Can anyone tell me if this is a good secured card to start with. of course the limit is $260-$800, they will probably start me with $260 since that is the lowest. Gonna be $49 that i have to send in with the paperwork, and the security deposit is charged to the card. That I can pay off as soon as the bill comes in. I just don't want to get an acct with a bank that will cause me problems down the road. PLEASE, any suggestions? LeeAnn i only want this so we can use it to start rebuilding our credit, and have it for emergencies.
Terrible secured card. Try Orchard, or American Pacific Bank if you have a B.K. If not try Wells Fargo or Bank of America secured, or other secured credit cards. First Bank of Marin charges fees on false promises like credit lines in the future, that is how they make their money. They might give you credit line increases but it will be money that you will already pay in on the fees for the same account.
Bank of america is excellent to secure just like vicky said because its a backdoor into their accounts because after a year of satisfactory history, they will switch your account to "unsecured"; refund your initial deposit of ($300-5000) plus interest AND AND many times their credit limit increases are in the 1k's. Many Cneters including myself have interest rate at prime (currently 4.25) for whatever balance owed. (little finance charges on 0% and 4.25%)
LeeAnn, could you tell us what your credit situation is? B.K or no B.K. Either way don't go the First Bank of Marin route either way. It would be a good idea to start rebuilding with a top 10 issuer either way. If you have a B.K some secured credit card issuers will deny you on that alone. I myself hit rock bottom 18 months ago with a B.K and have 9 credit cards now and did not get into the ones with the dumb fees. You can start rebuilding with better cards.
currently my husbands report is BK from 2/97 due off 2/04. false judgement we are trying to get off from 3/97 due off 3/04. attempting to get them off now instead of next year. then there are 3 collection accounts we are disputing. Mine on the other had has about 15 collection accounts, that I have in dispute. We have applied with first premier, and orhard, so far Marin is the only one to respond. I want to build back up so we can get a house in the next year. right now fico is hovering high 400's i was told, havn't seen it for myself yet, the wk site had hubby's at 10. UGH, long road ahead.
1*. false judgment we are trying to get off from 3/97 leeanninfl ========== FALSE? Why is it false?? 2*for the collection accounts Validate. Click validation links below. THE END
judgement was placed on an account that was included in bk the month before, on a vehicle that the company had back for almost 3 years. And according to the pacer report we were granted a motion from lein, so wouldn't that mean that they can't sue us for it? And how can they sue for something that is taken care of in bk that the trustee included? that is why i called it a false judgement. Calling the bk atty on monday. LeeAnn
American Pacific Bank secured. $300 deposit, $35 annual fee, no other dumb charges. They say no current collection accounts or recent past dues but they seem to approve people that have those on their reports anyways. First Premier is not a good option. Orchard secured would be good $200 deposit, $35 annual fee, no other dumb charges. Good luck and I hope you get better help from others than myself or lbrown59!
I would avoid Cross Country, First Premier, and First bank of Marin at all costs. Try Orchard, Bank of America, or a local credit union. Good Luck to you.
I've actually had a great experience with Marin. This may not be the norm but I've had it for 6 months and been very satisfied. I was approved for the low limit card ($300) and the deposit was charged to my account. I actually sent them an additional $1700 deposit to get a $2000 limit. Been cleaning up my report for the last six months and now that I'm nearly done I have Marin reporting 6 months of history, non-secured, and low utilization. Thanks to them I got 2 Household cards ($3500 limit and $2000 limit) this week. I know others may have had problems but thought I'd let you know that my experience has been better than expected.
I, too, do not have anything bad to say about this card except maybe that I have an annual fee and that it costs to pay your bill online. I didn't choose Marin. My account with someone else was sold to them. However, my interest rate went down from 24% to 18% at the time so I didn't complain too much. I did just get a CL increase. I am only to a whopping $450 but it's $100 to better my debt ratio and since it's one of my oldest cards, I'll keep it awhile longer. Perhaps around next March or April I'll see if I can't get the annual fee reduced or gone completely. If not, I'll probably close it before May when it comes due again. I'll have other established cards by then.
Good luck and I hope you get better help from others than myself or lbrown59! J. Vick 71 ================== DUH
