Complaint Review: First Premier Bank - Sioux Falls South Dakota

I have a First Premier credit card and they are not reporting to any of the repositories. I have contacted them on numerous occasions by telephone and letter in respect to this issue and their response is that they are reporting and we are mistaken. However, I even submitted my credit report in my written response that clearly shows they are not and they've done nothing. I just wrote to all 3 bureaus and so far have only heard back from TransUnion. Their response is that it can take 4 to 6 months for a new account to show up on my report. However, I've had this card for a year and a half so it seems I'm going to have to keep fighting to get my report corrected.

First Premier has responding to my complaints with a letter and copies of the letters that they sent to all three credit bureaus requesting that my trade line be re-inserted on the credit reports. First Premier is so incompetent, they put the wrong information on each letter and was stupid enough to send me copies of their mistake. Thanks to their incompetence, I now know the full name, address and Social Security number of Steven Pyle of Greensboro, NC. Gee, Steven, do you think maybe you can sue them for unauthorized disclosure of this very sensitive information? Maybe I'll write you and give you copies so that someone can do something about these incompetent individuals! If nothing else, maybe a few government agencies would like to know that First Premier is in the habit of providing sensitive personal information to people who have no need to have it and do a very poor job of safe-guarding our personal information.

They promote by means of SPAM. I was getting so much SPAM from PREMIER BANK that I had to research them on the web and call several times to get removed from SPAM lists. Even after all of the calls and written requests I STILL get SPAM from PREMIER BANK! I would never do business with a SPAMMER.

As you know from above, for more than 13 months, I have tried to get First Premier to fulfull their advertising promise of reporting my credit to the major credit bureaus and after many complaints, they have still not done so. I have written dozens of emails, written two formal letters, and filed a BBB complaint, as well as State Attorney Division of Banking, and many other organizational complaints. These complaints were ignored. In addition, the BBB gave First Premier a second opportunity to respond. After the second notice, First Premier finally said, "oops, sorry, we made a mistake, we will fix it right away", which is exactly the same garbage they have "promised" for the last 13 months and still not done anything about it. I have been waiting now almost 6 months from the first written letter and have been promised MANY times that "this will be fixed". Now, after I have filed complaints with the BBB and other State and Federal agencies, First Premier decides that they wish to call me on the telephone and "discuss" my complaint. Let me get this straight.....First Premier ignores my telephone calls, ignores my emails, ignores my written letters, ignores a first BBB complaint and a State Attorney Division of Banking complaint, finally responds to a second complaint filed by the BBB, and still has not reported my credit for over 13 months, even though their advertising promises to do so and they have taken hundreds of dollars from me under false pretenses. NOW First Premier would like to talk to me over the telephone about this matter instead of responding to a BBB complaint...GEE, I WONDER WHY!!!!! First Premier.....if I can't resolve this over the telephone in the first place, then you are not getting out of your illegal activities that easy.....Answer the BBB complaint in writing...Even if we never sue you for false advertising, the damage you did by not reporting my good credit as promised, the unfavorable credit decisions that may have occurred because an excellent credit history was not reported, and all of the illegal practices that First premier may have committed, such as improperly charging late fees, your written response will certainly be entertaining to many.....Make us laugh, tell us your written answers! Come on....we don't need you to tell us this over the telephone....put it in writing so the whole world can enjoy your excuse of the day!

After watching a VERY informative program on PBS Tuesday evening regarding credit card companies and who/what regulates them, it turns out that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is the ONLY regulartory body that a credit card company has to deal with. Here is a portion of Julie Williams (acting comptroller) interview from the PBS program: Julie Williams has been the acting comptroller of the currency since October 2004. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is the federal agency that charters, regulates, and supervises all national and foreign banks in the U.S. (National banks such as Chase, Citibank, and MBNA issue most of the credit cards in the U.S.). She tells FRONTLINE, "If [the OCC] had a basis for concluding that a bank was involved in a practice that was unfair or deceptive we can tell them to stop it immediately." Williams offers as a prominent example of the OCC's enforcement actions, the Providian National Bank case, in which the OCC concluded that Providian had "engaged in a pattern of misconduct in which it misled and deceived consumers in order to increase profits." She says that the OCC is currently looking at ways to simplify credit card disclosures that are "focused on the key things that the consumers really want to know," and she explains the ways in which consumers can contact the OCC if they have a complaint. Amazingly enough, even when confronted by EVERY State's Atty General's Office - Consumer's Affairs Divison....Ms. Williams felt that it has YET to be PROVEN that any credit card company has engaged in a pattern of misconduct, etc. The issue was credit card companies that use Non-banking days....weekend/holidays as due dates, then report the payment as late, charge fees/change rates because there was NO way for the payment to post on it's "due date"

