or at least *I* think so !! My sister called me a couple of weeks ago and asked me about this credit card she had gotten. She filed BK about 4 years ago, so she gets all the crap offers. I love my sister, but she's not very savvy about this sort of thing. She got a call that she was 'preapproved' and the rate would be 9.95%. Ok, sounds good up front, they always do. She took the damn card When she got the thing, along with the first statement, they had charged her $149 in FEES !!!!! She's never even used the thing and already they're charging her.. unreal. I asked her to send me copies of all the papers and statements so I can see what the real story is. Would you believe that one of the things they are CHARGING her for is to report her 'good credit' to 'the right people' ?????? I have convinced her to call them, cancel the card, cut it up into pieces and send it back to these crooks. The bank is First Premier... they also have one of those 'catalog' shopping 'credit cards'. Can they do this ? Charge her to report her credit to the CRA's.. which they're supposed to do any way at no cost to the consumer ?? Is this even legal ?? Is there any way she can get out of those absurd $149 of fees ??? If this isn't illegal.. it should be !! I'm just glad she called me about it before she used it.. I can only imagine what they'd do if she uses it !!! Thanks !
Actually, its not a scam. Anyone with bad credit who looks to repair it with a subprime card shoulh expect to pay a large amout of fees at the beginning. I've had a Frist Premier card for almost two months and I've been very happy with it. It is one of the reasons my credit score jumped 30 points in one month (the other reason being this board). Its not a scam at all, they lay out all of the fees in the beginning.
Yes, unbelieveably they can do it! It is clearly written and disclosed on the back of the application for every fee they charge. If your sister signed it and sent it in, they can charge the fees because she has read and agreed to them. No OC is required to report any account to any CRA, it is their choice. I have several cellular accounts which do not report to the CRA's and only do so if you are late or have breached their contract. There is no law in the FCRA about non-reporting. Your sister however does have a way out if she does the following.... If she has not used the card at all she can call the customer service rep and tell her to close the account, have her state she no longer wants the card. If she hasn't used the card they will close it with no money due. Also have her send it to them in writing via ceritifed and registered just to make sure they did receive the cancellation request. If she used the card I believe at this point she is out of luck and will have to pay off the balance and then close it out. Hopefully she didn't use it! Tac
Thanks for that input. She has NOT used it and has agreed, at my urging, to dump the card and close the account. Will they let her off the hook for the fees ?? Unfortunately, she's already paid them one $20 payment on those fees .. this is utterly insane. Charging for reporting to the CRA's is a crock of bullsh** ! She's trying SO hard to rebuild her credit after the bankruptcy, but this card isn't going to be the way. I told her the ONLY way to get good credit is to pay her bills on time all the time.. period. The obsession on this board appears to be scores.. I well understand the importance of scores in this pathetic credit-driven economy, mine suck because I'm about to file for BK myself.. and I had excellent credit for 25 years. However the LAST thing I'm going to do following the BK is to use ANY credit card for ANY reason other than an utter emergency.. hopefully for the rest of my life !!!
Yes, If she has not used the card they should refund all of her money and close the account. She should contact them immediately though! Tac
I have had the card for a year now, and yes, the fees are outrageous. But, how they help your credit is they report your payments to the CRA differently. Again, I have had the card for one year, but it appears on my CRA that I have 40 months of "Pays as Agreed" payments. As you know, the longer that you have an account or good payment history, the higher your score. NO other subprime card that I have seen does this. But, it is your sister's choice of how she wants to handle rebuilding her credit. This site is a good start.
Always read before you sign. I've got TWO First Premier cards. The orginal FirstPremier and the FutureCard. They have always been good to me and have even expediently reversed a charge for poor merchandise. If you have bad credit, you should expect to pay fees - that's just how it is. Personally, I don't see why your are so shocked. I don't believe for a second it says anywhere that you are paying to have it reported to the CRAs. I'd think twice before closing it.
This is the thought process of the typical consumer. Never using a CC again will do nothing to help your credit. The reason for the score obsession is becasue this is what creditors use - why wouldn't it be an obsession?
