Last year Providian sent me a letter saying that my 8.9% GetSmart card had been sold and was going to be serviced by CardWorks. Then CardWorks sent me a letter saying the new interest rate was going to be 22%. Um, no, I am not paying that kind of interest. I phoned Providian to cancel the card. They tried to get me to keep it, I said no. They tried to get me to apply for a Providian Visa Platinum, I sad no- I am ready have one and I don't need any additional credit now. Well, the next time I checked my credit I found that Providian had placed a Hard Inq on my report the day I canceled. I called to find out what was going on. The rep said that it was impossible but that she would check my account. She put me on hold for a few minutes, then came back and said that my account was fine (huh? I was not calling about my Providian account, I was calling about the inquiry). I decided I would write a letter instead. Well, I pulled a new report so that I could send it in as proof of the inquiry. Guess what, they pulled me again the day I called to complain about the inquiry! That's two inquiries in less than two weeks! Furious, I called them again. I got a jerk of a rep that told me there was no way I had two inquiries as you can only apply for a card once a month. I told him that I did not apply for a card- I canceled one. He basically told me I was lying. I asked to speak with a supervisor- I was told that one would call me back. Needless to say, no one called me back. So, I decided to pull a third report so that I could sent it in documenting the two inquiries. Well- they had pulled a third one when I called the third time! Three inquiries in less than 1 month! I mailed them a letter CRR and they never responded. I had a lot going on at the time do I kinda forgot about it- my scores were fine and I had other things going on. Well, I pulled my reports again the other day and saw those three inquiries again. it struck me the wrong (or right?) way and I decided to do something about it. I filed suit against Providian in my home state yesterday. Boy did it feel good. I did the usual 1000/inquiry demand. I actually hope that they don't settle and show up at court. I plan on cutting up my Providian Platinum with a 10k limit that I have not used in over a year and handing it to them. FYI- I am not doing this for the money. I am doing it because I want the inquiries removed and I hate Providian for the way they treated me during those calls. I will donate any money received, minus court costs, to the Golden Retriever Rescue in my dogs name.
I'm filing a suit in Federal Court against them for 5 non-pp's in one day. Yes, ONE DAY. I never had an account with them, and I never applied for credit with them, and they keep sending me a stupid form letter. Could you PM me the info you had in your suit? What state? How served? Where served? Thanks and good luck. Let's keep in touch while we sue Providian together.
Shawn.... BE VERY CAREFUL!!!!!! If you had an account with Providian, they can access your credit report 10000000000000000000000 times a day if they wish to. There is NO law which sets a "number" to the amount of inquiries. There is only ONE law relating to accessing credit reports, PERMISSIBLE PURPOSE. They either have it, or they dont. If you had an account with them, they have a permissible purpose. YOU WILL LOOSE THIS IN COURT. Additionally, if you got the card in the last several years, there is most assuradly an "arbitration clause" which prevents you from filing suit. You could be in violation of the contract you signed. You credit score may or may not have been affected by the inquiries, but there are better ways to handle this. You are asking for serious trouble in federal court with this case (as presented here). Please reconcider Good Luck!
Re: Well, I sued Providian yesterda -Message me if you need info about non permisible purpose case info
The arbitration clause may be invalid in some cases. http://10-10phonerates.com/ATT_consumer_services_agreement.html
The PP ended the minute he said, cancel my account, and it was paid. When they pulled to cancel, and they pulled on the subsequent calls, they violated.
Thanks for all the comments. They pulled 3 Hard Inquiries in less than one month all AFTER I closed my account. I don't don't see how they had PP. An 'account review' I could understand, but that is not what they did. Even if I lose, it's ok. I stood my ground for what I feel is right. It's about principle. I have letters from them stating that they did not pull my credit. I also have letters stating that I applied for credit. Their letters conflict with each other- and I never applied for credit- I cancelled my card. I am in the right. And I know I am in the right. I feel good about standing up to them. And I am happy no matter what the outcome may be.
