KSLA News 12 Shreveport, Louisiana |Customers angry over credit card fine print

Customers angry over credit card fine print

By Liz Elan - bio | email

SHREVEPORT, LA (KSLA) -  Bo Fain of Gilliam, Louisiana was so angry about a recent credit card he received, he came down to our studios in hopes to warn others. I listened as Bo told me about the nightmare he said he had with a bank out of Sioux Falls, SD named First Premier. "I received an offer in the mail for a credit card three weeks ago for a credit card with an APR of only 9.9%," he said.

 Bo thought he stumbled upon a great deal, that is until the card arrived. "Never bought a thing and already I owed $179. They said it was in the contract, in the fine print and if I looked for it, I would have found it," Bo said.

After taking a closer look, there it was, Four different charges up front, one for $95, $29, $7 and one for $48, totaling $179.

 "The 9.9% APR is just a bait and then they smack you with the fees."

  Shortly after we first aired this story on our 9am newscast Thursday, I received an email from another viewer saying the same thing happened to her, $179 dollars in "start up" fees before she even activated the card.

  I contacted First Premier for a response and they sent me this statement, "Premier Bankcard focuses on individuals who have less than perfect credit...Our organization covers their risk by writing loans at an appropriate premium level."

   I also checked on the Better Business Bureau's website for customer complaints for the bank. There were 74 in the past two years, one of those was from Bo. "It's just another case of the unscrupulous preying on the unfortunate."

  Getting credit card companies to be more transparent with their rules and regulations is now part of a bill on the U.S Senate floor.

 A bill Louisiana Congressman John Fleming is eagerly awaiting.

"I do support the idea of transparency and certainly clarity to the consumer. I don think more needs to be done," Fleming said.

In First Premier's case, everything was spelled out, but as for how transparent, we know of at least two viewers who would argue otherwise.