Direct Merchants Bank ripoff Fradulent billings; continued fradulent credit smearing long after payment; dishonest customer service Tulsa Oklahoma

Back in 2003 this company repeatedly agreed to change my payment due date on my credit card account per my requests and failed to do so, resulting in ONE LATE PAYMENT.

This late payment (fee $39) pushed my account above its $1000 limit and caused an overlimit fee of another $39. I called to find out how much exactly I could pay to square things and was told $103. I sent a payment for $120 to be certain. The next month, they charged me again the overlimit $39 saying my $120 was $3.24 short! (After sending MORE than they said was required!)

Continued contacts assured me they would change my due date as agreed to the middle of each month...they lied again. They even sent a letter indicating it had been changed. The next month my payment was due on the 2nd! They told me to disregard and pay by the 19th, which I did. Then they hit me again with $78 in late and overlimit fees.

I was berated and cursed at by their customer service people on the phone! I told them at that point, (8/03) I wanted only to deal with a collection agent... not them. (I had cut up the card months earlier by the way.)

Lawyer's office in Houston called 2 months later. I agreed to pay $991 to close account, refusing their excessive charges they'd tacked on bringing a $1000 card's balance at that time to over $1500! Lawyer negotiated with them and came to agreement on $991 figure.

Months passed and another rep from the same law firm called and we again agreed on amount and timing. ENTIRE BALANCE PAID IN FULL 3/2003.

My credit report STILL shows an unpaid deliquent balance they've written off as bad debt today! In July 2005 another attorney's office in Little Rock Ar contacted me to collect a debt in excess of $400 concerning this account. (more than a year after settling!)

September, 2005 my own bank rejected my application for a personal loan based on this "deliquent outstanding debt".

Direct Merchants Bank is at best incompetent and at worst fradulent in its treatment of customers. I strongly urge everyone to avoid their patronage.

Richard
Austin, Texas
U.S.A.