Complaint Review: First Premier Bank

The First Premier Bank of Sioux Falls SD specializes in damaging one's credit scores while gouging them with obscene fees and rates for credit cards.

For starters, these greedy banksters primarily target low income individuals (especially single women living in section 8 projects) with little or no established credit histories. They dangle a $700 Master Card credit line "deal" card that comes with an initial $175 annual fee for the first year, coupled with a whopping 36 percent APR (annual percentage rate). After the first year is up, they get a $49 annual fee plus a $14.50 per month "Monthly Service Fee (which is actually $174 addition charges annually)" for allowing the card holder recipient to effectively kiss the bank's ring.

There are also many other insulting stipulations, such as: "Each time your credit account is eligible for and approved for an unsecured credit increase, a Credit Limit Increase Fee in the amount of 25 percent of the amount of the credit limit increase will be assessed to your Credit Account. For example: If approved for a $100 credit increase, a $25 Credit Limit Increase Fee will be assessed to your credit account. This fee is automatically assessed upon approval of your credit limit increase, which could be as soon as your credit account has been open for 13 months."

To add insult to injury, a new account holder will have already reached 25 percent of their available credit utilization ratio, which will go above 30 percent with the first purchase over $35. As such, the card holder's FICO and Vantage scores, respectively, will be lowered on top of the points lost for the initial Hard Inquiry to their personal credit report.

In sum: First Premier Bank is a shameless blood sucker and should be boycotted by anyone who understands shady or unethical business practices that often do far more harm than good, and generally speaking, make certain that the Have Not's will continue to have even less.