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Direct Merchants Bank Will Bankrupt You!
My financial difficulties began last year. My life partner injured his back at work and has been on compensation off & on since then. We have not had a consistant flow of income so we had fallen behind on some bills. As time went on the bills were getting paid but were a little late. Direct Mechants Bank jacked the interest rate from 19.9% to Over 28%. I had two accounts with them Visa & MC. On both accounts they slammed me with high interest rates and late fees. Within a year my balance doubled (not from purchases but)from all of the extra fees. It got to the point that I would send them $200 and $198 was applied to the interest & fees.
Direct Merchants Bank decided to close my visa account because I had sent them one too many late fees. I was fine with this decision. After aprox 3 months later I noticed on the billing statement that Direct Merchants Bank RAISED THE CREDIT LIMIT!
The account was supposed to be closed but they did it anyway. I had called the company to find out why they raised the limit on a closed account and they told me because I had established good payment records again. Which was BS. I told them to close it and they never did.
Knowing my circumstances, my MC account was still open and they increased this limit anyway. By litterly thousands of dollars just to accrue more late fees & finance charges! (Over 28%) Even though I still had late payments.
Direct Merchants Bank is not a friendly bank who will help you out when you need it the most. They don't care about the customers circumstances. I am a mother of two working as hard as I can and now my life partner has to udergo surgery and is disabled at this point in time. Our family of 4 has been living off $100-$150 a week with no other income.
28% aren't there any state or federal laws on capping the interest rate?
4 Updates & Rebuttals
Joanne
Chesterfield,Michigan,
U.S.A.
Laying the Blame ..Read the smallest print first on ALL documentation
#5Consumer Comment
Sun, July 20, 2003
I'm sorry for those who are having a hard making their payments. I too applied for the DMB card to better my credit. But someone close to me warned me in advance of high finance charges should I leave a balance on the card at the end of the month.
Yes, when you have credit as bad as I did, you can expect to be drowned in extremely high finance charges. I look at it this way. At least they are willing to give me a chance.
If I didn't have income coming in, I didn't use the card... It's that simple. As a consumer, I didn't spend what I didn't have or know that I would have. I know what my check is going to be each week. I limit myself to what I can afford at the next paycheck, not anything more. Then I pay the credit card off before using it again. I make payments (payoffs) every two weeks when I get my paycheck.
I have been told that I'm one of those people who live check by check. Well, I agree, I live by the next check to the next. :) But that doesn't mean that I have to bury myself in finance charges. I simply live by what I know is within my reach or currently available income. So what if I don't have cash for the week. I didn't pay someone to let me use their plastic for that 2 weeks. ;)
To that person who asked for their account to be closed. I also closed an account with another service. They told me that the account cannot be closed and will continue to rack up interest until the balance is paid off in full. No problem I said. My balance is zero!
Just because they raised the credit limit doesn't mean you should raise your spending limit.
Please take this as words of wisdom and not condemnation. I have never paid a finance charge because I used the card within my financial limitations. My sister had to file bankruptcy because she used the card radically; especially when she lost the job and could barely make the minimum payments.
I'm not saying that the CC companies are completely faultless. They have a way of assuring you that you will be able to swing it. They are constantly sending me checks for fast cash. I tear them up knowing that the fast cash is based on a daily interest rate..not monthly.
Read the smallest print first on ALL documentation. Don't leave anything out. Everything the customer might complain about is covered. You don't really think they would leave themselves open to legality issues, do you?
Stacey
Mt.juliet,Tennessee,
U.S.A.
Not Sure If I Was Ripped Off Or Not
#5REBUTTAL Individual responds
Sat, May 24, 2003
I had a account with Direct Merchants Bank by a Mastercard in 1999. I was young and gullable in college really didn't want a credit card but the people giving the applications on campus insisted for me to sign up for this Mastercard and a Visa(through a different company) for free prizes.
I received my credit card I did abuse it which was my fault, but I asked for my account to be closed after I knew I could not be responsible enough to have a credit card, they did not close it left it open and tacted me with so much interest that even when I made a payment it didn't even cover the interest. It eventually went to collection I paid on this bill through collection last year 2002. Unfortunatley, I quit paying because I had to pay $300.00 payments for the balance to just go down and I don't have that kind of money to pay a month on top of the rest of my bills. I am responsible now and am trying to pay all my bills off to establish good credit again.
I guess what I'm writing for is I'm not sure if I am a victim of this fraud and I am desperatley trying to find out. I would be glad to pay my debt off if my bill would quit increasing.
please give me some guidance on how to take care of this situation.
thanks,
Sandy
Shelbyville,Indiana,
Help rebuild your credit...RIGHT!!!!
#5Consumer Comment
Tue, April 09, 2002
Oh yeah, DMB are such saints trying to help people rebuild their credit. That is why they are currently in the middle of a class action suit aginst them for this very reason!! I know because I am one of the people they screwed and they have to pay me back!!! So don't chastise these people...they are not the wrongdoers here!!
betty
Jacksonville,Florida,
Be more careful with your accounts!
#5UPDATE Employee
Wed, March 27, 2002
If one of the cardholders on the account could not work, you should have notified DMB immediately to have the protection plan activated to cover the payments on your account. If you pay attention to the charges on your statements, you pay for the service each month, so why not use it.
As for the credit line increase on a closed account, there is no way! DMB is very picky about who they give credit line increases to, and they sure would not have given you one if your payments were not made on time.
Read your cardholder agreement!!!!!!! The agreement tells you that if you are late on your payments, your interest rate will be increased, and you will receive late fees. Also keep in mind that you did agree to all of the terms of this agreement by using the card.
Don't blame your irresponsibility on a company that was willing to help re-build your credit by giving you a credit card!!