I received an invitation to apply for an Aspire Visa in late summer 2006. I previously had filed bankruptcy and thought this would be a great opportunity for me to rebuild my credit. With this in mind I submitted my application and a few months later I received my credit card with a $300 credit limit.
When I received my first bill in the mail the due date on the bill was just a couple of days away and if I mailed my payment it would not make it into the payment center before I would be assessd a late fee of $35. Well I thought, this is certainly bogus. The credit card compnay mailed the bill a week before the due date leaving about 2-3 days for me to mail my pymt and have them receive it and post it. So I figured I'd call into customer service and get this straightened out. I called and spoke to a representative who did not speak very good english so that was a barrier right off the bat. The representative didn't speak good english nor did she understand. The rep on the phone kept repeating the same statement to me, "you will have to make payment or you will receive a late charge, payment due now."
There I was struggling to explain that I just got the bill and that I should not be penalized and the bill was just sent to me. Well after much of the same I requested to speak with a supervisor and was placed on hold for God knows how long. Finally I just decided to pay over the phone by check. After I provided my checking account number and advised the rep of the amount I wished to pay I was told that the fee for paying over the phone would be $14.95 which would be charged to my card. This is just a rip off.
These are the facts: I just got my bill out of the mail today, the due date is in a couple of days, I pay over the phone because the bill was mailed to me late and I am charged $14.95 to pay on the phone because the company mailed my bill too late... So I learned my lesson with that I will mail my payment going forward, simple? No
I mailed a payment for my Dec statement and allowed plenty of time for the payment to get there so I wouldn't receive late fees. Well around the 2nd week of Dec I began receiving up to 15 calls per day from Aspire regarding my payment that I advised had been mailed. The payment was not even 2weeks late but I was being bombarded with calls as if I was grossly delinquent. I received a collection notice by the 18th of Dec for a pymt that had a due date of Dec 4th. I called in upset to let them know that this was insane and my pymt was mailed at least 2wks prior.
Finally the issue with the Dec bill is resolved and I am now attempting to pay my Jan bill. I go online trying to avoid the issue I just experienced with paying the bill through the mail.
The online payment information has my checking account information listed incorrectly so I click on the contact us link which says a representative will contact you promptly. I emailed about the checking account info being incorrect at approximately 12:12P CT. I am typing this email to you and it is now 3:19P CT and I have still not received a response to my email. Not to mention that the Aspire online pymt site has a note to customers stating that all pymts need to be made by 5P in order to be posted for the Jan 2 due date and today is Dec 28th. The website failed to mention Eastern time not CT. So if it is 3:19P here then it is 4:19P Eastern time and I have not received a response yet.
Are you starting to feel another $35 fee getting assessed to my account? I am. I can't submit the info online because they have my checking info incorrect, I can't call because I'll be charged $14.95, and I can't mail the pymt for the bill I just received last week, the week of Christmas because it will be late causing... You guessed it a $35 late fee. WOW!!!
What a scam this company is. It is designed for you to always owe them a late fee and never to actually have any available credit. The Aspire Card Services deliberately mails the statements out late, then offers you no options to pay the bill that would be beneficial towards you. Any payment option you choose there will be a fee for even the online method there is a $4.95 fee. Grant it the online pymt method is the lesser of all the evils but I think it is just ridiculous that I have not even spent as much money on this card that I'm paying back. I only got the card to rebuild my credit after a bankruptcy. Where are the Consumers rights?!
Can we do something about this bogus company?
Patricia
Lansing, Illinois
U.S.A.
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