Sean
Seattle,#2Consumer Suggestion
Wed, July 21, 2004
I have owned many and searched for Secured Credit Cards for years. I have found some are good and some are bad. There are real rip off types of banks or so called banks that are only set up to actually offer secured credit cards to people with lousy credit. These Banks are designed to offer you fee based services (telephone customer service, online payments, and online account information) to a cardholder in order for you receive the basic minimum service from a credit card. These Banks do take advantage of the bad credit profile consumer and the make a lot of money doing it. Because the credit issuing systems (Banks) of this country are so strict in how they offer credit to consumers while claiming to "protect the integrity of the credit reporting system", people who have had problems paying bills for whatever reason have to go through a lot of hassle to get credit that will offer them the same or similar benefits as "good credit" consumers. There are number of large bank institutions that offer poor credit solutions. The best way to find out how these credit cards work and who the banks are is to do a search for secured cards over the web. Most banks will check your credit these days to determine which interest rate to offer you. In the past if you had bad credit you would not get a credit card at all, however now that institutions have figured out a way to insure their investment in allowing you to have credit (by securing a bank account) they have therefore insured they will make money off of the unfortunate people who have bad credit. The bottom line is this. You have to pay your bills to have good credit. It is never too late to pay your bills. You can order a credit report and find out who you owe and do the work to repair your credit by calling the companies that you owe and paying them off. This process is lengthy and time consuming but is the consequences of being involved in the Consumer Credit World as a whole. No one will offer you a free ride without a price. Be wise. If a Bank will not check your credit report such as New Millennium Bank, and is going to give you a credit card with a high interest rate and require you to open a secured savings account with no perks you should feel lucky, I know I do. For those of us who have been negligent in our responsibilities to pay bills or have become a victim to credit scams we are grateful that companies can offer different non standard products to us in order to obtain credit. No matter what you think the situation is making sure to read the fine print, get as much information you can, and cross reference the material before you buy. Companies are out to make money. You can empower yourself as an intelligent consumer by comparing products. Do the work and do not be the victim.
JAMES
SAYLORSBURG,#3Consumer Comment
Fri, March 12, 2004
INSTEAD OF READING WOW THIS BANK IS WILLING TO GIVE ME A $10,000 CREDIT LIMIT EVEN THOUGH I DID NOT PAY MY LAST BILLS WOW ALL FOR $59.00 WELL IT DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY IT MAKES IT LOOK LIKE YOU JUST WANTED TO GET THAT CARD AND GO DO SOME WILD SHOPPING.I HAVE BEEN A CREDIT CARD CUSTOMER WITH MILLENIUM BANK FOR ALMOST ONE YEAR AND YES SOME OF THE FEES ARE HIGH BUT THIS IS THE PRICE WE ARE PAYING FOR THE BANK TO GET BACK SOME OF THE MONEY THEY HAVE BEEN RIPPED OFF FOR ALSO ANYHOIW NOT TO TAKE THE BANKS SIDE AS I DON'T LIKE THE FACT THAT THEY HAVE NO GRACE PERIOD AND FINANCE CHARGESA ARE HIGH AS WELL BUT I HAVE A PLATINUM CARD AND PAY MY BILL EVERY MONTH ON TIME AND I HOPE THEY ARE REPORTING THIS TO THE CREDIT BUREAU AS I AM KEEPING MY END OF THE DEAL.AND AS FOR THE ONES WHO ARE MAD BECAUSE THEY DID NOT READ THE TERMS THEN TOO BAD SEND $300.00 AND THEY WILL GIVE YOU A CREDIT CARD FOR THAT AMOUNT ITS A CHANCE THEY ARE GIVING YOU TO HELP RE BUILD YOUR CREDIT I HOPE AND SOME BANKS WON'T DO THAT LIKE BANK ONE OR BANK AMERICA.
Denise
Fraser,#4Consumer Suggestion
Tue, January 27, 2004
Hello all. I am sorry that you feel you were ripped off by this offer but I received the exact same offer in the mail yesterday and it was clear to me that this was a SECURED card offer. It is stated throughout the materials, at least once on every sheet it says SECURED, or COLLATERAL DEPOSIT and talks about how you will receive materials on how to open your account AFTER you send in the PROCESSING FEE. My husband was very excited, like some of you were, and wanted us to just sign and mail it in, but I insisted on sitting down and reading the entire thing because I knew, with my credit, there was no way that someone was just giving me a $10,000 unsecured credit card! It also says that your money will be refunded if you are NOT approved, but you are virtually guaranteed approval, that's why you cannot get a refund. You cannot get a refund just because you changed your mind or did not read the offer thoroughly. Most companies don't refund application fees because that is their charge for processing your application. I don't feel that anything was hidden or deceptive, just a few seconds of reading will answer all of your questions. Furthermore, I came online and did a search for New Millenium Bank, which lead me here, but also lead me to their website to discover that they are, in fact, a legitimate banking operation, not some scam garage or internet storefront. It is so easy these days to research any company before you send your money to them. Just as you came online to report your complaint, you could have looked them up, called their 800 number and asked questions, and verified their legitimacy. Again, I am sorry that you don't feel they were clear in their offer, but I really think that in this case, there was no attempt at a ripoff. They are FDIC insured and follow the banking regulations, but there ARE companies out there that WILL scam you so PLEASE, in the future, read EVERYTHING that comes in the envelope, call the phone number, go online and look them up, come HERE and look them up, do your research first before you send them any money. I plan to accept New Millennium's credit card offer because they pay an interest on your deposit unlike other secured cards. I will be sure to come back here and report my experience with them in a few months, whether it's good or bad. Bless you and good luck.