I am sorry, but are you saying that a credit provider can pull a million hard inquiries on a person after they close a perfectly paid zero balance account? I do not think any court would find a permissable purpose in those actions. While I appreciate your concern, it is not about winning or losing for me. It is about standing up to them because they don't think I will. In my mind, I already won. I have several letters from Providian stating that "they did not pull my credit", or "I applied for credit", or "Providian uses TransUnion, not Equifax". These statements are all incorrect. They are signed, dated, and I have the postmarked envelope they came in. I am prepared for the consequenses, no matter what they are.
They will most likely file a Motion to Compell Arbitration. Whether a judge will force it on a closed account, I am not certain. I am surprised, however, that they pulled hards. It probably actually cost more to them. I would think a hard pull costs more than an acct review. Keep us posted
Re: Well, I sued Providian yesterda Shawn, I am not saying they can access your credit report at all AFTER u close the account. It was not clear by your original post what the timeline was. BUT, even after the account is closed, you still MAY be under the arbitration clause, and they still MAY have a permissible purpose. I would suggest in either case, consult with an attorney who is experienced in FEDERAL COURT and familiar with the FDCPA and other credit statutes. Here are the websites for 3 of the top "credit" attornies in the country: http://stopcollectionharassment.com http://www.lyonslawfirm.com
Re: Well, I sued Providian yesterda "An 'account review' I could understand, but that is not what they did." -WRONG WRONG WRONG -Keep in mind, THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE IN A so called "hard" or "soft" inquiry. THE LAW DOES NOT DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE 2. This is a common MISCONCEPTION. -The credit inquiry, REGARLESS where on the credit report the reporting agency may choose to place it, THEY STILL HAVE TO HAVE A PERMISSIBLE PURPOSE to be legal. -Some will argue that it makes a difference because a "hard" inquiry affects your score or the puller "sees" more on a "hard" inquiry. -First, the laws are "Strict liability" meaning THERE DOES NOT HAVE TO BE "DAMAGE" to have a violation. -Second, it is not WHAT they saw, it was the mere fact they looked. Here is a good analogy: Say a "peeping Tom" peeks through your keyhole in the door of your bedroom, to see you lying in bed reading a book. He really didnt see anything "too private". (so called "soft inquiry") Now, what happens if he sees you having sex with your wife/husband? (so called "hard" inquiry) In the second case, do you call the police, and why???? CAUSE IT'S FRIGGIN' ILLEGAL RIGHT???? and an invasion of your privacy Well, why wouldn't you call the police in the first case???? IT'S ALSO FRIGGIN' ILLEGAL! and an invasion of privacy right? Simply put, It the mere fact the "peeing Tom" looked, and not what they saw when they looked. -DAMAGE to your credit score is IRRELEVENT!!!!!!
Re: Well, I sued Providian yesterda Wait- I am saying that I could understand their justification simply or pulling an AR when I called to ask about the inquiry. I can see their reasoning if they wanted to look for themselves. Thats all- I am not saying one is better than the other. I am not claiming to be an expert on anything here...just saying that I have stood up for myself and I am proud to have done so. I have letter from Providian claiming everything from 'they did not pull a report' to 'they pulled a report because I applied for credit'. Again, I understand and appreciate your concern. However, I do not want the help of a lawyer and I don't feel I need it. I did not apply for employment or credit with Providian, they did not have a right to pull my credit. ESPECIALLY the second and third times as I was calling in to say that I did not authorize the previous inquiries. That being said.............. This could be a coincidence, but my PG report this morning has no inquiries from Providian on it. My score on PG went from 717 yesterday to 738 today. I do not see how anything could have changed that fast- I think this is a fluke. However, they are not there today. I have heard nothing from Providian. The paperwork was done Monday. I also Fed-Ex'd notice to Providian Monday. They signed for the package yesterday morning at 8:51AM. I have the signature from the Fed-Ex site. I will check my report directly later, I do not have time to do it now. Again, I don't see how anything could have changed yet, but they are definitely not on the PG report today. Yesterday I had 4 inquiries, 3 of them from Providian. Today I have one inquiry, not from Providian. My score is noticeably different as well.
