| Page five......and the list goes on. |
From Joshua *-
I have received a bill for a credit card that I do not have. Providian has extracted $49.00 from my checking account (Dec. 29, 1999,) and I have not received any sort of credit card from them. I have, however, received my first statement bill from them on January 20, 2000. This statement showed my current credit line of $1.00 (that's right, one dollar) Now, I have never made a charge on this account, yet I am receiving bills?
No one seems to know who I can talk to, the money is still gone from my checking account, the 800-number that is supplied on the back of the statement is only a recorded line, every time the computer says,"please hold for the next available customer representative," I end up being rerouted back to the beginning of the pre-recorded message.
I am on hold with Providian right now, as I have been for almost 20 minutes. This is the second time today that this has happened. This is absolutely unacceptable. I don't know whether or not this interests you in regards to your battle against Providian on behalf of the consumers you represent, but if I can give you any more information, such as copies of the statement sent to me, a copy of my banking records, etc., please don't hesitate to contact me:
(* Joshua's letter was sent to me as well as to law firms. I wish him luck. Providian has stretched the limits of credulity in this case. I will not publish his personal information for obvious reasons. - MB)
From Susan -
My name is Susan and I just finished reading your web page about the Providian Credit card. My sister has a card thru them and she actually loves it...me, Im glad I read what everyone else had to say.
I had a card thru Capital One (which by reading what Providian does-they are sister companies) and I ended up owing about six hundred dollars (even when I only had a limit of 200.00). It all began with charging over my limit--which I didn't...the card was supposedly used on a monday for a purchase of 100.00..well, I hadn't bought anything. Their customer service is about as good as Providian...but these guys quoted bible verse at me...!!!!!
Anyway, I filed bankruptcy. I won't be applying for a Providian card or any other real soon....I can hold off the need to be anally raped by those guys.
Keep up the good work!
(Note: It's not exactly about Providian but you get the idea. And "anally raped" is a good description of what's being done to the consumer. - MB)
From Barbara -
I'm embarassed to say that both my daughter and I have been sucked into the "Providian Void." I just came across your website, and we both decided to check our statements. Well, low and behold, my daughter found late payment assessments for payments received before the due date, and we both had our interest rates jacked up even though we have never gone over our credit limits or made payments past the due date. Mine was recently raised from 19.99 to 23.99, and hers was raised twice--once from 18.99 to 19.99, then again to 21.99. Also, her annual fee was raised from 59.00 to 75.00. She called and talked, twice, to their "helpful" reps and was given two reasons for these increases. 1) They had to increase the interest to compensate for those cardholders who didn't pay their bills and defaulted. 2) They had to pay for their advertising, somehow. Silly me. And I thought that paying your bill on time and staying below your credit limit increased your standing with their company and would merit a interest rate DEcrease, not INcrease. If I could go back and do it over again, and my daughter agrees, I would trash my pre-approval and not get mixed up with this bunch of Bolsheviks.
A word to the wise: JUST SAY NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Keep up the crusade.
From David -
Thanks alot for creating your website "Providian sucks". I was contacted late at night this last Saturday by Providian and told I owed them $283 which includes a late fee. They told me at the start of January about 5 transactions (which I made in October of last year 99) had come in and bounced my account. Because I did not pay the full amount overdrawn in January, I received a late payment fee and over the limit fee along with the amount I have to pay. Too bad no one notified me of this IN January, not to mention my statement at the end of the month showed a positive available balance with a minimum payment of only $55 not $283. Even their own automated system showed a positive balance. I was treated like a criminal and told if I did not pay it in full I would be charged a $58 a month in fees plus interest until I could pay it off. Not to mention my credit record probably looks horrid now. Through your website, I found the consumer affairs page and have made a complaint. Thanks for helping me out, I guess I'm not alone.
From "Wiser" -
Greetings!
Got time for one more? I decided to take advantage of the Providian program. In the mail I received a Providian Buy Smart card and booklet telling me of all the savings I would receive using their program. Several days later I received my Providian Visa card. Neither card was activated by me. The other day I received my first statement charging me $119.00 annual fee for the buy smart card (they never told me I would be charged a fee for it) and get this $7.95 a month fee for the visa card whether I used it or not. Was I pissed. I immediately got on the phone and spoke to accounts to CANCEL my membership with Providian. Did I add that they were going to charge me almost 21% interest? Not what was orginally offered. Boy did the Customer Service rep do some fast talking.....told me that they would take the $119 fee off, etc. Without wasting any more time..............I cancelled the account and demanded a new statement reflecting a ZERO balance. I recorded the entire conversation and took notes...........I will keep you informed. By the way, I told Providian that I investigated then through the web and see that they have MANY dissatified customers and that I was NOT going to be a victim. I was grateful that I read you[r] information.