I just wanted to say that I believe First Premier's letter to you in that they are in fact trying to fix you up. I have been with this company for at least four years and they are really nice. I also check with a credit report online site, and find three years worth of green displays loud and clear. I think you have a rare case, as I just got another card the other day (probably as a result of first premiers good standing) and I got the alert almost immediately that a new account has been added. Updates are done monthly and inquiries are daily. When they do finally fix it, it will show up the whole three years or so that you had with them...they won't just start with when the problem is fixed, so it'll work out in the end. Try to limit any more BBB reports and stuff, this is making them not like you :P

I finally received a response from First Premier. Again, empty promises and nothing fixed. Below is my complaint and responses. They even tried to blow off the Division of Banking. After many letters and complaints, they are still trying the "oops" line. Sorry, but "oops" was 5 months ago when First Premier blew me off and said, "Too bad, so sad"... Now, after 5 months of blowing me off, they ask again for "another 30 days". I hope the State Attorney files charges! COMPLAINT ACTIVITY REPORT Case # xxxxxxx0939 Better Business Bureau Consumer Info: xxxxx Business Info: First Premier Bank PO Box 5114 Gainesville, FL Sioux Falls, SD 57117-5114 800 987-3661 Location Involved: PO Box 5524 Sioux Falls, SD 57117 Consumer's Original Complaint : First Premier Bank has committed false advertising by taking hundreds of dollars from me in fees stating that my credit will be improved by paying for their MasterCard. This improvement is promised by reporting my good credit to all 4 major credit bureaus. I have had the account for over 13 months, never late, never over my credit limit, and always paid at least the minimum payment. The have not reported my credit to Experian, Equifax nor Transunion. I wrote them and gave them 90 days as they asked. At the end of 90 days, they are still not reporting my credit and therefor, not providing the service that I am paying for. Consumer's Desired Resolution: Refund of all service charges and fees paid since the account was opened and guarantee that my correct credit history will be reported to the major credit bureaus. BBB Processing 11/12/2005 web BBB Complaint Received by BBB 11/14/2005 nanc BBB Complaint Validated by BBB Operator - Extra Time 11/14/2005 Otto EMAIL Inform Consumer We Received Complaint - Extra Time 11/14/2005 Otto MAIL Sent Complaint To The Business Noting Extra Time 12/13/2005 nanc BBB No response to first notice to business 12/13/2005 Otto MAIL Send Second Notice to Business 12/20/2005 WEB BBB RECEIVE BUSINESS RESPONSE : December 20, 2005 John Gainesville, FL RE: MasterCard ending in Dear Mr. Kotsay: This letter is in response to correspondence we received from the Better Business Bureau on November 21, 2005, and from the South Dakota Division of Banking on November 28, 2005. You indicated that your First PREMIER Bank credit card account is not reflecting on your credit report. This account was set up for you on July 11, 2004. Our records verify that we have received all of your payments on time and that your account balance has not exceeded the credit limit. First PREMIER Bank reports our customer's account information on a monthly basis to the four major credit bureaus. The monthly report is sent to the credit bureaus when the statement prints. The information reported includes your name, address, Social Security Number, phone number, payment history, delinquency, account balance, credit limit, authorized users, and date opened. It is our responsibility to report accurate information to the credit bureaus. We received automated consumer dispute verification (ACDV) forms