<sarcasm> What a Fun First Month with Fleet! </sarcasm> I have had nothing but trouble with Fleet in only one month of usage, and I'm just sharing my story. I signed up for their 2% Cash Rebate card at the end of November. Then shortly after I hear news that Fleet decided to drop their program to 1% cash rebate, with 2% only for those who carry a balance (something I am not interested in). I figure that I signed up when it was the "real 2%," but of course it turns out that I am only earning 1%. On 11/26 I bought a savings bond for $200, and noticed when I checked online that I was charged twice for this. Thinking this had something to do with the way savings bonds are handled, I pretty much ignored the second charge, thinking it would be handled by the end of the month. Moving on, when checking all 3 credit reports I noticed that Fleet reported my account to be closed by creditor, which of course is ridiculous because I had just signed up and have been using it constantly. I send a dispute to the CRAs and this is eventually settled. Today I checked my account online and noticed two things: (1) there was an "account adjustment" of $200 on 11/26, though in truth this adjustment must have been added recently because it was not present until today; and (2) I notice a $16 "finance charge" tacked on to my first month's statement. I call up Fleet asking what this is. The woman says quickly, "Oh that's for a balance transfer." I reply, "But I haven't done a balance transfer." The woman then says, "Oh then it's for a cash advance." Again, "I haven't done a cash advance." Then she puts me on hold for 20 minutes and comes back and says that she thinks I was charged a cash advance fee for my savings bond, because 4% of $200 is $16, though of course savings bonds are supposed to be treated as purchases. After running around in circles she tells me that she'll forward the problem to a supervisor who will take care of it. So not only has Fleet double-charged me for a single charge and only later made it up with an "account adjustment", but they also decided to give me a finance charge. I think it's ridiculous that it was obviously Fleet's problem, but yet I am the one who has to deal with it until they resolve it. I thought you were innocent until proven guilty in this country, not the other way around. What could have stopped Fleet from charging me a $50 or $1500 finance charge instead of $16? Is there any action I can take against them for doing this? To top it all off, you have to wait 9 months before you can get a credit limit increase. My CL is $2500 but I charged $5000 to my card and paid it off in full. The only reason I was able to do this is because they have an online account feature, and I paid off every half week or so. I'm sure most other issuers would look at my spending habits and consider me deserving of a CL increase, don't you think? I am so happy I was just recently accepted for Amex Blue and Citi Dividend Platinum Select, I won't have to deal with these idiots anymore.
So, is your account still closed, or what? Jeepers that's as bad as the AmEx membership banking deal that Momof3 got. You know, the one where the checks were no good, and they had all her money and wouldn't give it back, LOL. Makes you want to be a lifelong customer. Perhaps Fleet has someone monitoring the board, hehe. We need nominations for creditnet dumba$$ed credit card company screwup of the year, I think!!
Actually my account now is stated as active/never late, but I am just generally disgusted at how disorganized they are. They need to get their s*** together!
Sorry, but... 1) 9 month rule is hard and fast. Amex has a 6 month rule (after the account is originally opened) and they can't waiver. Same for B of A (they are a minimum 6 months). That's the way it is- your ratios (balance to available, debt to income, total debt, etc.) must not have added up right with your score to give you a higher limit. If your initial limit was insufficient for your needs, you should have raised it as an issue immediately, or asked what their underwriting guidelines are for increases and planned accordingly. 2) Read your cardmember agreement. Paragraph 12 - "...and cash-like transactions, including but not limited to wire transfers, money orders, lottery tickets, and casino gaming chips" Granted, savings bonds aren't exactly like gambling, but they are negotiable instruments that are somewhat liquid (convertable to cash). Most card agreements would treat them as a cash advance, subject to cash advance transaction fees and/or higher APRs. I don't like seeing people gripe about a company when in fact they just didn't read their agreement or think enough about what they were doing. Not all of our problems are caused by the creditors!!! --off of soap box I'm a long-time Fleet customer, and god knows they're not the best in customer service, but they are for the most part fair and OK to do business with. -mj
Re: What a Fun First Month with Fle I have a Edvance Card with Fleet over 2 yrs and I didn't have any problems with them. I also have Fusion Card with them for over a year and didn't have any problems. The interest rate of both card is higher than my other cards. Ron.
Re: What a Fun First Month with Fle The savingsbond.gov web site specifically says that credit card transactions are to be treated as purchases.
Re: What a Fun First Month with Fle It's not a cash advance, per se. In other words, the merchant-acquirer doesn't authorize it as a cash advance. However, your issuing bank can still consider it to be a cash-like (some banks use the term "quasi-cash") transaction and can treat it as laid forth in the cardholder agreement. I'd be safe and use a debit card and/or EFT deduction. Doesn't sound like the hassle is worth the 1% back. -mj
Re: What a Fun First Month with Fle Well in any case, the woman confirmed to me that Fleet does not treat savings bonds as cash advances and there are no cash advance listings on my statement.
