rip off

Discussion in 'Credit Talk' started by Tim Bunnel, Jun 27, 2000.

  1. Tim Bunnel

    Tim Bunnel Guest

    My wife recieved a credit card offer from First Premier Bank.She sent them a $35. fee for the card with a $200. credit limit.After recieving the card she went grocery shopping expecting to have $200. of credit to use.When she tried to check out the card only had about $20. of avalable credit.Needless to say she was totally embarrassed and had to put back the groceries.She did charge $14. on the card.We sent the card back andpaid for what she charged with interest.Now First Premier Bank is trying to charge us over $300.They have had 5 or 6 different collection agencies try to collect it from us and each time I explane it all to the collectors they side with me.Now they are calling and harrasing us day and night.When I try to reason with them they hang up on me.In my opinion First Premier Bank is nothing but a rip off.They take advantage of people that are trying to repair their credit with outragous fees.How is that helping people.I would advise anyone looking to start over to avoid doing business with them.
     
  2. kim

    kim Well-Known Member

    Sounds like you didn't read all the fine print on the application.
     
  3. bg

    bg Guest

    TIM, I have a First Premier Card also, they are a good bank. If you would have read your
    application closer you would have seen their is aannual fee,participation fee,and exceptance fee up front. I know it must have been really embarrassing for your wife but these fees are on the app. and are legal charges.
    Everyone needs to read their applications
    close to see just what fees are going to be charged up front. I got my card when I first started trying to rebuild my credit, it had all those fees also, but knew that was the price I had to pay to start over. If you still have your First Premier paperwork look
    at it closely and see if it states anything about fees.
     
  4. spyguyjim

    spyguyjim Guest

    Too bad you didn't read the fine print carefully.

    You can try negotiating in writing for say 35-50% of the balance and figure they will settle for 50-65%. Their only weapons are intimidation and empty threats. No unsecured creditor or collection agency is going to try and sue you for $300.

    If you don't want any more contact and could care less about paying this back, send them a registered, return-receipt, "cease and desist" letter advising them not to contact you about the debt any further.
     
  5. Danny

    Danny Guest

    My experience with first premiere bank is excellent my credit rating is better now thanks to them
     
  6. Hubert  X

    Hubert X Guest

    A "participation fee" or an "acceptance fee" is a sure sign of a dishonest bank. As far as "exceptance," we all know there will be no exceptions granted. These people don't take prisoners.

    Multiple fees are dishonest because no one would pay them if they were honestly presented as a single fee. They are presented separately so that poorly educated people will not be aware of all the fees they are paying.

    Anyone who claims that First Premier is a good bank is obviously a shill. I received an offer fron them this month, and it depressed me to realize how stupid they thought I was. Of course, I read the fine print and then rejected the offer. No reasonable person could do otherwise.
     
  7. walford

    walford New Member

    Check these links for more info about First Premier. They have gotten thousands of complaints for preying upon people who already have enough problems.

    libocceclub.com/finserv/firstpremier.html

    ftc.gov/opa/2001/11/firstfinancial.htm

    I was checking my spam folder and saw the offer from First Premiere to apply for a credit card and get instant approval for $250 in credit. I figured it would be a good little emergency fund, so I applied.

    The card has yet to arrive in the mail and I got an e-mail saying that there would be a minimum of $25 payment due! Let me get this straight: I haven't even activated the card and I already owe $25? So, I called them. They don't make it easy to call either, especially if you don't have a card number. So I kept banging the 0 until it said you can enter a SSN instead.

    To make a long story short, I was told that I must pay off $179 to get $250 credit.

    I loled.

    "Umm...no. Cancel my account." She offered to reduce the charge to $60. I said that I'm not willing to pay $25, much less $60. Some people who didn't catch this in time, got the credit card, but didn't use it and tried to cancel the account only to be told that they were too late and still owed the $179. Harassing calls from collection agencies and derogatory entries on their credit reports ensued.

    Let us consider why certain companies insist upon preying upon people who are already of limited means already, like these rip-offs that charge you to work from home or find you a job.

    Why don't these scammers go after rich people instead?

    Companies like First Premier specialize upon ripping off the poor because they are hoping that they are stupid and can't afford lawyers, that's why!

    They also are hoping that you had recently filed bankruptcy, so then you will be unable to get out of any further debt obligations until the bankruptcy expires. That is why if you recently filed, you will find all kinds of offers to have a car financed even if you have bad credit.

    So if you are going through a bad patch -- whether it's your own fault or because of something like a divorce -- beware. They are companies out there like First Premier waiting to sink their meathooks into you and get you obligated to them.
     
  8. jjgross

    jjgross Well-Known Member

    Some of us should study history for good advice.
    1.theres a sucker born every minute.2.Buyer beware.3.The offer say's a cc for people that have less then perfect credit.The app. tells you everything you would want to know,bottom line when you get one of those card's don't go out and start charging.make a few payments keep it in the drawer.you cl increases faster.
     
