First Premier Bank
reviews and complaints

Ok, I signed up needing a card a for christmas time because I was short on cash and needed a few extra bucks and they are the only one who would give me a card. The card had a $300 limit, more than I would need but the card came with a bill for $270 for memberships fee, and whole bunch of other bogus fees that made no sense and the due date on the bill was the 2nd, I get paid on the 3rd this bank makes a living ripping people off and taking their money but they aint getting a dime from me, screw them!

Due to their interest hikes and fees I was forced to file bankruptcy in 2005. I am now being told that they filed a civil case against me (it's been 5 years) for not paying the bill. Even though they were properly notified they have refused to discharge this debt.

After the bankruptcy they were calling me multiple times a day and sending me threatening letters. I told them, via certified mail and every contact to take me to court..they ignored it. Despite the fact that I told them every time I had filed bankruptcy with them they continued to harass me.

Now that I am trying to buy a house this bill is preventing me from doing that..

I was not sued nor taken to court like I told them to do but now they refuse to accept my bankruptcy. This is illegal also. why file bankruptcy if the companies can continue to demand money from you.

When I was paying them I always paid on time. Yet they would not post it until AFTER the due date and then charge me a late fee. I was always told that I didn't mail it 10 days ahead of time. I only got the bill 6-7 days before it was due..how could I pay it 10 days ahead of time. By the time you take the holidays and weekends off that left no time at all for paying.

I started this credit card account in 2007. I wanted a card for a backup to cash due to I'm disabled, I'm on a set in come. So I used the card tried to pay off balance and my dues just kept getting bigger. I called the support rep's got thier run around told them to cancel the account in Nov. 2008. I just wanted to pay this off and be done with it. Thinking First Premier Bank followed my request here it is Dec. 2009 no matter what I send it never goes against a closed out account balance.

I applied for a credit card which I subsequently received. I never activated the card and the company keeps on sending monthly bills to me. I tried have been trying to get the bank's email address to get the credit card cancelled but without luck.

Please direct all communications to my email address: [protected]@netzero.net

Filed against :
First PREMIER Bank

Complaint Description:
Many web sites are dedicated to this institution providing poor customer service and excessive fines. To validate this all one has to do is google First Premier Bank and visit the sites of individuals providing reviews about service. I have dealt with this company for a month and have suffered rude, short, and painfully ill rapport with customer service from this "bank". The issue that truly needs to be addressed is the excessive poorly represented fees attached to my account and additionally excessive fees for what would be standard account service. The most ludicrous fees are the program fee, account set up fee, and participation fee. Overall activation of the account was in excess of $170.00 in fees that are not normal credit charges. In short someone sat down and decided to attach as many fees as possible to their clients. The biggest slap in the face is the monthly fee to view your account online. This is just outrageous! I have never had to pay for account access with any bank I have held an account with! It gets worse from there: if you make a payment via telephone you get charged a "convenience fee" in the double digits, and large fee is attached to making a payment online. It is known that banks may charge such fees legally . . . as long as they are competitive within the market. Once these fees are excessive and beyond what the average instition charges within the shared market it does become a dance a bank will do on the line of enforcable law. I believe First Premier Bank is crossing the legal line and a class action lawsuit may be a viable option. It should also be noted a new consumer law is expected to pass on January 2010 that will go directly at banks that have excessive fees towards their clients like First Premier Bank. At a time of people falling deeper in debt the fees First Premier Bank are almost, if not, criminal. I am a 100% disabled veteran that fought in Iraq, and my credit went from good to bad because of the time it took for the government to process and adjust my income. I have bad credit now and I understand that that creates issues with banks. I also understand when I am getting taken advantage of. I expect the BBB to confront this institution about the business practices it has and to press First Premier Bank into fair competitive services and fees within the industry. It would be best for First Premier Bank to stop the excessive fees before the new laws are passed that protect the consumer in a few months.

Your Desired Resolution:
A complete review of business practices, dealing specifically with excessive fines and charges that would make the products provided discontinue over-zealous fines and fees for expected practical standard service; (i.e. charges for on-line account management).