I used to think that way, but try getting a hotel room with only cash or renting a car. Building good credit is not only about paying your bills on time, but responsible management of credit. To prove that you are is responsibly managing your financial matters, a credit card is an excellent way. We all have proved how irresponsible we were, but this is a chance to recitfy the past. Maybe First Premier is not the way for her, but she can rebuild by using credit in a responsible way.
Tell her to get a Capital One card. As discussed on another recent thread (best secured card), it is THE best secured card to get if you're repairing damaged credit. They do not have any outrageous fees, and report to all 3 CRA's at no additional cost. Capital One was my first card when I began rebuilding right after filing CH13. Pay on time, and they will give you periodic CL increases. Credit scores were not available to consumers back then, but I can't imagine my scores were higher than mid 500's. With the help of C1 and some other legit subprime lenders, my scores are now mid 700's. Best of luck to your sister. EQ 724 EX 795 TU 745
Regarding the 40 months paid as agreed, do they do this as soon as you pay your first month or did it start after the 1 year anniv.?
FirstPremier doesn't report any differently than anyone else. I opened my card in 3/2001 and that is how they report it.
I honestly have no reason to lie about that. I know we aren't supposed to post personal account information, but I will go to one of my CR and copy the information. I thought it was a mistake until I called to cancel the card. (Because of the outrageouos fees!!) The rep explained to me how they have been there with me through the bad times and explained that this is one of the things that they do to help reestablish your credit. Let me also clarify that the card that I have is "The Future Card" with First Premier. I am here just like everyone else for the sole purpose of establishing EXCELLENT credit. Oh by the way, when I called to cancel, the CSR gave me one of three options: 1. Lower the APR from 18.9 to 11.9 (for the life of the card) 2. Credit $60 of the "monthly" fee that they charge. 3. Waive the Annual fee (for 1 year only) The CSR also made the comment that people tend to only keep the card for approximately 2 years. (My argument about the fees was I wanted to keep the card even when I am eligible for Prime rates, they don't care!) The customer service number on the back of my card is (800) 987-5521.
i don't think you're lying. I just want to know when they started reporting your 40 months at. after 1 month or some other time humblemarc
I honestly have no reason to lie about that. I know we aren't supposed to post personal account information, but I will go to one of my CR and copy the information. I thought it was a mistake until I called to cancel the card. (Because of the outrageouos fees!!) The rep explained to me how they have been there with me through the bad times and explained that this is one of the things that they do to help reestablish your credit. Let me also clarify that the card that I have is "The Future Card" with First Premier. I am here just like everyone else for the sole purpose of establishing EXCELLENT credit. Oh by the way, when I called to cancel, the CSR gave me one of three options: 1. Lower the APR from 18.9 to 11.9 (for the life of the card) 2. Credit $60 of the "monthly" fee that they charge. 3. Waive the Annual fee (for 1 year only) The CSR also made the comment that people tend to only keep the card for approximately 2 years. (My argument about the fees was I wanted to keep the card even when I am eligible for Prime rates, they don't care!) The customer service number on the back of my card is (800) 987-5521. note* I just pulled all three reports: EQ: Reports date opened, date of last activity EXP: Reports balance history TU: They are the company that reports it in this manner. Ex: Status as of 07/2002: Paid or paying as agreed in prior 33 months from last update never late. (please except my apology, I said 40 months, when on my report it states 33 months.) I went in my file folder and found a report the month that I received the card. (This is the month I received the card) It says: Status as of 07/2001: Paid or paying as agreed in prior 23 months from last update never late.
THAT is a good excuse to charge those fees! They only pull TU to open acct., so maybe that has something to do with it. Anyone else out there with the First Premier Future card and a TU report who can verify this is a normal thing, or the exception to the rule? humblemarc
Several of my cc accts on TU report "paid or paying as agreed in prior 33 months. Verified never late." The only problem is that it also shows the correct dates the accts were opened.