from you in September, October and November 2004, regarding how your account was reporting to the credit bureaus. On July 7, 2005, we received correspondence from you regarding this account not appearing on your credit report. An update was sent to the credit bureaus at that time. However, the credit bureaus require more documentation in order to reinsert a trade line. Upon further review of your account information, we found that this account has been removed from your Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion reports. This is the result of an incorrect response to a Consumer Dispute Verification forms you filed in November 2004. We apologize for this error and for any inconvenience it may have caused. We are sending a letter to each of the three major credit bureaus, which explains that your account was removed in error and requests that they reinsert the First PREMIER Bank credit card account on your credit report. Please allow approximately 30 days for the credit bureaus to respond. If you have any further questions, please contact me at 1-800-987-3661, ext. 3403. Thank you. Sincerely, Julie K. Gilson/lmn Managing Officer, Business Communications PREMIER Bankcard, Inc. PO Box 5524 Sioux Falls, SD 57117-5524 PREMIER Bankcard, Inc. is a registered Member Service Provider for First PREMIER Bank. 12/20/2005 nanc EMAIL Forward Business response to Consumer 12/21/2005 WEB BBB RECEIVED CONSUMER REBUTTAL : (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) First Premier LIES again. The dispute I entered was with only one credit bureau (Experian), not all three, and was accurate. My dispute was over the amount that First Premier showed as my high balance because First Premier failed to post my first on-time payment properly. After Bank of America contacted First Premier three times, First Premier finally back-dated my payment to show that it was on time. In the meantime, First Premier reported to all 3 credit bureaus incorrect information that my high balance exceeded my credit limit. At this time, I requested that Experian correct my high balance. Experian sent this to First Premier and it was First Premier's responsibility to correct the information. First Premier did NOT correct it and instead, told all 3 credit bureaus to DELETE my information. This was uncalled for and done because First Premier was upset because I caught them in their "late payment" scheme to collect late fees improperly. Because I caught them, had proof that First Premier received my payment on or before the due date, and made them refund the late fee, they deleted my credit information to get even. First Premier was the one who has violated their advertising promise to report all credit information to all 4 credit bureaus on a MONTHLY basis and has not done so. I have already given First Premier over 5 months from my first written letter to resolve this and this has still not been resolved. It was First Premier's responsibility to check after the 60-90 days they requested, and again, First Premier failed to act on their promises. Now, First Premier responds with yet another unfulfilled promise to the BBB, another empty promise just to quiet the BBB. This issue is not resolved until all credit bureaus reflect my accurate credit information and First Premier refunds ALL fees and charges that they have charged my account since it was opened. And until Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union show accurate credit information, I request this complaint to stay open. When First Premier can provide all three credit reports showing accurate credit information and a check for all of the fees and charges that they have charged me, then the issue is resolved. If this does not occur in 30 days, I request that First Premier be charged with False Advertising. 12/21/2005 nanc BBB Forward Consumer Rebuttal to Business

