I don't want the darn credit card!
November 12, 2011 3:32 PM
Recently was pre-approved for a home equity line of credit. Local banker then aggressively pushed signing up for the bank's credit card touting all its benefits, blah-blah-blah....I told her I didn't want it. She fedexes me some docs to sign for the heloc and mixed in with that paperwork is a credit card application and highlighted areas to sign. I removed the credit card papers, signed the heloc papers, and sent them back. I then emailed her to tell her what I did, reiterating that I didn't want the credit card. A couple of days later I get a canned thank you from the bank for signing up for the credit card. I immediately got a hold of the banker and she apologized saying that when she was "in the system" putting through my heloc papers she accidentally signed me up for the credit card and as soon as she noticed she did that she cancelled the card and assured me I would not be receiving any cards in the mail...Today my wife and I each received a credit card in the mail. Is the banker's explanation plausible? How could she sign me up without me returning the application's papers? Am I being played? What should I request be done to ensure this acct gets cancelled? Could this all have been an honest mistake?
I'd also send that letter to the banking ombudsman (or your local equivalent).
posted by pompomtom at 3:38 PM on November 12, 2011
posted by pompomtom at 3:38 PM on November 12, 2011
Of course her explanation isn't plausible. Ditto to everything orange swan said, especially documenting this in writing to the credit card division of the bank. And then to the home equity credit division.
posted by desuetude at 3:43 PM on November 12, 2011
posted by desuetude at 3:43 PM on November 12, 2011
There's no way it's an honest mistake - she's probably on some kind of incentive program or performance metric based on how many of the credit cards she signs people up for, and she's fraudulently bumping her numbers up. I agree that you need to bring this to the attention of both her supervisors and a banking regulator: here's a list of state regulatory agencies if you're in the US.
posted by strangely stunted trees at 3:47 PM on November 12, 2011
posted by strangely stunted trees at 3:47 PM on November 12, 2011
I would almost be willing to bet cash that she gets paid on commission, and that credit card counts toward her quota.
I'd definitely be writing letters and contacting her boss.
posted by citizngkar at 3:48 PM on November 12, 2011
I'd definitely be writing letters and contacting her boss.
posted by citizngkar at 3:48 PM on November 12, 2011
It sounds like the she gets a bonus for signing people up for the credit card.
posted by hot soup girl at 3:51 PM on November 12, 2011
posted by hot soup girl at 3:51 PM on November 12, 2011
Once my HELOC goes through, I'll write some letters. What's a banking ombudsman?
posted by teg4rvn at 3:53 PM on November 12, 2011
posted by teg4rvn at 3:53 PM on November 12, 2011
The newly formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau specifically investigates banks that fraudulently issue unsolicited credit cards. Among all the other things you're doing, you can report the bank for the violation of federal law.
posted by decathecting at 3:58 PM on November 12, 2011
posted by decathecting at 3:58 PM on November 12, 2011
Cancelled credit card over phone right now. Rep said it was already closed (account opened 11/3...closed 11/4) I asked for a confirmatory letter and he said that a letter was already sent on 11/4 (didn't get it) and that there was no way to resend one.
posted by teg4rvn at 4:10 PM on November 12, 2011
posted by teg4rvn at 4:10 PM on November 12, 2011
FWIW, there's not really any great reason to reject a no fee credit card unless you have some problem with the issuing bank or some other special circumstance (like a moral objection to having had an account opened against your wishes). It makes your overall utilization look better, thus increasing your score. The hit on your score for "applying for credit," as people generally think of it, is actually a (usually small) penalty for the inquiry. If they use the same credit pull to approve the HELOC and the card, it's essentially free from the perspective of your credit score.
Credit is pretty much a game. If you know the completely asinine rules, you will have a much easier time of winning.
posted by wierdo at 4:19 PM on November 12, 2011
Credit is pretty much a game. If you know the completely asinine rules, you will have a much easier time of winning.
posted by wierdo at 4:19 PM on November 12, 2011
Good point wierdo. My objection is the latter. Interestingly, the card does appear to be no-fee, and with 6 months introductory APR of 0.00% and a credit limit of 20K. I don't carry a balance anyway, but you're right, not a "bad" card to have.
I also was hoping to cash in on some mileage cards/bonuses (as outlined on TheFrugalTravelGuy) this year and I thought opening and having this card would diminish my chances of getting cards down the line.
posted by teg4rvn at 4:32 PM on November 12, 2011
I also was hoping to cash in on some mileage cards/bonuses (as outlined on TheFrugalTravelGuy) this year and I thought opening and having this card would diminish my chances of getting cards down the line.
posted by teg4rvn at 4:32 PM on November 12, 2011
Are you sure you want to establish a long term financial relationship with an institution that does business this way? If I had a choice, I wouldn't. This sort of nonsense is going to continue as long as we accept it as OK.
posted by Corvid at 4:33 PM on November 12, 2011
posted by Corvid at 4:33 PM on November 12, 2011
Good point, Corvid. I need the HELOC. My (truly) trusted mortgage guy said this bank is the only game in town for HELOCs right now with, presumably, this type of credit being so tight.
posted by teg4rvn at 4:36 PM on November 12, 2011
posted by teg4rvn at 4:36 PM on November 12, 2011
teg4rvn wrote: I also was hoping to cash in on some mileage cards/bonuses (as outlined on TheFrugalTravelGuy) this year and I thought opening and having this card would diminish my chances of getting cards down the line.
