Complaint Review: Providian Bank dba Emerge MasterCard - Columbus Georgia

I also worked for Providian-as a telemarketer. During my short tenure at this hellhole (telemarketing is worse than you can imagine!), I learned a thing or two about how Providian operates. Besides making calls, we would get incoming calls that we re-directed to customer service. In our sales pitch we read from a computer screen, we told people that their Providian card would stay at 9.9%, as long as they made their monthly payments on time. No catches. But while taking the incoming calls, I was getting people complaining about how their 9.9% interest jumped up to 23.9% for no reason. Finally, I asked one of our crew leaders if we were lying to these people when we told them that their interest wouldn't go up if they paid on time. She simply said, "Yup," and walked away. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't outright lie to the people I was salespitching to, so I quit that day. This was 5 years ago. I see that Providian is still at it. Brent from Arizona, this is the truth about Providian. You can try to refute, justify, or discredit it with all the words you want. But why try to convince people their not getting ripped off when we all know that they are?

I have 2 credit cards and I am so thankfull that they are not with Providian. I do receive their offers in the mail all the time with their standard high interest rate and annual fee's, So just to let them know I'm not interested. I rip it up and mail it back to them, of course in their postage paid envelope.

If the ex employee of providian credit card knew how to read, he would have read that the person who started this report said he had been making all his payments ON TIME til they raised the interest rate. Now about the thing you said about how providian only gives people with bad credit credit cards, then tell something, I have 2 credit cards a discover platinum with a 11 % annual interest rate, and citibank card with a 10 & interest rate - always paid in full, and then I have some store credit cards that are paid in full every month, a mortgage that has never been late, a car payment that has never been late, and everything else that's never paid late, and then probably about a year ago not to long after I bought my house I received an offer from providian for a credit card with a 24% interest rate....are they crazy?!?! So then why did I get a offer for one of there stupid credit cards, and obviously I don't have bad credit....???? hmmmm, I'm am so glad I paid attention to all that information, or I would have been screwed like everyone else, well my friend got one and the same thing happened to her with the emerge credit card, but I allowed her to use my discover card to do an acct balance transfer to pay off her balance so that she wasn't getting raped by providian...

If the ex employee of providian credit card knew how to read, he would have read that the person who started this report said he had been making all his payments ON TIME til they raised the interest rate. Now about the thing you said about how providian only gives people with bad credit credit cards, then tell something, I have 2 credit cards a discover platinum with a 11 % annual interest rate, and citibank card with a 10 & interest rate - always paid in full, and then I have some store credit cards that are paid in full every month, a mortgage that has never been late, a car payment that has never been late, and everything else that's never paid late, and then probably about a year ago not to long after I bought my house I received an offer from providian for a credit card with a 24% interest rate....are they crazy?!?! So then why did I get a offer for one of there stupid credit cards, and obviously I don't have bad credit....???? hmmmm, I'm am so glad I paid attention to all that information, or I would have been screwed like everyone else, well my friend got one and the same thing happened to her with the emerge credit card, but I allowed her to use my discover card to do an acct balance transfer to pay off her balance so that she wasn't getting raped by providian...

If the ex employee of providian credit card knew how to read, he would have read that the person who started this report said he had been making all his payments ON TIME til they raised the interest rate. Now about the thing you said about how providian only gives people with bad credit credit cards, then tell something, I have 2 credit cards a discover platinum with a 11 % annual interest rate, and citibank card with a 10 & interest rate - always paid in full, and then I have some store credit cards that are paid in full every month, a mortgage that has never been late, a car payment that has never been late, and everything else that's never paid late, and then probably about a year ago not to long after I bought my house I received an offer from providian for a credit card with a 24% interest rate....are they crazy?!?! So then why did I get a offer for one of there stupid credit cards, and obviously I don't have bad credit....???? hmmmm, I'm am so glad I paid attention to all that information, or I would have been screwed like everyone else, well my friend got one and the same thing happened to her with the emerge credit card, but I allowed her to use my discover card to do an acct balance transfer to pay off her balance so that she wasn't getting raped by providian...

If the ex employee of providian credit card knew how to read, he would have read that the person who started this report said he had been making all his payments ON TIME til they raised the interest rate. Now about the thing you said about how providian only gives people with bad credit credit cards, then tell something, I have 2 credit cards a discover platinum with a 11 % annual interest rate, and citibank card with a 10 & interest rate - always paid in full, and then I have some store credit cards that are paid in full every month, a mortgage that has never been late, a car payment that has never been late, and everything else that's never paid late, and then probably about a year ago not to long after I bought my house I received an offer from providian for a credit card with a 24% interest rate....are they crazy?!?! So then why did I get a offer for one of there stupid credit cards, and obviously I don't have bad credit....???? hmmmm, I'm am so glad I paid attention to all that information, or I would have been screwed like everyone else, well my friend got one and the same thing happened to her with the emerge credit card, but I allowed her to use my discover card to do an acct balance transfer to pay off her balance so that she wasn't getting raped by providian...

