Advanta Bank Corp Here's the letter I sent to the Utah BBB Salt Lake City Utah

25 Nov 2008

Utah BBB
5673 S. Redwood Rd. #22
Salt Lake City UT 84123-5322

To Whom It May Concern:

My February 2008 credit card statement from Advanta Bank Corp. of Salt Lake City reflected an increase in my APR from 7.99% to 16.99%; similarly, my APR jumped to 34.99% this past June, 35.46% in October, and 36.33% in November.

First of all, I don't consider any of these increases as being the least bit justified. I recently obtained a copy of my official credit report and found nothing of consequence, at least not anything that wasn't present when I first applied for this card.

And though I will not attempt to question nor interpret the legality of these hikes, I find it extremely significant to note Advanta's claims (via email) that there indeed was, in my own case, a specific reason (or reasons) for these increases.

Subsequently, my requests for applicable details were met with the utmost vagueness (ref: email to me from Krystyna Lockley, 9/6/2008), which I consider to be nothing less than a “cold shoulder,” and thus unacceptable.

Furthermore, I was absolutely not given advance notice by Advanta regarding any of these increases. Again, it's not a matter of legality so much as the fact that Advanta professed to having provided such advance notices, which naturally grant the “opt-out” choices that I was ultimately denied.

Not only did I fail to receive mail or phone notification but was never alerted via the Advanta online “Secure Message Center” that would seem most appropriate for such notifications, either in conjunction with a “snail” mailing, or perhaps even in lieu of any hardcopy mailings.

Finally, I've made multiple requests to have an appropriate rep of Advanta contact me by phone with regards to all of the above—that request was answered on 9/27/08 by Account Mgr. Sheila M. and although she promised then the scheduling of such contact, it still hasn't occurred as of this date, now all of ten weeks since the initial request.

I most certainly feel like I've been treated extremely & extraordinarily unfairly by Advanta and thus am owed, at the very least, a reimbursement of the excess interest I paid from February 2008 to the present, a total close to $600.

Let's face it—before the recent federal bailout of the banking system, these lending institutions were “strapped for cash” due largely to their own bad business decisions. Therefore, they then decided to “extract” whatever they could from their regular customers (even the good ones) to cover their butts in the process of failure.

Now that the Feds have infused capital into this sorry state, a big bank benefactor like Advanta can (IMHO) surely take some of that money and repay people like myself; I know enough about what's happened to state that with a sense of authority (i.e., me being one of the taxpayers funding the bailout).

I appreciate your time & attention on this matter and expect you will treat it with a sense of urgency.

Signed, Me (Chisholm, MN)

Gemantel
Chisholm, Minnesota
U.S.A.