Bank of America plans to open a customer-service center in Tucson in coming weeks to help homeowners struggling to make their mortgage payments.

It's part of the bank's nationwide effort to increase outreach to financially distressed homeowners. The bank plans to open 28 new centers in metropolitan areas that have been hardest hit by the downturn in the housing market.

When all the new centers are open, expected by July, Bank of America will have 40 in 22 states.

"Our goal this year is to double our outreach staff," said Rick Simon, a Bank of America spokesman.

The centers will also provide a place for homeowners who prefer face-to-face interactions, Simon said. The bank has not yet said where the Tucson center will be.

The announcement comes amid complaints from homeowners and housing counselors that Bank of America can be among the most difficult lenders to work with.

Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne is pursuing a suit filed by his predecessor in December alleging that Bank of America misled and deceived homeowners who tried to modify their mortgages. The suit accuses the bank of repeatedly assuring customers their loans were being modified to get them to continue making payments, then foreclosing on their homes.

BofA has said it is disappointed the suit was filed when it is working with distressed homeowners "toward the goal of helping as many as possible keep their homes."

"The frustration with Bank of America comes in that they're not very timely in their responses," said Evelia Martinez, special-projects manager with the local debt-counseling agency Don't Borrow Trouble.

Borrowers repeatedly have to tell representatives in different departments what led to their financial situation, said Martinez, who is a certified foreclosure counselor. At times, they have to mail in the same documents over and over.

Then they have to wait months or years to find out if they qualify for a modification, she said.

"Essentially their whole life is put on hold until a decision is made," Martinez said.

As the largest loan servicer in the United States, Bank of America has needed time to fine-tune the way it works with financially distressed homeowners, Simon said.

"We know there's some frustration out there. This has been a two- to three-year learning experience for the industry," Simon said. "We've never seen volumes like this."

The bank also services loans that are backed financially by other investors, Simon said. It needs their approval to move forward with a modification or to agree to a short sale, which is when a lender agrees to sell a home for less than what's owed on the mortgage.

Because of the economy, an industry forecast predicted a 25 percent downturn in loan originations and refinances, Simon said. Bank of America plans to use the mortgage professionals no longer handling those to staff the customer-service centers.

Martinez acknowledged that Bank of America does have a tremendous number of loans to service, but she said sometimes the company lags on decisions it has been authorized to make.

She remained skeptical about how effective the new centers will be and said the bank would benefit by asking housing counselors directly how to help struggling homeowners.

Martinez said she recently made several calls to Bank of America on behalf of a homeowner and couldn't get anyone on the phone who could talk about the mortgage. Situations like those only add to the stress of cash-strapped homeowners, who are often embarrassed about their financial situation, she said.

Contact reporter Dale Quinn at dquinn@azstarnet.com or 573-4197.