Thank you
From June -
Thanks for the Providian page. I remember being absolutely hounded by these people telemarketing their loans last year. I begged them to quite calling me. I didn't need money, couldn't they get the picture?Today I received another offer in the mail and considered it because I need another credit card to keep some business purchases separate. Remembered to look it up because I had this suspicion. Your Providian site confirmed my suspicions.
We have experienced the same conduct, especially holding payments up that had been sent in plenty of time until they were both overdue and overdrawn from two other companies. We canceled both offenders of course, and took our lumps. But it was extremely difficult to disentangle ourselves and pay the cards off. Once I paid one card off and complained when they charged me late fees and was told "your card doesn't have early payoff privileges."
........Thanks again for your help in exposing those monsters. I guess we have to take care of these things ourselves. The government certainly doesn't seem up to it. And your site does a great job of it.
All the best,
(Note: Now we know how the Spartans felt at Thermopylae. - MB)
From Aussy -
What an awesome site!!! I think you should have a Dollar for every person you have saved from becoming a victim of these criminals. I would gladly send you one!
I was tempted to apply for the card. I did hear one friend of mine having problems with them, but hey- everyone has at least one problem or other with a business. After hearing some "good" things, I decided to check them out further. Man am I ever glad I did!! My husband's ex-wife ran up his cards to the point where his only way out was bankruptcy, besides the divorce. I thought this would be a great way to build up his credit again. Well, you did us a big favor and looks like you saved us mega trouble and money. Thank you.
Here's something that might be useful for all the postings you had on your site about those annoying call from Providian and other solicitors. There is a small program you can download on cnet.com. Just type enigma in the search. It's a wonderful tool to quit being called again and again. It allows you to ask the right questions, type in the information you need while you speak and posts the law in case they give you any sort of excuses. If they don't hang up, you have a legal tool on file against them. AND: with this tool, YOU're in charge of the conversation, not them.
Keep it up,
From Irene -
Hello Michael!
Thank you for your very informative sight regarding providian financial(they don't deserve to have their name capitalized). We currently have one of their cards and fortunately have not suffered any of the nightmares that some of the other folks have encountered. Having had credit cards in our earlier years, we fell into the c/c pit but managed to pay them off and then couldn't get any. Several years had passed and whalah one day providian mailed us one of those already approved apps. We filled it out, returned it with the $29. fee and was billed the annual fee on first statement which I paid before using the card. As of this date my balance is $5.16 which I had to call this morning to find out where it came from as I had paid the previous balance of $49.74--an amount their automated system told me was the balance. This was prior to receiving the monthly statement. I stumbled upon your sight as a result of trying to find them online. WOW! what an eye opener. Since we had gottem their card we now have three others. Just a few minutes ago I phoned one of their call centers reaching Arlington Texas and requested a credit limit increase and was told that was done automatically every 3 months if your account is in good standing. I informed this rep that our had had been reviewed for some time--since August 1999 I think and that our account has always been in good standing. She informed me that it would be looked at in May. I also requested a lower interest rate as it is at their regular 23.99% which the young lady attempted to inform me that is the only rate they offer because they are dealing with people of "less than perfect credit" and that this rate is very competitive. She went fishing for an answer when I asked who they are competitive with and that we currently are holding cards with 12.99% no annual fee no application fee and a credit limit well over $5000. Now that I've exhausted your eyes and told my story, I will mail them a $7.00 check, wait for a zero balance on the automated system and the phone system and will definitely will cancel this account. I agree with you and everyone else who has had the misfortune of dealing with these folks. It is terrible that a government such as ours cannot or will not do something about the fact that this organization is prevailing upon the poor of America.
Thanks for the opportunity to vent.
From Jim -
Hi, my name is Jim* and I am a Fighter Pilot serving in Germany.I have been in this business for about 20 years and have flown about 3000 hrs in high performance fighter aircraft. I have (or soon to be without) a VISA Gold card from Providian. I was informed (after being a good customer for 6 years) that my account was being terminated because I live overseas and Providian does not service accounts that are not in the US. I told the customer service rep I was in the US Air Force and have lived here for two years. She told me "It is noble that you serve in the military, but we can no longer service your account." I wrote a scathing letter to the Cust. Serv. Dept. and told them 1) Even though I live overseas, I have a NY address (all APO addresses are NY) 2) I will turn the Providian Corp in to my investigative branch and urge them to put Providian on the restricted list to all active duty and retired military persons, and 3) The usurious interest rates place them out of the competition for my business. I also told them to look at your web page and get an idea of what the consumers feel about their "fine" organization.
