The Basic Providian Strategy Doesn't anyone remember all the messages from people with cards from other banks, especially Capital One? These people complain that they never get limit increases from Capital One. While this one case seems pretty bizarre, Providian in general is just doing what their customers really want. There are a lot of people who do want more credit. This being duly noted, you do need to watch out for the basic Providian strategy of keeping you in debt to them forever. This strategy has two main components. First, they offer you more credit sooner than anyone else, which is actually quite flattering for a while. You use your credit to the point where your payments go almost entirely for interest and annual fees. You never pay off the card, so you pay the interest and annual fees forever. Second, they want to keep you from transferring your balance to a better card. If they raise your limit enough, then you can't get a new card because you already have so much potential debt. There is only one way to avoid this trap: diversify your credit card portfolio. NEVER rely on Providian as your sole source of credit. When they give you more credit, don't use it. Get another card instead. Eventually, you can transfer your entire Providian balance to a prime card and quit worrying.
RE: The other side Hello Stephen, --- I deal with new accounts as well as current carholders. If a check was cashed before it posted to the customers account we would ask that they fax us a front and back copy of the cleared check. If we made an error it is our policy to reimnburse late fees and finance charges. We can also reimburse fees charged by the bank for the copy of the check. There is no script for the above situation, we would just take responsibility for our error. We are discouraged from blaming the post office or the cardholder for late payments. We do have to "hit" certain productivity standards, but we are never penalized for taking the time to resolve the caller's inquiry. The only time we are penalized for sending a call to a supervisor is if the rep provides poor and or unprofessional service. We are not penalized for straying from policy if the cardholder benefits in the end. I hope this helps. I will be happy to answer any other questions you have. Have A Nice Day
RE: Thanks for answering Its quite refreshing receiving a response from somebody who actually enjoys working at her company rather than being miserable in some sub-prime hellhole or the bank that masquerades as a prime (First USA). Unfortunately, all too often here at Credinet.bbs we have experienced many such bitter employees who proceeded to lash out at everybody by calling them "deadbeats who refuse to pay your bills" BTW, what is your feelings on APR's over 30% do you concur with this or do you find it usurious?
RE: The Basic Providian Strate Providian does *not* have some kind of evil power to force people into debt, simply by offering limit increases. This "blame the creditor" mentality is like a consumer lashing out at the owners of a supermarket chain for "forcing" him/her to eat too much. Perhaps next, people will complain that a bank somehow caused them to overdraw their checking account by providing too many blank checks? CardReport.Com - Credit Tools, News, And Reference http://www.cardreport.com/
RE: Providian's Push for Debtn It certainly seems likly that the phone rep you spoke to did *not* have the ability to change your credit limit. Also, lowering it is an unusual request, so they may not have a standardized way of requesting that, like they would with raising it. The best course would be to write a letter to the customer service address listed on the statement. As far as Providian wanting you to be in debt, that is understandable, since that is how credit card issuers generate revenue. If nobody carried a balance, they couldn't charge anybody any interest, and it wouldn't be a viable industry. No profit for issuers would mean no credit for consumers. Credit is essentially *renting* money. And complaining that a credit card issuer wants you to rent some money is like complaining that a landlord wants you to rent an apartment, or that a car rental company wants you to rent a car. How would you feel if a customer at *your* job bitterly complained that you wanted them to purchase/rent some products or services? Isn't that the entire point of a business? But why is the credit limit a problem, anyway? The hypothetical interest on that $500 doesn't cost anything if you don't spend it. It's *not* like they are forcing you to charge it up. CardReport.Com - Credit Tools, News, And Reference http://www.cardreport.com/
RE: Providian's Push for Debtn Having a lower credit line puts me in the position of getting better cards later on as the lower limit equals less money that can be counted against me if I charge the cards up. I should get a higher limit card with a lower limit and a spotless credit history. CardReport.Com wrote: ------------------------------- It certainly seems likly that the phone rep you spoke to did *not* have the ability to change your credit limit. Also, lowering it is an unusual request, so they may not have a standardized way of requesting that, like they would with raising it. The best course would be to write a letter to the customer service address listed on the statement. As far as Providian wanting you to be in debt, that is understandable, since that is how credit card issuers generate revenue. If nobody carried a balance, they couldn't charge anybody any interest, and it wouldn't be a viable industry. No profit for issuers would mean no credit for consumers. Credit is essentially *renting* money. And complaining that a credit card issuer wants you to rent some money is like complaining that a landlord wants you to rent an apartment, or that a car rental company wants you to rent a car. How would you feel if a customer at *your* job bitterly complained that you wanted them to purchase/rent some pr....
RE: The Basic Providian Strate It is a given fact that most people will accept credit when it is offered to them. They will even use it. Have you ever used a credit card? Given that people want credit and want to use it, it makes a great difference which credit offers they accept. If they accept credit at low interest rates, they may pay it off fairly soon. If they accept credit with high annual fees and interest rates, they may never pay it off. That is how some cards are designed to keep people in debt, and others are not. Credit cards are not only a way of incurring debt. They are also a way that debts get doubled and quadrupled over time. The decision to use one's available credit is much less important to one's future than is the nature of that available credit. Offering credit to people is not bad. In fact, it is generous and good. But offering bad credit to people is bad. When offered in such large amounts that obtaining other cards and balance transfers becomes impossible, it is especially bad. Your primitive, all-or-nothing, take-it-or-leave-it mentality is useless for making financial decisions. If you acted on what you claim to believe, you would be bankrupt by now.