This case will be reviewed by a complaint specialist at the Better Business Bureau, and then forwarded to the business for their response. It is our policy to allow the business no more than thirty working days to respond to your complaint. Within those thirty days, we will write, fax, email or phone the company in an effort to seek a resolution to your case. You will be notified when the business has responded.

Isent in my credit card payment for 25, oo they first primier took out 250, 00 i called 5or 6 times couldnt say how many times i wrote, i sent them copies of the check it was 2500 and they were the one sent me the check .well any way they have fixed the bank part, Now they adddea the 250.00 to my credit card and are charging me 29.00 each month for overlimit fee, it was them that took out to much none of this is my fault, please see what you can do they call me and send me letters constantly, they need to take that off my credit card plus the late charges they, ve added, i hope you can help me i have cancer and this is one worry i can do without, thank you very much, Donna s Porter, p.o.box 42 pennington gap va, 24277, phone [protected],

I really hate this bank! The worst bank ever! Every time I would go to deposit a check, they needed a manager for an over ride. And half the time there was never a manager to be found! Then they have to call around to other First Premier Bank branches till they find someone with over ride authorization. This process holds up the line and makes me late for work! I have even had checks put on hold for up to 14 business days! I could see the reason for this if I was a hot check writer. But I have never bounced a check ever! And I have plenty of money in my account. They tell me I can take the check to the bank it's drawn off of. And have it cashed there, and then bring the cash back to deposit. WHAT? If I am going to go to that much trouble, I am just going to open an account at that bank! These checks I deposit are not even over 600.00 the tellers are usually really rude. And I had to deal with the regional VP at one time. I quickly found out that she was just a woman on a power trip! She treated me like a piece of gum she had just stepped in. I am not one to complain. I know how to treat people! When you work in, or have worked in, customer service, you tend to be more patient with people. I would rather climb through razor wire, with my hair on fire and put my money in a coffee can and bury it under a fire ant bed in my back yard before I would even consider putting it back in First Premier Bank "so called" Bank. I wouldn't recommend this bank to anyone. In fact, when clients ask me about banks, I tell them how pathetic this bank is. And sometimes I even go into the whole" razor wire.

I signed up for a card through First Premier Bank like any other person would... to build credit. I thought it would be a great idea. My first statement came and I forgot to pay it... It was due on the 8th. I started recieving calls from the cc company on the 4th stating that my account was "seriously past due." All of the calls had gone to voicemail as they called while I was at work. On the 18th I recieved a call and talked to a representative. She stated that my account was "extremely delinquent" I said, "How do you figure, it is only 10 days past the due date" She proceeded to tell me that my statement was "PRINTED UP" on the 15th of the month BEFORE the due date, and therefore, I was 30DAYS past due... 30 DAYS! I was 10 days late!
UGH! They are a HORRIBLE COMPANY... please DO NOT GET THEIR CARD... if for no other reason... don't get it so that you can protect your SANITY.

I accepted the terms for the credit card from Premier Bank Card because I wanted to help build some credit. This was a HUGE mistake! Not only do they charge you to have online access, but they also charge you a minimum of $7 just to make a payment online. This is just the beginning... Then, when the time came for me to get rid of these cards because the expense wasn't worth the credit, it became a hassle just to get them to close my account. They changed my auto draft info without my permission and caused me to have 'late' payments because THEY messed up my bank acct info! Finally! I think they closed my first card because when I log on to the site, I see there is a $0 balance. BUT! On my other card, there is an outstanding charge for $58, and I have a minimum payment of $75! WTF! These people are not here to help, they will only damage your credit like they have been doing to me for the past few months. DO NOT EVER, EVER, EVER GET ANYTHING FROM THIS COMPANY! RUN FROM THEM AS FAST AS YOU CAN!

I have horrible credit. I've been trying to pay off my outstanding debts and pay everything on time to improve my credit. While my credit was slightly getting better, it still wasn't good enough to get a normal credit card. I applied but none approved me...and then Premiere sent me an email saying they could work with me. My boyfriend was adamant about not getting a card because of the trouble they cause. I should have listened.

