Direct Merchants Bank?

I would read the disclosures closer. I bet their is a minimum of $200 or $500 for the credit limit. I have had the worst experience with DMB. I would send payments in 6-10 days before the due date and still get late charges. I once made a payment by phone and called back two days later. The rep said my payment would not post for 3 more days. After all of the lies that I got from Reps and senior executives, I finally closed the account. Be careful.
Some have had good experiences with the unsecured cards.

MikeB

 

Hi, I have a $750 limit with DMB, with $100 being secured. When I first obtained the card, my payments would take at least 2 weeks to post. I complained about it to customer service, and it seemed to helped, but I'm not sure. Then during last Christmas season, it happened again and I was charged two late fees (even though I was a few days past the due date). I was able to get one fee credited, but had to eat the other.

Another point I want to make is that they didn't report to any of the credit bureaus. If you're trying to establish a good tradeline, that's not a good thing! Just a couple of weeks ago I had to personally request that they report to the bureaus. I haven't gotten a recent report, so I don't know if they're showing up yet. I hope this info helps!

By the way, would you share with us your process of dispute? Do you have a sample letter you can post? I have a few charge offs which I would like to take care of, but whenever I see them on my reports, I feel like it's unlikely they'll come off. Any tips would be much appreciated!

 

Hi Bjoe,

I have had the unsecured card for 15 months, everything works out find except as penguin mention you have to ask the card to be reported.

Btw, I started with titanium and end up with platinum last month.

limit-5000
apr-12.8
no annual fee
good customer services

Hope this help and good luck to you,


Herman

 

I have the titanium 1 yr in March - limit $3,500, rate = 14.79%. I have been very happy with them. I pay online. Online service and telephone service has been excellent.

breeze

 

I've had their titanium for 18 months now with no problems. They've been reporting sporadically to Equifax and Experian. Never any problems with late postings. But I mail off my payments as soon as the bills come in.

 

I got their Gold Mastercard with a $500 limit. It was secured by $100 deposit with a $40something Annual fee, and a 24% APR. The only time over that year they ever offered to increase my credit limit was if I deposited more money. I held the card for almost a year with perfect payments, then called them and asked for a lower interest rate, no annual fee and a CL increase without depositing more money - they said "NO" to all 3. I promptly closed the card.

If your credit is damaged, DMB will not take any chances on you, meaning they will start you off with a low, secured CL, and never increase it unless you deposit more money. I gave them a year to grow with me, they refused, so I bailed!


Chet

 

I have the titanum card myself. 1K secuerd by $600. The deposit does earn interest. I also ask for some better terms and was declined I'll try planet feedback.

To avoid there late payment posting use the website. Its very convient and saves a stamp.

 

I've had a secured Titanium with these guys since 2/00. $500 limit for $99 deposit. I asked for unsecured status on my 1 yr anniversary, but no go. I don't really mind these guys except they hold your payments for 10 days before adding it back to your credit line, unless you pay via Western Union Quickcollect. It's a tremendous pain in the neck when I have a last minute business trip and need to free up space for a rental car or hotel. If they stopped that, I might actually recommend them. Of course, a bigger limit would be nice too. But I have an 18.9% APR which is cool too. BTW, they have never let my payment slide to the point where I've had a late fee, and I've paid just a couple of days ahead of time on the website before.

 

My daughter had a Direct Merchants Bank Mastercard, and it turned out to be more trouble than it was worth.

At first, when she applied online for a partially secured card, with a $99 deposit, they took it from her checking account twice. After more than a year of trying to get them to refund her money, she's still had no luck. She's sent them more documentation and copies of bank drafts than one can imagine, and they still can't figure out what to do. Once, she thought they got it right because they sent her a check for $99, but it turned out they had also closed her account. When she tried to straighten it out by re-opening the account, they stopped payment on the check.

Just before her 1-year anniversary date, she called to cancel the card. The retention department convinced her to keep the card because they told her they would upgrade her card to unsecured status upon her 1-year anniversary date, which was only a few weeks away. When she called them after the 1-year mark to have her card upgraded, they told her they no longer upgrade secured cards to unsecured status. This time, she was smart and told them to close the account.

Three months later, she's having more problems getting them to return the deposit money. They claim they have already sent it, but she hasn't received anything. Everytime she calls, the supervisor who handles the security deposits is either not at her extension, or she is out with a family emergency. My daughter has left numerous messages for this woman, but has yet to have her call returned. I suggest she report them to the Better Business Bureau and sue them in a small claims court because they obviously aren't going to make good on this account.

Unless you're truly desparate for a credit card, and you can't qualify for one of DMB's prime cards, you might want to stay as far away from these rip-off artists. They're not quite as sleazy as First USA or Cross Country Bank, but they're certainly not a reputable company. Try Orchard, Providian, or Freedon Card instead.

 

Doris, I would explain everything in a complaint to both planetfeedback.com and the BBB. You will probably get a letter back from a Traci Holland with a bunch of lies, but I got $58.00 back from each of 2 complaints about their practices. I once got 2 over-the-limit charges in one week from them, and a Rep said they can do that. Sad. DMB was the first and last secured card that I got.

MikeB