Providian

I divorced my ex-husband in 2001. We each held separate credit card accounts in our separate names with Providian National Bank. In our divorce decree, my accounts were listed as my debt and his were listed as his. I paid my card off in full in 2002 and closed my account. In 2003, I was contacted by a collection agency (American Recovery Systems, Inc.) attempting to collect the debt owed on my ex-husband's credit card. He apparently provided them a partial copy of our divorce decree and attempted to claim that I owed his debt.

After several letters by my then attorney, I was never contacted by another collection agency. Now, some 9 years later, I have a bad debt on my credit report from them and received a collection letter from Portfolio Recovery Associates. I do not owe this debt. It was never my account. It was proven so to Providian, yet 9 years later, they hand it over to a third placement debt collector attempting to collect something I do not owe and never owed. I never filled out an application for that account, never lived at the address on that account, etc. I am very displeased because now I will have to hire an attorney so that I never get contacted from them again.

I received a judgment letter copy from my payroll company about an order to garnish my wages for an old debt I had with Providian which I already paid in 2007. I had the receipts saved, but I also moved 2 different states since then so I'm struggling to find them. My records from Providian can't be found by Chase who purchased WaMu, which acquired Providian a couple years ago.

The lady at Chase said they didn't get all the WaMu records transferred and they don't know how to even acquire the missing records also. Funny part is, the checking account I used to pay the Providian debt was a WaMu checking account. This is so ridiculous and my payroll dept said the order was 25% of my wages. I have 4 kids to care for and my husband recently lost his job. I don't have a problem paying this if I owe them, but I know I don't and I don't know how I can prove it.

The other thing is the judgment was made unserved because they sent it to an old address of mine in NJ which I had not lived in for over 10 years. I now live in NC and the only thing I can do is file a motion to vacate the order and I have to spend time and money I don't have to go to court in NJ. Can someone please help me? I'm beyond desperate at this point.

They keep harassing my family members and sending me letters from lawyers.

In checking my credit report Providian National Bank has levied a judgment against me in the amount of $2,444.65 in the year 11/04/1999 with the superior court of New Jersey. I have no idea what this matter is about.

A recovery company is trying to get money out of me that I do not owe nor have I ever had an account with this bank or its subsidiaries. Providian National Bank said there was a loan taken out in March 2004 or a credit card. I have not had a credit card since I filed bankruptcy. Providian has never proved that there was an account or anything.

I have had however, my ex-husband, after separation, use my information fraudulently. I am not knowing if this is what happened or not. I want resolve in this issue as I have tried now for years. I have written complaints, letters, etc. The matter was under investigation in April 2010 again. And still just today, I get mail for the same thing. Please help me.

I had a Providian account that I paid off while in collections. I have now received another call from a different agency asking me to pay the same debt! I paid this debt in May 2010, and I am being asked to now pay the same debt. How is this even possible?

I have received papers saying I am being taken to court for garnishment of wages for a total of 5,000 and some odd dollars. The only Providian account I had was in 2001 and I defaulted and settled the balance by paying half the amount. There is no mention of an account on my credit report. A judgment was issued in favor of the attorney for Midland in 2009 which I never knew about until today. What is my recourse?

They sent my account to a collection agency, 10 years after it was paid and closed! What a joke! The collection agency said that I have to pay. I will be fighting this one in court, that's for sure!

As to those who had problems with Providian, I had a card with them about 10 years ago. They keep me in good standing until I defaulted on the card by not paying, because I was so far in debt. As for those who were victim of fraud, it is hard to dispute the claims and hard to remove. However, it is possible to fix. Remember, negative accounts cannot report after 7 years, and bankruptcy is 10 years. If you start to pay on those debts after or during the seven years, the length of time it stays on your credit starts all over again. Do not pay them if you didn't open the account. If you pay, they will think you were lying and just defaulted due to non payment.

There are ways of telling if you opened it by address, signature, email address, and phone number used. I myself was over $330,000 in debt and had to file chapter 7. I have 6 more years till that is removed but have managed to establish credit. Even disputing items can get them removed. If they can't verify information or contact creditor, they can't keep reporting it and will remove the item. It just takes time but it can be done. Get an annual report from all bureaus. They are Transunion, Experian, Equifax, and the fourth that most people don't know about, it's called Innovus! I have had creditors use them as well as the big three.

I was in an accident where I was hit by a bus while crossing at a red light. I had a concussion and was left with TBI. Providian was one of my credit cards. I know I have insurance that would pay in case I become disabled. I was taken advantaged of very badly and there was no one there to help me with the insurance on my credit cards in case I had become disabled.

Yesterday I received a letter in the mail stating that I owed $3,039.67 on an account, but they would settle for $1,519.86. This account was opened years ago and has since then been paid off and closed. Interestingly enough, I just moved into a new apartment just 2 months ago and all of a sudden, after years of living in the same city, I receive this letter. I have not, since yesterday, ever been contacted by this company. I do not owe this money!

I called Northland Group Inc. this morning and spoke with "Fred". I told him that this was a closed account from years ago and that I would like more information on just exactly what this was and the burden of proof lies on them and not on me. He told me that I would have to submit something in writing stating that I wanted more information. I told him that I was not going to write to them and that it was their responsibility to verify this debt. I then went on to tell him that I had found the consumeraffairs.com website and saw all of the recent complaints about Providian and their shady business practices. I did not owe this money and was not going to pay. I also mentioned to him that I thought is was strange that after living in the same city for 15 years that I had not once been contacted by this company and now all of a sudden after I move to a new address I receive a collection notice. Once I mentioned the consumeraffairs.com website, he told me he would make a note that I was disputing the claim and he would close out the account.

A couple of years ago, I was duped by a company out of New York for hundreds of dollars. They finally stopped hounding me once I had the Indiana State Attorney General's office contact them. This has scam written all over it. Even the "collection notice" looks shady.

The first I ever heard of a company called Providian was their appearance on my credit report in 2009, claiming an amount around $1700 despite the fact that I had never opened an account. I recently found out that a family member, whom I can't confront, had perhaps opened the account with my name ostensibly to buy me things. This bank then left some court orders at my parents' home last year. The papers were found. Who knows how long after they were left under dad's broke-down pickup truck, if that gives you any idea how Providian defines "paper serving". I have not lived there since 2006. They have since garnished at least 1/4 of my monthly net income. I'm a graduate student and thus am now for the first time forced to live off my husband's generosity.

We've been married—1 year. What does this tell him about me? I feel royally screwed and very bitter about the credit/financial industry altogether. I have canceled my one other "bank" credit card (the annual fees amounted to more than a 1/3 of the 450 dollar limit), but kept the JC Penny card (for a store credit card I find them excellent and fair!) since my credit is screwed for the long term anyhow. Whatever. My point is, beware! These people are two sticks short of evil and they will come for you if you don't severe all legal ties ASAP. Never do business with them and if you find yourself in this situation, I do advise you strongly to seek an attorney.

On 11/19/2011, I received a letter stating that Asset Acceptance LLC will settle ($640.52) on an account of $1164.58. This account was from Providian Bank, however, I am young and have never had a bank account or any open accounts. I have never even heard of Providian, I'm not even sure if they are located in Michigan.

I opened a secured credit card with $500.00. I closed my account, and Providian sold the account to a collection agency. They claim, I owe almost $5,000.00. this happened over 12 years ago. I kept telling them that this was a secret account, and was closed. I don't owe this money. They don't want to hear, and they keep hounding me for this money I don't owe. My credit is at the lowest, and I can't get any type of credit because of this.

On November 7, 2011, I received a call from Providian representative, Aaron ****, stating that I owe $4,977.70 for a card that was opened in 2000. **** was the phone number he gave me but my phone identifier had **** in it. I exclaimed that I will not pay the settlement of $600.00 because I did not open an account.

I applied for a card in 2002 and they never notified me that I qualified for it. They sent me the card in 2002 but their terms were outrageous so I called them and told them that I was not accepting it. I told them not to activate the card. Almost ten years had passed and they sold the debt to a third party under false pretense. I had no debt with them at all. The amount I qualified for was $400.00 and they wanted over $250.00 in fees right off the bat. I said that there is no way I would agreed to those terms. I told them to cancel everything because I didn't sign or activate anything!

Ten years later, fraud can go both ways in this world. It's kind of funny. When the little people ** up, it goes on their credit but when the big boys ** up, they never admit to it--the things we have to go through! There is quite a few, fair credit act laws in place and a statue of limitations on most debits for some people. Their rights are being violated and they don't know it.

I do not owe you. I have never heard of you, so please leave me alone.

I have had a title search on my name because my husband and I are trying to buy a house now. I'm not saying that I never have this card, but I was either 17 or 18 years of age. Now I'm 31, and I'm trying to make a better life for our family. I tried to call the number that they gave. I'm getting nowhere. I need to find out when I signed for this card and where I can pay it off. Please, someone give me an answer.

I received a letter from Asset Acceptance on behalf of Providian Bank claiming I owe a balance of $5425.85, and requesting a settlement of $1085.17. I have never had an account with Providian, Chase or WaMu, and haven't had even 1 credit card in over 10 years because I have no need for one. My credit has been impacted due to this fraudulent claim and I'm sure the harassment has only just begun.

I never heard of Providian Bank but they are claiming that I owe them $692.82. I have a very common name, and I've dealt with a lot of bogus things on my credit reports in the past, but by the sound of it, this company is very fraudulent.

I simply contacted the credit bureaus and went through their standard procedure to get this removed, which turned out well for me. The bank or collector did not rebut with the bureau, probably because they had no evidence, and the account was dropped from my report. However, the collector has not stopped sending me letters and I'd prefer if they did.

In 1998, Providian Bank issued two credit cards in my name that I never sought or agreed to. I have not ever received any dunning notices or calls from Providian Bank.

Providian sold out to Washington Mutual in 2004-5 and Chase Bank bought the Washington Mutual Card Services in 2005 and renamed it WAMU. In 2005, Chase Bank's WAMU began dunning and calling me repeatedly. I was 70 YOA and caring for my mother who suffered from Alzheimer's disease. Because they would not stop harassing me, in 2008, I agreed to try to settle with an assignee. Bad move on my part, but at the time I did not know about Providian Bank and Chase Bank WAMU did not inform me of the fact that they bought the debt, but failed to investigate the facts of how it was originated. I also did not know that Chase Bank had assigned two organizations to collect the 1998 Providian Bank credit card debt: Equable Ascent Financial, LLC and Capital One Bank USA N.A. via NCO Financial, Inc.

In the 2008 agreement, that was reached with assignee Capital One Bank and based on reaffirmation of the undisclosed Providian claim which had already expired under Texas Stature of Limitations due to no collection action by Providian Bank or any of its assignees for four yrs. I simply wanted to stop them from calling me over and over.

Capital One made it seem like this debt originated from them, not Providian Bank. The agreement was conducted in a local Chase Bank office. They called and harassed until I came in to the bank branch and signed the affirmation. But I never got any money from Providian nor Capital one. I have been paying $25 month ever since, but I had no idea why until recently.

On August 1, 2011, Equable Ascent Financial, LLC had me served with a citation for suit claiming I had defaulted on $4,222. When I informed them that I was already paying another assignee, they refused to provide me with the information necessary to determine the validity of their claim of my default. I cannot afford an attorney.

I gathered all of the records I could find and started investigating their claim. I answered the citation and asked the law firm to provide me with information on the loan origination. They sent me an affidavit form for a claim of identity theft instead. Although I appreciate the thought, a trial date has been set and I cannot get any information to deposition anyone formerly at Providian Bank or currently at Chase Bank or Capital One Bank. I think that the law firm is simply stalling.

I am writing all of this to show others that it is possible to get the information, but we need to work together in spite of our individual circumstances. Here are what I know that may help you:

1. Capital One Bank is an assignee of Chase Bank and they use NCO Financial to hound and harass you. Neither organization will give you a name or an address for service of legal papers. Both claim to not have a legal counsel and I have not been able to find one name on the web. The Capital One Bank executive offices are at 507 Prudential Road Horsham, PA 19044 according to NCO Financial.

2. Chase Bank provides a phone number 212-270-6000 for credit card contact, but they will not give you the name (nor have they published) of their legal counsel. I was told there was no litigation department. I was given the following address for reporting credit card fraud and informed that it was the executive office address: 2500 Westfield Drive, Elgin, IL 60124 (ph: 888-622-7547).

You must determine if there are multiple claims against you because the resolution to mollify one won't prevent these people from coming back at you even though you are not guilty of anything at all.

I received a phone call telling me that there were papers to be served to me. I asked who it was from and the process-server said she couldn't tell me but gave me the phone number. Next, I called and was transferred to a guy named Jeff. He said I was notified 34 days ago by a Providian Bank who claims that I owe them $4,813.46 plus and additional $2,500 for court costs. He said it was from a Visa card in my name. This guy was rude, condescending and insulting in his manner as well as threatening me with the possibility of a never-ending stream of judgments and fees and debts owed to this scrupulous bank.