Unless you have truly excessive available credit and a short file, few credit analysts care how big your overall credit lines are. They're more concerned with their own bank's exposure. This, of course, assumes you don't have late payments and the like. This can be different for mortgage loans. Some banks do care in that situation.
In the case of co-branded cards, the banks tend to be much looser with credit lines (and required scores) in my experience, both pre and post meltdown. If you do ever have a situation when you really want a card and you get declined, look up their reconsideration number and speak with a credit analyst and explain what it is you want and ask what you can do to help them be able to give that to you. Since the vast majority of people won't bother, they often take it as a good sign and approve the application just because you called.
Obviously, that won't help if you're far outside their lending standards, but if you're on the edge or there was just something they thought was weird about your file, the phone call can make the difference.
The point being that if they have a problem with your excessive available credit, you can always call your existing issuers and ask them to please reduce your credit lines. I'd be utterly shocked if you had to do something like that unless you had $300,000 worth of revolving credit lines on a $50,000/year income. Most of the big banks simply don't start caring about such things until you're asking them to increase their exposure over $25,000 or so.
posted by wierdo at 5:09 PM on November 12, 2011
Unless you have truly excessive available credit and a short file, few credit analysts care how big your overall credit lines are. They're more concerned with their own bank's exposure. This, of course, assumes you don't have late payments and the like. This can be different for mortgage loans. Some banks do care in that situation.
In the case of co-branded cards, the banks tend to be much looser with credit lines (and required scores) in my experience, both pre and post meltdown. If you do ever have a situation when you really want a card and you get declined, look up their reconsideration number and speak with a credit analyst and explain what it is you want and ask what you can do to help them be able to give that to you. Since the vast majority of people won't bother, they often take it as a good sign and approve the application just because you called.
Obviously, that won't help if you're far outside their lending standards, but if you're on the edge or there was just something they thought was weird about your file, the phone call can make the difference.
The point being that if they have a problem with your excessive available credit, you can always call your existing issuers and ask them to please reduce your credit lines. I'd be utterly shocked if you had to do something like that unless you had $300,000 worth of revolving credit lines on a $50,000/year income. Most of the big banks simply don't start caring about such things until you're asking them to increase their exposure over $25,000 or so.
posted by wierdo at 5:09 PM on November 12, 2011
It is not a mistake that you were signed up for a credit card. It is a whole other process and forms have to be filed in order to obtain a credit card for you. There is a point system that the bankers work upon and depending on the number of points, they get a bonus amount.
You can cancel the credit card through the phone. I would suggest that you do this because it is more of a liability for you.
If you don't use it, it is seen as you having the potential outstanding loan of $20K or whatever the credit limit is. The reason is, you can go to the bank and withdraw the entire credit limit anytime you want.
So, if you don't plan on using it, cancel it. It is not as bad on your credit report as having the impression that you can have a $20K credit card bill at any given moment.
Looking at it from another standpoint is, if you don't use the card and you have it, someone who is very savvy in committing fraud can take the entire credit amount and now you have to file a fraud report for $20K.
From any angle, it is more of a liability for you to keep it.
posted by Yellow at 5:10 PM on November 12, 2011
You can cancel the credit card through the phone. I would suggest that you do this because it is more of a liability for you.
If you don't use it, it is seen as you having the potential outstanding loan of $20K or whatever the credit limit is. The reason is, you can go to the bank and withdraw the entire credit limit anytime you want.
So, if you don't plan on using it, cancel it. It is not as bad on your credit report as having the impression that you can have a $20K credit card bill at any given moment.
Looking at it from another standpoint is, if you don't use the card and you have it, someone who is very savvy in committing fraud can take the entire credit amount and now you have to file a fraud report for $20K.
From any angle, it is more of a liability for you to keep it.
posted by Yellow at 5:10 PM on November 12, 2011
It's not an accident. My father quit his job in retail after the store manager told the salesmen to sign people up for the store credit card even if they said they didn't want it--which he refused to do. So if you complain, you might have to start higher than the local branch.
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 5:49 PM on November 12, 2011
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 5:49 PM on November 12, 2011
So, if you don't plan on using it, cancel it. It is not as bad on your credit report as having the impression that you can have a $20K credit card bill at any given moment.
FWIW, this is one of those "it makes logical sense" things that isn't actually true in the vast majority of cases. Very little in the credit business makes sense to the rest of us.
