topic Re: Understanding how First Premier works... in Rebuilding Your Credit

Understanding how First Premier works...

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 00:38:33 GMT

Hey,

So, I found out there was a dispute without me knowing on the Experian side with First Premier...

I then called First Premier, and the rep says there's a dispute put on the account, I guess that's what made the dispute pop up on the Experian side with FP...

So, then the rep says fax a document over saying YOU REQUEST THERE BE NO DISPUTE ON THE ACCOUNT, include account ID, signature and date. Once faxed, 7-10 business days they'll report to all three bureaus notating the CC account as paid in full and zero balance. I did fax this document. This is all after I recieved a paid in full letter from them.

So, I'm vey surprised how difficult FP is to work with at this point...

After doing this digging, I'm not surprised. Lots of credit card companies out there are PREDATORY! :/

Anyone else faced this issue with FP in the past?

Re: Understanding how First Premier works...

thornback — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 01:33:20 GMT

All you need to understand is that FP does the Devil's work.

They've probably become so accustomed to folks disputing that they preemptively added a notation to your account. Do a search for First Premier disputes here in the forum or just through Google... you'll see what I mean.

Re: Understanding how First Premier works...

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 01:36:51 GMT

Oh, wow...

Every time I hear about First Premier on here, it makes me run away, fast too.

Thanks for the reply TMR

Re: Understanding how First Premier works...

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 01:42:59 GMT

Oh...

I forgot to note something.

One rep I spoke to on the phone said the paid off balance will be reported between the 1st and 15th of this month (Jan.), so I'm waiting to see if that's true or not. But when I found out there was a dispute on Experian with FP, then another rep says the dispute on FP side might be what's causing the paid in full from being updated with the three bureaus.

Re: Understanding how First Premier works...

thornback — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 01:47:02 GMT

I... don't know. I guess that's possible - but I'd think it would depend on the nature of the dispute. Did they, by chance, tell you what this phantom dispute was about?

Re: Understanding how First Premier works...

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 01:49:28 GMT

The rep didn't say all she said was there's a dispute way back in like 2014, I guess when the account was open, it's probably there because I remember a company way back when was hounding me down to pay them, not sure if it was FP.

Re: Understanding how First Premier works...

thornback — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 01:59:43 GMT

2014 was a heck of a year huh... (that's when I defaulted with FP).

A dispute from when the account was open years ago, in theory, should have no effect on reporting the account now as paid / $0 balance -- that would make no sense (assuming we are dealing with a sensible co.).

When they updated my account to paid / $0, they did so according to the original billing cycle of the account while it was open. My cycle closed on the 9th -- and they always reported around the 11th of each month. The same happened when they updated as paid in 2017 - I paid on Sept. 17th and the update hit my reports on Oct. 11th. So, if you know what your old billing cycle was, then you should look for an update a few days after whatever the statement closing date was -- unless they promised you something different - like that they'd report immediately.

Re: Understanding how First Premier works...

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 02:14:28 GMT

Oh...

So, what you're saying is that I shouldn't expect a score increase from the balance going to zero?

On the myfico credit report FP balance is showing 142% revolving, just like when the BofA cc showing it's revolving (a little circle that has red)

Re: Understanding how First Premier works...

thornback — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 02:23:31 GMT

No no no.... you will see a FICO increase once the balance updates to $0.

What I'm saying is that the update may not happen til a day or two after your original billing cycle ended. You know how credit card companies report your balance to the bureaus after your billing cycle closes and your statement cuts? First Premier sticks to that schedule when updating your account balance with the bureaus. So they will likely report your 'paid / $0' status around the same time they used to report your account balances back when the account was open and in good standing.

Re: Understanding how First Premier works...

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 02:22:27 GMT

Also, shouldn't I be able to the get the closing of the FP account if I call in tomorrow and ask? I have the right to know, lol

Re: Understanding how First Premier works...

thornback — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 02:25:00 GMT

Yea... they should be able to easily provide that info.