So far, this has interrupted my work and now I'm worried that someone out there is and racking up debt using my name and SSN. I have to defend myself against this and I am being denied my right to due process.

Extremely bad,second time I call regarding this Bank about thye sum of $1,544.60 that I owe the Providian National Bank when I have never had an acct. with them.

I was just called at work and was told I'm going to be filed with papers. I asked, 'for what? ' He told me to call 877-262-3194 Case No. **. I called and spoke with Keith. He told me the account was opened in 8/25/2000 and closed in 11/26/2004. He suggested I look online for a phone number with the Providian National Bank . I looked, and all I found were blogs about a scam. I called Keith back and said there is no phone number and it just talked about scams. He said he'll find a number and call me back. It's been 15 minutes and no call came. He had my information - last 4 numbers of my SS#, address, full name, and work address. I feel like I'm being stalked.

I am actually going through this right now. I received two letters today from a lawyer's office with a city marshal heading, Notice of Garnishment. I called them and explained that I never heard of Providian and they gave me a number to call. First off, I found it weird because it is addressed by my nickname and not my full name like all my other bills have. They gave me another number to call which was a collection agency. They guy was so rude and said that he advises me to get a lawyer.

They said that I opened up a credit card in April 2001 and that they have served me papers before which they have not. They said they had left it at the front door. So that's not really serving me. I live in a building and to leave it at the front door is just plain stupid. Every number that I find for Providian, and I call, is disconnected. I have asked the collection agency if there was a way that I could get proof of purchases or something. All they gave me was the credit card number. What am I supposed to do with that if I can't get in touch with anyone from this bank? Also I have noticed from all the complaint boards I have been reading most of the credit cards are from 2001.

We received a notice from the Collection Bureau that I have an account from Providian that was unpaid. I was informed that this was an account way back 2001 and the account was closed in 2003. No one can tell me know what purchases I had for me to have a $900 unpaid account. Providian has been sold to 2 different companies since then. How am I going to be able to know if this is really my transaction? What shall I do? Do I need to pay this even if I don't have a clue what this is for? Otherwise, it's affecting my credit.

I am being charged with a garnishment for the amount of $8,503.23. I have never had a credit card with this company ever! I have not had any credit card since 1980. Please help me if you can. Thank you!

During the 1990s, I once received minimum credit from this supposedly Providian Bank for a credit card. Payment were being sent to the only known address but I would receive statement stating that no payments were being made. There were excessive late fees applied, overcharged fees, fraudulent charges that someone else were using the card in another state, etc. Then later on I received a notice in the mail stating that there was a class action lawsuit against this company filed through the U.S. Attorney General's Office. I also received a letter stating that this debt was closed and I was being relieved of this debt.

But in the year 2005, Great Seneca (Attorney ***) filed a lawsuit in the 10th District Court, Battle Creek, MI and a judgment was honored. I thought that the claim action suit ended this case. Also this company that filed the lawsuit has also been investigated for not being authorized in the State of Michigan in collection of debt for Providian.

I married my wife 10 months ago. Her former name was Kathleen **. She is constantly getting a bill that keeps going up, that her ex-husband maxed out without her permission. She does not know what to do. She did not make all these charges and she keeps throwing them away. Well, I am going to attempt to straighten this mess out.

First of all, we would like an itemized list of everything that was purchased on her card. Then we are going to take her ex to small claims court or worse depending on what exactly he charged without her authorization. So we can put an end to this once and for all. My wife has very good credit, in fact, we just bought a new car with her credit but she is not going to pay for a bunch of Dale ** junk amongst other things that she did not buy.

Her bill is so astronomical, it's up to $2,357.06 with interest! This is a travesty. Please send us an itemized list of what Dale ** purchased, so we can deal with this and my wife can have her rock solid credit back.

My father died in 2001. I am administrator of the estate. I paid a settlement to them of $3327.00 in order to sell my father's house. In 2004, I received a judgement form the court of probate that their claim was untimely filed and that the debt was null and void. I cannot contact them and I never received anything back as a refund. I have a copy of the check and the judgement and I want my father's money back!

I have had the same experience that I've been reading about on here about "collection companies" calling indicating that I had a credit card in 2001 with Providian and now I owe over $6,000.00 when the fact is, I have never had a credit card with anybody, ever, including this company! I told the person who called me, telling me they were going to sue me to go straight to Hell with that **. If you want to take me to court, you better be damn sure that you got your ** facts straight. I want to see proof that I sign "anything" for or from this so-called credit card company, period! So, see you in court, **!

I had a Providian card in 1998, the card went to collections in 1999. After a year of arguing with them I paid a settlement to Northland Group Inc. for half the balance in 2000. The other day, I received a letter from Northland Group Inc. and they are saying they are attempting to collect this debt, and denying ever having the card in their collections office before this year.

Companies are not obligated to keep financial records over 7 years, which tells me there is no proof of my debt or my payment. Not to mention What do I do? I had copies of my transactions with them and of course that was 10 years ago. Who keeps financial records back that far? And, how am I to prove I still owe this money, when nobody can show me evidence?

I received a notice from a collection company stating they are collecting a debt from Providian Bank. I have never had a Providian Credit Card. The collection company stated the debt is from 2001-2001. The debt collection company said they can't provide me with any information to contact Providian, which I now understand has been sold or taken over by Chase. Chase has no record of my account. I just want to know why I should pay a bill that there is no record of me having and why the debt collection company is saying they don't have contact info for the original creditor. Shouldn't they have that?

I have a credit card that started out as Providian, Washington Mutual then Chase. My account was closed out by Chase because they deemed me to be a bad risk. I paid my bill. I didn't even receive a notification. I talked with them and they said that they did notify me. Today, I went online to pay my bill when I noticed that I was being charged interest on the cash advance part of my bill. I called to find out why and they said that I took an advance of $600.00 on February 21, 2001 which I know I did not do. They told me that their records don't go back that far and they have no way to find where this transaction took place. I know I should look at my bill closer and now I am paying for it with high interest. If they can find all kinds of information about you and your credit, why can't they find some information on my account from 8 years ago? I believe there was someone who got my account number and stole the money.

They keep calling me repeatedly even though the statute of limitations has run out. I had a credit card almost 10 years ago which I forgot about after moving 3 times. I hadn't heard from this company for a number of years until recently. All of a sudden, they started calling and they won't stop.

I had a Providian credit card several years ago. I lost my job and was not able to pay my bill. I believe at the time, it became delinquent. It had a balance around $16,000. The account passed the 4 year limitations period for suit.

I have been getting phone calls from a man identifying himself as "Mr. **." I believe he said in the beginning that he was with Cromwell Assoc. He will not at this time tell me who he represents or an address. I have told him several times not to contact me any more about this account. He responds that, I'm crazy if I think he is going to stop calling me, telling me to shut-up, yelling and being a real jerk. What are my options?

This company continues to report a debt that I have no proof belongs to me. I have never had a credit card with them where the limit was as high as their saying I owe. Unfortunately for me, it has been passed off to several collection companies so I am unable to get any documents proving this to be my debt. I am harassed daily. I think it is ridiculous what this bank is getting away with. What can I do to get some recourse? I am unable to get a loan to purchase a home. I refuse to pay a debt just because someone says I owe it. Give me proof.

I also had Providian account, lost my job and the insurance was to pay on the account, the insurance never paid. Thus the account became a charge off due to lack of payment, then the account was sold to a collection agency back in 2003 and has changed three times now and MCM collection agency out of PA is stating I owe them $8456.20. Because of this, I'm unable to find employment.

I opened an account with Providian and signed up for the protection plan should anything happen and I can't afford to pay anymore. Well, I had a sick husband in my house and I lost my job and could not make payment. Providian said they could not help me. Now they are threatening to take my car away. Any help or suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

When I opened my Providian credit card account back in the late 1990s, I enrolled in the payment protection plan. This was suppose to cover payments, in the event I was unable to make payments, due to unemployment, etc. However, in 2002-03, when I became unemployed, I was told that I couldn't use the benefits from the plan, because I made payments after becoming unemployed. I have continued to attempt to pay off this credit card, but I am getting nowhere, and have decided to take them to task regarding the original circumstances, that led to my present debt of $10,000.

Since that time, the credit card company has changed hands a number of times; Washington Mutual, which is now Chase. Last month one of the Chase collectors told me that if I made a balloon payment, he would get me into a special payment program. After I made the payment, I was told that I didn't qualify for the program.

I just got off the phone with another Chase collector, who just fed me the same line. I feel it's time to resolve this matter by holding up the original plan, and I am sincerely wanting to seek legal action against Providian, Washington Mutual, and Chase. The economic damage has been tremendous, as I have sincerely attempted to attend to this matter. It has aggravated my high blood pressure, and the constant calls from Chase collectors has gone beyond annoying.

Made agreement with enhanced recovery corp for settlement. Paid $2738.37 of bill for$5976.91 of which over half was interest and late fees. Paid off 07/10/2009. Now getting calls from another lawyer for Providian demanding another $1000.00 before debt can be considered paid. Last call was 03/03/2010 from Conrad at Sidney Michael law office. Said the collection had been turned over to their office. Was at Scott ** law office. I spoke with them and they did not know why account. Was moved to new law office. Spoke with person at enhanced recovery 03/03/2010 and was told the account was paid off as of 07/10/2009. What do I need to do now and how do I get the phone calls to stop?

Last April, we have decided to buy a house not knowing my credit score. I had noticed that I own Providian Financial $890, which I don't remember owing this. So I decided to call the courthouse in Morris County, NJ and give them all my information and document number that appear on my credit report. I have asked how I should pay this and they told me to call the attorney, which I called right away. They told me this collection had been closed a long time ago and they couldn't open this. So I told them how am I supposed to pay this off and they couldn't provide me with more information. So I still have this on my credit and I don't know what to do.

This account had been in judgment since 2005. They are supposed to send me a letter, which I didn't get. I'm trying to pay it off, but I don't know what to do. I have not received any paper or document from either courthouse or platinum financial.

While living with my son and daughter in-law back in La Porte, Texas in 2007, I made a settlement agreement with Providian credit card over the telephone (spoke to a man who identified himself as Mr. S) for about 1,200 dollars, paid in installments of about 400 dollars for 3 months. I was told that upon payment completion that I would receive a certificate to show the credit reporting agencies. After speaking with Mr. S, I hung up agreeing to verify his credentials which I did [I called Providian directly]. And so, I called Mr. S back agreeing to their terms and I paid them off exactly as was told and instructed by Mr. S to do so.

So, I forgot the issue because I had assumed the matter closed, never heard from Mr. S again after that I had paid off the last payment.

Now after over 2 years, I start to get mail from a collector saying I owe $ 2,200 on my already paid by 2 years Providian debt! Well I threw it away figuring it was either a scam or something. I don't know what to believe at this point. Can you help me get to the bottom of this? I kept the post office money orders receipts for a long time, but finally I threw them out about 4 months ago.

I paid off this credit card debt back in the late '90s. The company I work for does mobile advertising in all 50 states. I happened to be staying at a hotel in Portland, Or. Also, my home base was New York. Providian downsized my bill from $1743.00 to $943.00 pay-off. I sent in regular monthly payments for 9 months; the last being $143.00. Then asked them to provide and release to all the credit bureaus and close the account.

Needless to say, computers weren't around at that time. If they were, I didn't obtain one till I returned to N.Y. back in 1998-99. Recently, when I arrived at the room I rent in Nassau County, there was a judgement slipped under my door with registered letter slips from the post office.

I just happened to be working for the same advertising company and just arrived from Miami, Fl. 4 four weeks, Balt. Md. 4 four weeks, and 3 weeks in Phila, Pa. And I received a disturbing call from some secretary saying I owed Providian $10,000.00. When I opened up the letter from the Nassau County Sheriff's Office, I found out the case was in the Supreme Court in Queens and filed in 2003.

Not once have I ever received a notice or summons of any kind nor were there any affidavits of service attached to the court order. The attorneys Linda ** of Eltman, Eltman & Cooper 140 B'way N.Y.C. only had the date of the order, Providian's file number, and the day it was presented to court. And they sent too to my rooming house on Nov. 11, 2009, knowing very well that I was out of state. I sent a certified return receipt letter to both the Sheriff and the attorney, saying fraud was at play, and that I paid Providian and closed the account. I haven't heard anything at all but hope to in the next few days or weeks.

I just found out that this company is reporting on my credit report. This is not mine. it's my Husband's, I was just added as a card holder. I'm trying to refinance a loan and this came up. I can't move forward until this matter is taken care of.

