First Premier Bank Unsolicited credit card and subsequent credit card charges Sioux Falls South Dakota

The OP activates a credit card in the daughter's name and refuses to pay the bill... thereby damaging the daughter's credit?!

What a loving parent.

First Premier often sends out a solicitation and if the recipient responds, then they send out the actual card.

I really hope you pay the fees that you caused your daughter to be hit with. She doesn't deserve the ding on her credit.

""In the rebuttal by 'First Premier Bank' they stated they are aware that this account was opened by the father of the card recipient, not by the recipient herself."

Say what??? I see two rebuttals. The one I wrote and this stuff from "Iknowbetter."

My point is that "Dad" activated the account even though it wasn't in his name-here in NY we call it credit fraud and it's normally prosecuted by a county DA.

Dad needs to clear this matter up-PRONTO!

It has been my long time experience that a reputable company would not rebut in this format, period. In the rebuttal by "First Premier Bank" they stated they are aware that this account was opened by the father of the card recipient, not by the recipient herself. Therefore the card is invalid, regardless of her age and should be closed immediatly and the outstanding balance erased and all funds, if paid, should be refunded to the CARD HOLDER. She clearly did not open the account by the admittance of the father. Her credit should be repaired immediatly. The father should not have opened her mail if she is not a minor, period. BOTH parties are wrong in this case to a degree. First Premier Bank needs to address the known party who is admitting the 'fraud' in this case. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY, A reputable credit card company wouldn't have a problem pursuing a case like this. A company of ill-repute would certainly not want to invite prying eyes by any branch of investigative authority. Make your decisions based on that, Dad.

For all of those reading this, a reputable credit card company would verify your DATE OF BIRTH before issuing you credit. You must be over 18 and have verifiable income. I have no doubt that the watchful father feared his daughter was getting in debt, maybe he is putting her thru college and is responsible for her financially still. Whatever the case, simply entering a confirmation number shouldn't trigger the card to be issued along with the fees being charged. Applying for a credit card in the name of a minor is illegal and is usually for personal gain. These things are investigated, and I hope they investigate First Premier Bank for allowing it and not following the guidlines for issuing credit that all states must adhere to. It's called Predatory Lending and there are laws protecting consumers.

I will have to assume your daughter is 18 or older. IF she is a minor child then disregard my comments.

""I received an unsolicited credit card for my daughter Vanessa in the mail. She is not living at home, so I opened it to see what this letter was about.""

You do know that what you did is against the law, right? The mail was for your daughter. You intercepted mail -that's a crime in the U.S.

""Inside was a credit card with her name on it. I went to the web site to see what the credit card was about and entered a number that was on the letter (I assume this was a reservation number). After entering the number and some other data (birthdate and ss#), I read the terms and conditions. I saw there were excessive charges and terminated the session without agreeing to the terms and conditions.""

YOU activated the card by entering the activation code from the letter as well as her birthdate and SSN. What were you thinking? The terms, fees and limitations is at a link at the bottom of their homepage. It was NOT necessary to ACTIVATE the account to read the TOS, fee schedule, etc. Further, it is highly likely your daughter agreed to those terms when she applied online for the card.

""I received a bulk mail letter dated 6/5/2007, containing a bill for $179.
Fees included:
Program fees $95
Account Set-up fee $29
Monthly servicing fee $7
Annual Fee $48""

Yup! That's their fee schedule allright!

""I tried calling the number for Customer Service (1-800-987-5521) to tell them that the credit card was not requested or desired. The computer answering machine provided numerous options, none of which allowed me to speak to a live person and explain their error. ""

I would be supprised if they discuss this with you even if you contact a breathing human. It is NOT YOUR ACCOUNT, and by law, they should not discuss it with you, let alone make adjustments to the account (unless your daughter is a minor and resides with you.) Seems to me you should hand all mailings over to your daughter and if she doesn't want the account, I think YOU SHOULD PAY her the moneys so she can pay the fees and close it.

""I will be trying to notify them the card was not requested or desired.""

You don't know that. Your daughter very likely applied for it. If she didn't than SHE needs to contact her local law enforcement and report identity theft and then submit a copy of the police report (for identity theft) to them so they'll close the account and waive all the fees. There may be a slight problem for you though, seeing as YOU entered her birthdate and SSN and activated the account. The police will most likely wish to discuss this with you. YOU need to stop intercepting mail that isn't addressed to you.

""I will not pay the fees.""

Of course not, why should you? It won't be YOUR credit score that will take the hit if it's not paid.

""I will be contacting the South Dakota Attorney General's Office, the FCC Fraud Division, the Sioux Falls District Attorney to file fraud charges.""

YOU have NO STANDING to make complaints or file charges (UNLESS you daughter is a minor and you have custody.) IF there are any police reports to be filed, your DAUGHTER needs to file them-not you. (unless she's a minor, and then the custodial parent or legal guardian must file the reports.)

""I am retired and have plenty of time and free flying miles to pursue a fraud suit against First Premier Bank.""

This should be a valuable lesson to you. Leave mail that is NOT addressed to you alone. You could have crossed out the address and written her actual mailing address and the USPS would have forwarded it. Or, you could have called her to come pick up her mail. You could have marked it "return to sender." Instead, you open it, go to the website and enter her personal information and the activation code and activate the card. You committed a fraud whether you want to admit it or not.

As I stated in the beginning: If your daughter is a minor and you're the custodial parent, please disregard my comments. Otherwise, you might (and IMO should) have some explaining to do; to your daughter and the police.