Ami
Metairie,#2Consumer Suggestion
Thu, July 24, 2003
I had a problem with a late fee and over the limit penalty as a result of interest accrued. I had sent a payment to them two weeks before the due date. It was in November and the account was not posted until AFTER Thanksgiving. I received a letter about the overage and I called them. I told them that a late fee was inappropriate and accused them of deliberately holding the check so more interest could be added. Also that the over the limit fee did not apply since the balance was result of previous purchases and not purchases relevant to that month's statement. Needless to say they were not very responsive. So I called the State Banking Commission and spoke with a gentleman. He agreed with me and told me that credit card companies fall under the jurisdiction of the Commission and that if I had anymore problems with them then I can go online a download a complaint form from the State Attorneys's office. Once received by them they are required to followup on all complaints. They would contact Direct Merchants. The next time I was contacted by a rep. from Direct Merchants I relayed this info to her and she immediately hung up. I have since had no problems with them. I do have one question. Has anyone done online payment with them? I am about to send a payment to them by this method and I was wondering if anyone has had problem with late posting.
Donna
Newark,#3Consumer Comment
Tue, June 24, 2003
If you are considering a credit card stay far away from Direct Merchants Bank. They prey on consumers who've had bad credit problems in the past. Every month I'm getting hit with overthelimit fees of $39, finance charge of 28.99% ($134.00 in just finance charge). No matter how much extra I send them a month and do not use the card, my credit bill doesn't go down. I have tried to speak with a customer service representative and they refuse to work with me to lower my interest rate. Now I'm incurring $39 overthelimit fees because the bill keeps increasing. Thank God I was able to take out a 401k loan to pay them off. Now that I have paid them off, I received another bill in the amount of $113.04 of just finance charges. I called and asked them why are they charging my finance charges when I have no purchase and my account is closed and the bill is paid off and I sent the payment in before my closing date. The customer rep said that the day I called for my payoff figure it was one amount but between the time she gave me the amount and the time they received the check my account accrues charges every day and that's why I still have a balance. What kind of crap is this when I specifically told them to close my account and get this I asked the supervisor Heather Zell once I send them the $113.04 am I done with them? She said it depends on when they post it to my account. I may still open a few more dollars even if it's before my closing date. Can you believe this? In this case my card will never be paid off. If someone is considering a class action suit against DMC, please include me.
Donna
Newark,#4Consumer Comment
Tue, June 24, 2003
If you are considering a credit card stay far away from Direct Merchants Bank. They prey on consumers who've had bad credit problems in the past. Every month I'm getting hit with overthelimit fees of $39, finance charge of 28.99% ($134.00 in just finance charge). No matter how much extra I send them a month and do not use the card, my credit bill doesn't go down. I have tried to speak with a customer service representative and they refuse to work with me to lower my interest rate. Now I'm incurring $39 overthelimit fees because the bill keeps increasing. Thank God I was able to take out a 401k loan to pay them off. Now that I have paid them off, I received another bill in the amount of $113.04 of just finance charges. I called and asked them why are they charging my finance charges when I have no purchase and my account is closed and the bill is paid off and I sent the payment in before my closing date. The customer rep said that the day I called for my payoff figure it was one amount but between the time she gave me the amount and the time they received the check my account accrues charges every day and that's why I still have a balance. What kind of crap is this when I specifically told them to close my account and get this I asked the supervisor Heather Zell once I send them the $113.04 am I done with them? She said it depends on when they post it to my account. I may still open a few more dollars even if it's before my closing date. Can you believe this? In this case my card will never be paid off. If someone is considering a class action suit against DMC, please include me.
Donna
Newark,#5Consumer Comment
Tue, June 24, 2003
If you are considering a credit card stay far away from Direct Merchants Bank. They prey on consumers who've had bad credit problems in the past. Every month I'm getting hit with overthelimit fees of $39, finance charge of 28.99% ($134.00 in just finance charge). No matter how much extra I send them a month and do not use the card, my credit bill doesn't go down. I have tried to speak with a customer service representative and they refuse to work with me to lower my interest rate. Now I'm incurring $39 overthelimit fees because the bill keeps increasing. Thank God I was able to take out a 401k loan to pay them off. Now that I have paid them off, I received another bill in the amount of $113.04 of just finance charges. I called and asked them why are they charging my finance charges when I have no purchase and my account is closed and the bill is paid off and I sent the payment in before my closing date. The customer rep said that the day I called for my payoff figure it was one amount but between the time she gave me the amount and the time they received the check my account accrues charges every day and that's why I still have a balance. What kind of crap is this when I specifically told them to close my account and get this I asked the supervisor Heather Zell once I send them the $113.04 am I done with them? She said it depends on when they post it to my account. I may still open a few more dollars even if it's before my closing date. Can you believe this? In this case my card will never be paid off. If someone is considering a class action suit against DMC, please include me.