Nikki
Coconut Creek,#2Consumer Comment
Mon, April 28, 2008
If you paid the initial fee for a $300 or so credit limit (I guess they gave you a $500 limit), or if you paid the $100 fee to raise your credit limit at any time, those fees are treated as cash advances and are listed as cash advance interest. It's never happened to me, but over limit fees or late fees may fall under the cash advance interest rate too. So, even though you never took an actual Cash Advance, many of their fees are charged as a cash advance.
Fat Old Sweaty Elvis
Long Beach,#3Consumer Suggestion
Sun, April 27, 2008
Credit card issuers are all shady--some more than others. I don't know what that business is about charging fees as cash advances--sounds illegal to me. Concerning all the difficulty reaching these guys: All 3 of you need to quit trying. You're just wasting your time trying to deal with a credit card company by phone. They don't WANT you to close your account! And if you have an overdue balance, they'll promise anything you want to get you to make a payment. If you want a credit card company to take you seriously you need to deal with them in writing, certified mail, and you keep a copy. That doesn't mean you write it in your chicken scratch on a piece of coffee-stained looseleaf paper. It should be typed and spell-checked and if it's longer than two or three sentences make it shorter. They don't need to hear your life story. If you don't know how to write a letter, take a class at your local community college. As you may have figured out by now, getting credit just for the purpose of "building credit" is BAD idea. Anybody who suggests otherwise is probably trying to push you into a predatory loan of some type.
Fat Old Sweaty Elvis
Long Beach,#4Consumer Suggestion
Sun, April 27, 2008
Credit card issuers are all shady--some more than others. I don't know what that business is about charging fees as cash advances--sounds illegal to me. Concerning all the difficulty reaching these guys: All 3 of you need to quit trying. You're just wasting your time trying to deal with a credit card company by phone. They don't WANT you to close your account! And if you have an overdue balance, they'll promise anything you want to get you to make a payment. If you want a credit card company to take you seriously you need to deal with them in writing, certified mail, and you keep a copy. That doesn't mean you write it in your chicken scratch on a piece of coffee-stained looseleaf paper. It should be typed and spell-checked and if it's longer than two or three sentences make it shorter. They don't need to hear your life story. If you don't know how to write a letter, take a class at your local community college. As you may have figured out by now, getting credit just for the purpose of "building credit" is BAD idea. Anybody who suggests otherwise is probably trying to push you into a predatory loan of some type.
Fat Old Sweaty Elvis
Long Beach,#5Consumer Suggestion
Sun, April 27, 2008
Credit card issuers are all shady--some more than others. I don't know what that business is about charging fees as cash advances--sounds illegal to me. Concerning all the difficulty reaching these guys: All 3 of you need to quit trying. You're just wasting your time trying to deal with a credit card company by phone. They don't WANT you to close your account! And if you have an overdue balance, they'll promise anything you want to get you to make a payment. If you want a credit card company to take you seriously you need to deal with them in writing, certified mail, and you keep a copy. That doesn't mean you write it in your chicken scratch on a piece of coffee-stained looseleaf paper. It should be typed and spell-checked and if it's longer than two or three sentences make it shorter. They don't need to hear your life story. If you don't know how to write a letter, take a class at your local community college. As you may have figured out by now, getting credit just for the purpose of "building credit" is BAD idea. Anybody who suggests otherwise is probably trying to push you into a predatory loan of some type.
Miami
Miami Shores,#6UPDATE EX-employee responds
Sun, April 27, 2008
I worked there about 2 years ago so maybe things changed. Back then the way it worked was a cash advance was considered anything that the bank itself charges you. For example when you opened the account they would charge a bunch of fees for opening it. That was what the bank considered cash advance. It is not only that you take money out from the machine. I did work there and I found a lot of customers did not know how a credit card works so its ashame that they aren't allowing people to call in because from my experience a lot of their cardholders need some guidance on how credit cards work.
Miami
Miami Shores,#7UPDATE EX-employee responds
Sun, April 27, 2008
I worked there about 2 years ago so maybe things changed. Back then the way it worked was a cash advance was considered anything that the bank itself charges you. For example when you opened the account they would charge a bunch of fees for opening it. That was what the bank considered cash advance. It is not only that you take money out from the machine. I did work there and I found a lot of customers did not know how a credit card works so its ashame that they aren't allowing people to call in because from my experience a lot of their cardholders need some guidance on how credit cards work.
