Me and my husband are re-establishing our credit, and we applied for an orchard visa, but they want a 49.00 processing fee before they tell us if we are approved. I dont know about that. Well, let me know what any of you have experienced with them. Any comments would be great. THANKS
First put your mind at ease! The 49.00 fee will be returned to you if you are declined. I received my card and I am impressed with the customer service. I originally applied for an Orchard Secured Card by faxing in application and authorizing them to take $250.00 from my checking account as a deposit. Two days later I realized that I qualified for the unsecured MasterCard Classic. I called customer service to see if they would process my application as an unsecured card application and they told me to fax a request to withdraw the application. I did. Then I applied for the for the Classic card via the internet and authorizing the $49 application fee to be deducted from my checking account. A few days later I called customer service and was told that the application for the Classic card had been approved and the first application is being withdrawn. A few more days later I called to see when I would receive the card and was shocked when I was told that both applications had been declined! They told me that I would receive a letter explaining everything. Well I waited a few days for the letter and it never arrived! Then I noticed that the $49 fee had been deducted from checking account! Their internet site says that if you are declined the fee is not charged! I called customer service and went ballistic! The person was at a lost and did not know what happened. She transferred my call to a supervisor named Paul. Paul was very patient and calm while I was talking very forcefully! Paul looked at the computer file and noticed the problem. Someone mistakenly denied both applications intending only to withdraw my first appplication. Paul immediately apologized and promised to rush my card to me. I received the card 7 days later and had immediate access to on-line account information and bill payment! About a month later I received my credit report from Trans Union and Orchard was on there! I received only one billing statement and it was already on my credit report. Thank God that I paid it on time! It says "Never Been Late"....lol. There are a lot of companies that don't report good history for fear that they will loose good customers. I know Orchard has high APR and no perks but someone like me with bad credit sure needs the good reports. I recently made my 3rd payment. I pay on-line on their website. I actually view and pay my bill before I get the written statement in the mail! This way I am never late and avoid finance charges! Hoorah for Orchard! And no I don't work for them! Web site -- http:www.orchardbank.com
I applied to Orchard Bank about 1 1/2 weeks ago on line.I also completed something online allowing them to deduct the $49 from my checking account. I called on Monday to check on the status and was told that I was approved!!! I should be getting my card next week. I too was approved for a unsecured. I have one question about Orchard though, on their website they show a Visa & Mastercard yet the online application was only for a Mastercard. I would like to get a Visa as I already have a DMB Mastercard. Does anyone know how I can do this or why they only have an application for the Mastercard and not Visa?
You can apply for their Visa card by calling them andrequesting an application. You might even be able to apply by phone. Their current website is quite new, so some more capabilities are probably in the works.
I highly recommend Orchard. I have been with them since 1994 and opened a second account in 1998. I have always received credit line increases at six month intervals. I also negotiated a no-annual fee arrangement and an APR of 15.9. Customer service is competent and friendly. Paying on line takes away the anxiety of delayed mail although Orchard unlike many banks does not impose a late charge if the payment posts within a week of the due date.
RE: orchard bank--to Doris &am As Dave mentioned, you can apply for more than one account with Orchard. My daughter has two accounts with them, and she, as well as many others on this board, thinks they're great. Another thing I've noticed is that they aren't listed among the banks with enormous charge-off rates. Still, they're quite lax in their approvals. Apparently, this has a lot to do with customer satisfaction and good service. I wish I had known about them when I was a sub-prime customer. Hopefully, you're encouraged to apply, Renae.
