I had never applied for credit before I received a phone call from Credit One Bank asking if I would like to have a credit card with a $200 limit that was unsecured. I agreed to take a look at it and they sent me this card without my signing any documents. I put the card away and did not use it. The next month, a bill arrives for $75 from Credit One. I was confused. I called them and was told this was for the "annual fee". I was not told about the annual fee when I said I would take the unsecured card so I told them to cancel my card and that I did not want it anymore. The person I spoke to was very intimidating and I don't feel very smart when I say that I gave them my bank account number to pay this off and be done with it. I thought it was over. I then destroyed the card and forgot about it.
The next month I receive another bill, this time for the $75 a late fee of $29.00 23% interest on all of that. I called them, angry this time. I told them I had paid! The person I spoke to was extremely rude and told me they could not cancel the card because I had a balance on it and that the payment did not go through from the bank! I would have to pay the new balance before I cancelled the card. What??? I checked my bank account and saw that indeed there had not been a withdrawl for $75 but neither had there been an attempt at a withdrawl nor had there been a NSF. I sputtered and shout and the customer service person (of Indian descent, I believe) laughed and hung up on me! Soon after, I started to get at least 2 phone calls per day from someone at collections. My relatives, with the same last name, began to get calls at all hours looking for me. I started to call the bank several times each day myself but I don't have the amount of time (I have two jobs and am 55 yrs old) to stay on hold. Whenever I would accept a call, they would yell and scream at me that I would be sued!
The bill has not grown to $380 and the calls have not stopped. I have threatened to sue them but am laughed at. I am an immigrant and my accent is heavy on the phone.
I don't know what to do at this point. I checked my credit reports and a negative shows up on all three big reporting agencies, the ONLY thing I have on my credit report.
I am looking into the possibility of suing them in small claims court but don't know the process yet.
0 comments