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Thread: subprime credit card rant

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    Default subprime credit card rant

    why, oh why is it that to make an online payment (specifically I'm speaking of providian and capital one) it takes 2 - 3 business days to post? That's just another way for them to extract more exhorbitant fees out of the cardholder. If somebody didn't pay attention and read the fine print, they'd think they were being on top of it by making an online payment a day or 2 before their bill is due. Nope, not good enough. Since it takes so long to "post", you get hit with a late charge. Or you can opt for their "rush service" which posts the same day but costs 9.95. Or you can call and make a payment by phone for a mere 14.95 WTF??????? An online payment should post the moment it's made. How do they get away with this?


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    Default Re:subprime credit card rant

    They get away with this because most of their "subprime" customers have nowhere else to go. Once upon a time I had a Capital One subprime card which started out at a 9.9% interest rate. However, after the first month, when they did exactly as you say and 'wasted' three days before posting my payment, I found myself suddenly paying a "penalty" interest rate of over 20% plus a late fee even though my payment was mailed 7 days before it was due.

    Since I needed to keep the card to build credit, I started sending payments by registered mail. As a result, I was able to spend an extra $2 a month for a US post office delivery receipt instead of paying the $10+ for expedited payment posting. Every month they would try to claim that my payment was late, and every month I would call them and tell them I was holding the US post office delivery receipt showing they received my payment before the due date - end of late fees, and end of "penalty" interest rates !

    However, as soon as my credit was rebuilt (my credit got ruined as a result of a deadbeat ex-husband) I dumped the Capital One card in favor of a CitiBank platinum MasterCard. CitiBank hasn't ever tried pulling any sleight of hand whatsoever, and their interest rates are below 10%.

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    Default Re:subprime credit card rant

    Quote Originally Posted by Melonie link=board=6;threadid=10263;start=msg124602#msg124 602 date=1087611654
    (my credit got ruined as a result of a deadbeat ex-husband)
    yup, me too. I'm so glad I finally gave Providian the boot. Capital One is on the way too hehehe but for me Capital One hasn't been anywhere near as ruthless as providian, imo.

    It's just bullshit. 9.95 rush service my ass. Internet payments should post immediately. Every other reputable business (utilities, banks, my car insurance) does. Obviously it's not a huge deal to immediately post the payment once it's been made. I wish I could sue these dumb credit card companys for their stupid fees. It's almost like bullshit club fines. 'let's see just how much extra money we can extract from them'


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    Default Re:subprime credit card rant

    One thing I do to assure that my credit cards get at least the minimum payment is I have a recurring draft set up on my checking account. I have it set for about a week before my payment due date. That way, I know that even if I am late on getting the whole payment out, the minimum will get there. My credit union offers free electonic payments, so I almost never write a check these days.

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    Default Re:subprime credit card rant

    yes, that is a good idea zofia. I had forgotten about that till you mentioned it. I never utilized that service becasue my bank charges a fee. But if one compared the bank's fee against the credit card late fee, it's worth it to pay the bank.


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    Default Re:subprime credit card rant

    Quote Originally Posted by Melonie link=board=6;threadid=10263;start=msg124602#msg124 602 date=1087611654
    They get away with this because most of their "subprime" customers have nowhere else to go. Once upon a time I had a Capital One subprime card which started out at a 9.9% interest rate. However, after the first month, when they did exactly as you say and 'wasted' three days before posting my payment, I found myself suddenly paying a "penalty" interest rate of over 20% plus a late fee even though my payment was mailed 7 days before it was due.

    Since I needed to keep the card to build credit, I started sending payments by registered mail. As a result, I was able to spend an extra $2 a month for a US post office delivery receipt instead of paying the $10+ for expedited payment posting. Every month they would try to claim that my payment was late, and every month I would call them and tell them I was holding the US post office delivery receipt showing they received my payment before the due date - end of late fees, and end of "penalty" interest rates !

    However, as soon as my credit was rebuilt (my credit got ruined as a result of a deadbeat ex-husband) I dumped the Capital One card in favor of a CitiBank platinum MasterCard. CitiBank hasn't ever tried pulling any sleight of hand whatsoever, and their interest rates are below 10%.
    Ha! My MBNA card has been "late" for 4 out of the last 6 months with the accompanying wallop of a late fee on too, even though I've sent it from 7-10 days ahead! I'm going to start the registered mail thing with them from now on to avoid that crap and see how they argue around that.

    Once that's paid off I will also keep my Citicard. They gave me a great 8.99% rate, their payments post almost immediately (you can also pay in person at Citibank branches) and they haven't tried any other shady stuff either.
    "She has written so well, and marvellously well, that I was completely ashamed of myself as a writer...But this girl, who is to my knowledge very unpleasant and we might even say a high-grade bitch, can write rings around all of us who consider ourselves as writers"

    Ernest Hemingway on writer, aviation pioneer and horse trainer Beryl Markham


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    Default Re:subprime credit card rant

    In all fairness, I have successfully requested (ok I sweetly asked) to have late fee's reversed. Of course, that won't work every month...


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    Default Re:subprime credit card rant

    Sapphire,
    I did not see if you paid via internet using their website or your bank paid them electronically. Pardon me if you mentioned it and I missed it.
    Just pay it in advance a day before due via your banks electronic payment.
    Read the card terms and make sure those terms do not require the payment to be received before the date listed as due.

    Then file a complaint with the Attorney General AND the Federal Reserve.
    The Fed has instructions at http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/complaints/
    Attorneys General love to file lawsuits against unfair trade practices.

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    Default Re:subprime credit card rant

    Just pay it in advance a day before due via your banks electronic payment.
    Read the card terms and make sure those terms do not require the payment to be received before the date listed as due.
    Two sleight of hand issues are involved here where the subprime card sponsor banks are concerned. #1 is that the sponsor bank has a automated process in place to keep advancing the due date of next month's credit card payment - thus any automatic debit arrangements to transfer payments from another bank account to the credit card will eventually wind up being "late" unless you call the other bank every single month and have them tweak the payment date (which will piss them off the 2nd or 3rd time you call).

    #2 is that the terms of service from the subprime sponsor banks state that payment must be received by such and such a department of that bank. However, the published address where payments should be sent, and the pre-addressed payment envelopes sent with credit card monthly statements, are actually to a different department. Thus if you follow the instructions the subprime sponsor bank gives you, you are leaving open a loophole that the sponsor bank can waste 3-5 days transferring and posting your payment with the correct department.

    The only legal way to beat them at their own game is to be holding a US post office delivery receipt to prove payment was received prior to the due date. Otherwise the tricksters will burn you unless you are like 7-10 days early with your payment (which usually means sending out your payment BEFORE you receive your credit card statement for the month).

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    Default Re:subprime credit card rant

    Quote Originally Posted by Melonie link=board=6;threadid=10263;start=msg125705#msg125 705 date=1087829595
    Just pay it in advance a day before due via your banks electronic payment.
    Read the card terms and make sure those terms do not require the payment to be received before the date listed as due.
    Two sleight of hand issues are involved here where the subprime card sponsor banks are concerned. #1 is that the sponsor bank has a automated process in place to keep advancing the due date of next month's credit card payment - thus any automatic debit arrangements to transfer payments from another bank account to the credit card will eventually wind up being "late" unless you call the other bank every single month and have them tweak the payment date (which will piss them off the 2nd or 3rd time you call).
    No it won't. It's all automated. You can change the payment date online. Or, even if you call to do it, they don't care. It's a part of the service. The telephone operators actually prefer that you call, that helps justify their jobs.

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