I had a Providian Bank credit card back in the 1990's and filed and discharged a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in 1997 and included this credit card debt in with the bankruptcy that was discharged. I never knew that Providian Bank sold the discharged debt in bankruptcy to Pinnacle Credit Services in 2002 which is illegal since the US Bankruptcy Courts resolved me of this debt. I've never received any correspondence from Providian or Pinnacle since this debt was discharged in bankruptcy back in 1997.

Yesterday, 12/29/09, I received a letter from Laurence A. H., Attorney At Law in Hamilton, NJ that states I now owe this debt of $7,655.26 which has excalated since this debt of only $5,000 at the time it was discharged in Bankruptcy. The attorney I spoke with (Justin M.) states that the debt was opened in 2002 (after my discharged bankruptcy) which is false information because that is when Pinnacle Credit Services bought the debt (not when the original debte was established and opened with Providian Bank).

The attorney was very verbally nasty, mean and cruel over the phone and said that if I did not settle this outstanding debt by 8:00pm I would suffer the consequences. He shot off his mouth (without knowing all the facts) and stated I opened up another account with Providian after I discharged the first Providian $5,000 account which is ludicrist.

What bank if any is going to open up a $7,655.26 line of credit for someone that just filed and discharged all their debt in a Chapter 7 Bankrupcty, especially a creditor that just lost $5,000 in bankruptcy. If anyone knows of any help I can receive to resolve this matter I would be very grateful to you. I am trying to obtain copies of my Bankruptcy Schedules from the Bankruptcy Courts to send in to this attorney to prove I included this same Visa Account number with Providian Bank they are showing in their letter and that I never opened or ever had 2 accounts with Providian Bank.

Please help as even if I do provide proof it may not stop the harrassment or collection efforts in the future since Pinnacle Credit Services is this attorney's client he is representing. Thank you.

I want this to cease, I do not owe any money to them. My mother paid this because I am unable to care for financial issues. This has been over 5 years ago and now out of the blue they are claiming I owe them. I do not know what to do. I do not want tis to lead to a episode and make me end up hospitalized again. I cannot stand any stress. I am suffering from an illness that cannot be cured, I have enough to deal with already. How do I get them to leave me alone. I can't deal with this stress much longer.

This bill has is over 9 years old and has accomulated in excess of 5,000.00 from 1900.00 I feel as though i am being swindled with no satisfaction from this company. How can thy freeze my bank account without an order to me from the courts.

I was just aware of my credit report showing the old Providian account i had was closed, but not paid off. I paid that account off long ago. I just was alerted of this during the refinance of my house. I really need to get some contact information from Providian so that i can talk to someone. My credit report is messed up due to Providian not reporting to the credit bureau that the loan was paid off for $500 plus.

someone used my credit card last four didgit 2705 and purchased $900.00 on it and it wasn't me. I paid for this at 29-32% interest because Providian said I made these purchases but I never made thise purchases. They said they called a phone number 505-898-9161 and spoke to me but that was never my number . Shouldn't they have investigated this better.

Back in 1999, There was a card issued in my name in which I had'nt applied for, In 2000 I moved out of state and discovered that the card was being reported on my credit, at that time I contacted Providian and informed them that I never applied for a card. Thay then told me I needed to send in my I.D. and sign a signature card as well as produce another signed form of truth. After which it was determined not to be my signature and the account was suspended and deleted from my credit file.At that time a fraud alert was added to my credit file which still to this days reads the same as the day it was added.

Now all of a sudden the credit bureaus are reporting the same Providian bank Acct. as a judgement for $831 plus interest.So I contacted the Lawyer that filed the complaint and I was told that they no longer had the file and that all Providian Bank Assets were owned by Chase Bank now, I contacted Chase and they verified that I never had an account,debt or anything pending.I asked to send me something in writing for my records and informed me to file the documents with the court that held the judgement and that they would update the Bureau's to have it deleted out of my file.The courts informed me it could take up to 90 days to see the release on my report.

As of today I contacted the courts to inform them it has been over 6months and its still on my credit, the told me that along with the document I submitted the filing attorney needed to send a release also,I contacted the filing attorneys office again the same office that told me in May that I needed to contact Chase Bank and that they didnt have the file mysteriously now has the file and wants over 2k for the release letter.

Back in Dec. 2004, I made a settlement arrangment with Providian Credit Card. The total anount owed was about $2800. They said they would settle for $2500. When my bank was ready to send payment to them, they confirmed with them the amount and mailed check the same day. After 3 years with no other response from Providian, a colleection company contacted me, I then turn this matter over to my attorney, who sent a letter to them to get this matter settled, since it was payed for in a settlement agreement. I did not hear anything else until just afew weeks ago from another collection company on this same bill. They have been really helpful and understanding and told me to conatct the credit card company and agreed that all I need from them is a settlement letter from Providian, but unable to locate the web site for them or an email address for them. Could Anyone please give me some assistance with this matter, so I can get this cleared up.

On 10/29/09 I was handed a certified letter from the IRS regarding unreported income. I have 2 prestigeous CPA firm in 2 states who have covered my estimated taxes and returns. The tax form stated I had a debt forgiven by Portfolio Recovery. One CPA and I called from his office and was told it was a Providian Visa card debt. Port. Rec. say I paid half but owed penalties. I have searched all day for a way to get assistance and a legal dept. number without success. I am disabled and need some assistance to contact Providian, since they do not post any contact phone numbers that I have seen. I closed Providian account many years ago due to misrepresentation of yearly fees. Can you help please?

In the end of 1997 they offered to help me build my credit if I open a debit card with them and make payments and pay interested on the money I put in, and they told me that it will be like having a credit card and it will build my credit. I put in $300.00, they told me to spend it and start paying on it. I did. At the end of 1998 I paid the card off because I had to go on a trip overseas. I came back a year later and found out they sold my case to a collection agency, saying that I owe them the money. I want Providian to pay to the collection agency the money they say I owe, because it's a fraud.

I was a customer of Providian and I have problems with the company around the time of the lawsuit I just didn't know that they were being sued and I just found this out, so now what?

I received a call from Debra from Providian Bank indicating she is calling about a credit card and this call is an attempt to collect a debt. I advised her that she reached a line that is work related only and for customers to call for emergency (Such as services being down) and she can not call me on this number. I then provided her my personal number and advised her I can call her there after I get off work. She indicated she will be at work until 530pm. After I got home, it was a little over 5pm so I called Deb and was advised she was already OFF. The next morning she called me again on the same 800 number that I had asked her NOT to use. She then stated she will remove the number but she wanted to know why I did not call her last night. I advised her I did but I was told she was off and she needs to remove the 800 she used to call me from her contact list because that is considered harassment.

About 13yrs ago I had a credit card with Providian Bank. I closed the account with a savings that equal out my balance due on the account. They kept it all. Now, I am getting phones calls from collection agency asking for $2700.00 that I owe. They told me it was interest that caused the money to be this much but I can pay $600.00 to clear the account. I am not working at this time nor do I owe Providian any money. How can I prove this after all these years.

my credit card decided to pull my credit and charge me 33% interest and when i called i get told that they are doing it to many people it does not matter what your credit rating is.I also make large payments to them and no matter when i mail them they are always cashed a day or so later just so they are intentionally late,which has now caused proplems with a couple of my other cards,this is totally unfair I worked very hard to get my credit rating up,just to have some big bully pull this crap on innocent people who do not have the money to just hand right to them if i did i would ve never had to borrow in the first place!unreal,what in the world is gonna happen to everyone!

my credit card decided to pull my credit and charge me 33% interest and when i called i get told that they are doing it to many people it does not matter what your credit rating is.I also make large payments to them and no matter when i mail them they are always cashed a day or so later just so they are intentionally late,which has now caused proplems with a couple of my other cards,this is totally unfair I worked very hard to get my credit rating up.

In May of 2000, I was a single mother of three children and was forced to make a decision with my job, at the time, to work hours that would have kept me away from my children. My job informed me that if I did not work the schedule that they wanted me to work that I would have to consider another job. I was very concerned. I could not work 2nd shift because I had an infant and 2 children who were in elementary school. I had to leave my job because I would not have seen my own children between the time that they got out of school until after 11pm.

I informed a representative from providian that I wanted to take advantage of the credit protection that they charged me for when I was solicited by phone. I was told that I would need to provide a seperation notice or proof of unemployment. I told them that I was actively seeking employment and that the company would not provide me with a seperation notice because, technically, they did not let me go. They had hired a new supervisor and it was the new supervisors choice that I adhere to her schedule or she would find someone else who would.

I chose to leave because I am a mother first. My account limit was only $300.00. Each month, they continued to bill me and when I would contact the company they would give me the run around and phones would not be answered.

As time went on, I continued to be billed. I was out of work for a while and finally obtained a position at a hospital in between August and October of 2000. After 4 years or so, my wages were garnished (2/25/2005). I was provided by my payroll dept. with the cort order of a garnishment listing me as the defendant with an address that was not and never had been mine.

Providian and their Unifund CCR Partners set out to garnish my wages in the total amount of 2,548.05. They were deducting $225.00 every two weeks from my payroll. I could no longer afford to maintain my bills (rent, electric, etc.), not to mention, the needs for my three children at the time. I eventually had to leave my job at the hospital because I needed to be home with my children who were going into their teen-age years and I had worked night shift at the hospital for almost 5 years and my roommate at the time moved out.

In 2009, I was receiving child support for 2 of my children and had my child support direct deposited into a bank account that I shared with my father (who lived in NC). No later than 2 months of my child support going to the bank account, providian garnished our bank account and deducted my child support deposit.

In 2001, my wallet -including secured credit cards from Providian & Direct Merchants Bank- was stolen. I reported the theft immediately (same day) and provided the agencies with information on the police report. Luckily, I did recover my wallet, but it was only the beginning of the problem.

The original credit account was secured with a $500 limit. At the time of the theft, the balance was approximately $136, well under the balance fo the "securing" savings account.

In 2003, I began receiving mail from a collection agency. They claimed Providian had "charged off" my account and I now owed over $1000. I sent the collection agency the information on the theft. I did not hear anything from them again. Unfortunately, I assumed that would be the end of the matter.

In 2004, I received a collection notice from another agency. Again, I provided all of the information on the theft. Because the San Diego PD purges their files after two years, and on the advice of customer service people at Experian, etc, I filed another police report. I sent all of the information to the collection agency. (SDPD also informed me that more than my credit was stolen, and a missing person report had been filed for someone who was claiming my identity!)

Again, I thought the problem was solved. I did not hear from anyone regarding this account until this week (8/2009). I have had two telephone calls this week from a new collection agency, Accounts Receiving Management. I made it clear that I am not responsible for this debt, but would consider a settlement just so I could end it. I am just that tired of fighting it. I have done everything in my power to make sure that first, Providian was informed immediately of the theft and the card was cancelled, and, second, that credit reporting agencies and collection agencies have been informed and given copies of all of the information.

A collector "supervisor", Scott B, told me that I would have to pay over $500 to settle the account or hire an attorney because they intend to sue me. When I explained that I lost my job in December and would have to make payments, he told me that I would have to pay the full balance (over $1400!) in 3 installments. When I said I could not afford payments that high, he told me they would be seeing me in court.

In my opinion, having read other reports about Providian, I suspect that Providian jacked the charges up after I reported the card stolen. They are licensed thieves! I intentionally got a "secured" credit card with a limited balance to build solid credit. When I reported the card stolen and closed the account, I should have been due a refund of money from the "secure savings" because the credit card balance was far less than the limit. Instead, I now find myself facing a lawsuit for three times the account limit!

My bank account had been garnished $5,000.00 in July 2009. Frederick Hanna and Associates for Unifund CCR Partners assignee of Providian National Bank garnished the acccount. In June 2000 the OCC issued a report concluding that Providian had engaged in a pattern of misconduct in which it misled and deceived consumers in order to increase profits. The allegation against Providian included misleading consumers about the interest rates on their credit cards and promoting a no annual fee credit card that carried a mandatory $156.00 annual credit protection fee. Providian agreed to repay consumers @ least $300 million to settle the allegations in the largest ever OCC enforcement action. (Just a little background on Providian)

My bank account had been garnished $5,000.00 in July 2009. Frederick Hanna and Associates for Unifund CCR Partners assignee of Providian National Bank garnished the acccount. In June 2000 the OCC issued a report concluding that Providian had engaged in a pattern of misconduct in which it misled and deceived consumers in order to increase profits. The allegation against Providian included misleading consumers about the interest rates on their credit cards and promoting a no annual fee credit card that carried a mandatory $156.00 annual credit protection fee. Providian agreed to repay consumers @ least $300 million to settle the allegations in the largest ever OCC enforcement action. (Just a little background on Providian)

The economic and personal damage that it caused an only be considered as a nightmare. My house was foreclosed on and my family was left with no roof over our heads. I lost my job and became an independent contractor. I also have to pay these outstanding late fees on returned checks. As the sayings go, "if it were not for bad luck, I would have no luck @ all." I can only keep my faith and hope to wake up from this nightmare. I just want the monies returned to my account.

