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From Wendy -
I received a solicitation from Providian and at the bottom of it is a website address to contact. Well, while looking them up I ran across your site and thank goodness I did. Reading through your article saved me from becoming future "Vulture Food".
What a brilliant way of expressing your anger and frustration. You know, you could have gone "Postal", but, instead chose to create a sounding board for yourself and others, and for this, I applaud and commend you.
This is more or less a personal note, I owe the US Government $250.00 for unpaid taxes for 1998 and they sent me a note threatening to repossess my home if I don't pay up. Isn't it amazing how my $250.00 is keeping the budget from being balanced, but yet, horrendous practices such a Providian's continue.....only in America!
Keep up the crusade and best regards.....
(Note: You have to understand, $250 here, $250 there and the government is out $500. Were talking major deficits here. - MB)From Chuck -
Thanks for the info on Providian. I got an offer from them today for 5.9% FIXED RATE Platinum. I couldn't figure why they were so low when everyone else had fixed rate of 10% or higher. After reading your page I now understand.
The application is getting shredded after I call Providian and tell them why I'm not interested. I'm sure you saved me a lot of hassle.
From Everett -
Your website just saved me a lot of grief. I received an invitation for a Platinum Visa in the mail with a generous 5.99% APR. Not an introductory rate, but a fixed rate. Sounds great don't it. But I wanted additional information, but there was no phone number to contact them. The only information they wanted in the invitation was your name, social security number, home phone number, and work phone,..OOOH, ... and of course annual income. I wanted more information, but of course no phone number on the invitation.(Love that word,...Invitation. I guess they're doing me a favor) I decided to see if they had a website. That way I could contact them or at least get a phone number. That's when I ran across your webpage. All I can say is, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Note: If it seems too good to be true, it usually is. "Caveat emptor." - MB)From Robert -
Chalk up another sucker to succumbing to Providians chicanery. We got a secured credit card in order to help clean up our credit record (the amount was about $200). After stumbling across some amazingly hard times, we had to make a payment on the card that had been cancelled. Much to our surprise the amount we owed was over $1200.00!!! How can this be considering our secured amount was only $200.00? I wrote Providian asking them to send us an invoice or a bill detailing how our debt reached such an astronomical figure. No response was received. Soon we're getting calls from a collection agency who handles all of Providian's accounts. The gentleman I talked to told us it was all in late fees!!!! THEN, THE GENTLEMAN TOLD ME THAT,"UNFORTUNATELY,SIR, YOU HAVE PICKED A BAD COMPANY TO DO BUSINESS WITH. THEY WON"T GIVE YOU A BILL SHOWING HOW YOUR CHARGES ADDED UP. IF YOU DON"T PAY,THEY JUST KEEP ADDING ON TO THEM. THAT'S HOW THEY OPERATE." We have refused to pay all the fees. We have given them the $200.00 and more to get the collection agency off our back, for now, but they have been calling again.... often. I told them they will not get another dime until we get a bill. Is there anything we can do or should we just pay them off and be done with them? This is truly amazing.
(Note: It's getting harder and harder to keep my food down when I hear stories like this. What's worse is that I don't have a solution for Robert's problem. - MB)From Doris -
Thank you for sharing your experience with Providian. I saw a commercial advertising this credit card, and the people said it was the best thing since apple butter. Guess where they were running their commercial? On Court TV!!! What a hoot!! I thought before I call the 800 number let me see what kind of information is on the net.
Again thanks a million.(Note: Hmmm, Court TV. That figures. Criminals, lawyers, and other assorted low-lifes. - MB)
From Flo -
Hi my name is Flo and I to have fell into the providian nightmare. I recieved my credit card around June and payed the yearly fee. I used the card for around 25.00 that month. The next month I recieved my statement one week before it was due and there was a $7.95 fee for credit protection on the bill. When I recieved the offer it asked me if I wanted this protection and I checked No. Well it was attached to my bill and it gave me one week to pay. I immediatly sent the payment to them and my check wasnt cashed for approxametly 10 days, that made me late. I called them and they said I should have been mailed it out about 10 days before the due date. My reply was I didnt recieve the bill until 7 days before it was due. They did cancel the credit protection after a bit of argueing but my very first payment was Late. I asked them why they didnt look at the postage date and they said they post it when they recieve it. It didnt take the pont
(sic) express 7 days to run a letter and they are telling me that it took 10 days for them to post my payment. They held my check and deliberatly made me late. From now on I send it overnight mail so I know that they recieve it on time, Although it costs a little more they cant get out of this one. I only use the card for emergencies now and pay it off so the blood sucking company doesnt get rich with my money. They continue to mail my statements only 7 days before they are due and when the annual fee comes due I will be arguing that one too. THANKS FOR LISTENING(Note: Sound familiar? Sit on the check until the due date passes. There should be a law requiring institutions to process payments within a specific time frame, or pay a substantial fine per case. - MB)
From Jennifer -
Hello! Excellent site. Providian is currently screwing me. Poor ole me with no money and they charge me something new every month. Even though I am cancelling. I sent them a long letter with my dispute and they sent me back a little fine print letter that did not explain my griefs and was not even the agreement I signed.
