Providian Financial ripoff - secured account, closed, still showing up years later on credit report with balance due Dallas Texas
MANY years ago, I had a small ($200-300) SECURED credit card account with Providian. I had funds on deposit with them, and my credit limit would not and could not exceed that dollar amount. Six years ago I filed bankruptcy. At the time of that filing, when listing that account, I documented that it was a secured account and that the funds they had on deposit would cancel out the balance due. If anything, THEY owed ME any money left over.
Providian STILL shows on my credit report as having a balance due, SIX YEARS LATER. I've contacted them on three separate occasions and never get a response. This ridiculous, INACCURATE debt shows up every time I try to finance anything.
Cathy
Dallas, Texas
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Dana
Portland,Oregon,
U.S.A.
Fair Credit Reporting Act ..If I could give any advise on PROVIDIAN it would be to run not walk "RUN" the other way.
#3Consumer Suggestion
Sun, October 24, 2004
Cathy,
I have to say what Jennifer said was not needed. I wonder how far behind she thinks they get. Six years, I mean really.
As far as your rights she was correct. You can call the 3 Credit Reporting Agencies (Eperian, Equifax, and Trans Union). They all have websites. When you call they will ask who your dispute is with and why. The Company (Providian)then has 30 days to respond. Then you can go to the FTC's website and file a complaint. You can find them online. There website is actually very informative too.
I hope this helps.
My Husband had 2 credit cards with Providian. He was never late even though the due date changed monthly and it took up to 7 days to post to the account AFTER they recieved it. They seemed happy to reported this every month on his credit report as paid on time. We moved in 2001 to Oregon from Hawaii. A few months later he recieved a letter for both accounts informing him that his APR would be increased to 29.99%. This is after years of patiently waiting and earning APR reductions. The only options were, to do nothing and it would increase automatically or he could close his accounts and continue to make payments until it was paid off. Of course he closed them but it was so frustrating because when he called in for a reason they said it was just a change and everyone was getting an increase. The thing that really got us was that they were giving everyone increases to the highest state or federal APR allowed, which is different in each state. He had those accounts for over 5 yrs and they had increased his limits every 6 or 12 months and we were never late. It seemed illegal to me but we didn't know were to go or what to do. I keep thinking we will here about a class action lawsuit against them.
If I could give any advise on PROVIDIAN it would be to run not walk "RUN" the other way. I think they are true masters of the art of "LEGAL RIP-OFF" (if there is such a thing) and prey on people who think they have no other alternatives. If you have to, put $200 into a secured card with your bank or credit union for 6-12 months, because Providian is not looking out for you when they are anxiously waiting for the perfect time to up your APR by almost double just because they can.
GOOD LUCK!
Jennifer
Arlington,Texas,
U.S.A.
Just out of curiosity, have you disputed this with the 3 credit bureaus?
#3Consumer Comment
Wed, October 06, 2004
Many institutions do report every month but because the credit bureaus are so very busy they can fall behind. Instead of blaming the company fill out the form ans take care of it yourself.