Providian VISA and MC accounts - terrible experiences

Complaints.com received the following consumer message on August 23, 2002:

From:

RE: Providian VISA and MC accounts - terrible experiences

To whom it may concern: Until my personal nightmarish experience unfolded I assumed that there were two sides to every story. Since my experiences with Providian were benign, I simply went about my business. However, all that changed in March 2002. Now I relish any opportunity or forum I may use to voice my disgust and, hopefully, cost this company revenue and new business to make up for their callous indifference and lack of good faith shown toward me as a customer in good standing.

The subsequent capricious damage they imposed on my credit rating by arbitrarily closing my MC account will take years to undue. Furthermore, the exorbitant interest charges they are now imposing on my VISA Platinum account, that has been kept in good standing for four and one half years, have skyrocketed from 9.9% in June to 29.9% in August when I voluntarily closed it are indicative of a bad faith attempt to bleed consumers for every penny they can extract. To wit: My MasterCard account was in involuntarily closed by Providian after Providian was unable to process checks by phone on the same credit union checking account I had set up and used repeatedly and successfully for payment on my VISA account. Without any good faith attempt to discover their problem, they simply determined I was past due, decreased my credit limit so that I was now considered over my limit, and then summarily canceled my account without investigation or recourse to determine the error or reverse the action.

All this occurred over the course of 30 day on an account that was only active for approximately 45 days. My credit union verified that my payment posting attempts were not an error on my part, that funds were available on account for transfer, and that Providian could have simply contacted my credit union to resolve the error. My credit union provided me and Providain a letter documenting same.

Yet, my frustrating pleas fell on deaf ears and after my desperate request that they if they don't want my business, allow me to close the account voluntarily, all I received from customer service personnel over the phone were terse replies that reversing this action was not possible. This was followed by form letters from "supervisors" who, funny, could not be reached through customer service phone numbers... Now I have an incorrect and unnecessary derogatory entry on my credit file that I can't remove for seven years! I voluntarily closed the VISA account in August after my interest rate on purchases doubled in the period of one month from 9.9 to 18.99 and I was charged a $59.00 annual fee. In August it rose to 21.99% and now upon just receiving my September statement it curiously rose again to 27.99%, even after I paid $3500 or nearly one half of my outstanding balance! Upon calling customer service with this new alarm, I was informed that my interest rate was raised because I was late four time over the last year (untrue) and they have no record of my request to have the annual fee waived in spite of the fact that I requested waiver twice. Once when my MC account fee was credited earlier in the year, and then again when I requested the same when my Visa when the anniversary came due in May but was not posted until the July statement.

I subsequently closed the account. Funny, in March I was congratulated and awarded with an APR reduction from 21.99 to 9.99% on my VISA Platinum account for being in good standing. Now it appears that since they have lost my business, they want to charge me exorbitant interest charges of nearly 30% as vindictive, retribution. In addition to changing their policy to apply payments toward interest first, charging such usurious rates will not allow the average customer to pay down their debt in any reasonable or expeditious fashion. It may be legal to do so, but lending funds cheaply then arbitrarily using "policy" to raise rates willy-nilly and thereby shackle unwitting consumers to huge monthly interest charges is appalling. It is also the same sleazy "policy" a drug dealer would use to hook an addict or a loan shark would use to keep a chump on the hook. Well, it looks like I'm a chump. I'm a pretty bright guy but it appears that through my foolish trust in a "legitimate" institution I've been had. By the looks of the class action settlement reached with this upstanding company on behalf of their customers, I am not alone. Buyer beware.