Accusations on compelling customers into unnecessary expensive products have been denied by Bank of America Corp. The National Association of Consumer Advocates and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group blamed Bank of America and other big banks in paying fees for pressuring consumers into dubious, high-cost programs like “credit protection” and “overdraft protection.”

Bank of America “provides tools and services that give our customers more control and flexibility to effectively manage their accounts and prevent fees,” wrote spokesman Anne Pace who further stated that claims of the NACA and U.S. PIRG “misrepresent” Bank of America’s relationship with its customers and its associates.

However, the encouragement of Bank of America in bouncing checks and forgoing mortgage payments to keep credit cards current has been verified by a former employee of the bank in an interview on Monday. Similar statement has been made by Christopher Feener, who testified the making of false threats of legal action against delinquent borrowers for 15 years of working on credit cards for MBNA and Bank of America.

The reform of compensation policies of bank’s staff that pressurizes customers to purchase expensive products and services has been demanded by Representative Keith Ellison and the NACA and U.S. PIRG.