This company has been a hassle to me since the beginning. I hate credit cards with annual fees. Unfortunately, I did not notice that Providian charged an annual fee until after I had already received the card.
I was going on a trip last fall and called to see about increasing my credit limit, just in case something came up. I had been using my card for almost a year by this time, paid every month on time, usually paying off the full balance. I was told that I could not get an increase because I had paid late too many times. I was furious. I had some problems with my credit a few years ago and rather than filing bankruptcy, I worked hard and paid off every penny I owed. I watched my credit report, my spending and my payment history very closely. I checked my credit report and it showed no late payments.
A few weeks after this, I received a called from a rep at Providian. They had some stupid product they were trying to sell, some health thing. It was $100 a year and if I chose to join, they would increase my credit limit to absorb the cost. I told the guy where he could shove it and not to call me again. He inquired as to why i was so upset. I told him my story and he said he didn't understand because my account showed perfect payment history. I left it alone because I didn't, and don't, have time to sit on the phone for an hour arguing about it.
Like everyone else, I received the letter telling me that all the GetSmart accounts were sold to Emerge. I was not real excited, not only because of selling the accounts and trying to deal with a new company, but also because of the high interest rate.
My first inital letter said my account was being closed because of deragatory items on my credit report in the last 12 months. I know exactly what my credit report looks like and there is not one bad thing on there and has not been in 5 years. I called and starting complaining. I told them it was against the law (in Minnesota at least) to close my acount based on false statements. I order copies of my credit report from the 3 major bureaus. A few days later, I received another letter from them basically saying "Oops, the last letter we sent was wrong, here's the reason we closed your account." Again, I left it alone. I spent 90 minutes on the phone the first time, I wasn't about to start arguing again.
Then, last week (Feb 19th), I received a call from a rep at Emerge. He said my account showed I was one payment behind and he need to schedule a payment. I had just received my statement in the mail and it showed that my payment posted to my account before the due date. I relayed this story to the rep. He said that my payment should have been paid on March 1st. I sat there for a second, a little confused, then started laughing. My account had a late payment showinf because on Feb 19th my payment due on March 1st was not paid? These people had to be joking! I told him to check his info before he wasted his time calling again because he just made himself look like an idiot.
The topper to this story, this weekend I receive a letter from Emerge again saying I was one payment behind and I needed to send them money. Ha Ha! I don't know about other states, but Minnesota is pretty strict on credit reports. I am just waiting for the day that they report my account being late. I will definitely be on the phone this morning telling Emerge the same thing. My next call will be to my sister, who just happens to work for the Attorney General's office in Minnesota, investigating consumer complaints. I am definitely at my limit with them!
Ryan
Hastings, Minnesota
U.S.A.
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