Freedom isn't easy.
* As a matter of policy I don't divulge correspondents' last names unless requested to do so. - MB
From Debbie -
This is a response to the web page on providian visa. I would just like to say thanks to you for your web page and even though I have already sent in my 49.00 I will not use that card when I receive it in the mail. Your website along with all the people who responded to it really convinced me that as a young women of age 19 that this would be a way to really ruin my credited before I even have a chance to establish it.
Thanks A Million!!!
(Note: Debbie is a college student. Too bad the schools don't give courses in how to avoid the credit trap. - MB)
From Tania -
I'm originally from South America and usually because the corruption of my country (Argentina), I don't trust in anybody....but because I have no credit here, I WAS on the way to apply for Providian....Thank you I better pay by cash and wait to create a good one....by the way I guess Providian has a deal with Bally's Total Fitness..I have a damn contract for three years with them and there is no way to get rid of them....
(Note: I doubt if there's a connection with Bally's but sleaze finds its own level. It's a basic law of economics. - MB)
( I normally don't promote commercial sites, but I received this from Dan, and I'm posting it as a link. I assume no responsibility for any of the content of Epinions, Inc.'s web site. - MB)
Hi,
I read your page about Providian - sounds like they tried to pull a quick one. Anyway, you can read and view other's opinions on Providian at our website Epinions. have you seen us before? Take a look at http://www.epinions.com/finc-Creditcards-All. Let me know if you have any questions or comments.
Dan...
Daniel K. Speirs
Epinions, Inc.
Personal Finance Category Manager
Email: dans@epinions-inc.com
Web: http://www.epinions.com
Tel: 650.616.6578 *****New Telephone Number*****
Fax: 650.616.6510 *****New Fax Number*****
From Sarah -
First of all, I'd like to thank you for your great website. I had my problems with Providian in the past (starting when they were First USA), but did nothing about it besides call their customer service reps AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH with a problem for about four years. I finally was so fed up that I got a loan at a higher interest rate and paid them off. I was never an at risk borrower, so I qualified for a 12.9 interest rate ( 21.9 if you cashed one of those 36 checks that they send you per year, which your money doesn't start paying back until all lower interest balances are paid). In the time time that I was a customer, they "accidentally" changed my address four times, then charged me late fees and over limit fees on bills that took a month or two to find me. When Iraised enough hell about the address changes, they started not posting my payments until three weeks to a month after I'd mail the bill, thus the ubiquitous "late charge". This was sufficient to piss off my husband, so he called to rip them a new one. Their response to him was that we needed to overnight our payment or send it via certified mail, otherwise, they couldn't guarantee that our payment would be in time. In other words, pay $3 instead of 32 cents to mail a friggin' letter. We started mailing our payment the day we got the bill, but still got a late fee. Our next tactic was to pre-mail a payment before we got the bill in a hand addressed envelope to the address that appears on our bill( the one that goes in the cellophane window when you mail a bill off.) Voila! We still got that great fee (which by the way , started at $5 a month and increased every month by $5 until at the end of our experience in 1998 it was $35. When I called these people to see why my bill was late this time, they told me I'd sent it to the wrong address and gave me an address in a completely different State! (For P.O. box, no less! ) So, payments in pre-printed envelopes go to one State, but handprinted go to another, Part of the scheme? Dr. Evil would have his pinky up to his mouth by this point! We finally deduced that there was no way to pay these people on time and had our credit union pay them off, and close our account for us, probably a good move, because we avoided any account closing fees or nightmares. Our bills also frequently included mystery charges in the neighborhood of $29, but these charges were conveniently located in the lower left hand corner of the billing statement in a tiny box next to daily computed interest ( eye catching, wouldn't you say?) Toward the end, the late fees were also relegated to this obvious area instead of in the new billings area in the middle of the page.Anyway, my husband recently noticed a blurb about the 300 million dollar settlement, so I started scanning the web and found your wonderful site. I'm just thrilled that those fuckers got theirs, but would also like to know who gets reimbursed for fraudulent fees with this settlement.
Thank you!!!!!
From Kristy -
I just wanted to say that I love your home page and also your information on Providian. Unfortunately, I found the Providian info too late. I just received my new card and I have already transferred a substantial balance before I knew they were such a horrible company. That's just plain stupid on my part. I should have researched before I applied! Oh well, I am just hoping that with the lawsuit that was recently settled they will be more customer conscious. You can bet I will be watching very closely. Your pages are great and I even bookmarked them under my subject of "Just plain good reading". Thanks for all your good info.