  9. walford

    walford New Member

    The application does not spell out that you are paying $179 to get $250 in credit. And that $179 is deducted from your available credit at first, so you are actually getting $71 in available credit to start. They don't tell you that until AFTER you've ordered the card, mmk? You start out owing a lot of money for a card that you basically can't use.

    You have to dig very hard to find out what you are getting yourself into when applying. The application is deliberately deceptive and is targeting those who tend to not read fine print for that very reason.

    The Tribute MasterCard has similarly high fees and, quite unlike Premier, is up-front about the fact that you are getting very little credit for the money you're shelling out at first.

    These unsecured, sub-prime cards are not a means to get a small credit line for emergencies or to get a cushion for your checking account so it will be protected from overdraft -- which is what I wanted.

    They are instead a a very expensive means to rebuild bad credit. Period. At first, you will get very little available and be paying out a lot -- you start out owing $150-200 before you've even used the card. If you understand this and use the card accordingly, you will be able to increase your credit limits and your credit score.
     
  10. jjgross

    jjgross Well-Known Member

    Even the good cards are in small print so you have to find it.The online is pretty clear.The purpose is to help you a hard time by showing that you can handle a small debt then the better cards come.I have not ever had any problems with 1st premier.wama i have.
     
  11. TeeVeeDude

    TeeVeeDude Well-Known Member

    I have a First Premier card. At the time I got it, it made sense... I was basically paying $179 to improve my credit score.

    All of that stuff you are talking about was very clearly disclosed before I applied. If you sign your name and mail the application without reading everything (or fill out the online form and hit send without reading all of the Terms and Conditions) then that is a habit you should break.

    If you go to their online application and click the link for "Fees, costs, limitations, available credit and other terms associated with this offer," it takes you to this page:
    https://www.firstpremierbankgold.com/carddetails.aspx?appid=HI0809021146WHZX4

    Where it says in large, bold-face type:
    "If you are assigned the minimum credit limit of $250 your initial available credit will be $71 ($51 if you select the additional card option)."

    People who feel like they got "ripped off" by First Premier need to learn to read the terms before signing a contract.
     
  12. walford

    walford New Member

    First Premier HOPES that you will not read the fine print. People who have bad credit tend not to do that, which is why they do not put exactly what to expect clearly readable as is the case with the Tribute MasterCard.

    Bully for you that you haven't had any problems with them. The fact is, thousands of others have and there are cases pending against First Premier because thousands of people are apparently not as smart as you are. Of course how smart can you be signing up for a card that will not increase your credit limit even though you have been making payments on time because of something bad from 5 years ago or has a documented history of calling every couple of hours if you're even a little bit behind?

    Read the OP again.

    Consequently, I am doing my part to warn people and recommend that they eschew First Premier in favor of other sub-prime/unsecured credit cards that are more up-front about what they offer and provide customers with a better chance of increasing your credit limit and credit scores.

    If nothing else, take from this discussion that such cards are to be used as a last resort only; they are very expensive to use and entail a great deal of risk. If your job situation is less than secure and/or your expenses are less than predictable, don't bother.

    Instead, tough it out, cut back your expenses, pay down your existing debts and live within your means.

    You need your money more than the likes of First Premier does. Remember that.
     
  13. Azsun

    Azsun Well-Known Member

    Sub Prime CCards like Premier and such with a limit of $250.00/ and such are ok but don't do much for your overall FICO score becuse 1) if you do use them you will lower your score by being too close to availabale balane 2) too low a balance.. not regarded as good tradeline
     
  14. TeeVeeDude

    TeeVeeDude Well-Known Member

    Go look at the link I posted. It's not fine print, it's very large type and the part about the fees and the available credit is in BOLD.

    They increased my credit limit from $250 to $375 after only four on-time payments.


    That much is true. It's a rebuilder card for people with bad credit. If you haven't fixed the problems that caused you to have bad credit to start with, you shouldn't be getting new cards at all. If you can't make at least the minimum payments, you shouldn't be using a credit card.

    If you do have bad credit and need to rebuild, First Premier isn't any worse than most of the other subprime cards out there.
     
  15. jjgross

    jjgross Well-Known Member

    In an earlier post i stated that some people should never have a credit card because it's to tempting to run them up and there right back where they started,
     
  16. angie1313

    angie1313 Member

    you don't know how correct you really are on this. My sister-in-law is a prime example. My brother got married with a CS in the high 600's. Now after 2yrs of marriage, it's down near 530 I think.
     
  17. jjgross

    jjgross Well-Known Member

    Angie i was that person look under should not have credit card that's my picture.I now am under control it took half my life 2 bk.lost my house.just now coming back.So when i post i usually talk from personal problems and don't want other people to go through it
     

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