Warning! College students and parents of college students

**Scottwax** · 12-14-2006, 12:41 AM

Do not get a 1st Financial Bank USA credit card and parent`s, don`t allow you kids to get one.

My son got a 1st Financial Bank credit card (along with a Discover Card) when he went to college for his first year to build enough credit so he`d be eligible for student loans as needed.

Typical college kid, he went over the limit (not by much) on both cards. Getting the balance down and eliminating over the limit fees on the Discover Card was easy. Not so with 1st Financial. My ex-wife had been taking care of the payments until last month (November) since by then Chris was making enough to take over the payments. My ex said she was always paying more than the minimum on the card but every single month, it was over the limit.

Today, his bill came in. I paid it last month, well over the minimum. Over the limit again, ***? On the bill, it showed an "over the limit" fee from November 4th. I checked his last bill and it showed the same thing debited on October 4th. So I call to talk to customer service. They were already closed but they were showing another "over the limit" fee for December 4th, that is not reflected on his current bill that was received today, December 13th. There is no logical reason that a bill that wasn`t mailed until at least last Friday (December 8th) based on when it was received, unless you want to rip people off.

Basically, what they are doing is waiting a full 45 days to bill you for an over the limit fee, making it impossible to get under the limit, even if you pay $20-30 above the minimum amount due, pretty much what a lot of college kids can afford to pay each month. They know this and count on it to **** people out of money.

Yeah, Chris screwed up by going over the limit in the first place but what they are doing is stealing and making it difficult to pay down the balance at all. There are no two ways around this. I will be notifying the State Attorney Generals in Texas (where Chris lives) and South Dakota (where 1st Financial Bank is based), along with the FTC and I will contact a couple business lawyers I know as well.

**Mr.Cool** · 12-14-2006, 12:59 AM

I`m also just starting my credit history and there are these two cards that always come in the mail for me, 1st Premier and 1st Financial Bank don`t know neither heard anything about the two before and that would be the main reason why i never went them. The thought crossed my mind due to the fact its just so hard to start credit when you have no credit. I ended up going with Orchard Bank secured credit card but its a start.

**35TH LE** · 12-14-2006, 01:02 AM

Credit cards can be the devil... but it sounds like this financial institute is way out of line. I was lucky enough to start with a Wells Fargo card.. they gave me a limit that was waaaaaay out of my reach, so I actually reduced my limit to what was comfortable. The bank agent was extremely shocked when I did that, theyd never seen it again.

Although.. I dont think ANY student credit card should be able to go over the limit amount. IE they shouldnt allow students to actually spend more then the card limit.... let the dang card get denied. The humiliation of a CC denial would be a nice lesson learned IMO.

Hopefully your kid gets this squared away.

**thesacrifice** · 12-14-2006, 01:36 AM

Dear college kids, quit driving DUI and fighting downtown outside of the bars. Thanks

**Scottwax** · 12-14-2006, 01:47 AM

What really hacks me off is my son hasn`t used the card at all since March. His mom was taking care of it, but only paying a bit more than the minimum. Even so, without the intentional rip-off way they sneak the over the limit fees in, the card should already be paid off.

**imported_Suprchargd** · 12-14-2006, 01:49 AM

I thought the way to good credit was paying off your monthly bill in full? Anyone can spend up to their limit and then pay twenty bucks or whatever the minimum amount is monthly. Just my opinion I`m no banker but that doesn`t sound right.

**fdizzle** · 12-14-2006, 02:17 AM

thats a bummer man . . . im sorry to hear that. a college student myself, i wont fall for the bait . . best of luck getting eveything resolved . . i think iv seen tha flyer for their card here at san jose state . . ```````s . . .

**35TH LE** · 12-14-2006, 02:33 AM

Originally Posted by Suprchargd

I thought the way to good credit was paying off your monthly bill in full? Anyone can spend up to their limit and then pay twenty bucks or whatever the minimum amount is monthly. Just my opinion I`m no banker but that doesn`t sound right.

Actually.. paying off your amount in full each time you use the card doesnt build credit at all. They want to be able to see that you can spend a larger amount of money then you can/want to spend in one time... and have the dicipline and responsibility to pay it off in multiple payments, basically show that youre mature enough to handle such a financial situation. Unfortunately you pay interest on the future payments but the rewards of great credit is well worth the interest you pay, trust me.

