Providian, Emerge ripoff dishonest billing, charging me late fees and I am not late on a payment Atlanta Georgia

I called the number given by the Emerge employee. I was connected with person with a strong Indian accent and a bad connection. He was able to confirm my address, even though I have not recieved a statement in almost 1 year. I have sent a number of letters (certified) that have not been answered. Our conversation was ok in spite of his poor english and terrible phone connection, but NOTHING was resolved.

Thank you to the collections rep from emerge for providing that phone number... I have minor issue with my account and have been trying to get assistance for some time... I have been in the hell of trying to deal with those non-english speaking reps at the regular number...

thanks again :)

lori

I am a employee with Emerge or at least the parent company that is publicly traded. I work in the collections department. I just want card holders to know that the company is not quite the beast as discribed in the long list of complaints, there is help but first a little history.

Providian Bank was struggling (millions of lost revenue) and after the mistake of soliciting new card holders by advertising on late night cable (without credit checks!) ended up selling a large portfolio of its mastercard and visa accounts to a collection company. Apparently a letter went out to all card holders notifing of the change from providian to Emerge or Aspire card(s). Never once have I seen a account that has had late fees added to the ballance without the payment being late.

The easiest way to obtain information about your account (english speaking rep and without the hours on hold) or to request anything is to go through the collections department toll free 866-600-4118. your call should be answered in seconds and the reps are well trained to answer most questions about your account.

Another word of advice, be nice to the rep and they will bend over backwards for you (its always a nice surprise to talk with a card holder that doesnt curse at us).

Consider paying more than the payment due every month (an extra $20 a month can save you hundreds in finance charges over a period of time), keep your account under the limit and pay before the due date (this alone will save you $70 per month).
There are payment programes that are offered to help the card holder repay the debt and reestablish credit.

There are also a lot of debt consolidation companies out there to choose from.

I hope this has been helpful, I am like the other 95% of Emerge employees, just collecting a paycheck and have no intention of being mean or beating up on people. All credit cards are evil if you dont pay them off before the due date EVERY MONTH.