Complaint Review: 1st National Card Service

Below is a copy of a Letter I emailed to the Attorney General of Florida regarding the 1st National Card Service Scam I was subjected to.

I am writing to you about a company I've had a problem with called 1st National Card Service that is located at 7431 114th Avenue,Suite 104, Largo, Florida, 33773, Their phone number is 727-544-6460, their order email is orders@1stcardservice.com, and their billing email is billing@1stcardservice.com). If you search the web with search engines, you can't find an address for the website (www.1stcardservice.com doesn't exist).

This company is operating an amazing SCAM and should be investigated. They are ripping off customers nationwide and giving Florida a very bad name. Below is a link to the RIppoff Report page showing all the reports submitted by consumers who have been taken advantage of by this company.

http://www.ripoffreport.com/searchresults.asp?q5=1st%20National%20Card%20Service&q1=ALL&q4=&q6=&q3=&q2=&q7=&searchtype=0&submit2=Search%21&Search=Search

I was contacted by phone by 1st National Card Service offering me a Credit Card with a FIXED rate of 9.9%, a credit limit of $4500, a cash limit of $2000, w/ no annual fee! I was immediately skeptical and asked very clearly if this was for a credit card that could only be used to buy products or services offered by them or their business partners. I was told this credit card could be used just like any other major credit card to buy whatever I wanted anywhere and also use it at ATMs.

They then told me I'd have to give them $200 to sign up but this would be given back to me as payment vouchers that I could use to pay my bills on the card! They also said I would get an extra $50 in vouchers later for a total of $250 in vouchers. To complete this deal, they asked me to give them my checking account number and the check number I wanted to use and they used this info to deduct the $200 from my account (they told me they's deduct it on the 1st of the coming month or in about 10-15 days).

At about this point, they told me they were going to ask me some questions (supposedly confirming our conversation to this point) and record the conversation for our mutual protection. During this conversation, they said this was not a Visa or Mastercard but I thought it could be another type of credit card such as Discover or American Express so I thought I was okay.

Later, I realized this wasn't true Iit was just a shopping card only good for buying products from their online or paper catalogs) and this recording did not contain any of the conversation I had had with their salerep where this person outright lied.

After the deduction was made from my account for the $200, I received a packet from them with a small catalog in it. This was my first clue that I had been scammed. I immediately called the company and asked about this and they said the card was not a true credit card and was only a shopping card. I told them I had been misled by their salesrep and I wanted to cancel the card and get my $200 back. They basically refused and played back the recording they had made saying it was proof I understood and agreed to the agreement. I listened to the tape and disputed their claim that they made it clear it was not a true credit card.

In the end, I gave up and cancelled but was told I couldn't get my $200 back. They did say they would send me a $50 gift card that I could use to buy their products. They also told me that if I didn't return their catalog, they take another $149 from my account. I send the small catalog back to avoid this fee. About two weeks later, I received my enrollment packet with my shopping card (not a credit card) and a large catalog. I sent this catalog back too (both at my expense).

About 10 days after that, I got their $50 Gift Card in the mail. I figured I might as well use it so I went on liine to see what I could find to buy. Almost everything on the main website was total junk but I settled on a couple of things to buy. When I tried to check out, the site needed my Gift Card Code (there was no code on the Gift Card) and I called a number they provided on the back of the Gift Card to get it.

I tried calling at least 5 times and each time, I was left in a call queue for about 15 minutes with no response and no recorded music to let you know you were still connected. Also, you were supposed to be able to enter an Extension # to go directly to someone who could give you the Gift Card Code but their system wouldn't accept it.

I then sent an email to orders@1stcardservice.com to try to get my Gift Card Code and included a copy of my Checkout Screen showing my online order. The first time, I got no response so after waiting a few days, I resent the email. I finally got a response from their Order Dept (no name given though). They told me it would take 7-9 business days to deliver. Given that I live in Wesley Chapel, FL and they are in Largo, FL, this is a ridiculous shipping time.

I would very much appreciate it if you would investigate this company's business practices and stop them from ripping off consumers. Their fraudulent business tactics need to be stopped, not only because it is the right thing to do but because Florida's reputation demands it.

Larry
WESLEY CHAPEL, Florida
U.S.A.