**BlackElantraGT** · 12-14-2006, 03:37 AM

Originally Posted by Mr.Cool

I`m also just starting my credit history and there are these two cards that always come in the mail for me, 1st Premier and 1st Financial Bank don`t know neither heard anything about the two before and that would be the main reason why i never went them. The thought crossed my mind due to the fact its just so hard to start credit when you have no credit. I ended up going with Orchard Bank secured credit card but its a start.

Getting credit when you have no credit is easy. Just ask any college student. You can go to any higher institution of learning and find people offering incentives to students to sign up for credit cards. You don`t even need a job or income to qualify.

Getting credit when you have poor credit on the other hand, is what`s difficult. Student credit cards can be a wonderful thing if you take advantage of it, but basically what the credit card companies are doing is getting you into a constant cycle of debt. Some people know how to control their debts, while many don`t. We spend all that time in school from the age of 5 to 18 and learn all sorts of different subjects, but very few people are ever taught properly about how to handle personal finances.

**Dan** · 12-14-2006, 07:05 AM

The whole credit cards to college kids is a scam to begin with. What are you doing giving credit to kids that don`t have the money to pay it back??? I was $15k into credit debt before my second year on college. Luckily I came into some cash real fast and got rid of all the debt. It seems like its a ploy to get people used to being in debt all of their lives.

**BlackElantraGT** · 12-14-2006, 07:17 AM

Because college students will be their best customers while also having a much smaller risk than let`s say a 40 year old man with no credit history. A college kid has a valid reason for not having or having very little credit. A grown up man on the other hand (unless he`s new to the country) has some explaining to do.

College students usually have mom and dad to fall back on and are more likely to be employed after they`re done with school.

They also target different types of students. When I went to Cal State Long Beach, they had all sorts of credit card companies on campus getting people to sign up. When I went to a local city college, I was never approached by any.

For credit card companies, it`s all about having low-risk customers. Who they`re really scamming are people with poor credit, but then again they have a reason to charge those people higher for the "services" they offer.

**imported_Yal** · 12-14-2006, 10:08 AM

Scottwax I believe this is normal and all credit card companies do it. Maybe not to the extent of this company you are dealing with but...

For example if you owe, the time they send out the bill to you is different from the time they post the bill to your account. So if the bill arrives to you on the 10th of the month it very well could have been posted to your account on the 20th of last month. By the time you receive the Bill on the 10th you are 20-21 days in the hole with interest for the next billing cycle.

Call them up and find out the exact date they post to the account and send in the check for that date.

**gmblack3** · 12-14-2006, 10:14 AM

Originally Posted by 35TH LE

Actually.. paying off your amount in full each time you use the card doesnt build credit at all. They want to be able to see that you can spend a larger amount of money then you can/want to spend in one time... and have the dicipline and responsibility to pay it off in multiple payments, basically show that youre mature enough to handle such a financial situation. Unfortunately you pay interest on the future payments but the rewards of great credit is well worth the interest you pay, trust me.

I pay off my CC every month, I guess thats why my credit sucks.

I am not sure that paying 12-18% interest is good financial advise.

**fdizzle** · 12-14-2006, 11:28 AM

Originally Posted by gmblack3a

I pay off my CC every month, I guess thats why my credit sucks.

I am not sure that paying 12-18% interest is good financial advise.

True . . . and many see it this way . . .

But the truth of the matter is, like 35thle said, if your not in debt, you CANNOT build credit.

Anyone dumb enough to pay that high a rate on a card is a fool anyway . . . I get credit apps in the mail weekely, and unless their 0% followed by lower than 8% it gets sent straight to the shreader. I have been in debt since I was 18, but I have a higher credit score than people who own houses.

Paying your bill in full every month is a smart tactic when you have other loans like a house or car . . . or even student loans - which will contribute to your credit . .But rule all that out . . your left with credit cards.

many students fall for these ploys at colleges, especially mine. here in the bay area it is just so expensive to live. it is sad to hear that certain companies pull shananagins like what schottwax is dealing with. I think its a crime, and should be treated as such . . .

**EBPcivicsi** · 12-14-2006, 11:52 AM

Our friends laugh at us because the only thing that we finance is the house--no cars, no TV`s on 18 months no interest, nothing. We don`t have credit cards, don`t finance anything, and our credit is excellent. Why is it excellent? I have no idea, but I have never needed a credit card to build it--they are crooks IMO and this story doesn`t surprise me at all.

Sorry to hear about it Scott. Good luck getting them to correct it.