Aspire to hang up the phone.
Written: Sep 02 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: If you have really atrocious credit, Aspire may sponsor you for a card.
Cons: You will pay up to 41.5% APR for the privilege, AND have to deal with rude customer service personnel.
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| bodashe's Full Review: Aspire Classic Visa |
You know the call. It’s someone who speaks so rapidly that you’re not even sure they’re speaking English. They whiz you through the presentation so speedily that you dizzily say, “Why not?” even though you’re not that excited by the offer.
Well the call that I gut suckered into (Yes, I let it happen, it is my fault) was from the Aspire Visa. The guy actually made me feel good (almost) about a 27% APR. At the time, I figured that I would inspect the terms more closely upon the card’s actual arrival. No biggie. My card would arrive in seven to ten days.
About three weeks later, I still didn’t have the card, but I got a call from the American Consumer Alliance, one of those discount buying, money saving programs, informing me that since I’d been accepted for a new Aspire Visa card, I was eligible for a free trial period. I thanked the nice lady, who actually spoke slowly enough for me to understand her, that I would like to decline the offer.
Another couple weeks went by, and this Thursday I got my Aspire Visa Classic in the mail. I opened the ‘Welcome Package’ and to my surprise I discovered that my APR was not 27% but a whopping 35.5%. Yikes. I immediately pick up the phone and dial their toll-free Customer Service Line. After being on terminal hold for awhile, ‘Little Miss Attitude’ got on the line and muttered aloud something about assisting me today. I told her that Aspire had called me over a month ago and I had accepted, but the APR I was quoted on the phone was nowhere near as high as the APR that came with my card. After she realized that I wasn’t going to accept the company line, she jammed me back on hold to consult with her supervisor. Five minutes later she comes back telling me that I had agreed to the new higher APR. In a word, I told her, “Nope.” She let me know that what had happened was that I had replied to a ‘pre-approved’ offer via mail. When that ‘pre-approved’ was declined for the 27% APR, someone from Aspire called me to offer me the 35.5% APR which I then accepted.
I let her finish her spiel, and then I said, “Now I’m going to tell you the truth of what happened. Aspire called me first. I have never seen any flier or offer in the U.S. Mail from you people. The only follow-up call I’ve received from y’all is someone trying to sell me a Consumer Buying Plan type deal.” ‘Little Miss Attitude’ replied, “Well, whatever, but I won’t lower your APR.”
“Fine. Then cancel the card.”
“Um, um, well, we can do that, but…”
“Canceling won’t cost me anything, will it? After all, I’ve never even activated the card.”
“No, it won’t cost you anything. Is there anything else I can help you with today?”
“Nope. Just cancel the card.”
“Um, yes, ma’am, but are you sure you don’t need anything else?”
“No, I’ll cut up the card and throw it in the trash, unless you all need it for anything.”
“Uh-Uh. Will that be all Ms. J______?”
“Yes, unless you need me to do anything else to cancel the card.”
“No, but…”
“Have a good day.”
“Yeah.” [Click]
I still haven’t figured out why she kept asking me if I needed anything else. I did note however that she was rude and had called me, in effect, a liar by telling me what I had done to get this card.
I’m sure that you’ll never guess what I got in the mail today so I’ll tell you: I received my Welcome to the Club Package from American Consumer Alliance. Yippee. I think I’ll save that fight for Tuesday.
The point of my tale is two-fold. 1) Do not get a credit card from Aspire, and 2) never say ‘yes’ to the telemarketing folk unless you’re really sure that you want to. Don’t be a sucker.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
bodashe
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 - Top 1000 |
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Member: Bowie, CPhT
Location: Pensacola, FL, USA
Reviews written: 175
Trusted by: 103 members
About Me:
What goes around, comes around. And then it gets really dizzy and falls over.
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