude! Of course, the founders had just had the experience of issuing paper money (not worth a Continental) which is why the Constitution prohibits issuing bills of credit (fiat currency).
It's interesting that it was the bankers that wrote and lobbied for the Federal Reserve Act.
Posted by b hendricks on 07/04/2009 @ 10:27AM PT
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I love Latinos so they shouldn't be doing this bad thing by trespassing their rights furthermore we need to practice loving one another the way the bible says so thanks for hearing me out on this matter.
Posted by antonio johnson on 07/07/2009 @ 09:51AM PT
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