So, I have contacted the better business bureau and I urge you to do so also.
Thanks!
Update: On 12/10/1999 I received the following notice from Jennifer. Looks like the good guys won this time.
Hi. I contacted you before congratulating you on the
Providian Sucks website you have.
I wanted to send you an update on what has happened since...
I mailed the Better Business Bureau and told them how I was being screwed by Providian
about a month ago. Today I received a letter from Providian stating they are taking
away all charges I had in question and offering me a free waiver on a late charge.
Call the Better Business Bureau! Excellent way to scare them.
Thanks again for the site.
From "Anonymous" (and it's clear why he wants to remain so) -
I just quit working at providian financial and would like to stay anonymous...., A company like this needs to be boycotted and be sued to the hilt! I am ashamed that I spent 8 months working there, but if it makes your web page readers happy, they treat the employees just as bad as the customers....I also wanted to tip you off that the Aria accounts online are also Providian Financial.....so please avoid that card as well!!.....
When I left, Providian was gearing up for a propaganda push, about customer service and employee satisfaction.....so they are beginning to feel the weight of the publics concerns...as evidenced by the action started in Connecticut recently..., they are only concerned with their bottom line....not yours...and not it's employees...!! Property owners especially beware, Providian does have an agressive attorney network, and will sue to collect unpaid balances....with the suit, they go as far as they can to have liens and levys applied...so please beware.. close your acct.. and be rid of them as soon as you can...!!! Transfer your balance, but be careful as providian has and will buy other accts not in their name!
So be on the lookout for anything card or statement that mentions Providian!!!
yours in peace!
a former providian employee!!
(Note: I do not make any of these up. - MB)
From Bill -
Thanks for posting a web site as open and gutsy as yours. I briefly glanced through your home page, and intend to return to it as soon as possible, since the majority of your "attitudes" correspond with mine. Now to the subject at hand
My wife recently received a statement from Providian Financial for a yearly membership fee for a Visa card she never applied for ! We already have a Visa and two other cards from reputable financial institutes and have excellent credit.
Where do these vultures get the cojones to send her a statement for a yearly membership fee? And where did they obtain all the necessary and private information (like name, address, and S.S.#) from? When I called them, I had to enter the last 4 digits of her S.S.# to access her account that they so thoughtfully set up for her without her knowledge and/or permission. This, of course, informs me that the bastards have all the pertinent data on file already. When I called, I was given the old runaround, and never was able to communicate with a living, breathing (even heavy breathing would have been acceptable) human being.
I am usually very polite and respectful when corresponding with large institutions, but after reading the horror stories posted on your web site and several others, I'm going to give these jackals both barrels full in the face. I have found that there are numerous law suits pending against them for deceitful practices (how can they be called practices when these vultures are good at what they do?). Thanks again for the info I need to go armed to the teeth against these scavengers.
(Note: "Jackals"? "Bastards"? "Scavengers"? And he says my site is "gutsy"? Bill, if Henry Plantaganet could kick the French army's butt at Agincourt, you have a damn good chance to win this one. Go for it! - MB)
From Jasmine -
Thank you thank you thank you............................
I'm not alone. No man is an Island. I can't believe what I'm reading here. I have already emailed one of the attorneys on this case. Like many of your site's visitors I typed in Providian under search... I was determined to write to their President about what they've been doing to me. Thanks for saving me time. I can assure you I will not be giving them anymore of the $5,000 I owe them. They can take me to court if they want and I wish them luck. I don't know what else to say. My husband and I and dumbfounded and relieved at the same time to know we were not imagining things. I suppose we should be relieved that they aren't treating us different from their other customers after all... equality should count for something.
Thank you for exposing the vultures. Keep up the good work.
