Do you want a Providian credit card?
Providian haven't had a great rap for their customer service over the years and while they're known for their low introductory rates, they don't seem to stay very low for long.
That may have been past history though as Washington Mutual (ranked as one of Fortune's best 100 companies to work for) snapped Providian up as part of its credit card services last October. Washington Mutual has a great customer record and is one of only a few banks that are committed to the retail loan market.
The reason for Providian's lack lustre reputation has been their sneaky tactics in charging fees and they have been sued for allegations regarding these tactics. They're not alone though, most of the major credit card issuers such as First USA, Chase, Capital One & Citibank (not excluding Providian) have all been sued over allegations of unfair billing practises. It seems that most credit card providers are willing to go the extra mile in charging out expenses to the tune of more than $3 trillion per annum.
Consumer Affairs have a number of complaints about Providian and their credit cards ranging from introductory APR's that were promoted as 7.99% that really were 41.78% among many others that bear similar trademarks. Here's a case in situ:
S.A. of Foley, MN:
A telemarketer representing Providian contacted us and promised a 7.99% APR card. When we received our agreement, the rate was higher. We contacted the bank and asked them to fix this issue. They responded by saying their telemarketers wouldn't have made that offer. (I felt that they called us liars).So, we closed the account by paying it off with a transfer to our existing card. Now, they claim that we owe them in excess of $140.00, due to our method of paying them off. I would NEVER do business with them again.
One highlight in all this though is Providian's growth in the new "tweener" market. Tweener's are those people who either have emerging credit, such as immigrants or young people, or those that are climbing their way out of a bad credit history. And, yes...you guessed right. They can charge higher rates on these credit cards because there is less competition for these consumers and they can justify the excessive rates.
Being accepted for a Providian credit card may be one of the easiest cards to be granted but unless their poor customer performance accelerates Washington Mutual could end up with a dud acquisition.
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Comments
I have 2 Providian credit cards and both of them went from 16% to 33% interest , I called customer service and they told me that there was nothing they could do and that this was because of washington mutual merge. I can't believe that they are allowed to do this.
Posted by: Tom Razo | June 28, 2006 4:50 AM
Tom it may pay to check out another credit card. Transfer the current balance onto that and then start again. The interest rate on this card is not going to decrease and you will end up paying a fortune in payments.
Posted by: Stu | June 28, 2006 5:32 PM
Washington Mutual/Providian raised my minimum payment from $74 to $85 and I am furious about it. I called them to see if they would lower it but to no avail. They had also raised my credit $1,000 and I did manage to get them to decrease my credit because they had not notified me that they were going to increase my credit line.
They are the worst credit company I have dealt with and completely unsympathetic towards their customers. I am cutting up my credit card and closing my account.
The customer service reps are not polite at all and keep you waiting on line forever.
Posted by: L. E. Bellamy | March 3, 2007 2:50 AM