Net 1st may have a legitimate product but their way of gaining customers is VERY unethical!!! They prey on the fact that many people do NOT read the fine print. Most people (though it's their fault) do not even know that their account is being drafted for $89 NO REFUNDS!!! They hide their customer service number leaving their marketers to handle the large onslaught of complaints. Remember the Merrick Bank product. Well Merrick bank shut down the company that was marketing the product because of the complaints about their shady marketing tactics. Impulse Marketing Group and Key Financial Systems are the masterminds behind this promotion. Money making tactic #1 - Advertise a guaranteed MasterCard (this sucks in many individuals who have less than perfect credit. Tactic #2 - Advertise the card as UNSECURED when it really isn't. They use the words - no up front cash deposit. (legit but deceiving, it has the ring of unsecured) Tactic #3 - Never mention the fact that this card is only good for people who are in bankruptcy. Everyone else would be far better off with a standard secured card that doesn't require $89 UP FRONT!! Tactic #4 - Include account# and routing# as part of the application process without mentioning that an $89 fee will be drafted from that account with NO REFUND... unless you're fortunate enough to have found the link to their terms and conditions which leads to... Tactic #5 - Nestle a tiny link to terms and conditions way at the top of the page so that by the time you are done entering your valuable account information you just might forget to look at the terms before clicking the submit button. This leads to... Tactic #6 - Once that submit button is hit you can forget about your $89 because it is YOUR fault that you failed to read the disclosures. LEGIT? yes, ETHICAL? Hell no Their marketers are victims also. Sure they pay marketers $15 PER APPLICATION. but they don't tell them that they will get bombarded with complaints. They don't tell them that they will make that $15 after victimizing another customer. They don't tell them that they would make more money advertising FutureCard at $3 per app (a legit company) than Net 1st at $15 per PAID VICTIM. This is a result of their incredibly low closing average. 100 visitors = 2 apps or $30. 100 visitors to FutureCard = 15 apps or $45. I agree that not all their applicants are victims and that the product is a good one FOR THOSE THAT NEED IT. My beef is with the marketing tactics. They have suckered everyone the customers and the marketers. In conclusion... This card will GO AWAY... What goes around comes around eventually. They RIPP OFF and eventually they will get RIPPED OFF!!! Can you say FTC investigation? It's coming... marketers beware!
RE: The Net 1st Scam - HAH! Unethical, shady business practices, a ripoff, you say that if your under a state of shock because its such a rare thing. Look around, most of the sub sub-prime creditors are that and much much worse, thinly veiled criminal organisations that charge outrageous fees, hold back or lose payments, embezzle funds, place long holds on payments and on and on and try as you may you'll never find these outrages on the Terms and Conditions. If you want to see shysters look no closer than most of the characters marketing the same tired old card brands, outright lying about how easy their cards are to obtain, posting under multiple handles, all while caring less for all the complaints will go directly to the creditors in question. Truth in marketing in this industry, you may as well search for the Holy Grail. Now as regarding the Net1st card the only thing about it that truly sucks is the requirement that you have a checking account, so for those laboring under the cross of a CheckSystems/Telecheck blacklist your plain out of luck. Same for those who don't want to risk their checking account to "improper use"
I agree that this is a scam. I applied for the card and was fortunate enough to have looked at the terms and conditions before entering the account information. The information that Net 1st in providing is very misleading and I doubt that they have many TRULY happy customers. There are easier ways to obtain credit cards than going through Net. If push comes to shove and the only option is Net 1st, you're better off without even having a "credit" card.
I am so upset, I could not find a number to call first, I did not see it in the terms and condition as a customer service number. I did not realized that it was going to debit me 89.95 now. I would have tried it later, but would have like to check to make sure I could afford the debit now. I am complaining to my bank, to see if I can stop this transaction and any further debits to my account.