Miami
Miami Shores,#8UPDATE EX-employee responds
Sun, April 27, 2008
I worked there about 2 years ago so maybe things changed. Back then the way it worked was a cash advance was considered anything that the bank itself charges you. For example when you opened the account they would charge a bunch of fees for opening it. That was what the bank considered cash advance. It is not only that you take money out from the machine. I did work there and I found a lot of customers did not know how a credit card works so its ashame that they aren't allowing people to call in because from my experience a lot of their cardholders need some guidance on how credit cards work.
Miami
Miami Shores,#9UPDATE EX-employee responds
Sun, April 27, 2008
I worked there about 2 years ago so maybe things changed. Back then the way it worked was a cash advance was considered anything that the bank itself charges you. For example when you opened the account they would charge a bunch of fees for opening it. That was what the bank considered cash advance. It is not only that you take money out from the machine. I did work there and I found a lot of customers did not know how a credit card works so its ashame that they aren't allowing people to call in because from my experience a lot of their cardholders need some guidance on how credit cards work.
Gretchen
Chesterfield,#10Consumer Comment
Wed, March 19, 2008
Oh my God, this is the worst credit card company in the world. They zero in on poor people and those that are trying to correct their credit and charge outrageous fees that just dont end. Last month I paid my bill on time over the internet and was charged $6.95 for that. My payment brought the balance below the limit and I charged $4 the entire month, which still resulted in my balance being over the limit. I go online today and find that I have been charged $64- 32 for late fee and $32 for overlimit fee. After messing around on their phone system for about 20 minutes, I was finally given to a supervisor who informed me that I was charged the late fee because I paid $162.00 instead of $162.05! Then she gave some confusing bogus explanation for the overlimit fee claiming that I did not pay my full minimum payment a few months ago. I am ready to scream. I was told to write a letter requesting that these bogus fees be waived and will be sending that today. I have never been scammed like this in my life. Its bad enough that they charge you a maintenance fee and a fee to pay online. They just keep adding on more fees until your balance is a couple hundred dollars more than your credit limit and then start having Asian operators call your phone repeatedly "reminding" you of your payment due. I have also received numerous letters offering me an Upgrade to my account. Guess what the Upgrade is? It is some "identity theft protection" scam that results in more fees on your account. Why would anyone pay to have "identity theft protection" on an account that only has a $500 limit? How stupid do they think people are? This company has to be put out of business. Our country is in bad enough shape with the poor economy. We dont need scam artists preying on poor people.
Kristy
Stuttgart,#11Consumer Suggestion
Mon, January 28, 2008
Ok so i just thought that my account had not gone to charge off and that all was alright when infact it charged off the day after the first payment of the schedualed payments that were worked out. I know this because i contacted the credit reporting agencys and obtained a copy of my credit report just to be sure that it had not charged off and there it was it stated that it had charged off and that no payments or arangements had been made but they still took the money out of my account. i have tryed to contact all the numbers that i have for them and no one answers i hold for hours and still on one i have left multipal messages and no one. I have also contacted my bank and the credit reporting agencys so that my rebtel to the dept is on my report and i have stoped them from taking money out of my account. I have tryed to settle with thim but i am also at a loss on what to do. Help
Kristy
Stuttgart,#12Consumer Suggestion
Thu, January 10, 2008
I to was in the same boat as most of you that have posted reports on here. I found this number 1.302.326.4200 on here and called it, i had to holed for the operator and finaly got to speak with nattlie (her direct line is 1.800.864.6033. extention 2193). I explained to her what had happened with the phone calls befor and said not to worry that she could help me i toled her what i could afford to pay and she set up a one month payment of $50.00 for me so that it would delet the charge off status. Before i called the above number i called the number on the card and talked to a very rude man who toled me that i was F-ing stupid and that there was nothing i could do to prevent the account form going to charge off. Well who is stupid now! A big thank you to the person who posted the corporate number on here you are a life saver! I Hope that all Of you have the same luck!