I got a NextCard in late 2000. When the original email was sent back to me, it quoted me a 3.99% intereste rate with a $2,500.00 credit limit.
When I got the card and was sent the first statement with a 0 balance (hadn't used it yet), I noticed the APR was 12.99%.
I called the company and they told me that the original interest rate was a "mistake" and that the "actual" interest rate would initially be 12.99% but would be lowered in about 3 months to the 3.99% rate.
I was a little perplexed, but, since I didn't have a balance on the account, it didn't seem to make any difference to me.
Over the next 2 months, I used the card for various small purchases (about 175.00/month), and, since I always paid online and well before the end of the cycle, was surprised to get an overlimit fee and yet another jump in APR, this time to 19.99%!
I fought wildly with the company by letter, fax, and telephone, but to no avail. After the collapse of the bank, I began getting telephone calls from people identifying themselves as "employees of the Bank of Omaha" who demanded that I remit the now 1,200.00 that I owed, along with interest, fees, and penalties.
I demanded that they produce documentation and they would illicit rude phrases and ultimately hang up the telephone!
Now it takes upwards of four days to get someone on the phone at something called "NCO Financial" who has been identified as "the law enforcement" arm of Bank of Omaha, the "official collectors" for FDIC, and the last bastion of hope for anyone holding a NextCard account. (Welcome to hell!)
These folks have uttered such customer service gems as "why don't you stop whining and just pay us!" and the ever-popular "you need serious financial counseling if you can't add!", and of course the "just pay the goddamn bill, buddy!".
Anyway - with that said, I will be happy to join in a class action lawsuit of these three-piece huxters any time.
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