Complaint Review: Orchard Bank HSBC - Salinas California

About 4 years ago, I got the same card from Orchard. After about 2.5 years of ontime payments, they sent me a letter changing my card from secured to unsecured, with instructions on how to get back my $200 deposit + a little interest. I got my check within 10 days from Intermountain. Orchard Bank has sinced raised my credit limit twice.

I don't ordinarily contribute to this kind of site, though I have benefited from them in the past. Still, I just terminated my credit card with this company under the exact same circumstances and had the opposite experience. I got the card almost three years ago from Orchard Bank. I had a blank credit history because I lived abroad for a number of years. I thought the idea of a cash deposit to secure a credit card was a novel idea. Nobody wants to give credit to people who don't already have it. So it is a good solution. I deposited 200 dollars in this same bank, just like the person who posted this. My card came in a couple of weeks or so. The only down side I saw to the card was the annual fee, which I think was around 35 dollars. I was thinking if I kept the card for 6 years, they'd have my 200 dollars. But with this card, I quickly established credit and got a better card. Now, almost 3 years later I realized I hadn't used the card in over a year, so I simply went to their website where the bill is paid, and I filled in a "Contact Us" requesting cancellation. A few days later, they sent me a confirmation email saying I only had to confirm by response. I responded to this email confirming I wanted to cancel the card. A week or so later, a check came in the mail from this intermountain community bank for 203 dollars and change. Granted, it was a tiny amount of interest for three years, but I didn't even know they were going to pay interest. And as far as banks that pay 4% interest, none around here that I know of. I don't even think CD's are paying 4% right now. Well, that's it. I was just surprised to hear about all the hassle this cardholder had. I didn't have any of that. And again, I thought the secured card was a neat idea. I would definitely advise anybody who wants to establish credit on their own to open this card for 200 dollars. (But establish your credit and get out before you owe the annual fee).

I don't ordinarily contribute to this kind of site, though I have benefited from them in the past. Still, I just terminated my credit card with this company under the exact same circumstances and had the opposite experience. I got the card almost three years ago from Orchard Bank. I had a blank credit history because I lived abroad for a number of years. I thought the idea of a cash deposit to secure a credit card was a novel idea. Nobody wants to give credit to people who don't already have it. So it is a good solution. I deposited 200 dollars in this same bank, just like the person who posted this. My card came in a couple of weeks or so. The only down side I saw to the card was the annual fee, which I think was around 35 dollars. I was thinking if I kept the card for 6 years, they'd have my 200 dollars. But with this card, I quickly established credit and got a better card. Now, almost 3 years later I realized I hadn't used the card in over a year, so I simply went to their website where the bill is paid, and I filled in a "Contact Us" requesting cancellation. A few days later, they sent me a confirmation email saying I only had to confirm by response. I responded to this email confirming I wanted to cancel the card. A week or so later, a check came in the mail from this intermountain community bank for 203 dollars and change. Granted, it was a tiny amount of interest for three years, but I didn't even know they were going to pay interest. And as far as banks that pay 4% interest, none around here that I know of. I don't even think CD's are paying 4% right now. Well, that's it. I was just surprised to hear about all the hassle this cardholder had. I didn't have any of that. And again, I thought the secured card was a neat idea. I would definitely advise anybody who wants to establish credit on their own to open this card for 200 dollars. (But establish your credit and get out before you owe the annual fee).

I don't ordinarily contribute to this kind of site, though I have benefited from them in the past. Still, I just terminated my credit card with this company under the exact same circumstances and had the opposite experience. I got the card almost three years ago from Orchard Bank. I had a blank credit history because I lived abroad for a number of years. I thought the idea of a cash deposit to secure a credit card was a novel idea. Nobody wants to give credit to people who don't already have it. So it is a good solution. I deposited 200 dollars in this same bank, just like the person who posted this. My card came in a couple of weeks or so. The only down side I saw to the card was the annual fee, which I think was around 35 dollars. I was thinking if I kept the card for 6 years, they'd have my 200 dollars. But with this card, I quickly established credit and got a better card. Now, almost 3 years later I realized I hadn't used the card in over a year, so I simply went to their website where the bill is paid, and I filled in a "Contact Us" requesting cancellation. A few days later, they sent me a confirmation email saying I only had to confirm by response. I responded to this email confirming I wanted to cancel the card. A week or so later, a check came in the mail from this intermountain community bank for 203 dollars and change. Granted, it was a tiny amount of interest for three years, but I didn't even know they were going to pay interest. And as far as banks that pay 4% interest, none around here that I know of. I don't even think CD's are paying 4% right now. Well, that's it. I was just surprised to hear about all the hassle this cardholder had. I didn't have any of that. And again, I thought the secured card was a neat idea. I would definitely advise anybody who wants to establish credit on their own to open this card for 200 dollars. (But establish your credit and get out before you owe the annual fee).

I don't ordinarily contribute to this kind of site, though I have benefited from them in the past. Still, I just terminated my credit card with this company under the exact same circumstances and had the opposite experience. I got the card almost three years ago from Orchard Bank. I had a blank credit history because I lived abroad for a number of years. I thought the idea of a cash deposit to secure a credit card was a novel idea. Nobody wants to give credit to people who don't already have it. So it is a good solution. I deposited 200 dollars in this same bank, just like the person who posted this. My card came in a couple of weeks or so. The only down side I saw to the card was the annual fee, which I think was around 35 dollars. I was thinking if I kept the card for 6 years, they'd have my 200 dollars. But with this card, I quickly established credit and got a better card. Now, almost 3 years later I realized I hadn't used the card in over a year, so I simply went to their website where the bill is paid, and I filled in a "Contact Us" requesting cancellation. A few days later, they sent me a confirmation email saying I only had to confirm by response. I responded to this email confirming I wanted to cancel the card. A week or so later, a check came in the mail from this intermountain community bank for 203 dollars and change. Granted, it was a tiny amount of interest for three years, but I didn't even know they were going to pay interest. And as far as banks that pay 4% interest, none around here that I know of. I don't even think CD's are paying 4% right now. Well, that's it. I was just surprised to hear about all the hassle this cardholder had. I didn't have any of that. And again, I thought the secured card was a neat idea. I would definitely advise anybody who wants to establish credit on their own to open this card for 200 dollars. (But establish your credit and get out before you owe the annual fee).