Sour Apples
Written: Jan 31 '02 (Updated Jul 12 '02)
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Pros: None
Cons: Expensive, Poor Customer Support, Poor Customer Relations, Horrible Record Keeping
The Bottom Line: Don't touch. Burn or clip the card if you get an offer or one in the mail
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| byronm's Full Review: Cross Country Bank |
Being on my own I needed a way to establish my credit so I thought i'd give Cross Country bank a try. I figured, what the heck, i'll bite the bullet and get a card. I needed to be able to rent a car, buy airline tickets and do things that generally required a real visa and not a check card.
I had the card for a while, thought this was great. I knew the fees were screwing me over, but at the same time it seemed a small price to pay for getting some credit history.
Once I had achieved "credit stardom" by purchasing a second vehicle and settling on my first mortgage (thank you, thank you) I paid off the entire balance of the card. A whole whopping 262.00 that was left.
Then came the nightmare. I was off in Porland Oregon doing consulting work and went to get a bite to eat. I tried using my Checking card to pay for the meall, no go.. denied. I thought to myself, how could that be, I had over $4,000 in my checking account. Rushing to my laptop computer at the hotel after charging to a different card I lookup my bank online and see several HUGE charges to http://www.firecash.com. I look them up and low and behold they're a Bohemian Offshore billing company that is "floating" charges for an Online Gambling Casino based on South Africa. Well, I quickly call my bank, call visa (they issued the check card) and close everything down. Bank doesn't NSF the funds but rather sends a code showing future and current withdrawls were denied because of Fraud.
So I call Cross Country bank and let them know the news, and tell them my payment was going to be denied. They had already tried cashing the check and charged me a 27.00 feed, a 35.00 late charge and a 55.00 over the limit fee (since i had asked to close the account, any amount in excess was considered Over the limit). So now I owed almost twice as much as what I originally did. I figured like all my other creditors did (the credited late fees) that after I sent in documentation received from my bank and notes showing the fraud charges and a current check to pay off the balance everything would be alright.
Well, 7 months later they still harass me for over $600+ in late fees. I paid off the balance but somehow I missed a 3.00 charge somewhere that has grown to 600+. I have offered to pay the original 3.00 charge but they don't want that. They say it is my fault for not calling and asking for a new balance even though i paid the entire balance on my statement. They say they do not have to send out a statement and that by the time the DO send a statement it only includes late fees and over the limit fees.
I guess my final statement is don't trust this bank. If your perfect, i'm sure you will do alright. I had something totally out of my control happen and I sent documentation to all my creditors and Cross Country Bank is the only bank that refuses to Honor my account and work with me to settle my TRUE balance.
Yes, yes, i know. It really is a sad sad story and there is no laws to protect me, but why on earth would anyone want to do business with a company that doesn't support the customers that have supported them? Not to mention they don't have a support number that isn't long distance, they some how "loose mail" by simply not documenting it. (not saying they ever lost a payment, or said it was late, i'll be honest on that), but they didn't sign for certified letters and only documents what they feel they need to document. Just don't do it. STAY AWAY.
This bank won't ever build your credit. You may eventually get MORE credit from THIS bank and be stuck FURTHER in the whole, but they will not help you get credit otherwise. Lenders know this is a high risk bank with 400% interest rates when you figure in monthly fees, bank charges, interest and account maintenance fees. So figure if you buy a 300.00 tv and make minimum payments that will be a 1,200.00 tv in the end. Even if you pay off the entire balance the month after you buy the tv you still get back charged for 1/365th of the interest (compounded daily), the account fees, origination fees and other garbage so it still costs you $460+ for that 300.00 tv.
Don't DO IT!
God forbid you have a death in the family, this company would sue you or call you into your grave.
PS, if you close your account here remember they will send you an interest payment even after paying your entire balance according to the bill. They will also not accept a phone call cancellation, you can report the card stolen so it can't be used but they require a written letter. They won't send you statements unless you call to get a finall amount owed and even then they compound the interest daily so your check won't cover the balance and your charged late fees for not paying the entire balance in the first place.
They really do put you through hell. I've spent over 200 minutes in long distance calls, about 7 regular letters and 2 certified letters not to mention all the fees. So my sorry little account costed me about 10X the total value of the credit card line in as little as 3 years i had it. The normal rate is about 24% of the value, not 1000%.
BEWARE!!!!!
--- new update --- July 12th 2002 ---
After 14 months of threats, I have hired a lawyer to handle this account. Cross Country Bank has refused to recognize my disputes, follow up within 30 days of complaints and has failed to update credit agencies in a timely manner.
Don't let yourself fall into the hands of this company!
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
byronm
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Member: Byron Miller
Location: Lancaster, PA, USA
Reviews written: 26
Trusted by: 1 member
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