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First Premier Bank DO NOT TRUST THEM! ripoff lies bad business practices CHEATERS, LIARS, THIEVES Sioux Falls South Dakota
I was late paying the bill and made several attempts to contact the company to bring my account current. I finally made contact to a live person about 3 months ago. The "operator" told me that if I made a payment of $200.00 my account would be brought current and that I would even have an available balance left over. I made the arrangements over the phone, despite my apprehension.
Once the arrangements were made, I was then informed of an $11 draft fee. I went through with the transaction and agreed on an automatic withdrawal date. That day came and went and about a week later, I called to see if the funds had been drafted from my bank account. I was then informed by yet another operator that someone had cancelled the transaction and there was no reason noted as to why it had been cancelled. I was then told I would have to pay an additional late fee. I then told that operator that I would prefer to terminate the account.
After being told that it would show negatively on my credit, I asked him for time to make sure that this was something I wanted to do. I was uneasy about allowing another draft to my account, so I told him I would be in touch.
Some time later, I received a phone call (on a Sunday!) from yet ANOTHER operator. I informed her that I would like to close this account. She informed me that it would show negatively on my credit and asked me if I was sure I wanted to do that. I thought about it and decided that I would wait a while. I reluctantly made the arrangements, again, to have a payment of $200.00 drafted from my account. I also asked her to waive the fees that had accrued, seeing that if they had taken their payment, I wouldn't have been charged late fees, overdraft fees, etc.
This time, the payment went through, but there was yet another catch! A few days after the funds were drafted, I called to check account status at this point, I was told that the account was suspended and that I would have to call back in 14 days to remove the hold on the account.
When I called back, I was told that the funds $80.00 that were supposed to be made available would not be available because there was a $50.00 annual fee, a participation fee, and an $11.00 automatic draft fee charged to this account and that after all these charges went through, I was going to be overdrawn - AGAIN - by $7.00. What she didn't mention (funny how they leave out the important info) is that if my account was in an overdrawn state, there would be an additional $29.00 overlimit fee, not to mention, the monthly $29.00 late fee, (because as often as I have called to change the billing date, I have always been told that I have to bring my account current before arrangements can be made. Of course, every time I made a payment, all the fees were charged, and my account was always never current.
So, instead of paying a monthly fee of $20.00, I ended up paying $20.00 monthly fee, plus $29.00 overdraft fee, plus $29.00 overlimit fee, plus the participation fee, etc.) I promptly told the operator that I wanted the account terminated because it was just causing me too many headaches. Everytime I think I'm bringing my account current there is a fee. I cut up my credit card. She told me that she would send me the statements until the balance was paid off. I don't think I should have to pay these RIP OFF ARTISTS another dime of my hard-earned money. They are bad news!
Joy
Los Angeles, California
U.S.A.
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2 Updates & Rebuttals
Renee
Sioux Falls,South Dakota,
U.S.A.
I Work At First Premier... I Agree... BIG RIPOFF ..I would just like to tell people to close their accounts because the company is a horrible ripoff.
#3UPDATE Employee
Wed, October 27, 2004
I work at First Premier Bankcard and I agree, the credit card is a huge ripoff. I have to listen to people complain about the fees and I have to try to explain to them why things are "the way they are". There are days when I would just like to tell people to close their accounts because the company is a horrible ripoff. Charging $175.00 in fees on a $250 credit limit is ridiculous! That leaves about $75.00 for you to spend. When I started at the bank, they tried to have my sign up for the card because (employees don't pay all the fees), but I didn't want a credit card and they're still trying to get me to get one. I have not quit the bank because in turn, it does pay well. But believe me, the customer gets annoyed with all the phone calls, well, I get sick of trying to make the "customer feel better". First Premier is a ripoff. If you get anything from them regarding a credit card, just THROW IT AWAY!
Joy
Los Angelese,California,
U.S.A.
First Premiere still going strong in the ripoff business
#3Author of original report
Fri, September 17, 2004
As of September 2004, First Premiere continues to charge me late fees and overdraft fees on an account that I requested be closed back in December 2003. They send statements and charge me for cash advances and purchases even though the account is closed and the card has not been used. They even sent letters over the past few months asking me to pay their fees so that they could reinstate the card. DO NOT TRUST THIS COMPANY. It is unfortunate that they prey on individuals who don't have the best of credit and seek to ruin their credit standing even further under the guise that they are helping you rebuild your credit. The operators are unprofessional and make threats. They have harassed me to no end. They have even left threatening messages with my family members. Do not take any credit cards from this company. If you receive any offers from them in the mail, THROW IT AWAY!!!!!