I wrote previously about Providian hounding me back in 1999. They have sold this account 3 times. Each time, the account gets bigger and bigger. I have tried to make payment arrangements. But they don't want payments. They want the whole thing. Now, a new company has contacted me. They are treating to take my SSI. I need help. Please. This was settled down from $1,500 to $400.00. Now, this new company wants $1,200.00. I don't have that. I can't even pay for my medicine.

I keep getting garnished. My credit score keeps going down. I'm sick, my phone won't stop ringing. I'm in so much pain, I can't stand it. I can't afford an attorney.

I got a credit card through Providian almost 7 years ago. I paid completely when I refinanced my home in 2006. I never thought about it again. Now, I have been hounded by calls from collection agencies stating that I owe over 4,000 dollars. And apparently, they are suing me for the amount, along with a few charges being filed. What do I do? I'm not about to just give them money that I'm pretty sure I don't owe. What can I do? Please help me. I really don't even have any money at this point. Thank you very much.

I received a Providian card back in 1999. I fell on bad times back then. I'm a single mom with two kids, and today, I'm still struggling. FA Management Solutions claims that Providian contacted them to place a judgement on me in 2005. My Providian card limit was $5000; the judgement placed was $15,100 back in 2005 due to interest, court, and attorney fees (by the way, the judge only had jurisdiction to grant up to $15,000).

Today, the amount is $20,000 due to the judge granting 7% interest to be accrued. I contacted the company to get the debt paid at least $5000, because I don't own anything that's worth $20,000. In fact, that's my annual salary. They refused and want me to pay $13,000.

My question is how a $5000 (years ago) credit card could be that much. Where is the line drawn on how much a consumer can be charged for a bad debt? I think this is outrageous. If I was unable to pay that amount then, how could I be able to pay triple now. I was never contacted by this company for the debt. They just let it sit to accrue interest.

In this economy today, I would think that collection agencies would try and work with people who are willing to pay their debts. $20,000+, that's a profit of $15,000 to FA Management Solutions. It's outrageous! I could barely keep food on the table for my kids, as I long for a better job but can't due to this one debt of damaging credit.

I got what I thought was a prepaid credit card through Providian almost 10 years ago (give or take). I had to send them $300 to get it. I think I used that card for a few months. I never thought about it again. Now, I am being hounded by calls from collection agencies stating that I owe them over $1,500. Apparently, they are suing me for the amount, along with a few charges being filed. What do I do? I'm not about to just give them money that I'm pretty sure I don't owe. They damaged my credit marks, and now I think I have to deal with criminal charges.

I never received anything on a class action suit, but I would like to be included.

I took out a Providian insurance policy and then got denied coverage on one of two accounts when I really deserved it due to disability. They used a technicality to evade responsibility for the second account which took an enormous amount of time to try to address, and added a great deal to the emotional distress that I was already experiencing due to my disability.

Despite the clearest, most detailed and impassioned appeals I made to them, they not only continued to deny coverage, the reason they gave was extremely cryptic, legalistic and unhelpful. I have only recently learned that the "Americans with Disabilities Act" requires "reasonable accommodation for the disabled." I believe that at least in this sense, Providian AND its successor collection agencies, and now Chase, have "done me wrong." They have also gone back and reported TWO accounts to the collection agencies, when there was only one in question. I believe this is fraudulent and intentional harassment.

I am just now disputing this with EQUIFAX; I was too exhausted and burdened with survival and other concerns to do more than what I had already done earlier, directly with the collections people who continued to harrass me for years involving at least two or three other companies they kept selling it to. Now it has come back to Chase on my report, plus an LVNV company.

I would LOVE to participate in a class action on this. Thanks for considering that. Also, my charity, the STAR ALLIANCE foundation, has suffered as well as me personally (I am prime founder of the charity.) STAR ALLIANCE would be a great nonprofit to receive any surplus settlement funds, too.

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!

Peter DuMont

I have a credit card with providain bank. I wanted to pay off my credit card debt they refused to let me pay it off. when i told them I have gold dipping chrome that I am selling off at 40 percent discounted rate which is 40 ton of it. I don't know the value of it yet. what do I do about it when they do that?

Early this month I pulled a credit report and they have me paying on an account for Providian. I don't understand it. I am not paying on a Providian account and don't own them any money. please help

This credit card company kept changing my due dates to the point that I had an immense amount of late charges then that turned into overlimit charges. as I tried to work out the payment with them and wrote them letters in order to take care of the problem. they shut down the online payment area and I could not pay the bill.

I'm harassed by phone calls, my credit score is horrible. this did not help since I was laid off and trying my best to work out the problem.

i have paid on this bill for 4 years now a company called clienrt services is hounding me for more money they are threating to garnish me on my ssi please make them stop. im already garnished by irs thank you

I filed bankruptcy in 1999 and Chase credit card was listed as discharged. Today, I receive a notice from Portfolio Recovery Assoc to pay half of $3938.95. When I filed bankruptcy, the amt was a little over $1800. Why after all these years are they contacting me. I am afraid they will freeze my checking account etc. I tried calling them and no one answers the phone!

If they freeze my account, it will be extremely difficult. I was laid off in November and I would not be able to pay for an attorney, much less try and survive without my unemployment checks.

I have paid every month and my interest rate has stayed high with multiple over charges even with interest running overages and late fees.

The bill never gets lower

My husband and I had responded to the original class-action suit but never got a response. Just this past Saturday February 28, 2009 he received a notice from Providian(Portfolio Recovery Associates) with a special offer to pay only $1032.61 on a balance of $2581.52. We are just wondering about the legitimacy of this request and what our options are given the lawsuit and complaints that have been revealed. We understand this is a debt to be paid. What are our options?

Our main issue is that the balance got to be high because of interest being charged, we would like to pay and not get caught in the continued trap of high interests rates. We understand the amount has been reduced, we just don't want to have another large balance as we try to pay off the debt.

I have been with providian washington mutual for some years an as you know washington mutual is bought out by chase. However I consolidated my bills an they are literally trying to rip people off under the books. I consolidated my bills an they agreed according to the contract to accept a payment from my debt management company which would be less than what it was before me signing on to debt management. they also stated there would be no late fees or penalities.

however after signing on with them making my payments on time then are stating to me that even if they receieve my payment on time but they post it after the due date it is still considered late this is wrong. why hold the payment for after the due date to apply the payment. to me it seems like they are out to make money for themselves an mess up peoples lively hood an credit. How is it that the money is being sent electronically an yet being posted days an weeks later why do they have the right to do this.

i have contacted the creditor an they refuse to correct the issue. if they aggreed to accept a certain amount why then am I being charge the difference of what the minium payment was prior to being on a consolidation contract. They cannot do this to hard working people or people in general. They have no right to breach the contract no to charge late fees or the difference of what the monthly payment use to be or before debt management or to post the payment late when they receive it electronically on time. I have not breach my end of the contract by not making payments

Please someone help me because i am paying a debt management company who couldnt even help me resolve this issue only to tell me its between me an the creditor an then the creditor to tell me its between me an the debt management. so i am getting beaten left an right while they get away with ripping me off an damaging my credit report or future.

I would like for providian and chase to correct this issue by reaging my account which means they need to remove the negative an incorrect reporting of late payment to the credit beauru to clean my credit report. This is totally unfair. I beg you to please have them correct an clean this up .

I had a high credit limit of about $9600 on a card I had with them for over 12 years. In which time I never missed a payment. I was also never late on a payment. They notified me that in 10 days they were closing my account. That's it no warning or anything.

I'm sure this will affect my credit rating negatively. It was also not a veru good way to treat a long-time customer. I even tried to contact them and my letter went unanswered. I also do not have the credit for my use.

several credit cards increasing APR and eliminating/withdrawing [unused] credit available

I/my family live in my wife's grandparents home - they've relocated - pay upkeep/utilities and property taxes but don't own the home. wife and i are sick/irate at cc companies reaction to on-time payments/remittance over and above minimum. considering a stop-pay initiative. our credit is in the tank anyway. the home we live in will be will'd to wife upon grandmother's death. we can't file ch. 7/13. had to do ch. 7 in '06 and beside, i don't want to.

i realize its my debt and would pay it back. but this int. rate increase, etc. for economic reasons and/or other factors and not for default is simply criminal - in my opinion. would rather save the $ and deal w/ consequences later. just not sure what or how bad said consequences could be. thanks

I open a account with is company my own money 500.oo dollar .. This took my money ,,,how hurting my creditreport,account open in 04/2000,,I close the account 06/2000 or 07/2000...My creditreport show this stay open 12/2006 ,,not true,,this is 9 year/// can I sue,,,,,,,,

Back in 2001 (or 2000: I'll have to get whatever paperwork I can find) I opened a VISA credit card with Providian Bank. I used it for few months and paid on time. Then I got the bill (somewhere in the beginning of summer) for $400 or $500 dollars for the charge that I never knew. I called Providian and the guy told me not to worry, they will research it. But next bill came and the charge was there with additional fees. I called again, and they told me that they need to check on it. So when I see that nothing is getting done and this is close to the end os summer, I called again and asked for the supervisor, but they never gave me one. However they told me they cannot get from the merchant to verify the charge since the merchant is out of business. I asked them what should I do if it's not my charge, they said that I would have to pay it. I told them that it is called fraud and they cannot do it, but it didn't matter.

I closed the account and sent the letter to them about it and then I never heard of them. Over a year ago I started to use experian to monitor my credit at freecrditreport.com and they told me that there is a negative point on my account: Midland Credit MGMT for mastercard. I disputed it but it returned back as valid. Then I required the information directly from the creditor, but they never sent to me anything and the only thing I could get from them was that I owe money to some Emerge Mastercard. I couldn't get Experian to take it off, they told me to deal directly to Midland Credit MGMT.

Finally after numerous phone calls I got a person on the line by name Elvin and he told me that it is for the Providian VISA account back several years ago! I explained to him the situation, but he said I have to pay over $1500, I told him that it's fraud and he laughed at me. I told him that I would have to take the matter to court and he said yes, put to jail laughing. Then I asked for his supervisor and he hang up the phone

Well eventually this record reflects negatively on my credit and I need to correct it

I woke up on Monday February 2, 2009 and went to take out money from the ATM Machine. I thought it was an error in its report and came to find out that Providian's Management company wipe out my entire bank account. I am completely broke. I knew I owed them and two years ago I called when I had a work injury and could not pay the full amount. They were rude at that time and I asked What about the insurance I had paid on my card? They said because it was late that doesn't count anymore.. They raised my $2500.00 to $4300.00 and sent it to this management company/lawyer.

When I called them to ask WHY? they had to take all my money the guy called me a thief and said I had stolen this money. I explained to him I am laid off and that is all I had. I had no problem with paying the debt off. He asked: Why didn't I payoff a 2yrs ago. I explained to him I was out of work due too a work related injury that I had two surgeries for and at that time I even had my home foreclosed on. That I was just getting back on feet until I was laid off due to the economy. He just told me that wasn't their fault and treated me [bad]!

A day later I received a letter in the mail by them about it and asking is there any reason WHY they shouldn't take the money now. Like I truly believe they are going to put it back. They made it sound like I was a common thief! With the way the economy is you would think they would try to call you. Not a letter. But call you and work something out. Nope! Instead they take double of what you truly owe and break you.

I can't pay my bills and I can't even put food on the table for my kids. If I even had a job interview to go to I can't even put gas in my car to go! I was saving up to pay all my debtors in this economic crisis now I am deeper in a whole than I already was.

I had an account with Providian over 6 years ago. I fell on hard times and could no longer pay my bill. They sold it to Action Management Inc, a debt collection company. I paid them over $1400 for a $300 account. Providian keeps selling the debt. They were paid for it by the debt collectors when purchased and just keep selling it.

I paid this debt 5 times over and I am still getting harassed for it.

I received my providian card in 2001 and it was great at first. I paid on time and everything was fine. I went in the hospital in 2003 and started getting behind on the payments. Instead of working with me, they increased my apr. to 27.99% without even informing me, closed the account and ordered me to pay. My current bill is almost 6,000 dollars because for 2 years prtovidian charged me this outrageous apr. I AM NOW BEING SUIED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT FOR THIS AMOUNT OR MORE. I am so tired of credit card companies taking advantage of little people. I am currently a teacher's assistant making 20900 a year, have anew baby girl along with 2 other girls and my husband lost his job over 5 months ago. I NEED HELP.

I am currently a teacher's assistant making 20900 a year, have anew baby girl along with 2 other girls and my husband lost his job over 5 months ago. I NEED HELP I CANNOT GET ANYTHING BECAUSE OF THIS ON MY CREDIT

When I lost my job and other income, Instead of making $35.00 payment's. I started to make 25 dollar payment's. When I recieved my Statements I didnt check them.When I went over my staement the amount due had increased Suddenly. And I hadnot used the cards.I looked at the interest and It had been Inreased to 27%. When I recieved my next Statement the interest Had gone up so much that my payments didnt make a Difference as it was all going to the Interest. I contacted them and was unable to resolve this Issue.

