Complaint Review: GE Capital Cons Cardco Care Credit Charge Guard - Dayton Ohio

I have had a terrible experience with GE CAPITAL/CARECREDIT/CHARGEGARD. In June 2003, I used Care Credit for paying my dental bill. It was my understanding that there would be no charges if the balance was paid off by July 15, 2004. On the first statement there was a charge for $30.81 for ChargeGard Insurance. I immediately called GE Capital and questioned the charge. I was told not to worry, that if I paid the balance by July 15, 2004, there would be no additional charges on the account. Each month after that, there were charges for ChargeGard and also interest charges. I called again and was told these charges would not apply if paid by July 15, 2004.

After that, I paid my bill each month and ignored the other charges. The final bill in July 2004 showed a Current Balance of $765.00. This matched exactly with what I felt I owed. After paying the $765.00 balance in July, I received a statement showing a balance of $281.29. I called and questioned this bill. After talking to several people, I finally talked to a young man named Barry who said that I must have signed up for the ChargeGard. I told him emphatically that I had not done so. I also told him that I had questioned this charge when it first appeared on my bill but was told to ignore it. He passed me on to a woman and I had to tell my whole story again. She was extremely rude and told me numerous times that I had signed for the ChargeGard. At the time I had no copy of the application but I knew that I had not signed for it.

At some time during these numerous phone calls, I was told that Care Credit /GE Capital had nothing to do with ChargeGard and I would have to contact ChargeGard to resolve the issue. However, ChargeGard had no phone number for me to call.

I later requested a copy of the application from my dentist and it proves that I had declined the ChargeGard. Here's the kicker. Care Credit/GE Capital said they had nothing to do with ChargeGard but IT'S ON THE SAME APPLICATION! How can GE say they have nothing to do with ChargeGard? What a bunch of thieves!

During all this mess, one of the people I talked to said, So you don't want ChargeGard? (Duh! How many times do I have to say it?) I said, Definitely not! She said she would remove it from my bill. I assumed she meant the complete charge. The following month, I had another bill for the balance which at that time was about $288.00. I called and complained again. She said, they only removed the one month and discontinued ChargeGard but I still owed for all the ChargeGard fees previous to that time. Again, I explained that I had never requested ChargeGard. Now my bill is around $500.00 due to the interest and late fees for something I never ordered.

I've contacted the District Attorney's Office and they are very interested in the problem. They immediately sent me a complaint form that I will complete and also include copies of all my paper work. Also, I'm sending an email to everyone on my list, describing this company's tactics and requesting it to be forwarded to everyone on their list. I'm also sending letters to every dentist in this area.

Linda

Napa, California
U.S.A.