I am a victim of Providian's agression against the consumer. I am being ripped and paying dearly for my association with with these Big Business Bullies. After seeing the way Providian works I can understand why so many resort to filing bankruptcy. For those who are suffering with financial troubles they have no other way out and Providian only adds fuel to the fire. I suffered myself, fortunately I recovered to some extent, I am still dealing with Providian at 28.99% interest. But, Providian has paid, as the press release on June 28, 2000 by the Attorney General of the State of California, Bill Lockyer states, "Providian to refund $300 Million to Consumers Over Alleged Abusive Credit Card Practices". This was only for the people of California. This can be found on the Attorney General of California website, by searching for "Providian". Obviously Providian did not learn their lesson as they only moved their attack to other consumers in other parts of the country and continue to deal the consumer misery. I have often wondered why this could not be done by other states. I would be glad to jump on the bandwagon if it were to happen.

I have always had great credit, had a couple credit cards, and always paid on time, i was originially with GetSmart Visa that was owned by providian, every three months they would raise my limit of 1,000, adding an additional 1,000 til i was at 4,000. Once I hit the 4,000 limit, my card was changed (NOT SOLD) to Emerge, my interest rate at Get Smart Visa was 19.999 then when i was moved to EMERGE my interest rate was moved to 29.999 percent. In addition they closed my account, stating that my credit was poor, well i pulled all 3 of my credit reports to not see to much credit, and not see any bad credit. Plue i paid an additional fee to see my credit score, which is above 750 I ASK WHY? Why raise a persons interest rate to this rediculous rate when people either bad or great credit, I know why, TO RIP THE PERSON OFF!!!!! plain and simple. I will continue to pay my debt to Emerge, aka, Get Smart, aka PROVIDIANFAKE till my law suit has gone thru.

A Total Load of Crap! You see, back in 1999 I, too, filed for bankruptcy to get myself back on track. The first card I applied for and received after my bankruptcy was charged off was from Providian because my aunt had gotten a card from them (at the time) and was seeming to happy with them. Well, I received a card from them as well, and was making my payments on time until my income was greatly affected by the 911 events which I had explained to them I was having some difficulties of making my payments due to a dramatic change in my income. It was shortly after that I began getting correspondence from Emerge Mastercard, and after a conversation with a representative before I began making my regular payments again, I asked if Providian had been sold, the response was a hearty, "Yes." I never paid much attention to the high interest rate until I saw the first Rip Off Report in April 2003 and immediately began reviewing my statements and realized it's happened to me, too. I am highly pissed off and have began telling everyone I know who has a Providian account and realized they've been switched to Emerge, but are really still Providian. I am making them aware of their antics and are giving them copies of the report and how they can get involved with taking them down. They need to be stopped ASAP otherwise we are going to keep getting screwed. I am sending Providian dba Emerge a copy of this report to see what they have to say about this. They are a LOAD OF CRAP and need to BE PUT OUT OF BUSINESS. I can't believe I got sucked into their B-S. They need to be stopped otherwise someone innocent will get caught.

Providian screws their customers plain and simple. There is no excuse for a 30% interest rate. I have a credit rating of 700 and Providian keeps sending me offers for a 23.99% rate card. So apparently according to what you've said Providian caters to people with shoddy credit. so I must have bad credit. If you read the initial report you will realize that the guy was paying UNTIL THEY RAISED THE INTEREST RATE TO 30%. If they had never raised the rate they would still be getting money. They just wanted to suck some more life out of the consumer. You don't get to raise the interest return on your savings account to 30%. No bank would do that. That's how we consumers feel about being charged absurd interest rates. And when I say absurd I mean anything above 14%. And by the way, I've been reading that it may soon be illegal for creditors to buy old debts. 7 years the providian debt will disappear. It's nice to see the unreputable creditors stick together. You claim Capital One will buy the debt from Providian. Speaks for itself. Another way Providian helps people ruin their credit...

I was with Providian too - but I had an even higher L.O.C. and had completely paid everything off -but they still switched me to Emerge @ 29.99% b/c they had business problems and needed to dissolve their visa accounts into Emerge mastercard "in order to restructure". Besides the point. I immediately cancelled that long term credit card (I had it almost 3 years) and recently ran a credit report on myself and found out that they haven't reported my request of closure to the credit bureaus so it looks as though the account is still open (to their benefit, because I have a higher limit and credit score.) However, it looks as though I have too much credit now. So now, it looks like I have to do the follow up to make sure they do their job!!! sympathetic, and FYI for your own accounts -