I am a 81 yr old retired Military wife. My Health is not good. and I am being Harrased constantly this has caused me to have Shingles due to the stress of Constant calls from Providian. Please Help me.

Twice in three months I have not recieved a statement for my credit card, and then get charged a late fee of $39. the first charged was waived. The only way I found out that I was late was when my card was rejected at a store. I have always paid when my statements arrive, I also reported this to the local Post Office

I was humilated at the store and charged a late fee of $39.

I have had no active credit cards for over two years. I only had a few and I paid them off, and closed the accounts, because I was returning to school and opted for loans instead of credit especially from Providian. I had a good credit line but rarely charged one fourth of what I was allowed. Although I did get behind a couple of times on my monthly payment, I was always able to pay off the entire balance in a month or two. I am not a big fan of using credit cards but I had two major ones. One I used for on-line purchases only and the other for larger ticket items to build up my credit. However, since my interest rate jumped to about 27% after a late fee, it was in my best interest to charge big ticket items and then pay the whole amount of within a few months. I had a great job and was able to do this.

I quit my job and went back to school. Because my economic status was changing I opted to pay off my cards and utilize student loans for my finances. For the last two years I have had no credit cards. Then in October of 2008, I get a call from a collection agency representing WaMu. Initially this threw me quite off because my account was with Providian and I closed out months before WaMu took on their debt. I was not aware that Providian no longer existed! Furthermore, I thought that, since I have been recieving applications from WaMu almost monthly for the last year or so (I still have those too!) I thought this was a case of application fraud via stolen mail. To my surprise, they were calling in regards to my Providian account that has been innactive and closed for over two years!

When I explained that I have not received any communication from Providian, or a collection agency representing them or WaMu, since closing out my account I had no reason to think that I owe any money to them. The agent said that they had been trying to get ahold of me for weeks, which is either a lie or half truth that never amounted to a message on my answering machine. By this point I am getting pretty impatient with the absurdity of the whole thing that it starts to feel like a scam. Did the agent want me to pay the balance by check over the phone? (It actually reminded me of the commercials where people send off their gold to complete strangers...) I told the agent that there was no way in that I owed money and asked why after two years are they going after ..what is the amount I am said to owe? He said 245 dollars... and some change, and then turned on me and said, I thought you said you didn't owe any money He was trying to turn my question about the amount into a statement of admittance.

I was getting pretty upset and said that it seemed a bit funny for WaMu to come after a chump-change claim in comparison to what one would expect a bill to be after 2 years! More like thousands of dollars than hundreds of dollars. I asked the agent what my options were besides paying the amount over the phone. He said that they would send out a package to be sent back to them with proof that I terminated and payed off my credit card. I said fine, whatever.

as of last week I had still not received an envelope and thought that I just may have survived a scam. He was unable to give me any info whatsoever regarding my account but wanted me to hand over all of my info. no questions! Then I get a call from another agent following up on the matter. I told her due to the circumastances of the bank, vagueness of my still existing account, along with the card application traps (to reactivate my account perhaps)and the fact that I had yet to recieve any envelope from a collection agency, I told her that I was (am) convinced it's a scam one way or the other. I told her to send me out another envelope and I will get together the necessary forms.

Now I know that I need to get ahold of them and request they send me a verification of my debt in writing. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act did they need to make the envelope/package available to me in a timely manner (5 days I think) after I was notified. It has been a week and a half since my second phone call and no envelope. This is a very serious matter that that has become so ridiculous it's scarry.

I have jsut learned about this new course of action I should take and am not going to send them any info. until I receive verification of my debts in writing.

Was paying on this account when not to my knowledge the acount was sold to collection agency since then i have been contacted and reported to the credit bureau agencies and no records of any payments was ever forwarded. Recently i was paying through midlantic credit who now tells me that washington mutual brought out providian. No one can find the original account but everyone wants me to pay.I want these acounts to be removed from my credit report. i can forward copies of payments made to date showing the account should be paid in full with credit status amended.

The Bank Porvidian put me a order of icome execution : an account of the year 2000 that do not my, In this year i had a report of theft of My Documents, i talk with the Agency collects charge i send by fax my ID but then they tell me that i have to talk to the Bank providian which is now WA MU i call to the bank but i do not answer anyone,STILL TAKE 10% OF SALARY A WEEK,PLEASE SOMEONE TO HELP I HAVE TO TALK ABOUT AGENCY.

TERRIBLE

I have fallin on hard times but they will not help me. I have ask them to help me by lowering the interest or what can they do to help me so I can pay the bill not trying to get out of it. all they is pay the bill and call and call

I would like to share a story about partnership and about the business practice of Providian Credit Cards and Washington Mutual Bank (sorry WAMU, guilty by association, enjoy the story).

About 4 years ago, I found myself relocating from Cartersville, Ga., to North Florida for a job opportunity. The housing market was not that bad, but I lived in an unfinished development, so selling my old house was hard b/c of all the new homes available. Luckily, my neighbor's sister was interested in buying our home, but needed some time to get their finances straight, so renting the house was a great option.

So we rented the house, moved to North Florida, and all was well. Lets fast forward to about a year and a half ago, when we got the call that our renters had decided the house was too big and they were moving to Tennessee; they basically gave us the 30 days notice. We negotiated with them to stay until they moved and we would ask for the rent, and so, we began paying approx. $750.00 a month on a 2nd mortgage.

We didn't have the money, so we used a Providian credit card to offset the balance. This was not the best decision in life, but we felt we could sell the house or rent it rather quickly, so we gave it a shot.

Long story short on this. it didn't sell or rent, and they moved out, leaving us responsible for the entire mortgage payment. Now we were really digging a hole, and we were doing everything possible to get out of the situation because the debt was building fast.

As I talked with people, the bank, counselors, it became obvious that to get assistance from the bank, I had to stop making payments on the 2nd mortgage. This was something that the bank said was a must; otherwise they won't even listen to you or offer support. So we stopped paying, and within one missed payment we were talking to the bank about options for support.

During the course of all this, our credit had certainly taken on a lot of unsecured debt, not something we wanted to do, and now it was becoming a a burden as well, things were looking very bad for us, and I was working with Family Foundations in effort to not go under and file bankruptcy.

Throughout all of this WE HAD NOT MISSED ONE PAYMENT EXCEPT THE INTENTIONAL 2ND MORTGAGE. By the time we stopped paying the 2nd mortgage, it was probably what we were going to have to do anyways, but the point is, we were diligent in keeping our payments up to date.

At one point, we took our balance very close to the limit, and unfortunately, the interest pushed us over the limit, this caused Providian to take our interest and raise it to 30%. I had no idea it was this high until a counselor from Family Foundations talked to me about negotiating my rates with the credit card companies.

I was astounded that my rate was 30% with this card (my wife handles the bills, and now we both handle them together..another story for another time, with a great ending ;) and it took me a couple of calls, but I finally got it down to 17% (which is still really high compared to on avg. 11% for my other cards but it will make sense soon).

So fast forwarding to a wonderful lady named Kim Cook that helped my realtor negotiate a short sale on my home without having to pay and differential. We were finally free of this 2nd mortgage and we had enough income (thanks to my wife getting a part-time job on top of her full time stay at home mom job) to handle all of our bills and unsecured debt.

Bur wait, what's this??? Due to our missed payments on the 2nd mortgage, Providian has taken it upon themselves to deem us a risk and has lowered our credit limit on the one card we used a lot and had a large balance on. I was ok with this, and understood that missing those payments would affect us short term.

BUT WAIT.PROVIDIAN ISN'T FINIHSED DEEMING ME A RISK. Now they come back and raise my interest rate to 31%. I need to make sure I and anyone reading this understands this part, because I'm still a little unclear.

I'm a credit risk due to payment history with my bank, so you lower my limit and raise my interest basically making it harder for me to make payments, and easier for you make more money. That's how I read it not sure how anyone else does.

So we call to question this new partner suggested interest rate; and we are told that if we want our previous rate of outrageously high 17%, we would need to close our account. So not only are the unsure about our business they simply do not want it anymore. Way to rally in a time of crisis Providian/Washington Mutual!!! Kudos to you for watching your on *** in a time of need. So, we clearly closed the account as we did not need a higher payment or want to give Providian any more money per month.

And now, even though we have closed the account, Providian has found a way to increase our minimal payment $200. I ask you and anyone that got this far. How have the actions by Providian/Washington Mutual helped a partner in business? How have they reached out to help secure our business together for years to come? What message have they sent me have they sent you?

Why? Why would anyone want this company as a partner in finance or the future security of your family? You wouldn't and when I'm through forwarding this to anyone that will listen; I hope a lot of you will change your business partner as well.

PS JUST IN CASE -- WE NEVER MISSED A PAYMENT.

***************@yahoo.com

I was looking for my first credit card when I came across a web site for Aria. After reading over all the information, I decided this company seemed fair in what they were charging. The finance rate was high (low 20% if I remember right)but the annual charge of $49.00 seemed ok. The site explained that the $49.00 would be charged on the card, with $25.00 process fee charged to my bank. I was approved for $200.00 limit and was told that my card was being charged just $49.00. When I received my card 2 weeks later, I tried to use it for a $50.00 purchase and was declined.

When I contacted Aria, their reps told me there were mulitple charges on the card (the $49.00 annual and $100.00 activation fee). I explained that I had not agreed to that, the only charge was supposed to be the $49.00 annual (I also eplained that nowhere on the web site did it mention a $100.00 activation fee). The rep explained that I was not the first person with this complaint. She let me know she could close the account for me with no charge, but could not reimburse the $25.00 bank fee. I accepted that, and figured it was done.

Two months later I receive a bill from Aria for 3 months of late payments and penalties for being over the minimum balance. I call them back and explain the situation with a new rep. This rep states that they see those notes in the computer, for some reason, someone forgot to close the account. This person stated that they would take care of it, assured me not to worry about it, and apologized for the inconvienance.

Two years go by, and I think nothing of the Aria card. I recieve no bills, or phone calls, so I think it is settled. Wrong! I receive a letter after two years from Capital One stating they bought my bad debt from Providian (Aria parent company)and that upon paying back the debt they would reward me with a credit line up to $1500.00. I contact Capitol One and explain the situation from the begining, they state they would look into it and then contact me. I hear nothing for almost 3 years.

Then in December of 2005, I am contacted by Pinnacle Credit Services (a collection company). They state that they have purchased the account from Providian and I now owe them $663.00. I explain the situation with them. They state that they would put down that I was disputing it and that was the last I heard about this account until I pulled my credit report on Sept. 19th, 2006. I was able to see that Pinnacle Credit services was on my report with an amount of $853.00 due. I contacted them again, and explained that I either needed proof of debt, or they need to take themselves off my credit report (Capitol One removed themselves when asked to prove debt).

Then in Jan. of 2008, an ex-girlfriend contacts me to let me know that her and her family have been recieving nasty phone calls and letter from bill collectors at her house. I explain that I don't know why, could she please give them my contact information next time they call. That now brings us to August 22nd, 2008. I receive a phone call from an invesitgator who is trying to collect on the Providian Account, I explain to him the situation from the begining, he says this sounds like a big misunderstanding and connected me to his partner to get it cleared up. When his partner gets on the phone, she states she is an attorney and that I have missed two court dates and she was in the process of having my license suspended and my wages garnished. When I tried to explain the situation to her, she got very rude, let me know that they have sent numerous letters to me, let me know that she was on the way out of the office, and if I was not going to give her a payment then I needed to stop wasting her time.

I tried to let her know that I don't live in Hayward, that I have never lived in Hayward, that I would not be making a payment and before I could give them my correct address and finish my statement, she hung up on me. I decide to contact them on August 29th, 2008 to see what is going on, and I was told that all they could do is either take a payment or mark that I am disputing the claim. When they tried to verify my mailing address, they gave me an address in Hayward. I expained, again, that I do not live, nor have I ever lived in Hayward. When I tried to give them the correct address, I was cutoff by the rep. She stated that she was marking that I was disputing and hung up.

The constant harrasment of my ex-girlfriend and her family, The stress of not knowing if my license will be suspended. The multiple negitive reports on my credit report.

I closed my account being they jumped my APR up to 31%, then I just so happen was late with my payment of $69.00 the told me I owed the payment plus another payment and 2 late fees of $39.00 each and the minimum payment is $205.00, I had called and one of their supervisors had told me they would take off the late fee of $39.00 and just go ahead and make the monthly payment of $ 69.00

so now it is way out of my range and what do u do @ this rate u will never get it paid off. my card is without being used maxed out @ $2000.00 and now is @ 2085.00.

stressed being I have always paid this credit card on time and now this is happening after working so hard to get my credit up to being good....

