In 2004 my house of 2 years was in the first stage of foreclosure due to a loss of employment. My wife was in school and working part-time. To help feed our children, I used a Household/Orchard Bank credit card with a $300 limit. I payed it on time and early every month.
About six months later I got a bill in the mail just below my limit and I sent the payment several days before the due date. But, on the next months bill I was surprised to see that Household/Orchard Bank claimed that my payment was late and I owed them an extra late fee, and it was because of the late fee that my limit was exceeded and another fee was added.
I paid the balance and thought all was well. Several months later I tried to use the card for a small purchase and the salesman said that it was declined. So I tried to contact customer service. They told me my account had just gone to collections due to default.
I called the company and I was asked if I could pay the balance now.
(We had moved and I hadn't received any statements.) The rep —she must be in India— said the amount was over $500. The fees had ballooned to this? I asked for history on the account they told me to call collections, that they didn't have the records. So I tried to call collections they wanted to set up a payment plan. I again asked for the history and the rep then told me to call the card company! They couldn't help me because they were collections!
Finally, I got a P.O. Box to send a written letter of dispute. I never disputed the account...
On March 2 they served me with papers saying that they are suing me for over $1400 with interest at the rate of 12% per year from judgment.
I have two basic complaints with Household/Orchard Bank. 1) Fees. The Yearly fee put me over the limit resulting in another fee. When I asked for a limit increase I was charged another service fee of $25.00.
2) Interest. An over-limit fee caused my account interest to skyrocket close to 30% and they never informed me of this. Over $1400 in fees and what is this 12% per year garbage?
Plus, I've had trouble making online payments in the past. When I notified them of the issue via email they charged me another fee.
Whats really hard to believe is that Household/Orchard Bank says that they are trying to help people re-establish their credit. What they are actually doing is bait and switch. They lure you in with low rates, then switch you to a higher interest rate (bordering on theft).
DeadBroke
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