As for fraud, the amount isn't important to the cardholder, so long as they dispute any fraudulent charges within the time allowed, especially now that Visa and MC require issuers to have zero fraud liability policies.
posted by wierdo at 5:53 PM on November 12, 2011
FWIW, this is one of those "it makes logical sense" things that isn't actually true in the vast majority of cases. Very little in the credit business makes sense to the rest of us.
As for fraud, the amount isn't important to the cardholder, so long as they dispute any fraudulent charges within the time allowed, especially now that Visa and MC require issuers to have zero fraud liability policies.
posted by wierdo at 5:53 PM on November 12, 2011
wierdo: FWIW, there's not really any great reason to reject a no fee credit card unless you have some problem with the issuing bank or some other special circumstance (like a moral objection to having had an account opened against your wishes).
Except for the increased chance of identity theft, and the increased chance that one of your many cards will get misplaced & misused by someone else.
posted by IAmBroom at 6:12 PM on November 12, 2011
Except for the increased chance of identity theft, and the increased chance that one of your many cards will get misplaced & misused by someone else.
posted by IAmBroom at 6:12 PM on November 12, 2011
IAmBroom wrote: Except for the increased chance of identity theft, and the increased chance that one of your many cards will get misplaced & misused by someone else
I'm not quite sure how that follows, but this probably isn't the place to have a long discussion about it.
posted by wierdo at 8:08 PM on November 12, 2011
I'm not quite sure how that follows, but this probably isn't the place to have a long discussion about it.
posted by wierdo at 8:08 PM on November 12, 2011
This is fraud. I would be super angry myself. It's not just an individual employee. The bank has developed a system that encourages individual employees to commit fraud to increase the bank's profits, and lacks sufficient internal controls to prevent fraud.
If this is a U.S. federal bank or thrift (rather than a credit union or state bank), then send a complaint to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and note the above. Print out a copy and send it straight to the manager of your branch. Don't bother calling anyone.
posted by grouse at 9:54 PM on November 12, 2011
If this is a U.S. federal bank or thrift (rather than a credit union or state bank), then send a complaint to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and note the above. Print out a copy and send it straight to the manager of your branch. Don't bother calling anyone.
posted by grouse at 9:54 PM on November 12, 2011
Cancelled credit card over phone right now. Rep said it was already closed (account opened 11/3...closed 11/4) I asked for a confirmatory letter and he said that a letter was already sent on 11/4 (didn't get it) and that there was no way to resend one.
Just drawing attention to this...the OP didn't close the account. Sounds like it was a case of employee deliberately working the internal system for incentives/quota or whatever.
Put the whole series of events in a letter (not an email, send a paper letter, it typically requires a different, more serious inquiry process by the bank) to the main corporate offices. CC'ing The Consumerist is not a bad idea.
Can you bring down this practice by yourself? No, of course not. But consider it another few well-placed shots in the battle.
posted by desuetude at 12:18 AM on November 13, 2011
Just drawing attention to this...the OP didn't close the account. Sounds like it was a case of employee deliberately working the internal system for incentives/quota or whatever.
Put the whole series of events in a letter (not an email, send a paper letter, it typically requires a different, more serious inquiry process by the bank) to the main corporate offices. CC'ing The Consumerist is not a bad idea.
Can you bring down this practice by yourself? No, of course not. But consider it another few well-placed shots in the battle.
posted by desuetude at 12:18 AM on November 13, 2011
What's a banking ombudsman?
An ombudsman is an office to resolve complaints within a particular industry. In Australia, for banking, it'd be this mob. I don't know who your local equivalent is.
posted by pompomtom at 12:51 AM on November 13, 2011
An ombudsman is an office to resolve complaints within a particular industry. In Australia, for banking, it'd be this mob. I don't know who your local equivalent is.
posted by pompomtom at 12:51 AM on November 13, 2011
I'd worry more about the line of credit. Years ago, when we were shopping for one, most had whopping penalties for early termination: for example, when you sold the house and needed to close out the loan. Did you read all the fine print?
posted by RichardS at 5:07 AM on November 13, 2011
posted by RichardS at 5:07 AM on November 13, 2011
Consumerist is a good idea. And, your state has an attorney general, who will have a website. There's probably a banking section. Complain. If enough people complain, they'll take action. This is likely a sleazy sales tactic. If there's a credit union you can join, they're usually a better deal.
posted by theora55 at 10:26 AM on November 13, 2011
posted by theora55 at 10:26 AM on November 13, 2011
I am seconding The Young Rope Rider's comment. This is fraud. Write paper letters, contact your Ag's office, do not let this bank give you the run-around about this issue. Canceling a credit card dings your credit record, an important issue when trying to get your financial ducks in a row.
posted by annsunny at 11:21 AM on November 13, 2011
posted by annsunny at 11:21 AM on November 13, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by orange swan at 3:36 PM on November 12, 2011