I consolidated all of my credit card debt and student loans with a lower interest personal loan in 2006. I called Providian and closed the account after they cashed the pay off check. It was several months later that I started getting calls from a collections agency. I refuse to pay another 467 dollars for an account I was told was closed and had a zero balance.

My credit is in the toilet. Quite frankly, I do not have 467 dollars to pay off the debt and am so upset about this the only thing I could do was send a cease and desist letter along with letters to the credit bureaus. I was told that basically it will be on my credit report for another 7 to 10 years.

Then when I moved to a different city about 10 minutes away, in order to start over, I did not receive the notice they were raising my interest rate again, Now I pay $140.00 a month and only make $11.00 an hr. I used to make $13.50 an hr, but I also lost my jobe when US Cellular moved the call center to Iowa instead of Medford. I have been trying my best to make this payment but it means that I have to ask my husband who I no longer live with for help.

I just think that from $45.00 a month to $140.00 a month payment is outrageous. I could make the $45.00 payment and if the interest rate was not 39% maybe I could put a dent in the balance of my credit card. As it is now, it seems if you are wealthy and can afford your minimum payment, you are rewarded with a low interest rate. On the other hand, if you are working 40 hrs a week and trying to keep up, and you miss or are late on a payment you are penalized with an interest rate that you can not get out from underneath. If this is not illegal, it should be.

I can hardly afford to buy food, I can not afford to visit my granddaughter who lives 5 hrs away in the same state. This is devastating to me personally as well, it causes me mental anquish on a daily basis, as I am a strong advocate of taking responsibility. I do take repsonsibility but the credit card companies do not reciprocate.

What about the "bait and switch" laws that applied to Sears in the 70's? I know about it because I used to work for Sears and I know they lost that lawsuit. It was about baiting customers with a low price item in an advertisement, then when the customer came in looking for it, Sears was usually out of it because they only bought limited amounts. Then the salesperson usually tried to sell the customer a higher priced item. Now all advertisements have to say "limited quantities" due to this lawsuit.

Well, when a consumer has a credit card, a balance and an interest rate that should be fixed, I call this bait and switch as well. Now, we are baited in with a low interest rate, we run a credit card balance on that interest rate, and then when the credit card company knows you could not possibly afford to pay the balance, they raise the interest rate.

Providian now WAMU called me the other day and threatened to have a civil suite filed against me, I have an outstanding debt with WAMU and had a very old card with Providian, they have threatened possible criminal charges against me. I see garnishment for the WAMU but not criminal charges. This is horrible. Seems WAMU is as much a scam as Providian was. I won't be able to pay my rent or day to day bills, one income coming into my household. And if I am put in jail or charged with criminal charges (which would be unfounded) I would have my reputation damaged as wel as loose my job as I have a license with the Ca gaming commission. I work at a Casino there.

The next time I heard anything was when they liened (froze) my exhusbands account at WA MU (now their partner) for the amount of $2700 for both cards and attorney fees! We hired an attorney, at a cost of $800, whom said it was illegal; what they did and he would get our money back and his fees. He thaen told us we acted to late, because we didnt reply to the notice (UHHMMM I DID!) so $5500.00 lost because these idiots cheat people out of their hard earned money! I lost time from work, $5,500 dollars total, as WA MU help their now partner steal money no due to them owed to them!

A few years back I had your card(had it for atlest 4 yrs prior to first incident)and I received a stmt showing a very high balance and the charges from somewhere I had never heard of. After several calls to you and trying to get someone to help me since this was not fraud I was able to contact the credit who billed it. Their fraud dept removed it since they have never dealt w/individuals only deal w/corps. Bill was suppose to be cleared, talked to a supervisor there late charges and etc we to be removed a letter was sent to me and thought it was good. I asked for new acct number so I could feel safe.

Suddenly a few months go by and on the new card another fraud situation, removed same thing etc etc and this time in speaking to the supervisor he mentioned that when you change numbers you only change the last four which makes it very easy for theifs to find you again. So we closed the account. Then out of the blue I get a stmt with another acct number(never received a card) showing finaces charges where applied to my acct from the previous fraud charges and now you expected me to pay them--even thou I NEVER CHARGED THOSE CHARGES.

Tried to talk to people no one would help, sent it to collections and I should have sued both of you-- the calls where horrible, I have them recorded helling at me talking over the top of my taunting, screaming calling me terrible names. I had to seek medical help from the stress. After threating lawsuit and playing recording the calls stopped for a year. NOW today I get a letter from an attorny collecting this same debt.

Now I must say I thought you were a better company then this! I loved using your services up to this point and paid in full every month with no issues. I am a good, honwst person who worked hard to make good and to be treated as scum, being forced to pay a debt clearly not mine so you can line your pockets off of fraud. Really irrates me! My faith tells me to be true to myself which means I should not pay what is not mine and that you probably have reaped what you have sewn going after the wrong people but it puzzles me why your reputation and quality service are not important too you. You have recked my life!

Now my credit for nothing. It has not been paid and Should not be by me -you know that. Do the right thing with people that have been loyal customers and those hit by fraud/identity theft. provide better service and excuse the language get off your asses to stop this from happening again to anyone! I have been told over an over to sue you WaMU, col agency and etc--Why that has to be an option in a civilized world I do not know but I kick myself now for not doing it. I really do not feel like talking to another lawyer

My account with Aria (Providian National Bank) was paid in full and the account was closed. On Monday, July 7, 2008, I was told that Midland Financing had frozen my checking account due to an unpaid balance with PNB. I then went to civil court to get a copy of the summons that they claimed they served me. Midland Financing had sent the summons to an old address, therefore, granted a default judgment.

I also filed an Order to show cause indicating that I did not receive the summons due to not being properly served. PNB has my correct address because I still have the letter that the card was mailed to me from PNB. I need some legal advice in this matter.

I am the sole provider in my household and my funds have been frozen. I am losing time from work to go to court for something that I had already closed. My next court date is 7/22/08.

The named above Company has said it bought a debt from PROVIDIAN Bank 11/29/2005 which said I owed.I supposely received this line of credit on 12/10/1999 in the amount of not known but when sold it had a balance of $7913.67. No one in there right mind would offer someone that amount when i had a BANKRUPCTY Discharege in JAN1999 for over $50,000 dollars. Theree is something teribly wrong here.

Credit is damaged, cannot get any documentation showing where I applied for this line of credit, porfolio is a overbearing self serving group of A.. h.... I need help.

I applied for Providians credit card, BIG MISTAKE! I charged one item a $65.00 purchase and when I recieved the first bill it was over $100.00 for the payemant they wanted. Now they are trying to garnish wages

This is great! About 4 years ago, I got a Providian Mastercard. After realizing that they were screwing me I paid it off and closed it. Then, they sent me a $75.00 deactivation fee, I paid that. So I should be done right? Wrong, now 4 years later I'm getting mail and phone calls from debt collectors stating that I still owe the full balance of my card from 4 years ago! What is going on? Now, I have to dig up my paid receipts from 4 years ago? Who saves all that crap for so long?

I had to work for everything I own. My family came to this country with nothing. I've work my way through college, became a homeowner, and trying to live the dream. Now my credit is taking a hit because of this crap. Credit is the most important thing in life. Without haveing good credit, your life will be hard and making it will be hard. These days, employers look at you credit score before hiring you. Having said that, does everyone know that one late on your monthly payments will drop your score 20-40 points! But being on time on everything for one year increases your points by almost nothing!

I was told by this person that I am being sued for $2556.45 on a visa card that i got in 2001. The card was canceled around 2002/2003. I made two payments of $600 EA and they are still saying I owe them. This is interest only and I don't beleive I should have to pay these out rageous charges.

I am feeling threatened by them that they will garnish my wages and has coerced me into making automatic payments from my checking account which I can not afford at this time which will cause me to get behind on my car payment and my childs medical insurance.

In January 2001 I requested a card from Providian. I recevied 2 cards due to have good credit standing. As I charged on the card I paid the monthly amounts, I never once stopped to look at the amount of charges that was accruing on the card. One day as I went to pay for the next month, I said let me actually look at this bill instead of just paying and not knowing what I was paying because the bill seemed larger than usual. As I looked at the bill I found late fee, insurance fees, over limit fees, charges for things I did not authorize.

So I phoned the company and made a compliant and I was told by the Representative that I agreed to all of the fees when I signed the application, as I explained that I did a over the phone application & that I did not sign for any of those fees, I would like to have them removed. I was ignored and hung up on. I phoned back and was treated as rudely then as the first time. I continued to make some of the monthly payments until the charges were crazily outrageous and I phoned again. I made a complete payment in July 2002 on both accounts and requested them to be closed. The accounts were closed and I found out later on within 2002 that the accounts had been turned into the Credit Bureaus as unpaid-bad debt.

I was furious and contacted Providian, in which I was told that the account was sold and that they no longer had to discuss it with me and that I needed to contact the lender who purchased the account. I did just that and was again rudely mistreated and called a person that don't like to take responsibility for their accounts. I was told that until I was ready to pay the account in full, they would mark the account as refuse to pay and hung up on.

It is humiliating to have someone to ignore, mistreat, call you names, and hang up on you. This company lied to me. I only regret that I agreed to take this card and paid for it in advance for the application fee, the $100's of dollars for having the card prior to making any charges, and all of the other fees that accrued on this Providian card. I made complete payment of all the charges that I consumed while having these cards with my personal check stating on the back of the check upon cashing this check Providian agree to full payment on this account with the erasing of bad debt/unpaid account off of my credit report.

I sent this information to the 3 credit bureaus on many different occasion, yet still Providian shows on all 3 credit reports of mine and have ruined my credit scores. It is getting close to the time frame of the reporting to be removed from my credit record, yet it still does not show that I paid them in full and on time which I would like corrected.

The economic damage is that my credit score is ruined based on the untruth of Providian. My physical damage is that being hurt emotional and mentally by abuse that I received from Providian supposely customer service reps and the lenders that purchased all of Providians accounts. There were times that when my Son answered the phone he was mistreated and told that your Mommy told you to answer the phone so that she doesn't have to explain why she don't pay her bills.

6/2/08 Contacted by Debt Mgmt Inc for a Providian credit card I never had. Lots of threats of sending to IRS and freezing our checking account. According to Arkansas law the statute of limitations is 3 years from the last payment. So even if I did have the card, it is too late. They say payments stopped Oct 2001, which apparently was when they had alot of trouble.

According to info I've received they are trying to scare me into paying for a debt that is not mine to beat a seven year deadline to file with the IRS. They acknowledged they cannot sue me in court due to statute of limitations.

I have had a restraining order placed on my checking account by the above attorney's office representing Providian. They claim that I owe them $2,533, however the judgment is now over $3,800. They claim that the last payment they received from me was in 2003, this is impossible as I have not heard of them since I was married, it was a joint account with my now ex-husband, I have been divorced for over since 2002. Furthermore, since my divorce I have NEVER received any correspondence from Providian or anyone representing them.

My account has a lien on it for twice the amount submitted by the attorney's office which is apparantly the law in NYS. Therefore, my account is now "overdrawn" by over $7800. I am a single parent with 2 children and have no access to my money. Rent is due next week, it is too late to stop my payroll direct deposit, my child support direct deposit and my children's social security benefit - how am I supposed to live and care of my children? It cannot be legal to do this and in order to try to resolve it,

I have been informed that I have to go to the courthouse in person to file papers for a judge to review and then make a determination, I am told this could take weeks. Also, I will need to take off from work to attend to these issues - there has to be a way to better protect consumers, why doesn't the court require proof before allowing this to happen?

In 2001 I applied for a Providian Credit Card in which I received 2 cards with different numbers. No one else had access to these cards. In 2002 and early 2003 I paid off these cards from the charges that I had made. I sent in copies of the check stubs showing that these accounts were paid off to both Providian and the 3 Credit Bureaus.

As of today these accounts still reflect on my credit where Providian sold these accounts to other lenders; which has resulted in my credit being ruined. It is frustrating having to have my credit cleared when I know that I have made full payment on this account; there were charges on the account which I never authorized or agreeded to. So Providian and/or Asset Accept is responsible for those charges.

This is a very stressful issue having contacted the lenders that Prodivian sold this paid account to (Asset Accept)to be called a liar and a person who doesn't like to pay their bills. To have to speak with people that speak to you like you are an idiot or unhuman. After sending them also copies of these checks showing that the account was paid with my personal account; I also sent copies showing that Providian cashed the checks per the agreement written on the back of the check.

I am again asking for a reply in writing from a senior manager regarding my account. If I do not get this resolve I will have no choice but to file a complaint with the correct agency relating to credit companies and fraudulent activities. I still do not see any record of my October 2005 payment of ($55.00) being received when I viewed my account online and now it is November and I do not see my November payment of $75.00.