(Note: I wish I could say I'm embarrassed by all the praise, but my ego thrives on it. - MB)
From Lynn -
My daughter sent your site to me. She is stuck in the Providian trap, too! I feel so bad for her. Have been trying to advise her how to get out of debt but she has a few credit cards that are similar.
About a year ago I received a Providian offer for a card at 7.99% and applied. I have great credit and many cards with good rates. But this was even better. Sooo, to make a long story short, they turned me down. (I've gotten 3 good cards since). I called to find out why but didn't get a clear answer. But was told I could try again in a few months. I saved the offer. Thank God for your site! I will not even take the chance of ruining my good credit with these sleazes. I can only assume they turned me down because they realized I knew too much about credit cards to fall into their trap. On every card I get I 3rd degree THEM to make sure there are no hidden charges. And when I get a really good rate, I cancel another card with a higher rate. I have one or two at 10.99% and am not happy with that! I had one at 9.99% "locked in" and when the rates were recently raised by the Gov, this one went up, too, to 10.99%. Pissed me off on principle and immediately canceled the card.
I try very hard to protect my credit having had bad credit some 25 years ago and really appreciate your site. I just wish everyone had the wherewithal to check first!
(Note: The greatest threat to unscrupulous businesses is an informed consumer. Nice going, Lynn. - MB)
From Angela -
I started my account about 2 months ago. I got my first statement on the 27 of July. Payment due on Aug 6. I noticed they charged me an annual fee. When I started the account they said there would be none. I called and they told me that their computers were down. What was my question? I told her, and she suddenly had a working computer. She totally screwed my question up and mentioned a processing fee. I told her that it wasn't a processing fee. After argueing with her she said> "Mam you weren't charged a processing fee." No shit! That's what I said. She tranferred me to new accounts and I had to tell another woman my situation. Well she told me that the annual fee was no longer "an issue" it was taken off my account. I can't believe they tried to screw me on my first statement! Should I close my account? I read alot of the letters on your website and I am kind of worried. My husband and I declared bankruptcy 1 year ago, and would like to re-establish a good credit rating. Do you have any suggestions?
(Note: Get rid of the the account ASAP and check with your local branch of Consumer Credit Counseling. - MB)
From Autumn -
I buy things pretty often on EBay and pay them via PayPal. Well, I get ready to send my paltry little $22 winning bid on a small necklace off and WHAMMO, I am DECLINED by my credit card. What?? I just mailed a payment in on 9/9, two weeks earlier. I have good credit. What's the problem? Apparently I was over my limit. Ok, fine, I just purchased a home computer for my personal company business I am sole proprietor of and as I do not have a business card yet, put this on my private credit in the meantime. I pulled $1500 out of my company savings plan, payable Thursday to my checking account, to pay off the balance by 9/30. So how over am I?
$1. 00
Yup, that's right, one dollar. I wanted to charge $22, and have $21. So I ask, ok, look, I need a credit increase for $5 or $25 then, whatever. I only have 3 days to pay via Ebay to this vendor or I'll lose my bid. The supervisor gets on when the rep gets confused. She gives me a spiel about how they regularly review for additional credit and since they did this way back in May, automatically, they don't feel it necessary to do so when I NEED it--now. Regardless of the amount. So I patiently explain the situation to her and she is completely indifferent, it will take 2-3 weeks to increase the limit (kinda negating the purpose of a credit card there,> since if I HAD 2-3 weeks, I'd just pay for it with my savings plan money, duh) and they'll send it in writing. Obviously she wasn't getting it. (I've never had a problem getting an increase with Discover, they LOVE people who charge and pay off every month). So after all this rigamarole, I just said, thanks for NOT helping me when I needed it and slammed the phone down.
I will be cancelling my card with this last payment. I have 20 other offers on my desk at home and I'm taking one of them...
Thanx for letting me vent. Providian sucks!
(Note: Shailesh Mehta, who is chairman, president and chief executive officer of San Francisco's Providian Financial Corp., has been appointed as trustee of the University of California by Governor Gray Davis. I hereby award to Gov. Davis the esteemed "Order of the Greased Palm". - MB)
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In my response to Autumn's e-mail, I included the artice referred to above. This is her reaction. The short article can be found on the first page of this site.
Wow, Mike, I had no idea. What a public service announcement!
Feel free to quote me on the below too. Oooooh I'm mad.