Denise
Fraser,#5Consumer Suggestion
Tue, January 27, 2004
Hello all. I am sorry that you feel you were ripped off by this offer but I received the exact same offer in the mail yesterday and it was clear to me that this was a SECURED card offer. It is stated throughout the materials, at least once on every sheet it says SECURED, or COLLATERAL DEPOSIT and talks about how you will receive materials on how to open your account AFTER you send in the PROCESSING FEE. My husband was very excited, like some of you were, and wanted us to just sign and mail it in, but I insisted on sitting down and reading the entire thing because I knew, with my credit, there was no way that someone was just giving me a $10,000 unsecured credit card! It also says that your money will be refunded if you are NOT approved, but you are virtually guaranteed approval, that's why you cannot get a refund. You cannot get a refund just because you changed your mind or did not read the offer thoroughly. Most companies don't refund application fees because that is their charge for processing your application. I don't feel that anything was hidden or deceptive, just a few seconds of reading will answer all of your questions. Furthermore, I came online and did a search for New Millenium Bank, which lead me here, but also lead me to their website to discover that they are, in fact, a legitimate banking operation, not some scam garage or internet storefront. It is so easy these days to research any company before you send your money to them. Just as you came online to report your complaint, you could have looked them up, called their 800 number and asked questions, and verified their legitimacy. Again, I am sorry that you don't feel they were clear in their offer, but I really think that in this case, there was no attempt at a ripoff. They are FDIC insured and follow the banking regulations, but there ARE companies out there that WILL scam you so PLEASE, in the future, read EVERYTHING that comes in the envelope, call the phone number, go online and look them up, come HERE and look them up, do your research first before you send them any money. I plan to accept New Millennium's credit card offer because they pay an interest on your deposit unlike other secured cards. I will be sure to come back here and report my experience with them in a few months, whether it's good or bad. Bless you and good luck.
Denise
Fraser,#6Consumer Suggestion
Tue, January 27, 2004
Hello all. I am sorry that you feel you were ripped off by this offer but I received the exact same offer in the mail yesterday and it was clear to me that this was a SECURED card offer. It is stated throughout the materials, at least once on every sheet it says SECURED, or COLLATERAL DEPOSIT and talks about how you will receive materials on how to open your account AFTER you send in the PROCESSING FEE. My husband was very excited, like some of you were, and wanted us to just sign and mail it in, but I insisted on sitting down and reading the entire thing because I knew, with my credit, there was no way that someone was just giving me a $10,000 unsecured credit card! It also says that your money will be refunded if you are NOT approved, but you are virtually guaranteed approval, that's why you cannot get a refund. You cannot get a refund just because you changed your mind or did not read the offer thoroughly. Most companies don't refund application fees because that is their charge for processing your application. I don't feel that anything was hidden or deceptive, just a few seconds of reading will answer all of your questions. Furthermore, I came online and did a search for New Millenium Bank, which lead me here, but also lead me to their website to discover that they are, in fact, a legitimate banking operation, not some scam garage or internet storefront. It is so easy these days to research any company before you send your money to them. Just as you came online to report your complaint, you could have looked them up, called their 800 number and asked questions, and verified their legitimacy. Again, I am sorry that you don't feel they were clear in their offer, but I really think that in this case, there was no attempt at a ripoff. They are FDIC insured and follow the banking regulations, but there ARE companies out there that WILL scam you so PLEASE, in the future, read EVERYTHING that comes in the envelope, call the phone number, go online and look them up, come HERE and look them up, do your research first before you send them any money. I plan to accept New Millennium's credit card offer because they pay an interest on your deposit unlike other secured cards. I will be sure to come back here and report my experience with them in a few months, whether it's good or bad. Bless you and good luck.
Denise
Fraser,#7Consumer Suggestion
Tue, January 27, 2004
Hello all. I am sorry that you feel you were ripped off by this offer but I received the exact same offer in the mail yesterday and it was clear to me that this was a SECURED card offer. It is stated throughout the materials, at least once on every sheet it says SECURED, or COLLATERAL DEPOSIT and talks about how you will receive materials on how to open your account AFTER you send in the PROCESSING FEE. My husband was very excited, like some of you were, and wanted us to just sign and mail it in, but I insisted on sitting down and reading the entire thing because I knew, with my credit, there was no way that someone was just giving me a $10,000 unsecured credit card! It also says that your money will be refunded if you are NOT approved, but you are virtually guaranteed approval, that's why you cannot get a refund. You cannot get a refund just because you changed your mind or did not read the offer thoroughly. Most companies don't refund application fees because that is their charge for processing your application. I don't feel that anything was hidden or deceptive, just a few seconds of reading will answer all of your questions. Furthermore, I came online and did a search for New Millenium Bank, which lead me here, but also lead me to their website to discover that they are, in fact, a legitimate banking operation, not some scam garage or internet storefront. It is so easy these days to research any company before you send your money to them. Just as you came online to report your complaint, you could have looked them up, called their 800 number and asked questions, and verified their legitimacy. Again, I am sorry that you don't feel they were clear in their offer, but I really think that in this case, there was no attempt at a ripoff. They are FDIC insured and follow the banking regulations, but there ARE companies out there that WILL scam you so PLEASE, in the future, read EVERYTHING that comes in the envelope, call the phone number, go online and look them up, come HERE and look them up, do your research first before you send them any money. I plan to accept New Millennium's credit card offer because they pay an interest on your deposit unlike other secured cards. I will be sure to come back here and report my experience with them in a few months, whether it's good or bad. Bless you and good luck.