I see no record of 7 payments being made in 2006, totaling $320. However I have my online pay confirmation for the $320, etc. Currently in legitation with whoever purchased Washington Mutual raw issues - Midland Funding - I believe- Providian and Wash. Mutual either had bad records or dishonestly.

A credit card was was issued to someone else and now I am being held responsible for this credit card in the amount of over 6000.00. They are trying to garnish my wages. I never went to court the judge made a ruling in their favor without my knowledge. I contact the Bank the collection agencey and never received a response until the attorney contact me. I am going to see if I can find attorney to help me with this case.

I greed to pay money our for something I did not use plus I am having to use other money to obtain an attorney which I dont have money for that.

I consolidated all my credit cards of which providian was one of them. The credit consolidation company was making the payments since 2006,then 2 mos ago Palisades took over providian and asked a full payment which was $1700more than the original debt. Where did all thosepayments go?

I had to borrow money from a friend of course w/ intrest and I could not sleep and concentrate on my job.

I was presented with a garnishment of wages for a debt that belonged to my son.We have the same name but I don't have a middle initial.I told all those involved that this wasn't my debt and after not hearing from them,assumed that the matter was over.

I was told by my personnel department that a garnishment of wages was placed and that monies would be taken from my check.The matter was satisfied when the debt was paid in full.This is on my credit report,along with other dedts of my son.My wife and I have lived at the same address for the past 23 years,but on the credit report,it shows several addressws,all belonging to our son.We realize that our son has not been responsible in money matters,but it seems that hia creditors are coming after me,though I have not made these debts.Thank you,in advance,for any help you can give me.

Providian (as in the law suit)and Household Bank have damaged my credit. I will gladly join any law suit and or any class action law suit against them.

My credit has been damaged by Providian and Household Bank. I can not get a loan or a credit card.

I asked Providan to close out my account.. I was angry about fees on my card and postings not being posted till a late date and therefore fees were added..... I refused to pay all the fees.... I settled for a close out figure of $700.dollars.... I made a agreement to pay this amount in 5 payments.... four payments of $150.00 and the last at$100.00..... I was told that all fees and calls would stop as long as I held up to my part of the agreement.. I made my payments on time but still after the third payment did not receive anything in the mail verifying this agreement.... I countuned to receive calls and was still being charged over limit fees and late fees.... I spoke to countless persons at Providian,,, and when I would explane that this was now a charge off and all the fees were to stop a promised... No one at Proividian knew of this charge off and I was getting angry that still I had nothing in writing..... I made all payments except the last one for $100.00....

My billing statement wasent going down and NO One at Providian seamed to see anything on there computer that showed a charge off agreement..... I was angry ... and spoke to the managers and was told not to worry the paperwork would be sent to me.... I told them I'm not making another payment until I receive something in writing as per our agreement..... And alo I wanted the over limit fees and late fees waved from the past four months as our original agreement promised. I never received anything in writing and therefore stopped the last payment of $100.00 payment... Time went by then I received a phone call from a different credit card company telling me i owed the a absorbent amount..... I didnt have a credit card with them... after few minute i was informed that they bought Providian ....

I then went through all that had taken place with providan and the breach of there agreement with me,, And I refused to pay the amount or any other.. That was over two years ago and today I was hand delivered ( by two police men) at my home papers of a civil- action law suit... The amount that there asking the court to grant them is now..$3,097 and there looking to put a judgment on my home or siege my bank account.. I have to respond in less then 30 days...and I dont know what to do .... They keep adding charge all this time and i dont know where to turn...

Police at my door! Constant phone calls to work this all out... threating phone calls that were not to happen.....

I read the many complaints about the Providian website change to WAMU and wanted comment that they have been notifying customers of this change for several months. Have you not noticed that when you login the site redirects you to WAMU.com? Do you not read your online messages? Providian has been one of the BEST card companies that I have dealt with. They raised my interest after a late payment once. I called them and complained and they brought it down below what it was before. That's as fair as I have been treated by any bank.

You can check your Providian balances and pay online at www.wamucards.com. I'm not sure why the old Providian site is not up anymore -- perhaps its a scam. I don't know, but WAMU still has Providian. I just went and checked it out and had no problem. Good Luck.

I had a co-worker who complained about how bad of a card it was. He showed me his interest rate, which was 31.49% apr. He had his limit reduced to exactly what he owed with no notice. I assumed it was because of his terrible credit, and he didn't want to admit it. My experience with this card has always been good; however, I had a problem with the website, www.providian.com. It was down, and it brought something else unrelated up; and I could not see if my previously scheduled payment was going to go through. I called the number listed on the down website, and it was disconnected. I was pretty disappointed with that. I then talked to the Washington Mutual people, and they were table to give me another website. For anyone else having this problem it is: www.wamucards.com.

The Washington Mutual people were pretty helpful, but as soon as my payment goes through you can be guaranteed I am going to cancel this card. I need to access my account everyday, and if something changes, I don't want to spend 2 hours on the phone to do so. It was my first card I ever got, and now I have Bank of America and Amex on my side, so maybe I will just cancel it. I'll take off my training wheels and deal with much more professional companies. (I just liked the free credit score feature.)

It seems curious to me that www.providian.com, which has been the Providian credit card account portal for as long as I can remember, is suddenly an under construction site for First Select. A little Googling yields the correct site, but a part of me does wonder whether Providian is trying to make it a bit more difficult for people to pay their bills on time through cyber evasion.

Given my previous customer service experiences with Providian, I don't feel the least bit like I'm wearing a tin-foil hat imagining this to be true. Luckily, I've completely paid off my Providian card, and this is a reminder of why I won't be using it ever again. The are truly an awful, awful predatory company.

When is the last time anyone checked on Providian? In case no one has noticed--their Web site no longer exists! In it's place is something called First Select: A Providian Financial Company. You can no longer get to your account information, pay a bill, or anything. Instead you are supposed to call someone named Margaret Mason, Marketing Account Manager in Louisville, KY, 502-357-3370 or at Margaret mason@providia.com. I don't know about the rest of you, but just how do I pay my bill, or get account information? What's going on?

I got no notice they were changing their name, or that the web site was down. So where do I send my payment which I do on line? And what about statements which most of us opted for electronic? It's time the government stepped into Providian and did a full investigation. As a consumer with an account, I believe I have a legal right to access my account!

If I cannot check my account, how do I know if payments arrived, if anyone used my card, what the current charges are, etc.? This could result in a ton of late payment charges for many folks, as it seems as if Providian has changed hands, and addresses.

I have been a Providian credit card holder for 10 years. I have a $16,500 credit limit and had a 11.9% interest rate. They have never had any problems with me....I always paid my bills on time and always more than minimum. I have frequently paid my account off all the way to zero, and sometimes I have run it up to thousands of dollars. It was at $12,000 this month (mostly due to some medical bills), and I realized that my finance charge was ridiculously high. I called to find out what had happened to my rate, and they told me that they had put it up to 21.9% because I made a late payment (5 days apparently) in October '07. They refused to lower my interest rate any lower than 18.99%, which is outrageous and entirely undeserved.

I am taking out a home equity loan to pay off this card. However, as my husband is currently in his 3rd year of dental school, the house equity was what we were planning on using when his GI Bill money runs out at the end of this year. I am sure we can get by, but many people would be totally devastated in this situation. My minimum payment doubled to almost $400! There should be a law restricting the number of interest points that a card company can increase one's rate by. This is an outrage, and I am logging complaints with every agency I can think of.

I have been a customer with Providian for 10 years. I originally had a $500.00 credit limit as I was rebuilding credit. I sadly had to pay the annual $100.00 fee and, of course, the rates that go with it. However, I have been late ONE time, have NEVER paid the minimum due and always pay on line and on time. Today, February 22, 2008, I emailed them asking for a reduction in interest rate. Mind you, I have a credit score of 750 and NO blemishes on my credit. This means no late payments or even delinquencies. Anyhow, I get an email back that reads it is not available on my account! Of course not, why would they want to lower their fleecing of America?

They are always trying to con you when you call in for a balance by trying to tell you how you can claim your free $25 gas card. The Credit Protections they offer is the worst scam going! You have to hand it to them--cheating people whenever they can, providing less than acceptable customer service and making sure they keep you at the highest possible interest rate. I paid it off today--YES $14,010.00! I will never use them again, and I will be happy to go to a local bank or Credit Union. I hope they get down graded AGAIN like they did in 2001. I hope they get bought my Bank of America, and the old wood is tossed out. I DIVORCE YOU, PROVIDIAN/WAMU or whatever you are!

They have no work out plan available and no knowledge of Office of the Controller of Currency Account Management and Loss Allowance Guidance document. I must be delinquent before any discussion of account adjustment is possible, despite Credit Counseling recommendation to file bankruptcy and dispute my effort to avoid filing and get account paid in full.

Is there a legal remedy for banks unwilling to follow Controller of the Currency guidance?

In, 1996, Providian Bancorp offered me a credit card with a credit limit of $1000.00 initial credit. Shortly after I was offered a credit card protection plan by this company, and suddenly I lost my job and found myself slipping into serious debt. Well, I decided that I would inform Providian about my situation and told them that I was no longer working, and I needed to have my protection plan kick in. They assured me that everything would be okay and not to worry. Well, today is Jan 20, 2008. My account was sold to a collection agency and has been on my credit ever since. I have disputed this with all three credit agencies and even paid off the debt, finally this year. The debt, however, was $1,900.00. I really shouldn't have had to pay this debt, and it should have been off of my credit report. It's been 11 years since....

This act has deprived me of living the American Dream and has caused depression. I cannot believe how I was treated then and still am by these people.

Like so many others, I had credit with a few dings due to my health condition, and am on social security disability. I got this card for emergency use and it had a $250.00 limit. As it tured out, I had a few financial problems come up, and used it for medication(s). I was making payments on time until they got my check late, or that is what they said. 2 weeks to get from Ill. to the east coast? That is when my interest rate soared to the moon. Now it put me in their over the limit bracket, and then came more charges. I tried to work this out by having the card frozen. Would not do it as it would stop charges. I was paying over a $100 a month to pay it off. That didn't work. Towards the end, I was using 75% of my monthly check to pay off balances that were not going down. $500.00 turned into almost $9,000.00 That's right.....NINE GRAND! Then they started harassing me by calling at 8am until 9 at night. One day I logged over 17 calls. After requesting contact by mail only, they sold my account to the lowest of lowest debt buyers.

How about major depression having being hospitalized to start with, and not including a heart attack. I am now filing Chapter 7.

I have been sent a collections letter via NCO Financial pertaining to an account through Chase/Assignee of Providian attempting to collect $3,175.64 in purchase balance and $4,094.15 in interest on an account that they say I stopped making payments on in 1991.They have never contacted me before now, nor have I EVER had a Chase Credit Card. I filed bankruptcy and was absolved of my debt in 11/92. Every attempt that I have made with NCO Financial to obtain any information on how to contact or speak with anyone at Providian has been met with a brick wall, they will not even give me a phone number or address to speak with anyone there. Please I need some advice.

I had a Providian Visa with a credit line of $1500.00 at 0% for transfers and 19.99% for purchases. I was pretty close to the limit about 3 months ago; and without notice, Providian jacked my rate to 31.99%. Since I was close to the credit limit, I know for a fact that Providian did this on purpose! When interest and fees were calculated, this threw my amount over the credit limit which gave Providian a $39 late fee. This happened for 3 months because I could only pay the minimum due, then I finally had to pay $250 to get back in the black. Since I was already ticked, I applied for a credit union Visa and was approved. My credit union sent out a check last Monday, one to Providian, the other to Chase. Chase cashed my check quickly, Providian hasn't. I emailed Providian and told them to cancel my account. I also told them I was contacting my U.S. Senator, Carl Levin, D- Michigan, who is overseeing the hearings on the Abuse of the credit card industry. I actually did call Levin, and their staff member told me to fax over a letter with the issue I had with Providian to their sub-committee.

I got an email back from Providian stating that my account was NOW in the care of a Customer Relations Representative, and they wanted to personally talk to me about my account! I emailed Providian back and informed them that I DID fax a letter to Carl Levin. I got an email back the SAME day with 3 over-the-limit refunds to my account! (LOL!) I'm carefully watching them to see if they cash that credit union check in time. I think they're trying to hold out until Jan. 11th to deposit that check. My payment is due the 10th, but I think they're trying to get more interest fees or late fees added back on. This bank, part of Washington Mutual, is shady. Don't ever get a Providian or Washington Mutual credit card.

A year ago, I was made aware I was being sent to collections by Providian Bank for a credit card balance I owed. I'VE NEVER HAD A CREDIT CARD WITH PROVIDIAN! Long story short, I am now being served papers at work demanding garnishment of wages. This after a judgment was made against me without my knowledge by the courts here in Chicago! What is this? I have never had a Providian Account. How can this happen?

