Complain about a product or service

First Premier Bank

The offer looks pretty good. "Your Gold MasterCard is Pre-Approved! 9.9% APR Fixed" the envelope shouts. Inside is an effusive offering that rattles on about the "premium benefits" and the attractive 9.9% fixed rate. For those with shaky credit, it sounds good -- no security deposit or savings account required.

Ah but wait -- what are all these fees on the disclosure statement?

• Account set-up fee: $29 (one-time fee)
• Program fee: $95 (one-time fee)
• Annual fee: $48
• Participation fee: $72 annually
• Additional card fee: $20 (if applicable)
• Transaction fee for cash advances: Greater of $5 or 3% of the cash advance

Oh but wait, there's more. There's ...

• Credit limit increase fee: $25
• Return item charge: $25
• Auto draft charge: $5/$9 per draft
• Express delivery fee: $25 for cards sent Express Mail
• Copying fee: $3 per item
• Internet access fee: $3.95

This almost looks like a satire -- as though someone sat down and dreamed up as many fees as possible for comic effect. Program fee? Participation fee? Account set-up fee? Since when are these normal credit card charges?

Just to prove it's all heart, First Premier doesn't charge the whole $72 participation fee upfront, it parcels it out at $6 per month. Even so, as we add it up the start-up fees would be a minimum of $178 and possibly more if the mysterious copying fee, Internet access fee, etc. were added on.

The kicker to this ludicrous scenario is that the letter gives no hint what credit limit the consumer has been "pre-approved" for. Those we've heard from have had limits of as little as $300. With a few hundred dollars worth of upfront fees, that doesn't leave much room for error. Naturally, if the account is delinquent for two consecutive billing cycles two times in any six-month period, the 9.9% interest rate suddenly becomes 23.9%.

Here's what Premier's customers say:

Stafton of Conyers, GA November 9, 2008

Stafton of Conyers GA (11/09/08)
the credit card came and I thought that it would have a 300 dollar limit but once I used it, there were 170 dollars in others automatically charged to the card not of my doing. After the first year I was going to cancel the card but I had about 30 days they said to pay the balance off in fully so I opted to not close and then 75 dollars were charged and annual feel.

William of Halifax, NC October 19, 2008

William of Halifax NC (10/19/08)
I recieved an application for a credit card from First Premiere Bank to help repair my credit score.Upon receiving this card, There was a limit of 300. I was also charged a total of 179 for setup fees and ohter expenses that the company said was required for me to get the card. These cgarges were hidden fees and were not stated by the person that i talked to. The company misrepresented themselves and in returv , I got burnt in the Deal. They contiued to add charges after I cancelled my card. This is in violation of consumer rights.
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Now the account has been forwarded to a collection agency that harrasses me on a daily basis. Is there anyone that help represent me in filing a civil suit against First Premiere Bank and First Revenue Assurance Collection Agency? The economic impact is a decrease of my credit score and refussal of any more credit cards. The emotional impact is constant harrassment by FirstRevenue Assurance collection Agency.

Jonathan of Great Neck, NY October 6, 2008

Jonathan of Great Neck NY (10/06/08)
I had received a phone call in regards to my account being past due. I had asked if i can make a minimum payment and I was told NO Clearly twice. I was told that i had to pay off the full balance and she offered me a 30 credit if i made the payment. I made it clear that I lost my full time job and am now a full time college student and am not making enough a week to clear that payment. Still I was told i have to pay in full. I agreed believing the representative's statement and setup the payment.

The day of, had the money in my account and something else hit leaving me with in sufficient funds twice. I found the statement which is due the 10th showing my minimum payment due is 71.69. I called and spoke with Candice but everytime I asked about this, she kept repeating myself telling my i shouldn't have agreed to it. I responded by informing her that their staff shouldn't give me false information and pressure me to make a payment.

I don't like to complain about anyone but these 2 representatives I spoke with made my life really difficult and don't feel that is right what they did. 3 - 34.00 dollar charges to my checking account regarding non-sufficient funds. Would have paid the minimum and avoided all this mess if made aware by rep who contacted me.

Suzanne of Littleton, CO September 27, 2008

Suzanne of Littleton CO (09/27/08)
I was approved for a credit limit of 300 dollars and there were 179 dollars worth of start up fees. That leaves me 121 dollars worth of credit available. There are also charges that continue after the first bill for set up and an additional charge for online billing. I called and cancelled the card without having to pay them any balance.

I think they should be reviewed because they are purposely targeting folks with poor credit. People that might not have the ability to just tear this card up. It seems like an unfair business practice, consumers be warned.

Nora of Rochester, NY September 25, 2008

Nora of Rochester NY (09/25/08)
I've had the First Premier MasterCard since November 2007. I've always paid the card very diligently before the due date, I've paid off the entire balance and have overpaid and had credit. I had not used the card in about 3 mos. and last month (August) I thought I sent in the payment, but I did not realize that I hadn't.

They called me on a Sunday night one month after the missed payment and asked for the entire balance. They charged late fee and the annual fee and which caused the card to go over the limit. At the time I had a 90 line of credit and once they applied late charge and the annual charge it sent the card over the limit and they quickly reported it on my credit report.

I have been a very good customer, always paying on time, paying more than what is due and I rarely used the card, it only has a 275 credit limit. I was shocked and surprised that no one called me sooner to ask about my payment. If they cared about me as a customer and saw from my billing record that I have never missed on been late since I got the card.

It seems as though good banking practices would have kicked in somewhere, but instead they just slammed me with the fees and reported it on my credit report as over the limit. I have not used the card in over 3 mos. It's over the limit now and I have not bought a damn thing to get it there. I will be closing this as soon as I pay it off.

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