Re: Understanding how First Premier works...

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 02:30:52 GMT

Ok, I'll try that tomorrow, give them a call, see if I can snatch the closing date. Not sure if they'll give it to me. Might be a sign of me trying to win the game, lol

Re: Understanding how First Premier works...

thornback — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 02:32:45 GMT

haha.... good luck!

Re: Understanding how First Premier works...

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 02:34:27 GMT

Thanks!

Re: Understanding how First Premier works...

thornback — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 02:35:22 GMT

Anytime

Re: Understanding how First Premier works...

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 19:23:59 GMT

Tmr,

Hi. So I called FP again this morning and the rep said I dont think anything about a closing date she just said March 14th 2014 is the charge off date, and Jan, 6th 2019 is the date they reported it as paid off. Then she said it’ll take up to 90 days for the bureau(s) to have it updated. Now the issue is whether or not the account is going to be updated as paid with the dispute on FP with Experian and most likely with the other two bureaus. I’m tired of putting up with FP. It’s hard to find a reasonable company out there who cares about consumers. All companies care about it their profit and how their policy affects others in bad way, to where people don’t succeed. 👎

Re: Understanding how First Premier works...

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 17:58:43 GMT

Tmr,
Hi I have updated news for you. Paying off the FP balance paid off for me, it increased Fico 8 on Experian 26 points. Now, all three bureaus for Fico 8 are pretty close to each other. I see you have a USAA card. Are they good? I received an email with a card from USAA, don’t think it was an offer, just an advertisement stating a benefit on the cc

Re: Understanding how First Premier works...

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 18:03:57 GMT

The usaa cc email says congradulations in the title and has an expiration date at the bottom of the email.

Re: Understanding how First Premier works...

thornback — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 21:09:39 GMT

Congrats on your score increase!!

I love my USAA card. I have the amex Cash Rewards plus -- I'm also an AU on the Preferred Cash Rewards Signature visa (1.5% cash back on everything) but I only use that when I'm purchasing stuff on behalf of my parents (they are the primary holders and constantly asking me to buy stuff online for them... because idk, Amazon is too hard... ?).

But I love the amex - I've only had it for a few months but use it a lot - mostly for gas as you get 5% cash back for gas up to $3K per year. The rewards structure is unlimited 1% on everything + 4% on gas, 2% on supermarkets so you end up with 5% on gas and 3% supermarkets. They also have a fantastic member mall which yields really good savings (on top of your cashback) at various stores --- and not stores that no one shops at -- good stores like Best Buy, Nike, Dicks, Macys etc. A lot of options to choose from in the member mall - I saved almost $300 on xmas shopping because of the member deals and extra cash back bonuses. Cashback is also easy to redeem. They seem to be pretty generous with starting credit card limits from what I've seen; eligible for limit increases every 6 months -- CLIs are, apparently, generous too. And, they have great customer service (in my experience). They are very lenient with the use of cash advances and convenience checks -- unlike some other creditors, they don't mind at all and actually encourage you to use them. I received 15 convenience checks with my card... So that's really good to have available just in case of an emergency.

Their banking (checking / savings) is also really good -- no fees, no minimums, easy transfers to external banks, direct deposit received 1 day early, etc. Their car nsurance rates kinda suck in comparison to others though. I think their rates win out if you bundle a bunch of insurance policies though.. like home, life, auto.

I don't know about their pre-qual / pre-approval mailings -- I cold apped and got an instant approval. They pulled Experian -- I had 3 new accounts opened the month before I apped - so they don't scare easy; score was 771 at the time; 7 inquiries (3 in the last 12 months). I think, so long as you have no other open balances from negative accounts - you should go ahead and app. Worse they can do is say no -- and if they do say no, call them and ask for reconsideration; even if they started you with a lowish limit -- it would grow quickly once they see good behavior.

Re: Understanding how First Premier works...

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 21:16:46 GMT

Remember how much you got hit for opening the amex cc? And the amex cc is not a secured, correct?