Clout Visa Deceptive scam seeking to acquire personal information Madison Wisconsin
Not long ago I was called at college by an Asian woman who told me that nothing more than that the organization was a credit card company. I made the mistake of not asking, so I assumed it was my credit card company calling to confirm my information, since I'd just applied for another card and hadn't received it yet.
I made the mistake of giving Clout my information, and about two weeks later I received a "Clout Visa" card in the mail with my name and address misspelled. I was shocked to get this card, because I'd never even heard of Clout before. I destroyed the card because I didn't want it, and ironically it came at the same time as the card I had applied for from another company.
I was angry to find that I had given Clout some of my information, including my SS#, but I thought they would quit calling since I didn't use the card. WRONG! They called me three weeks later and wondered why I'd never activated the card, and when I told them that I wanted to close the account and didn't have the card anymore they demanded photocopies of my driver's license and social security card. I am not sending them that information, and I would advise other people to not send information in that form either.
I recommend that students who want a credit card should look at the student cards that are offered by credit card companies that do business with adults as well as students, rather than dealing with a card company like Clout that only does business with college students and deceives them to get their personal information. Students who want a credit card should go to the websites of Visa and Mastercard and see what student cards are offered by the companies listed on their web site, which tend to be the same companies that offer cards to adults.
Chad
Indianapolis, Indiana
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Bryan
Kalamazoo,Michigan,
U.S.A.
Clout Visa, Madison, Wisconsin, They Don't Give Up
#2Author of original report
Mon, October 18, 2004
I thought that Clout had finally given up on me because I didn't send them any more information, and they declined me when they tried to offer another card, so I thought I was clear, until a few days later when I received another phone call at college asking me to get a Clout Visa card.
I never thought that Clout would call me again after they declined to send a card that I didn't want anyway, but apparently they're pushy and won't stop calling college students until they give in. Don't get started with Clout, because they want paper copies of all your ID's, which is strange because I didn't have to send so many pieces of identification when I applied for and eventually received credit from another company.
Parents should warn their son or daughter about these credit card companies that call student numbers so they can pressure the students into getting credit cards, and some reports I've read suggest that Clout sends unsolicited credit cards to some students who have just turned 18.