BANK of America apologised after its local contractor entered the home of a mortgage borrower when she was away, cut off utilities, padlocked the door and confiscated her pet parrot, Luke.

Angela Iannelli, 46, alleged in a lawsuit that the October incident - which separated her from her 11 - year-old parrot for more than a week - caused so much "emotional distress" that she needed a prescription medication for anxiety.

A Bank of America spokesman said a bank employee erroneously believed the house was vacant and sent the contractor there with instructions to install a new lock and otherwise "secure" the property.

The bank spokesman said those instructions were inappropriate, because Ms Iannelli wasn't in default and the house wasn't vacant.

Mortgage lenders have struggled in the past three years to hire and train enough people to deal with the biggest wave of foreclosures since the 1930s.

Many borrowers complain they get the runaround when they call their lenders for help, receive contradictory information from different employees and are required to repeatedly fax the same documents.

At the same time, suicide threats from distressed borrowers are so common that one lender, OneWest Bank Group had to establish procedures for alerting the police. Lenders' call-centre employees are under heavy pressure.

"These people make $US14 ($15.26) or $US15 an hour, and we ask them to move mountains," said John Parres, a first vice president at OneWest, at an industry conference last month.

In her civil suit filed in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, Ms Iannelli said a contractor hired by Bank of America entered her house, north of Pittsburgh, in mid-October when she was away.

According to the suit, in an "invasion" of the home, the contractor stopped utility services, cut water lines and electrical wiring, damaged flooring and finishings, poured anti-freeze into sinks and toilets, and "stole" the parrot.

Ms Iannelli, who owns a diner and works part-time as a bartender, said Bank of America representatives weren't helpful when she called in to protest.

They first denied knowing where the parrot was, and later told her she could go to the offices of the contractor, about 120km away, to retrieve the bird herself.

Ms Iannelli said bank representatives also told her they were "tired" of hearing from her, hung up on her and advised her to seek help from the police.

Her lawyer, Michael Rosenzweig said Ms. Iannelli was seeking damages of more than $US50,000. The amount of any damages would be decided by a jury if the case goes to trial.

A Bank of America spokesman said the bank would "quickly review the allegations in the lawsuit, the actual events that led to them and the causes of those events, and consider any hardship that resulted."

Mr Rosenzweig said Ms Iannelli had missed one payment around the time of the incident but quickly caught up and was now current on her loan.

After she drove two hours to reclaim her parrot in October, the bird initially seemed nervous, Ms. Iannelli said yesterday. "He's doing very well now," she said.

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