Are you happy with the credit card companies you signed up with?

[mistral4543]

My experiences with the two credit card companies I signed up with this year have not been very pleasant, and I am wondering if the service standards vary across countries...

AMEX - After I had started charging some of my payments to this card, I decided to opt for the Interbank GIRO service, which basically allows the credit card company to debit my expenses directly from my savings account. Well, I received quite a shock one day when my bank wrote to me earlier on, informing me after the payment due date that the payment had not gone through smoothly. Immediately, I called up AMEX, which told me that my application to pay through GIRO had not been approved and therefore, could I pay my bill through cheque separately until then? My first concern, of course, was that the payment due date had passed, and I asked the caller whether I would be charged interest for the outstanding amount to be paid. "Oh, I am not too sure, ma'am... could you please call the finance department, since it handles that?" I was already in a miffed state (for one thing, why should it take 6 weeks simply to process a GIRO application when service standards in the public sector here were even better than that?) and pointed out that it was the company's duty to sort out its own policies internally before giving me a firm reply. AMEX then took a week before calling me up and telling me that no interest would be charged. Quite ironically, after my GIRO application was approved, I ended up charging very few payments to the card...

Citibank - This company has given (and continues to give) me a fair bit of heartaches too. As above, I applied to have my payments deducted through GIRO and this time, decided not to charge anything to the card until my application had been approved. When at last everything was settled (or so I naively thought), I decided to test the efficiency of the payment system. Well, on at least 2 occasions, I was informed that my payments had not gone through. On these occasions, too, I was charged interest for the outstanding amount. I cannot understand why the deductions from my savings account did not take place (I do not spend much in the first place and there are ample funds for deduction). In addition, the payment slip that arrives monthly does not alert me to the fact that GIRO payments will not be effected, and I end up wondering if my next payment slip will slap an interest on the outstanding amount (in the event that the GIRO deduction does not take place).

Needless to say, I am very unhappy with the credit card companies I am currently signed up with. And I am going to cancel my subscriptions, rather than to let myself be afflicted with all these inconveniences (and to think credit cards were supposed to be achieve the opposite effect ).

Has anyone faced a similar situation as I have? [img]graemlins/verysad.gif[/img]

[Harkoliar]

well i for one would also be interested about credit cards since im planning to apply for my first credit card soon. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Lord of Alcohol]

Dont trust the electronic payment shit, send a check. Just my opnion, I dont fully trust the electronic method myself

[Vaskez]

Why do you need more than one? I just go with my bank's credit card and have had no probs so far (had it for 3 years). I used to pay by cheque but now pay by transfer from my current account online. No probs. Then again I'm not a complicated high-maintenance customer and always pay the whole bill on time.

[Ladyzekke]

Credit cards scare me mostly LOL. I have ONE, and I only use it to buy small things under $100.00, then when the bill comes in I write a check for the entire amount. Although sometimes I am late (mostly because of forgetfullness rather than not having money for a payment) and get hit with a $30.00 late fee LOL, doh!

I've never had the problems luckily you have had Mistral. That Citibank (Shi**bank) problem you mentioned was really messed up, payment NOT going through?!! Wha? The way I see it, that is THEIR fault, and THEY should have to deal with all that hassle regarding it, not you!

[mistral4543]

Originally posted by Lord of Alcohol: Dont trust the electronic payment shit, send a check. Just my opnion, I dont fully trust the electronic method myself

Unfortunately, I do not have a check book. The administrative charge is quite high for each one over here (about $10, I believe) and I am not an intensive check-issuer...

I guess I'll just stick to the good old-fashioned hard cash method [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[Larry_OHF]

I quit my job in August to return to school full-time, and so my wife thought she could get a job, but being pregnant is a big problem. Therefore, we were living for as long as possible on student loans that were extra than what I needed for books.

Of course, I am a family man with mortgage and all the bills that come with that, so quickly my funds were depleted. A friend suggested we raise the limit on our only credit card, the Visa, which is through our credit union. They would not do so, since I had not a job. So we called up American Express, and they gave us one with 0% interest on purchases until May. When that money went away, we got another Visa through Bank One, which has 0% until next year this time. That is what I am living on until December 30th, when the next student loan deposit comes in. I will be living on that when my wife is able to begin looking for a job again.

My point...I have been paying the monthly payments on those cards over the internet these months with no problem, and they have been very nice to let me even have a card, since I did not have employment. I have not felt scammed or troubled by them. I do not like living off of credit, but what else can I do?

[mistral4543]

Originally posted by Vaskez: Why do you need more than one? I just go with my bank's credit card and have had no probs so far (had it for 3 years). I used to pay by cheque but now pay by transfer from my current account online. No probs. Then again I'm not a complicated high-maintenance customer and always pay the whole bill on time.

Well, I was kind of annoyed with AMEX (as explained above), but rather than cancel my subscription with the company straightaway (after all the hassle I had to go through), I decided to give another company a chance to impress me But then, Citibank failed in that respect as well... so my conclusion is, credit cards give more heartburn than conveniences [img]tongue.gif[/img] I would probably only use them when I travel, which isn't often. I can't wait to clear my last payment due next month, and then I'm off to pamper myself by ridding myself of these heartburn-inducing cards [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

[mistral4543]

It looks like Larry and Ladyzekke have had happier experiences than I did; I am happy for both of you [img]smile.gif[/img] Just a side observation, I think service standards in general are dropping over here. Which is a shame, as I don't see why the paying customer has to put up with such crap...

[harleyquinn]

Originally posted by mistral4543: quote: Originally posted by Lord of Alcohol: Dont trust the electronic payment shit, send a check. Just my opnion, I dont fully trust the electronic method myself

Unfortunately, I do not have a check book. The administrative charge is quite high for each one over here (about $10, I believe) and I am not an intensive check-issuer...

I guess I'll just stick to the good old-fashioned hard cash method [img]tongue.gif[/img] [/QUOTE]Mistral, I'm not sure where you're located, but the bank I use, HSBC is an international bank, and they have checking accounts without many (or sometimes any) charges and they also have credit cards. You might want to check them out.