Hello, I am a Bank of America customer now (not by choice). I had a credit card with very attractive terms from MBNA (the Bank of Maryland), who was taken over by BofA. It was through a popular organization for private pilots, hence my screen name. About 8 months ago, I noticed that my payments were now being sent to a P.O. Box in Los Angeles, CA (instead of the Maryland/DC area, as it was when my credit card company was still MBNA, and actually about a year or two after BofA took over MBNA). BofA changed my bill due dates at the same time. I live in the Portland, OR metro area, and regularly deal with mail as part of my job. An item my company mails first class will make it to the Los Angeles area two days after it is dropped in the mail. Because of the new bill due dates (and payday at my job), I try to drop my payments in the mail so that it makes it to LA on the due date. However, I have noticed these conditions: #1) BofA must check their PO box at 8 in the morning, or whenever the Post Office opens its doors, and then never later in the day, as my payments never get processed two days after it is dropped in the mail. The earliest it ever happens is three days later. #2) Although mail is delivered (even to PO boxes!) on Saturday, no one ever checks the PO box on Saturday. Of the last 8 payments I have sent, 6 have been lated because of these noted behaviors. Not late late (as in being bugged by bill collectors), but late as in "We will up your very favorable interest rate because your payment was not in by the due date." Maybe mailing a check in is old-fashioned an quaint in 2010, but has anyone else noticed BofA doing similar things with their snail mail processing?
Most companies will say it has to be received at their office by a certain time, usually 9 AM, to be credited that day. And regardless of mail delivery, many of the service centers are M-F operations. That's why I always pay my accounts online.
