Jackie Ramos is the courageous woman you see here. A former Bank of America employee, she broke the rules while within the organization as a customer service rep to help people who needed assistance with their debts -- even if they did not qualify for the company's leniency programs. Ramos was fired by Bank of America for helping debt-riddled but loyal customers like a 26-year-old cancer patient who just wanted a small break, but wanted to fully repay her debt. Ramos told The Huffington Post:
"She sobbed on the phone telling me she couldn't afford the 30 percent interest... that we had her account on. She couldn't afford the $39 late fee, the $39 over-limit fee. She told me that we were her first credit card when she turned 18, we were her only credit card, and that she was a loyal customer. And given the time to be on this earth a little while longer she would have always remained a loyal customer.
"According to Bank of America, she doesn't have enough income to be put on a program, but she can however keep paying the high interest rates on the account, and fees, because at the end of the day, it is her account, she did rack up the debt, she was late, and she did deserve the 29.99 percent interest rate."
Jackie took to YouTube to voice her feelings about unfair practices such as these that keep Americans in bondage to a sort of debt slavery. Her video is really exposing the unfair practices of large banks, and stirring up a ton of debate on how consumer lending needs to change. On these matters Ramos says, "I feel like there's a real credit problem in this country... Too many people are complacent... Slavery was also legal at one point in time. It was the law. Now we have 30 percent interest rates, $39 late fees and over-limit fees. I want the laws changed. I want the federal government to protect its people and do what it's supposed to do." (Source)
I applaud Ms. Ramos for doing what she believed was right by trying to help Bank of America customers, even if it was not in line with the bank's official guidelines. She also deserves special kudos for speaking up even after being fired, ironically for taking a humane approach to her customer service position. It's amazing how the power of the Web might be just the catalyst that average Americans need to take back their financial power from institutions that are using credit cards and banking fees to enrich themselves with no limitations on the abuse of their power.
Jackie Ramos spills the beans on Bank of America and it's heartless credit policies, which are deliberately engineered to bleed American consumers:
Read the whole story on The Huffington Post.

Comments: (20)
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By: Jani on 12/09/2009 10:16AM
The information Jackie shared about BOA's practices was wonderful. It is a shame that I can only access this through the ' Black Voices' section on AOL. A link to this segment ought to be on the very front/ first page of AOL.com. Sometimes, media does not know how to properly report information. In my opinion I would rather see this on the first page than a 'link to the phone call of Tiger Woods' wife to the police' or a 'Perez Hilton' spat. Actually, IT MAKES NO SENSE why this segment is only under the Black Voices section, I suppose for the fact that the young woman reporting has African heritage- which is not relevant to the specific message relayed. Shame on Aol! What poor judgment!
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By: Mitch on 12/09/2009 11:26AM
It is refreshing to see a young woman with such high morals in a money hungry world. Be encouraged, when "THE BANK" close a door God opens a "VAULT" for his child. Stay Blessed.
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By: kingdavidlives on 12/09/2009 3:28PM
Unfortunately, the employee broke policy and rightly was fired.
But, these credit-granting financial institutions are going as far as the government will allow.
Lesson: Limit your use of credit/debt. Do everything you can to lessen your debt load.
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By: LadyJNewYork on 12/22/2009 2:01PM
Good for you Jackie, don't worry about it GOD's got you, you tried to do the "right thing"..Man gives "awards", God gives "REWARDS", you'll be fine. God Bless and Continued Success to you!
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By: pauljeanser on 1/02/2010 9:44AM
this is an online shopping store operated for many years.have lots of new and old customers from United States and Europe now.
you can find many of cheap price,high quality,fashion brand products here .
in order to requite customer ,if you order more .we will give gift be free.
1)if you purchase of more then two pairs of shoes or more than100 dollar once ,you can have a pair of socks worth 5 dollar be free.
2)if you purchase of more than 200 dollar once,you can have a pair of sunglasses or a cap be free.
more info of product .please link this site
------------- http://www.overstockes.com
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By: tbyrd on 1/02/2010 10:42PM
YOU AND YOUR MOM SHOULD BE SO PROUD OF YOU. WE NEED MORE YOUNG PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELF TO STAND UP AND CHANGE THE WORLD IN WHATEVER WAY YOU CAN. THANK YOU FOR MY 70 YEAR OLD MOTHER, MY 27 YEAR OLD SON AND MY HUSBAND AND I (52 YEARS). GOD WILL ALWAYS BLESS YOU AND YOUR NEXT JOB WILL BE GREAT.
TRINA BYRD, NJ
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By: Sonja on 1/04/2010 10:13PM
Just imagine your world without high monthly credit card payments. Imagine going to your mailbox and not seeing credit card bills. Imagine building a budget on needs and not wants. Did you know that Cheap is now Chic! Think about it, how many pairs of shoes do you really wear? Sometimes we just need to say "No!" And justify to ourselves why we should charge "more" things that we don't NEED. Let's take back our power!!
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By: sherridina on 2/01/2010 1:48PM
She did a very good thing. There are alot of non-profit agencies who would love to employ her. How about consumer protection?
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By: ??????? on 4/18/2010 5:06AM
I didn't even listen to all of the video but totally agree BOA is not bothered about the customer or staff. After all remember """ know,care,act""? do we now ignore it and take whatever we can from the oap dying from cancer in 3 months but doesn't matter cos her income at the moment shows she can afford an atp?
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By: Cindy on 6/16/2010 5:33PM
I believe she did a very courageous thing. I want to share another unfair practice of Bank of America. I have been trying with no luck to get Bank of America to help me with an issue. I have had an account for 10 years and they don't even seem to care. On weekends, debit card purchases are pending. So, I had plenty of money in the account over the weekend and I had one large check that I wrote to a company that usually takes a few days to deposit the check. On Monday night when Bank of America processed all my purchases for the weekend, the larger check I had written cleared. So, I would have owed one fee which is fair because it went over my balance by about $20 dollars. However, since Bank of America processes all pending transactions largest to smallest. They paid the check which was the last transaction first and I ended up with four $35 charges. I called Bank of America and was told by a very helpful customer service person that they could reverse the charges but I would need to call back the next day because they were in pending. When I called back the next day, they had totally changed their script and said that I could not get back any of the fees. I am trying to get the word out about this practice because I think it is very unfair and I hope maybe I can keep someone else from making the mistake that I did. If I had just taken cash out of the bank rather than using my debit card for several small purchases which BOA encourages, then I would have had one fee of $35 instead of $140.
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