I am in the process of rebuilding my credit due to financial setbacks incurred with my ex-husband. On or about Nov/ Dec I applied for a credit card with Continental Finance Company LLC. Continental Finance offers credit cards to individuals with poor or no credit. Their service offerings are to help individuals establish or rebuild credit.
After I applied for the Continental Finance card, I was required to pay aprox $248.00 to activate the card. I had assumed that this was similar to a pre-paid credit card where the card must be funded and secured. After a few months utilizing the card I noticed that there was a $10.00 monthly fee.in reading the terms, I realized that this was their account maintenance fee.
On February 5, I sent a check for the remaining amount from small charges made to the card in December and requested that the account be closed. On February 24, I received a call from Continental Finance stating my payment was not received. On February 28 I called Continental Finance and spoke with James. He had advised that my check did not arrive, a $30.00 late fee was added and asked for payment over the phone. Conversing with James became difficult, so I asked to speak with a manager. Daniel Mastin retrieved my call. We discussed the situation, she assured me that the account was closed and that she would reverse the $30.00 late fee. She stated that I was only obligated to pay. 15 cents which was the remaining finance charge amount due on the account. On March 1, I mailed a check in the amount of. 15 cents.
Each month thereafter, I continued to receive statements from Continental Finance. Every month the balance would increase by $30.00 for a late fee and $10.00 for the account maintenance fee. Each statement prompted a call to Continental Finance. Each call I made required that I explain the situation over and over again to new representatives.
On 4/3, I called Continental Finance and spoke with James about a statement received in the amount of $70.59. He assured me that the account was closed, the fees would be reversed and that I would not receive any future statements.
On 4/23, I received another statement with a past due amount of $30.00 with an account balance of $70.59. Another call was made to Continental Finance. I spoke with Celina. Celina stated that her manager Laura reversed the charges. She assured me that the account was closed and that I would no longer receive monthly statements.
On 5/12/07, while out of town, I received another statement with a past due amount of $111.76. On 5/30, I received a call from Carolyn with Continental's collection department. I explained the situation. She stated that the system did show that the account was closed in February but I was still responsible for the balance. (Keep in mind, the balance that continues to grow is from incurring $40.00 worth of their account charges, not charges I had made.in fact I had not charged anything to the card since December and closed the account in February.) She transferred me to her manager Katrina. Katrina advised that I must call Laura to address the issue and that she could not help me.
Today, 6/4/07, there are now late marks on my credit report. It is ironic. Continental Finance claim they help individuals with poor credit, when in fact they actually damage your credit. Not only must I contend with their antics of not closing my account, I now must contact all the reporting agencies to hopefully reverse these late marks.
I wish I had taken the time to research this company or search the internet for consumer reviews. There are several complaints about Continental Finance out on the Internet. I don't understand how the First Bank of Delaware allows this type of unethical behavior and only hope that a class action law suit could began.
I have filed a letter with the Attorney General. My advice to anyone that has had a bad experience with this credit card company, please take the time to file your complaint with the Attorney General and Better Business Bureau. The more complaints made about Contiental Finance the better our chance of pushing this company out of business to protect others.
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