What's On Your Mind? Bank of America, Virginia Fast Auto Loans, IRS

Where does the line fall between clever direct mail marketing and deception? Whereever it is, Cindy, of Littleton, Colo., thinks Bank of America (BOA) has crossed it.

“I received a letter in the mail from Bank of America with the following stamped notice, in red, on the front of the envelope: "REMINDER NOTICE/Sign and return the form inside,” Cindy told ConsumerAffairs.com. “The return envelope was stamped, in red, PROCESS IMMEDIATELY.”

Cindy said her family had a checking account with BOA so she quickly opened the envelop. Instead of a bill, she said she found a second attempt to sell her accidental death insurance.

“I find this to be deceptive,” Cindy said. “I can see how some, particularly seniors, would sign this and return without really looking at the material inside. Very deceptive.”

An ill-advised loan

Eric, of Falling Waters, W.Va., says he is about to lose his wheels. He and his wife took out a car title loan – very similar to a payday loan, except that a vehicle title is used as collateral. After paying off two previous car title loans with the company, Virginia Fast Auto Loans, Eric says he suffered a financial setback.

“I told them we cant pay and if they have to to come pick up vehicle,” Eric said. “They keep calling and harassing us to make a payment. I've recently learned that theses loans were not legal in West Virginia. What can I do? Can they legally take my vehicle?”

Ordinarily, yes. But in West Virginia, maybe not. State Attorney General Darrell McGraw has aggressively taken on payday lenders, which are illegal in West Virginia. McGraw just happens to be investigating Fast Auto Loans and in April, sued the company for refusing to turn over records in defiance of a subpoena. Here's what McGraw has to say about car title loans:

"We cannot prevent consumers from traveling to other states to get ill-advised title and payday loans," McGraw said. "But when companies contact West Virginians who allegedly default on the loans, they must obey our state’s debt collection laws. If companies break these laws, my office will not hesitate to intervene."

Eric should call McGraw's office ASAP. He may end up losing his car, but at least the company will have to obey the law if it takes possession.

Where's my refund?

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) raised a lot of hopes among air travelers last month when, after the federal airline tax expired, the agency said some travelers who paid the tax were due a refund.

“Paid for two airline tickets June 8 and while vacationing the news gave information about the FAA charging these tickets with a tax that needs to be refunded back to us, the customer, for both roundtrip tickets,” Darcelle, of Brighton, Colo., told ConsumerAffairs.com. “I'm filing this complaint just in case we ever see this refund.”

Sorry, Darcelle, you won't see a refund. The IRS just announced that, in its opinion, consumers aren't due a refund after all.