My BBB Complaint of False Advertising by First Premier Bank has been sent, received, and the deadline for First Premier to respond has expired. Since the BBB heard nothing from First Premier, the BBB sent a second notice and has give the BBB until 12/30/2005 to respond. I, personally, am not supprised that First Premier has not responded. Especially after complaints filed on http://www.ripoffreport.com complaints to the State Attorney, the Federal Trade Commission, other consumer protection agencies, and anyone else I could think of. You see, when you promise something in advertising, such as improving credit by reporting your history to the major credit bureaus, take hundreds of dollars from customers for this action, then fail to report the credit history, even after a consumer has reported the error more than once, given First Premier 90 days to fix this, and still nothing fixed, there has to be words in our language to describe such actions. I believe a couple of them could be, "False Advertising" and "Fraud". I'm sure once the Federal and State investigators are finished investigating to see just how many of us have been a victim of this activity, things will become exciting very quickly. Stay tuned for updates to this story!!! :-)

I may not be able to enter a class action suit, but First Premier is still committing false advertising. Even if I can't do anything about it, someone will get them one day. Maybe it will be an individual, maybe it will be a government agency, but someone will catch them on one of their illegal actions. And I can't wait until that day arrives!

in the credit caed agreement and disclosure that comes with the card, it clearly states that if you use the card ,you are agreeing to the contract and give up the right to any class action suit and give up the right to use any state laws where you might live and use only the laws of south dakota and that if you send them a check to pay your bill, that from then on, they have the right to access your checking acct electronicly, and that if you call them by cell phone, that you agree to let them call your cell number collect anyone who dosn't read this contract closely is screwed to the wall

in the credit caed agreement and disclosure that comes with the card, it clearly states that if you use the card ,you are agreeing to the contract and give up the right to any class action suit and give up the right to use any state laws where you might live and use only the laws of south dakota and that if you send them a check to pay your bill, that from then on, they have the right to access your checking acct electronicly, and that if you call them by cell phone, that you agree to let them call your cell number collect anyone who dosn't read this contract closely is screwed to the wall

in the credit caed agreement and disclosure that comes with the card, it clearly states that if you use the card ,you are agreeing to the contract and give up the right to any class action suit and give up the right to use any state laws where you might live and use only the laws of south dakota and that if you send them a check to pay your bill, that from then on, they have the right to access your checking acct electronicly, and that if you call them by cell phone, that you agree to let them call your cell number collect anyone who dosn't read this contract closely is screwed to the wall

in the credit caed agreement and disclosure that comes with the card, it clearly states that if you use the card ,you are agreeing to the contract and give up the right to any class action suit and give up the right to use any state laws where you might live and use only the laws of south dakota and that if you send them a check to pay your bill, that from then on, they have the right to access your checking acct electronicly, and that if you call them by cell phone, that you agree to let them call your cell number collect anyone who dosn't read this contract closely is screwed to the wall

Today was the deadline for First Premier to respond to the Better Business Bureau complaint about false advertising, for not reporting my information to the major credit bureaus as promised in their advertizing. I had previously given First Premier 90 days to resolve this issue from the date of their reply to my letter. They have still not reported my excellent credit history, they have still not responded to my second written letter, and as of the deadline today, they have not responded to a BBB complaint. Anyone still believe First Premier just made a "little mistake"??? It is one thing to blow off a customer who complains. It is completely different to blow off the BBB. My guess is that they are scrambling for attorneys and documents to CYA (cover their assets), and therefore don't want to make any written statements. I would love to be part of any Class Action suit against First Premier for actions such as this! It is one thing to make hundreds of dollars a year off of each of us by any means available: It is completely different to take that money and not provide the service promised in advertising.

In the below response, I stated: "In addition, they have they responded to my second letter or a BBB complaint." This was a typographical error. I meant to state: "In addition, they have not responded to my second letter nor a BBS complaint". Please excuse the mistype.

If you had noticed in my original posting, I had sent a letter to First Premier and received a response from Customer Service, so obviously, I had the correct address. Also, Social Security number has very little to do with the correct reporting of credit history. It is only one small part of what is used to match up credit information. Other items, among other things, that are more commonly used are full name, date of birth, current address, and place of employment. Since the credit bureaus all have my current address, which is the same as my First Premier billing address, and I am the only person by my name (and a very uncommon last name also) living at this address, I can assume that is not part of the problem. The fact remains that First Premier was notified of the fact that they are not reporting my credit, they responded asking for 60-90 days to resolve, I gave them 90 days to do so as they asked, and they never followed through to see if their mistake was corrected. I was the one who had to pull all 3 credit reports AGAIN, at my expense, just to see that First Premier did not do as they promised. In addition, they have they responded to my second letter or a BBB complaint. I am VERY sure that with 348 Billing or Collection Issues and 237 Service or Repair Issues that the BBB has filed against First Premier, (source: www.bbb.org) that the BBB also has the correct address. First Premier's lack of response is not indication of a "little mistake", but of an organization that just doesn't care about anything except collecting hundreds of dollars in fees from each of us.

unfortionatly things like this do happen on rare occasion but here are a few helpful ideas that might assist you. make sure you are mailing your letters to Premier Bankcards correspondence address not to the payment address. payments are not opened by hand so if you send a letter to that address there is no one there to read it so no one there to help you. also another good idea would be to get the CS # for the credit reporting agencys premier bankcard can supply you with those #'s if you need them or im sure you could also find them online. it is possible that the reports are getting misfiled due something small like a number being flipped in a soc #. cause that does happen. premier bankcard isnt purposly not reporting you. beleive it or not they are not out to get you. as a credit card company it is frequently aduited by the Feds and comes out with shining reveiws. so dont take it personal that something didnt get reported on your credit mistakes happen. and Innovis isnt the only credit agency who sells credit reports they all do.