(I e-mailed Jasmine for more details. She responded with the following. I’ve done some editing for the sake of brevity.)
I didn't notice anything wrong until 2 months ago but I should have started paying attention to my bills at least 1 1/2 years ago. In June 1998 I cashed one of those checks they send. It was for 3 thousand dollars. I never charged anything else to the card after that and made my payments every month. My credit limit with them is for $5,000. When my August 99 bill arrived it said I was $17.00 over my credit limit and that I should pay it along with my regular payment so I wouldn't be over my limit. I paid it and didn't think anything of it. Well, September bill comes and says I'm $29 over my limit and should pay that with my regular payment.
I had just gone through an ordeal with Direct Merchants who purchased my PNC Bank Credit Card so big bells went off in my head. Since I keep all my bills (since 97) I decided to educate myself. That's when I realized that I had not charged anything to the card (except for credit protection) for 18 months. I was making monthly payments of sometimes close to or in excess of $200 and not only had my balance not gone down but I was suddenly over my limit!!!!!!! I got on the phone and asked them "How is this possible? You must have made a mistake" The nice lady supervisor looked at everything supposedly (I say supposedly because this was October 10 and I still have not seen a bill from Providian) gave me a credit here, a credit there, cancelled credit protection and Bingo! my amount due is just under $5,000. I asked the nice lady to look into why this had happened because the cash advance portion of my bill should be under $3,000 by now not $3,030!!! She said she would and call me back. She agreed with me that there was something strange there.
Well, 2 months and 5 supervisors later I have: no answer, no bill, and a phone call every week reminding me that, as of last night, I owe $85 to bring my account up to date. I've consistently told all these supervisors that I would not be making any payments on my account until I received an explanation in writing about the cash advance portion of my bill plus a bill showing the lowered interest rate (to 12.9% on both purchases and cash advance supposedly). Last night I started looking at the interest rate on all my bills and it's steadily risen since 97 to where I am now at an atrocious 23.3% on cash advance.
I can't believe I've been this blind for 2 years. But I'm awake now and they've picked the wrong Crusader to crucify. When I get mad I keep name, dates and everything. They are going to pay. I've got an excellent credit rating. They'll be the only black mark on it. I don't think anybody is going to question that.
(Note: I'm glad I'm a vegetarian. Getting a story like this on Thanksgiving can definitely kill any desire for a big meal. - MB)
From Jody -
I just have to say THANK YOU to all of you who have enlightened me. Providian called and offered my husband and I some wonderful credit protection for only $150. We immediately declined since we didn't feel it was necessary and amazingly enough even though we said NO! every time they called (which was repeatedly at the dinner hour) they still managed to charge us for it. I do not quite understand how they have the authority to do such a thing but I immediately went on the rampage to get my money back. No such luck. We had paid the card off and had no other balance. I refused to pay it and amazingly enough they never took it off even though I called every day for 3 weeks. Then when our next bill came that we didn't pay because it was supposed to come off they billed us a late fee. When we finally got them to send us half of our money back they still would not reverse the late fee. ( you should know the ever famous $29) Providian now has on its record that they sent us the whole $150 but according to my books I only received the first half. Could it be that I have been swindled? Of Course. Now I know we are not the only ones. Thank you for taking the time to write in also.
(Note: This site would not exist without all your comments. I join Jody in thanking every one of you for caring enough to share your experiences. - MB)
From Darci -
Well I'm sure your life is just not complete without hearing just one more complaint about Providian. My husband and I recently filed bankrupcy and have NO credit. I received a letter in the mail saying I have been approved for a unsecured credit card with a limit of $500.00. WOOOHOOO - but, hey, it's a start. I sent in my $49.00 "proccessing fee" and waited about 2 months for my card. Finally I got it and called in my activation numbers to get charging!! So, it's Christmas time and, how handy to have a credit card!! Ya right!! I charged it up to about $350.00. I hopped on line to see if I could get access to my account and accidently stumbled onto your site. I was getting really scared from what I was reading and decided to call and get a balance on my account. Well sure enough, trouble was starting already. There was a double charge on my account. The same vendor, the same amount, processed the same day and had the same conformation numbers. So the wonderful customer service @$$hole I was talking on the phone with - quite simply said, "you'll have to call the vendor and get it taken care of on that end". So I did and of course they said it was Providians fault!! SURPRISE SURPRISE!!! Well I have only had the card activated about 3 weeks and have not received a bill yet - I am getting really scared of what this may turn into. I have already written a check for about $25.00 more than I know I owe on the account!!