Providian deals solely with people who have already proven their credit worthiness is poor. The people who carry Providian credit cards in their wallets do so because they have poor credit. Providian provides you a service, a service NO OTHER CREDIT COMPANY is willing to do, give you credit! Some card holders have large limits, and they have earned those limits. (Large for Providian is in excess of $1,000.00. Providan has a high interest rate. It is not a secured card, and based on YOUR credit rating, you have earned this high rate. Secondly, they have STRICT rules that must be followed in order to remain in a positive standing. This is simply to help you manage your credit card more effectively. Some people refuse to see it this way. They take on the "normal" attitude that they refuse to pay Providian. Providian suspects a portion of their customers will walk down this road, AGAIN. Because Providian HELPS people rebuild their credit, they send you to a collection agency sooner then most other credit card companies. If you work out a payment arrangement, the collection agency will send your account back to Providian in good standing, and you can continue making your payments. You can not use the credit card any longer, but you still have the opportunity to build new credit. If you fail to work out a payment arrangement with the collection agency, you are sent to a charged off department of a collection agency. Here's the best part! Even if you fail to pay YOUR OBLIGATION to the charged off department, your credit card balance will be sold to another credit card company, for an example Capitol One, who will offer you an unsecured credit card with your Providian balance a part of your new credit card. They will give you incentives to repay YOUR DEBT...another attempt by Providian to help you build credit. As I worked with Providian, I knew the interest rate was excessive, but I also knew the risk they were taking by giving YOU another attempt to fix your credit. For you to complain now, with your credit history, that Providian is "screwing" you is unfair to Providian and unwarranted. They gave you an opportunity no one else would, and YOU BLEW IT! Instead of whining here about the one opportunity you let get away, PAY YOUR BILLS!

Providian deals solely with people who have already proven their credit worthiness is poor. The people who carry Providian credit cards in their wallets do so because they have poor credit. Providian provides you a service, a service NO OTHER CREDIT COMPANY is willing to do, give you credit! Some card holders have large limits, and they have earned those limits. (Large for Providian is in excess of $1,000.00. Providan has a high interest rate. It is not a secured card, and based on YOUR credit rating, you have earned this high rate. Secondly, they have STRICT rules that must be followed in order to remain in a positive standing. This is simply to help you manage your credit card more effectively. Some people refuse to see it this way. They take on the "normal" attitude that they refuse to pay Providian. Providian suspects a portion of their customers will walk down this road, AGAIN. Because Providian HELPS people rebuild their credit, they send you to a collection agency sooner then most other credit card companies. If you work out a payment arrangement, the collection agency will send your account back to Providian in good standing, and you can continue making your payments. You can not use the credit card any longer, but you still have the opportunity to build new credit. If you fail to work out a payment arrangement with the collection agency, you are sent to a charged off department of a collection agency. Here's the best part! Even if you fail to pay YOUR OBLIGATION to the charged off department, your credit card balance will be sold to another credit card company, for an example Capitol One, who will offer you an unsecured credit card with your Providian balance a part of your new credit card. They will give you incentives to repay YOUR DEBT...another attempt by Providian to help you build credit. As I worked with Providian, I knew the interest rate was excessive, but I also knew the risk they were taking by giving YOU another attempt to fix your credit. For you to complain now, with your credit history, that Providian is "screwing" you is unfair to Providian and unwarranted. They gave you an opportunity no one else would, and YOU BLEW IT! Instead of whining here about the one opportunity you let get away, PAY YOUR BILLS!

I had to file Chapter7 in 1990, and have struggled ever since to repair my credit. I got the offer from Providian at 14.9 % with a 1000.00 dollar line of credit, all my payments have been on time and at least double the minimum, and what is providians response, to increse the intrest rate to 29.99% and change the card name to make you think they sold thix line to another finincial instution. Suprise the joke is on the consumer and not them, we all need to fight back and put them out of business, this is a deceptive and illegal practice that if you did it on your own you would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

I had to file Chapter7 in 1990, and have struggled ever since to repair my credit. I got the offer from Providian at 14.9 % with a 1000.00 dollar line of credit, all my payments have been on time and at least double the minimum, and what is providians response, to increse the intrest rate to 29.99% and change the card name to make you think they sold thix line to another finincial instution. Suprise the joke is on the consumer and not them, we all need to fight back and put them out of business, this is a deceptive and illegal practice that if you did it on your own you would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

I had to file Chapter7 in 1990, and have struggled ever since to repair my credit. I got the offer from Providian at 14.9 % with a 1000.00 dollar line of credit, all my payments have been on time and at least double the minimum, and what is providians response, to increse the intrest rate to 29.99% and change the card name to make you think they sold thix line to another finincial instution. Suprise the joke is on the consumer and not them, we all need to fight back and put them out of business, this is a deceptive and illegal practice that if you did it on your own you would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

I had to file Chapter7 in 1990, and have struggled ever since to repair my credit. I got the offer from Providian at 14.9 % with a 1000.00 dollar line of credit, all my payments have been on time and at least double the minimum, and what is providians response, to increse the intrest rate to 29.99% and change the card name to make you think they sold thix line to another finincial instution. Suprise the joke is on the consumer and not them, we all need to fight back and put them out of business, this is a deceptive and illegal practice that if you did it on your own you would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.