Providian - Promotional Rates

Providian sent me an unsolicited check for $4,000, payable to me, as a proposed cash advance at a promotional rate prominently stated to be 7.99%. When my WebCard Visa statement arrived yesterday, I noted that Providian's calculated APR was 41.78% because they had tacked on an undisclosed $120 check processing fee.

I intend to file a complaint with the Comptroller of the Currency about Providian's violation of the Fair Credit billing act and to pay off the account and close it. There is nothing about Providian's offer that would lead me to believe that Providian was not pulling this scam simultaneously with a large proportion of the Visa accounts that they bought from H.&R. Block after they sold CompuServe.

I was solicited by Providian for a credit card which would consolidate all of my existing credit card accounts, promising a net rate lower than I was presently paying. I accepted the offer and was told that the rate they would place on the account was 12.9%.

I received my account statement from Providian on March 16, with a payment due date of March 15. When I called, I noticed that my rate had increased to 21.9%. The customer service representative made a notation that the bill had arrived late (this was the second time) and said she would waive any late fees.

When I asked her about the 21.9% interest rate, she said that I was supposed to have sent in copies of the accounts which they had consolidated, showing the interest rates at that time. I was never apprised of this responsibility at any time. In fact, it was only after Providian reviewed the accounts that they came back with the initial 12.9% rate. I have asked that the rate be reduced to the agreed upon 12.9% and that the account be closed. I am told that I can only have the rate reduced if I go back to the original card providers and get certification of the rates I was paying last October. This is ridiculous.

I have been charged a rate of 21.99% since January, incurring finance charges in excess of $200 in three months over and above that which had been promised. I feel that I have been totally deceived, especially since the customer service rep was prepared with a pat answer, as though she had handled this scenario hundreds of times.

A telemarketer representing Providian contacted us and promised a 7.99% APR card. When we received our agreement, the rate was higher. We contacted the bank and asked them to fix this issue. They responded by saying their telemarketers wouldn't have made that offer. (I felt that they called us liars).

So, we closed the account by paying it off with a transfer to our existing card. Now, they claim that we owe them in excess of $140.00, due to our method of paying them off. I would NEVER do business with them again.

I was solicited over the telephone to consolidate my credit cards at no interest for 6 months and then a 12.9% rate. I proceeded to do so.

The balance transfers were counted as a cash advance, so I am being charged 23.9% on the money I transferred and 15.9 on the rest. I have been paying on the card for over a year and every month I receive the same bill!

In the Spring of 1996 I responded to a solicitation by Providian to open a credit card account that offered a low introductory rate for a period coverng 3 billing cycles. Twice I contacted the Company via phone to inquire exactly when the introductory period would expire since it was not explicit from the terms of the Account Agreement, which by the way Providian amended from the time I accepted the offer & the time I maintained the account.

My problem with Providian ensued with the expiration of the introductory period. Based upon the representations of their phone representative, I made full payment of the outstanding balance due 2-3 days prior to the due date. However, according to Providian, since I had activity (charges) on my account in the period following the close of the billing cycle (& preceding payment on the due date) they had the right to charge me the standard interest rate on the full outstanding balance for the entire term the balance had been outstanding.

Obviously, I went ballistic & refused to pay. I wrote letter a series of letters to them. The only response I received was an offer to settle for half the amount they claimed I owed. I refused on principle.

Presently, this non-payment shows up on my credit history. I exercised my rights under the Consumer Credit Protection & requested that a statement I had written be included on any report issued to an inquiring party. The only credit reporting agency I had problems with was Experian (TRW). I had to make my request three times before they documented a reference to my dispute to the charge. Please note this is the only blemish on what would otherwise be a flawless credit report.

About a year ago, I tried to settle the amount with Providian if only they would remove the non-payment of a debt from my record as a mistake. They demanded payment of half the current balance, meaning with interest accruing for over two years & refused to expunge the non-payment of debt from my credit history. Naturally, I read with glee & interest Providian's latest woes.

I am writing from personal experience that this Company is particularly deceitful in its practices & goes to extreme lengths to take advantage of consumers under current credit lending laws to cause the levy of illegitimate fees & interest. This is the only credit company I have ever had problems with. If my personal experience can help the effort against Providian, I will be happy to provide you with documentation & further details of my dealings with Providian.

I would hope that any successful outcome would remove from my credit report the blemish that have unilaterally been authorized to place on my credit report. I believe that major reform is needed in this area. Consumers are utterly helpless against these credit card companies should a dispute arise. There is no defense to prevent a credit card issuer from placing a negative remark, thus damaging a consumer's ability to obtain credit.

The opportunity of a consumer to provide a 100-word statement to the credit reporting agency is an utter joke since no lender or evaluator (FICO) will place any weight on the consumer's statement in defense to a negative report by a lender. If a negative report appears on the consumer's credit report, he/she suffers. New laws should be enacted to provide some standard of proof before an issuer of credit is permitted to place a negative remark on a sensitive document such as a consumer credit report.