I have been taken and it sucks!! If I had a spare $49.00 (processing fee) plus $59.00 (annual card fee)laying around - why would I need a stupid credit card??!! Thank you so much for posting these letters!! I have definitely learned my lesson and hope the next few months won't be hell for me!! I hope they close my account without any problems and they can keep my extra $25.00!!!! But in the UNLIKELY event that they give me problems - how should I be prepared for problems with them??
Thank you again!!!
(Note: Keep EVERY scrap of paper dealing with Providian. I'd even record any phone calls to them, but I don't know if that's legal. Do you suppose that the People's Democratic Republic of China can add Providian to their list of US mainland targets for their missile program? - MB)
From Jim -
Hi, I too was dumb enough to get involved with Providian several years ago. In reading through the responses you've had on your page, I was somewhat gratified to see that I wasn't the only one who's has problems dealing with them. I, too have had payments that mysteriously got delayed by the mail, thereby incurring the infamous late payment fee. I've also had statements that simply did not appear in the mail. When I called to ask, I was told that it had been mailed on schedule. When statements finally did arrive, they were dated 10 to 14 days before the postmark date.
I'm getting ready to find the money somewhere and just pay the damn thing off. I can do without the headache.
Thanks again,
I received this wonderful letter from Stephen G. I thought you all might enjoy sharing it with me. Isn't it nice to know that there are such tolerant, bright, and understanding folks out there?
Hey MB,
Been reading your homepage and some of your stuff. Wow. You truly are an
idiot. Ya know it's a free country when imbeciles like you can spout your ignorance
/ stupidity. Do you have a day-job?
I feel sorry for your children. I really do. It's a shame. Children need a strong father figure, yet yours are stuck with a clown like you. God, where is Social Services when you need 'em?
When I think about you heading home from work (or I guess you're home all the time?), your children have to look at you and be embarassed. What a terrible shame. I hope you are able to improve yourself. I feel very sorry for you.
(Note: I did respond to Stephen. I explained to him that I do have a day job with a very nice income, that both my children are grown and, as I write this, are adventurous enough to be touring in Asia - one in India, one in Thailand, that I am always improving myself through professional courses at local colleges, and that there is no need to feel sorry for me. Really, there isn't. - MB)
From Teresa -
I am writing in regards of your site about Providian...
I had a card with them about 1 1/2 years ago and I went thru all the late charges and and interest rates inclined. Which least to say that I have always sent my payments in on time... I called to cancel my accoutn and they said that I couldnt close the accoutn until it was paid off in ful--so I paid it of in full--and then it wasnt stil closed. I had to call and make another request to close it. But the thing was---They kept it open instead of closing it; like my first request was,, so that they could charge me my annual fees that next week. So then I had 59.9 something charged. When I called the second time to close the account--I told her that I had request before to close it and I was told that I couldnt do so until I paid it off; she said it was untrue--acted like I was lieing... Said she couldnt take off the annual charge--so I requested for amanager to call me--and never did. I attempt to reach one for a week, I finally gave up--paid it and camceled it...
That is tacky and a awful way to get rich off people.....
I see where they make their money--I just cant see how they keep getting away with it..
Good luck to all.....
From Packy -
I too was looking to see if I could access my Providian
account on-line.
You did a swell job with your meta-tags, so of course you showed up in the search list.
I've read all of the Providian comments with a short break to review my statements. (hehe)
Luckily, other than the way high interest rate, none of the other Voo-doo points have
pierced my account, which hopefully I'll be able to close without any undue pocketbook
torment.
Note: On the "notice of change..." The notice states that "this includes
making your payment to us AND YOUR OTHER LENDERS ON TIME and keeping your Account
balance..."
No wonder Providian accesses ones credit bureau information so much. They are looking for
OTHER LENDERS you might be delinquent on or over the credit limit to excuse slapping you
with higher payment and/or interest rates! Who made Providian the credit card industry
goug guardian?
Another thing, those who've paid with checks but have received late pmt fees despite
paying on time. Check your checks. The cashed date is printed on them beside the date they
were deposited by Providian. These dates will arm you to dispute late charges. Suggest you
use the three
governmental or legal resources linked by persons commenting to this site.
Hope this helps. Fight, don't cave.
(Note: Thanks, Packy, for the "other lenders" info. Even I missed that one. - MB)
© 1998 - 1999 Michael Baram