Re: Well, I sued Providian yesterda Chances are, what happened the minute they got their FedEx, was they got on the phone to whomever their main contact is at the CRA, and said to either delete, or soften the inquiries... Hope you have a print-out (or you can still get the print-out of old reports for 30 days) of the old reports showing the inquiries. They're hoping that getting rid of the inquiries on their own, will tame the salvage lawsuit.
Re: Re: Well, I sued Providian yesterda Hell ya that's what they did.........keep the fedx time of delivery too, along with the clean report a few hours later.....a coincidence my a$$!!! Good luck, I think ya got it
Re: Re: Well, I sued Providian yesterda Ok, just pulled my actual report. No score on it, but, there are no Providian hards. There are, however, two Providian soft dated yesterday. One is listed as "AR", the other does not have any notation beside it. So, both the actual report and PG are the same on inquiries. One hard listed, and it is supposed to be there (for the next 9 months anyway). Again, seems a little fast to me. I will wait and see what happens. For now, I like the way it looks....but I am not getting my hopes up yet. My score is a new high for me, though. I had been stuck in the 720's forever. I did not think those three inquiries would change the score that much. Hopefully, when I fly home tonight, Providian does not have a goon squad waiting in the bushes to break my kneecaps or anything. If this is all that happens (and it stays), I am perfectly happy. It has nothing to do with money- it is all about principal. I was only going to donate the money (as promised) anyway. For now, I'll keep my fingers crossed until I hear from them. While I would like the opportunity to shove my cut up Providian card where the sun doesn't shine, I will be perfectly happy mailing it back to them in a wrapped gift box. Honestly- I do feel bad it came to this. Providian was one of the first to come to me after my BK. They gave me credit and raised my limits often. I wish they could have stayed the company they were. But, after the way they treated me over canceling my card, I really don't care. Sad.
Re: Re: Re: Well, I sued Providian yesterda Trust me. I keep EVERYTHING. I have every Amex statement I have ever received since I got my first card in 1990. Honestly. I keep it all. And I always write down the name of the person I talk to (if on the phone) and the date/time/length of the call. Of course, their names are usually made up (wouldn't you if you had a sleazy job like that?). But I keep it anyway. Again, if it ends like this, I am happy. I do want to hear from them, and an apology (yea, right) would be nice, but simply deleting the inquires was all I ever asked for until now.
Re: Re: Re: Well, I sued Providian yesterda Update. PG and report both show no Prov inquiries again today. That is two days in a row. It is looking less like a fluke and more like they are gone. I have received no notice from anyone. There was, however, an "866-xxx-xxx" number with a hangup on my caller-id yesterday when I got home. That could have been anything , though. I specifically stated on my paperwork that Providian was NOT to contact me by phone, so I doubt it was then. So far, so good. Inquiries are gone, I am happy. The score bump was a nice unexpected surprise as well!
Re: Re: Re: Well, I sued Providian yesterda UPDATE. I have received information from Providian. The packet includes a non-disclosure letter. I am not going to sign any of this without first letting a lawyer look at it. The whole point of my actions were about the little guy standing up to the big guy, not about money. It appears my intentions were not properly received by Providian. Everything in the package could be considered positive, however, I am not interested in limiting what I can say about this- I want people to know they can stand up for themselves. I will have this reviewed by a lawyer on Thursday. I may (or may not) know more then. FYI- the inquiries are gone. The score bump remains.
Re: Re: Re: Well, I sued Providian yesterda Well, basically a letter of explanation (one sided) and what I would call a 'settlement offer'. Everything was tied to a non-disclosure agreement. I can't give actual terms because of the NDA- although if I don't accept/sign I will let you guys know. I have an appointment with a lawyer thursday. I faxed him all the information today. Basically, I don't want to sign the 'agreement'. As long as the inquireis stay gone, I am happy. I do not need the additional terms described in the package. I don't want to sign an NDA- I want people to know Providian was in the wrong and they can be stood up to. I will know more in a few days, I am I will let you know what I can. Bottom line- if you are in the right, don't be scared to stand up for yourself.