I just took lunch at my desk, and decided to read through the postings on this site rather than just scan though. I had NO IDEA I wasn't the only one getting the ubiquitous $29 late fee when I *thought* I'd sent my payment in on time. This has happened twice in a year now and my boyfriend was wondering aloud why I wasn't mailing them on time---I have enough money to pay my bills and I am a very consciencious customer regarding credit. I told him I knew I was, it had to be the mail. I thought perhaps mailing the check a week in advance wasn't enough time and am resorting to two weeks recently.
But you know, if the post office can get a money order to Utah from VA in 3 days, why can't they get my stupid payment 3 states away in 7??? I also didn't realize they charged me a $17 limit increase---you know, the one I DIDN'T ask for---but they wouldn't give me a lousy $5 increase at *my* request for an Ebay purchase!!! It's called credit when you don't need it!!! And they charge you for it! Not only am I cancelling my card, I will photocopy the statements on the website, along with my own emails and six million pieces of their formerly valued plastic card all cut up so they can see exactly what I think of them. Wow, I am never ever again using these people. Who knows how much worse my credit could get with these "hidden late charges" out of nowhere. Thanks to everyone for warning me, I wish I'd known sooner...
From Chad,
3 weeks ago my girlfriend found the Aria.com website
and read their page for "applying online for the Aria card". Well, after she
read all the "GOOD" stuff they wanted her to hear and so she decided to go ahead
and apply.
MISTAKE!!!!!! they forgot to mention that there was an activation fee until AFTER she
applied and was approved. Now she just "Canceled" the card and was told that the
fee was waived and should be "Credited to the account within 5 to 7 days." Now
if the fee is "WAIVED" then why should it be credited back to a
"CANCELED" card. HMMM, i think the problems are beginning to start...... Anyhow,
she was smart and got the person's first and last name and was told he was the supposed
Supervisor. However, when she asked for the confirmation code she was told "We do not
use them" and that she should not worry. She also was told to "just discard the
card and we'll send you a statement showing the credit to your account and a ZERO
balance." This just be me but how do you CREDIT an account that was just CANCELED.
Well, enough raving, we'll have to see what happens next. BTW, thanks to your site we've
decided to not take ANY Providian shit and if this should go any further we will NOT
hesitate to take them to court!!!!!!! :)
From Robin -
I to have been ambushed by Providian. My husband and I were "pre approved" by for a Providian Visa just months after going bankrupt, (due to many hospital bill). Foolishly we accepted hoping to rebuild our credit. Ha Ha the joke was on us. The intrest was outragous, you'd have thought I was paying the payment on a Lexus instead of the intrest on a credit card. And here I am 3 years later trying to pay the $4200 I owe them. I pay 3 times my minimum payment and still incredibly, I am not getting them paid off. Providian is a rip-off and I cant see how any one deserves a credit card from them. It is should be considered inhumane for them to give anyone credit. And one last thought, I think every one in the customer service department should be given a Providian card, just because they are so kind and helpful. (HaHa)! Thanks for your great website.
From Jeff -
Thank you, thank you, thank you,
I was in the process of filling out my pre-approved credit card certificate when I saw your website. My GOD!!!
Only in the USA can a company knowingly practice this sort of deceptive business. Thank you so much for this site. You have saved me the future headaches which seem even worse than dealing with my health insurance carrier.
thanks, again
(Note: Letters like this tell me that what I'm doing has some value. Thank you, Jeff, and thanks to everyone who has shared their experiences here. - MB)
From Kam -
I found your "I Hate Providian" website during a search for bank account seizure laws (interesting), I just want to say that I do agree with you on the fact that they suck big wind! My husband recently was approved for 2 cards from Providian, (both unsecured, both for $500). He gave them our bank account number so that they could retrieve their blood money (processing and app fee) electronically. They sent us the cards and THEN went to the bank account using the wrong prefix, so that they didn't receive the blood money. They called us and we told them how to proceed. They promptly did the transaction WRONG again (which we didn't find out till later). After 1 month, when we were expecting the first bill, they sent a letter telling him that his cards were CANCELLED because they didn't get their processing fee! Unbelievable! After we had already spent about $200 from each card, believing that we would only have to deal with the minimum payment! Now they expect us to pay them IN FULL for the amounts we charged! Ludicrous! They are idiots over there and I'm glad someone is finally exposing them for the jerks they are. We are sending them the small amounts we anticipated, and don't care if they like it or not!
(Note: The rest of Kam's letter was a disagreement on my feelings about rap music. You can't win 'em all. - MB)
© 1998 - 2002 Michael Baram