If you were one of the many people with Providian accounts that were "sold" to Aspire, better look at your first statement very carefully.
The letter that came with my new Aspire card stated my interest rates as 21.49 annually. Pretty bad, but my terms with Providian weren't that much better, so I figured I'd go ahead and keep the card.
Well, my first statement arrived and what do you know - my interest rate showed as 33.49%? I immediately called the company and as many of you have reported, I spoke to a customer service rep who barely spoke English and made multiple trips to talk to a supervisor.
Initially, they assured me that the terms on the card were 21.49 and not to worry about the statement. After more questioning, they admitted that the 33.49% was the actual rate that my account would be charged. I told them I wanted the account closed immediately and had to listen to the service rep AND his supervisor try and explain to me about how many really nice features the Aspire card had and how I was making a mistake.
It ended with me telling them exactly what they could do with their Aspire card and demanding that my balance be put back down to the Providian rate, until paid. Eventually, they agreed. My guess is they will deny that on my next statement, but I'll pay it off before then.
Now, keep in mind that although I had some credit problems years ago, I've had a Providian card for 5 years and never have had a single late payment, not ONE. I'm totally disgusted. And they can't use any other credit issues to justify it either, because even though my credit isn't fantastic any problems are at least 4 years old and haven't stopped me from buying a house and a car last year.
I had the last laugh and ended up with a Platinum BankOfAmerica card the same day, with a fixed 7.9% rate.
So watch those rates when your statement comes or you might find you're paying loan shark rates to Aspire. Paying $33 dollars on top of every $100 you spend should be criminal.in fact, if the government wants to fuel consumer spending and help the economy, maybe they should think about putting some caps on the cutthroat rates these companies are charging.
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