CommentI am still cooling off after talking to First Equity's so-called customer service.
I have been a good First Equity Card customer for over a year, always paying on time, and they recently raised my company's credit limit to $8500. As I was approaching the limit and I had a business trip coming up this weekend, I decided to make an online payment (as I always do) of $3000 on February 6, 2008. The payment posted that day, and was debited from my bank account the following day, Febuary 7. Yesterday (Feb 8), I called to verify my available credit and was told there was none. When I explained that I had made an online payment that had already been debited from my bank account, thir customer service person told me that there was a 7 day "clearing period" for all payments, regardless of how they were made. I told them that nowhere on their website where I made the payment was this policy noted, and was told to read my terms and conditions. I asked them to fax or email a copy and they said they would have to mail it. I asked to speak to a supervisor and got the infuriating "that's our policy, it's in our terms and conditions" speech again. No attempt to diffuse the situation, no attempt at calming me down. I asked to speak to the supervisor's manager, only to be told that they would have to call me within 48 hours. I asked for a name, and was told they would not give it out for security reasons.
Fuming, I waited an hour to cool down and called back again. This time, I got a nice young lady who told me that although there was a 7 day "clearing" period, if my bank would send them proof that the payment had cleared, she could probably get it waived. I said "great - to what number should I have my bank fax the information?" She said she would check with her supervisor, and then proceeded to tell me that they would not waive the clearing period even if my bank gave them proof that it had cleared. I asked to speak to the supervisor, who gave me the same run around as before. I asked them to close my account, to which their reply was "done".
I am a member of a group of young entrepreneurs, all of whom own companies grossing over $1M a year. Trust me when I say that ALL of them will hear about my experience with "the best bank for small business".
This situation could have been resolved easily by anyone at First Equity in two minutes. Instead, I will make it my life's mission to tell people about my experience with this ABYSSMAL EXCUSE FOR A BANK.
 Comments (4) |  |
| 1. Written by Charles, on 23-10-2008 04:47 We're a small family company in Ohio that also does several million in sales per year, and I hold a FE Platinum Business Card with a 10k limit for which I use to pay hotels, flights, etc. As an expat living in China, it goes without saying that having a high limit credit card when traveling for business (which I do a lot of) is as essential as carrying my passport! A couple years ago we submitted a payment a few days before the deadline, and the account got held because of this rediculous 7 day clearing period. It hardly helped that I got the phone call about the situation while waiting to board the first of several flights back to Asia (hardly the time to be w/o the card!) Two months ago, my card was frozen by FE. I found out only when it started to get rejected by my travel agent in Hong Kong for booking flights. Through a very painful and fustrating effort by myself and a colleague in our Ohio office, we finally got through to someone I could speak to on the phone (they would only talk to me personally, but the problem was that their number to call from overseas is disconnected.) The card had been frozen because of "security concerns" by FE, although no details were given and I never had any fraud commited on my account. Told I would get the new card in one week, I only just received it last week, nearly two months since the first was canceled. Customer service at FE definitly earns a ranking as somewhere below "dismal." Could be that they're in dire straits due to economic meltdown?? Either way, tread cautiously with this bank.... |
| 2. Written by Phoinix, on 22-10-2008 20:21 Oct 22,2008 Our company also has a First Equity CC that we have had for a few years. Our credit line is $10,500, and as of today we have an outstanding balance of 2K. We pay about 2K a month. I'd like to add that we have never even once been late on any payments, as the payment is sent in 5 days before the due date. Today all of a sudden the card does not work. WTF is this? I called the Customer Service agent and was told that the acct was on a Corp Review and not to be used at this time. What that means is anyone's guess. I did speak to a Supervisor who said she has no explanation and that she will send in a request to have this review stopped. I asked for a contact at Corp but they don't have that information. Oh they have it, but you ain't getting it. She said to call back in two days to see if this has been corrected. Well, I have a great solution. I am going to have our accounting dept pay this acct in full and close it. We charged over 45,000.00 in 2007 and owe a stinking 2 grand and you did this to our company. So Mr. First Equity agent. Tell me why this happened in the first place and why a good customer such as our company has to endure this type of treatment? We don't! I just now activated a Corp card that we have had with Washington Mutual. Bet they won't treat us this way. Maybe as the other poster mentioned...You have the money problems, we DON'T!! |
| 3. Written by WIlliam, on 21-07-2008 12:40 My experience with First Equity is tha same as others posted here. I could go on and on about this company, but let me just warn you. If you do accept their offer beware! You can make your payments regularly and within the billing cycle, but if you fail as I did to watch what they are doing you will get at $39 Late payment charge for any month the payment was received in the later half of the cycle. In other words if the statement is printed on the first, your payment had better be in by the 15th and not the 25th. Don't use them for anything where you carry a balance! They will *** your interest up to over 30% which I had never even heard of and didn't think was even legal. I know many of you that get this card's offer are busy trying to run a small business, but you MUST pay attention to every thing these people do. They don't go by the conventional practices that you're accustomed to. They are not your friend, They are not your partner, They do not have your interest at heart, they are unresponsive and have no public relations department that is going to LOWER YOUR RATE when you call to complain. When you get that offer, my advise is to throw it in the trash. If you can deal with someone who's always there waiting for you to let your guard down to get you, there people may be for you. Willian, Fort Walton Beach, FL |
| 4. Written by I sympathize with you., on 03-05-2008 14:58 I have a subprime card for personal use which also has a 7 day clearing period for large payments. The problem is that not only is there a hold for the payment, but they shut down the entire credit line until the clearing period expires. I learned to just pay under $100 a day, and lo and behold things are 'fine'; I still have access to my credit line. Obviously, one can't do that for thousands of dollars. My suggestion is to just get another card. You have a small business making over 1 million in sales a year, you can obviously get much better terms than what First Equity is offering. |
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