How to get out of Sub Prime Hell.

[cam006]

Cap 1? Not long, since 2008 they did an automatic CLI from $200 to $250 then to $300 in the first year and now it's just $300 and has stayed at that level for the last year.  They kept sending me offers for a 2nd card, but I hadn't considered combining the limits.  So do you get approved for the 2nd card 1st and then call to combine limits?

Hooters waived the late fee since they could see that the payments were coming early and were willing to change my due date, but didn't do anything about 30 -day.

I'm not too worried about Cap1, I just really want to fire 1st Premier.  they charge fees for everything - even to use the online account access.

[MarineVietVet]

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@cam006 wrote:

Not long, since 2008 they did an automatic CLI from $200 to $250 then to $300 in the first year and now it's just $300 and has stayed at that level for the last year.  They kept sending me offers for a 2nd card, but I hadn't considered combining the limits.  So do you get approved for the 2nd card 1st and then call to combine limits?

I'm not too worried about Cap1, I just really want to fire 1st Premier.  they charge fees for everything - even to use the online account access.

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By this do you mean they charge a fee to pay online? That's no longer allowed by the Credit Card Act of 2009. The only exception is payment by an expedited service. A creditor cannot charge for regular payments done electronically.

Here is how the law reads:

‘‘(l) LIMIT ON FEES RELATED TO METHOD OF PAYMENT.—With respect to a credit card account under an open end consumer credit plan, the creditor may not impose a separate fee to allow the obligor to repay an extension of credit or finance charge, whether such repayment is made by mail, electronic transfer, telephone authorization, or other means, unless such payment involves an expedited service by a service representative of the creditor.’’

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802
EQ - 7/06-663, 3/10-800
TU - 8/10-772
You can do the same thing with hard work

[cam006]

No, i mean when I initially got the card there was a $7 or 8/ month fee for online account access.  I tried it for a few months and then just resigned myself to just stick with the paper statements.  That was 2007 when I got the card, so I don't know if that has changed since the laws have changed, but it was just too much on top of the $6/ month payment toward the annual fee.  There had been a charge for telephone access to pay via phone.  Again, I stopped using those methods in 2007 and just paid online using my own CU's bill pay site which was free.  I would have to check and see if they are still charging for any of these accesses to your account.

[Woolfman]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Well you can eventually improve cap one but Orchard

will always be sub prime.

I pay my cards early all the time and they have

never treated it like extra payment. Is that

Premier or Orchard?  That's a real sub prime

maneuver.  Get rid of Premier asap

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I just did it this month . Basically i wanted to get a jump on a few bills,  One i had already paid and made another payment before the statement cut.

So on that account i made 240 in payments then the statement cut and a payment was due. I missed the statement date by 3 days. Its not a subprime thing its a if you carry a balance and have a bill due and make a payment and then turn around thinking the next statement has hit and make another payment (but your wrong) . You still have to pay again.

[Tazman81]

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@cam006 wrote:

No, i mean when I initially got the card there was a $7 or 8/ month fee for online account access.  I tried it for a few months and then just resigned myself to just stick with the paper statements.  That was 2007 when I got the card, so I don't know if that has changed since the laws have changed, but it was just too much on top of the $6/ month payment toward the annual fee.  There had been a charge for telephone access to pay via phone.  Again, I stopped using those methods in 2007 and just paid online using my own CU's bill pay site which was free.  I would have to check and see if they are still charging for any of these accesses to your account.

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What are your current scores?  Your sig has scores from 2008.  I would try to get a decent card with your bank or credit union, and then start getting rid of those subprime cards.  Especially the ones that charge fees.  To give your score a bit of a boost, get your balance to available credit ratio down between 1%-9%, and see what it does for you.  Then check with your local credit union (if you are a member), or even your bank and see what they can do for you.

[cam006]

currently I'm in the 640 - 660 range when I last checked (8/2010).  That is exactly what I'm trying to do, get rid of the subprime cards.  I only have a significant balance on 1 card and I'll be paying that down this pay period.  Where should I be apping?  I'm definately going to try my CU, but they are very conservative.  I was thinking of BOA secured card, but I'm not sure what I should do from this point.  Just asking what would any of you do in my shoes?  TIA.

[john398]

Are you saying you paid before the new statement came out? if you did than a statement came out you will have to pay a again, in another words if you pay on the 20th and statement comes out on the 22 you will have a minium due before the next 20th

[Anonymous]

I would say just dump first premier. I had a 627 FICO and no knowledge of this site or how fico works etc, just arrived in the US with no understanding of FICO scores, and credit cards etc. I applied for first premier and first hand found out how they do business ----- BY PREYING ON PEOPLE LIKE US - I paid that card off so quick and closed it. Trust me, ur better off without it...

I would say apply for a secured card from a CU and this well help you immensely with your scores. Again, Time is key and you just have to ensure you pay on time, every time. This will age your accounts and show a payment history, which will help you get better cards in the future...

Good luck...

[cam006]

Thanks for your input and My Fico Addict, ITA - Premier just preys on people.  I understand their in business to make money, I have no problem with that.  I'm just choosing that they don't make any more money from me.  LOL!  I'll try the secured card route.

Fred, no I paid 2 weeks ahead and my payment was treated like an extra payment and applied to the total balance but not the upcoming payment due.  So although I made the payment it was too early to be applied to the upcoming payment.  I hope that explains what happened.  I was paying 2 payments a month since I was getting paid on the 15th & 30th.  So I made payments from the 15th paycheck, since for anything due the 25th or later would be late if paid out of the 30th paycheck.  So I had a reason for paying early, but I didn't know it would not be applied to the payment due.  So I didn't pay late as in sending my payment after the due date, but I didn't understand how the payments were applied.  Yes, it's my fault for not finding out, but I didn't have any issues with my other cards, so I didn't expect there to be a problem.  As soon as I realized what was happening, I made the necessary changes to prevent it from continuing to show late.

[Anonymous]

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@cam006 wrote:

Thanks for your input and My Fico Addict, ITA - Premier just preys on people.  I understand their in business to make money, I have no problem with that.  I'm just choosing that they don't make any more money from me.  LOL!  I'll try the secured card route.

Fred, no I paid 2 weeks ahead and my payment was treated like an extra payment and applied to the total balance but not the upcoming payment due.  So although I made the payment it was too early to be applied to the upcoming payment.  I hope that explains what happened.  I was paying 2 payments a month since I was getting paid on the 15th & 30th.  So I made payments from the 15th paycheck, since for anything due the 25th or later would be late if paid out of the 30th paycheck.  So I had a reason for paying early, but I didn't know it would not be applied to the payment due.  So I didn't pay late as in sending my payment after the due date, but I didn't understand how the payments were applied.  Yes, it's my fault for not finding out, but I didn't have any issues with my other cards, so I didn't expect there to be a problem.  As soon as I realized what was happening, I made the necessary changes to prevent it from continuing to show late.

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I hear that... besides thats the money that YOU could be putting into YOUR savings and or using it to pay YOUR other debt... so yeah. I would definately recommend kicking them to the curb and see if your credit union can give you a secured card - highly recommended.... Also, I would recommend you TRY something - call first premier, talk to a credit analyst, be SUPER NICE.... and explain the situation, talk to a supervisor if necessary - tell them you want to close the card because of what happened and it was not your fault... if they remove the lates, you will keep the card - tell them its mutually beneficial and its a trade off etc and BS a little... if they take off the lates - call back a couple weeks later and close the card anyway.... I hope this works...

Good luck....