I'm now afraid of dealing with this issue. What do I do? I'm at a loss. They are demanding $1400 for the garnishment, and originally they wanted less than $1000. I did nothing wrong other than assuming that a year ago it was a mistake that would go away once they realized it. Now I'm being called by some attorney 2-3 times a day and taken to court and expected to pay filing fees for a credit obligation I never had!

I obtained a Providian Card with a $500.00 limit in May of 2000. I have been paying my minimum balance regularly which included a fee for insurance on the card should I become unable to pay off balance due to disability or unemployment. Unfortunately, I became unemployed for a whole year. I notified Providian and requested my account to be closed. The customer service representative instructed me to write a letter to close the account, which I did. I also requested that the late fees, over the limit fees, annual fees, and interest be stopped. Providian continued to harass me and told me that they never received the letter. Eventually, the minimum amount due was more than my paycheck. So, I gave up. A few months later, another collection company notified me that Providian charged off/sold my account. Again, I tried to work with them, but they wanted the full payment. NOTE: Providian sold my account not ONCE, but THREE times.

The current owner is now The Law Offices Cohen & Slamowitz, LLP, who have issued a Judgment against me and now is attempting to garnish my wages for the total sum of $1, 699.92. This is outrageous!

I have 2 credit cards with Providian who was bought out by Washington Mutual and elected for statement to be delivered online to save postage and paper cost for them. Both cards have approx balance of $7,000 and I noticed they didn't give the interest rate I am charged on the online statement. I called them to inquire and I was told one has an interest rate of 17.99% for purchases and 23.99% for cash advances. Then I was told the other has an interest rate of 30.95% for purchases and 30.95% for cash advances. I couldn't believe what I just heard and asked when did that rate change to that high amount? She said she didn't know. I knew nothing about this and they are charging that on the entire balance. I want to know if this is legal and if not is it a potential class action case?

I have suffered loss of limited finances.

We had Providian credit cards and also had the cards sold to another company more than 3 times. Each time the rules and rates changed. We basically gave up after trying to keep up with them. We have received letters of late from attorneys requested payment on accounts which are at least 6-7 years old. Those accounts had maybe a maximum balance of $1000.00 each. But now they are looking for upwards of $5000.00 to $8,000.00 on these accounts because of all of the fees and interest tacked on by these various companies.

I obtained a Providian Card with a 500.00 limit in May of 2000. I’ve never used the card once, a few years ago, had it canceled, and disputed unknown charges on my credit report from Providian. Now, in 2007 I somehow still have a High balance of $989.00 on a credit limit of 500.00 on a card i never used. I just called Providian and a rep tells me that the account was disputed and that it has not been updated yet. It was years ago that i had it cancelled and disputed. How can it not be updated yet?

I had a Providian account, with a credit limit of $1000 and a good pay record until 2001. At that time, I separated from my husband and began to have financial difficulties. I notified Providian and requested my account to be closed. The customer service representative instructed me to write a letter to close the account, which I did. I also requested that the late fees, over the limit fees, annual fees, and interest be stopped.

Providian continued to harrass me and told me that they never received the letter. Eventually, the minimum amount due was more than my paycheck. So, I gave up. A few months later, I was notified by another collection compnay that Providian charged off/sold my account. Again, I tried to work with them, but they wanted the full payment. NOTE: Providian sold my account not ONCE, but THREE times.

The current owner CAVC of Colorado, (on Providians behalf) is suing me for $7000+. This is outrageous!

I have recently paid off much of my debt, and have paid the remainder down to at or below 50% In January I actually made two payments, one of which brought my credit balance to just about 50% of the credit limit. I have since made on time payments of above the minimum payments due. I just received my March statement and discovered that my credit limit had been lowered to one-half of what it was which now brings my balance almost to what the credit limit now is. The rate is already very high at 31.49% and then Wamu charged a $ 59.00 annual fee in late February, the timing stinks. I have just spent 45 minutes on the phone (10 of those on hold) having Mr. George tell me that he couldn't tell me why my credit limit was lowered because no one is able to access the letter that was sent to me (that I have yet to receive) for at least 7-10 days.

I started with poor credit and a $500.00 credit line. My credit line has been increased by Providian/WaMu to $15,000.00 which would seem to indicate that I've been a good customer. I have always paid 2 or 3 times the minimum. My interest rates have climbed from the introductory amount to 30.03%. They won’t tell me why.

I have been paying on an account that I had closed sometime ago. I have always paid more than my minimum payment. During the past year I was late on ONE payment which I immediately paid when I realized in fact I overpaid the amount due. I am now being charged an APR of 34.17%. When I contacted them they refused to lower the rate.

I had a Providian Bank card. I was a perfect payer, I was on time every month. I started with a $500.00 limit and with time and a good pay record my credit limit ran up to $5000.00. I continued to pay my credit card balances and payments. I had a change in employment, all of my overtime was taken away, but I never stopped paying at least the minimum payment required and I never missed a payment. I then bounced back and started paying lump sums until Providian raised my APR to 38%. I stopped paying and now they are threatening to sue me.

They have called me day and night for years and have sent me threatening letters. I sent them a cease and desist letter telling them to stop calling my home and work telephone number. They refused to settle the account with me. They refused to reduce my monthly APR %. When I stopped paying they turned my account over to a collection agency and now a law office. Now this law office is threatening to sue me. They yell at me on the phone and refuse to come to some equitable term for a settlement. As a result I am going to file bankruptcy. It's the last straw.

I had a Providian Charge Card and was a on time payer. I had received my Visa card with a credit limit of 1,OOO to start. With good ontime payment Providian raised my credit limit up to 4,000. Due to a job loss for my husband I was unable to make a payment. We had gotten behind one month and they shut my credit card down. After two months they wanted two payments plus late fees I was unable to make the full payment. I told they to close the account and I would continue making payments. They did not they kept making late fees on top of late fees and now the account balance is 8,890.95 I feel that providian has ruin my credit for several years due to improperly charged for late fees.

I am unable to get a good credit rating due to the charge off account they have put on my credit bureau. This has been 7 yrs. And now they want 9,000 dollars and I have not heard from them in over 6 yrs.

I had to refuse the date change because I cannot afford anymore then I'm paying now.

We realized that over $400 of unauthorized credit protection coverage had been charged to our platinum account. We called this to the attention of Providian and were told a credit would immediately be given in that amount. We were left with the clear impression that a payment would not be due in the near future due to the credit adjustment to our account. In fact, my husband said, "We don't have to make a payment any time soon because of the credit adjustment."

Within a couple of weeks we were recieved a letter, (today), stating that our account had been closed and that the only way to reopen it would be to pay the card in full. My husband is very proud of his credit rating. He has excellent credit, any cards he has are platinum, so he did not want a derogatory mark on his credit rating. We called Providian immediately and yes, they said they would credit our account for the unauthorized charges of 400+ -- but that it doesn't show up as a PAYMENT credit, so they closed our account...and are demanding the account balance in full! Baloney! They over charged us for an unauthorized fee!

We closed our Providian account in July of 1999. We received a bill in April 2000 stating that we had a balance because someone charged to our account. We filed the necessary paperwork in the necessary time to dipute the charge. Everytime we call the customer service they tell us they cannot verify anything.

The BIG problem I have is that they have stated that once an account is open it is always active. Anyone with your credit card number can charge to the account. This is total bull! How do I go about forcing them to close my account?

Consequences are economic because having an account that can never be closed opens me up to fraud in one more place. And since the fraud has already occured on the account once since we "closed" it, fraud will continue to happen. My credit rating will be ruined and I will constantly be fighting with them to dispute unauthorized charges.

Providian must honor a legitimate request to close an account and it has only a limited amount of time to do so under federal banking regulations. James needs to send a certified, return-receipt-requested letter to Providian stating that he is the account holder and requesting that the account be closed immediately.

I received a phone call from one of Providian's telemarketers offering to transfer my balance from one credit card to theirs (at a higher interest rate). I told the telemarketer that I was NOT interested in transferring my balance. He then told me what my account number was and balance, which I knew was not right. I repeated myself to this telemarketer three times, telling him I was not interested.

Approximately a month later, I received a statement from Providian for the balance they transferred from my current credit card. This was done without my authorization!!! I never gave out the information needed to do the transfer. I called my current credit card holder who assured me they do not give this information out. I do trust them since they are a reliable company. I have fought with Providian over this since I do not feel responsible for the balance. They tell me it is a debt that I incurred. Isn't this a debt they incurred since they paid off the balance without my authorization??? Do I have any rights in this situation?

This matter has not been closed yet. Providian has agreed to not charge interest for the life of the balance. This is still not acceptable to me. I have always had great credit ratings until this matter came up. I went for a new car loan and had to explain this overdue balance on my credit report. Because of Providian's name in the business the bank overlooked this mark on my report. I want this to be removed permanently from my record.

Jennifer needs to transfer the Providian balance to another card, then send a certified, return receipt requested, letter to Providian, telling them she did not authorize the previous transfer and instructing them to close her account and remove any negative reports filed with the credit agencies.

My girlfriend has a Providian credit card. Right after she received the card last year they talked her into signing up for this Destination Unlimited travel card at a cost of $119.00.

The menu process that you must use to find out subscribers to the discount accommodations is confusing and then you are still required to double check with your choice of accommodations to make sure that they are a suscriber to the service.

We Called the 800 number for Destination Unlimited to see if they had a website or a catalog that is easier to use to find places that we can use their discount card and they tell you that they will send out a catalog that shows you a listing of who are subscribers.

Well the catalog we got was simply a promotional catalog saying that there are hundeds of hotels/motels that support the Destination Unimitied card. No list like they promised to send. To top this off, when she got the first card last year and we went though their lack of service they still insisted that she try the card when she asked to cancel it.

Well she just didn't want to deal with them anymore and chalked it up as a $119.00 lesson in life. But now they have charged her card again and said that they had the right under her original subscription to the service and once again she asked to cancel the card and was told that she should try the card for 10 days and then see if she wants to cancel. She explained that there is no reason for a 10 day trial and they insisted that she call back in 10 days. What kind of scam is this!

This has cost her a total of 238.00 plus finace charges on a service that she has never used. We have spent at least 90 minutes on the phone trying to learn how to use the card and/or get info on the service and feel that we didn't get either.

I received an offer for a pre-approved visa card through Providian by mail to repair my credit. It said that all I needed to do was to send in an $89 one-time processing fee, and I was guaranteed a Visa card. I sent in a money order, and then later on I received a letter requesting that I verify my personal information again because they could not contact me by phone. The information they had was correct, and I indicated so in their reply letter. Then later on, I received another letter saying the exact same thing. I sent the reply letter back again indicating that my personal information was correct. Then later on, I received the same letter again, and I replied back again.

At the end of each letter it states that if they do not hear back from me by a certain date they will consider the matter closed. I have never received any message from Providian on my answering machine. If they actually called, they must have hung up every time the machine picked up. They also had my work number, but I have never received any calls or messages from Providian there either.

Well I feel like they just took my money and they are going to keep sending me letters until I give up.

I received an application in the mail in reference to applying for a Visa card with Providian. Currently, I have a MasterCard with providian. I decided to apply for the Visa card also, but I was informed nicely that I currently had the Master Card and procedure is that they only allow you to have one card with them. I was also informed within the letter that I would receive a refund check in the amount of what I paid for the application process.

The letter stated that 10 days after receiving the letter, I would receive my refund check. I received the letter on December 10, 1999, and it is now January 21, 2000. Where is my check? And yes, my check has cleared through my bank. What is the holdup? When I make my payments they want them on time. If I'm late I'm charged a penalty. There should be a way that they will be charge a penalty for holding your refund for an unlimited amount of time.

This is highly upsetting. I'm a single parent and that money is needed in my home. I'm not on government assistance and things can be tight when you have a budget. If you tell me that I will receive my money in 10 days, I make plans with that money. Basically, bills or whatever. This put me in a tight situation.

It is a terrible thing that in this day & time that large companies can get away with ruining someone's outstanding credit history over a few dollars they feel they need to steal. They have already ruined my 12 year excellent credit history by reporting this to TRW & Experian.

On April 13, 1999, I made an electronic transfer of $8602.00 from Providian to another bank. On April 15, 1999, Providian took it upon itself to transfer another $8602.00 to the same bank, without my authorization.

Since then, I have received over 72 harassing telephone calls, stating that I am over my limit (which is not true, due to our agreement). I have tried to explain to each person that has called the unique situation of this account. They all try to help, but I end up being on the telephone for hours a night with a different person and have finally come to my wits end.

Yesterday, 1/3/00, I received a letter stating that PNB was going to send account to collection. I am furious! This was my wife's account, which I had to take over since Providian Representatives drove her to tears almost daily. They are now looking for $6000.00 or they plan to tarnish my perfect credit report. We have done everything in our power to see this matter resolved, but Providian keeps changing the rules, reneging on our agreements and just being the worst representation of what a financial institute should be.