I got a card with a $200 limit. I figured it would be ok. We can handle that by only making a small purchase each month and paying off the balance. When I got the card, I found out there would be a $150 service fee or something so my available balance would be $50. Ok...if it helps my credit score...no big deal.

Except that wasn't what happened. I made MAYBE 3 or 4 purchases with it in the span that I had it. I usually paid a little over the minimum hoping it would help reduce the balance...Oh was I wrong.

There were SO many fees that the last 3 months, no matter how hard I tried to keep my balance in the black, it always would up in the red. One time, I added up the listed charges and found an almost $10 discrepancy between my listed balance and my posted transactions. I emailed them several times and each time, after a week or more, I'd get an email telling me they couldn't help me...but in that time, it turned out that I was being charged for fees not listed yet. I finally had to cancel my account because I wasn't using the card, but I was paying all these fees.

Not only that, but to make a payment, I had to pay. Usually, I pay all my bills online or over the phone, but both of those options cost between $7 and $12 to do. I didn't know that when I got the card and I told them when i canceled that had I known that, I never would have gotten it. I had to pay for a money order and a stamp...it was just a hassle to pay the bill.

I should have listened to my boyfriend and not gotten the card...rather than improving my credit, I made it worse. If you're like me with bad credit...just pass up the seemingly good offer...it'll cause more damage than good.

I rarely have used this card with a $250 yet I owe $368. Although I have paid this 250 over and over again. They charge this outrageous fee that is a made up they find a way that you then over your balance and they charge for an over balance fee. If you are close to your due date they wait to post your payment until it is late then a late fee. The late fee then puts your over the limit which is another 29.00.

I spoke to a representative on Friday not only was she very nasty but she could speak about a 25.00 charge that I made. In the conversation I mentioned that I paid 165.00 last week and I have a 17.00 available balance, she continuously mentioned that I used 25.00. What she didn't mention were 200.00 in fees that they have charged me. After the conversation I sent 106.00 which should have given me 123.00 available. I checked the available balance tonight I have an available balance of 6.00. At the very least where in the heck did the 11.00 go?

There strategy not only cost money but somehow gets reported on the report as late and over charged.

I had a First Premiere Bank credit card and closed it last month. When I called she was negotiating the balance down for me, since I was closing and just been charged a bunch of annual fees. When I hung up I was under the impression that my account was at zero, hence why it was being closed, and that the total amount I paid cover everything, including the $11 fee to pay the payment over the phone.

I received a statement in the mail today. It did show the account was closed, but it also showed that I owe another $42.82. Not only that but they took $10 more of a payment out of my checking account then what I was told, or agreed upon. The amount also was suppose to include the $11 payment fee; however on my statement it shows the payoff amount $10 higher then what I agreed AND a fee of $11 for the payment.

I called, thinking that it was just an error and they would fix it. Instead I was told that the person I had spoke with messed up and told me the wrong amount, on top of already debiting more then she was suppose to out of my bank account and adding on the $11 fee in addition to. I told them that the amount we agreed upon was suppose to cover everything and put the account at zero; which is why it was showing closed. She said that I owe $45 more and would have to pay that today. I told them that I should not have to pay anything when they are the ones that screwed up, supposedly. I told them that I want the tapes reviewed of our conversation where she is telling me that it would be at zero. So now supposedly they are going to review the tapes and I have TO CALL THEM BACK in a few days.

This really makes me mad and is really bad business, especially considering I have had an account with them for the past 2+ years with no late payments and paid the thing off like they wanted.

They keep sending me card in the mail tell me my credit limit was 250 dollars when i use the card to get items 50. 00 dollars. Two days later they call me and said i was over the limit by 25. 00 dollars. Now i owe 525. 00 dollars on a debt a 50. 00 dollar debt. ### you first premier bank and i hope nobody fall for you all scam.

I called Customer Service to close my account (I had just under 100 dollars balance) but they refused to give me back the 48 dollars they charged me in advance for annual fee covering the period April 2009 till March 2010. I did not charge any purchase to this card for more than 3 months. How is this possible when I clearly indicated to them that I no longer want to have this credit card? This is clearly a ripoff because the contract agreement does not say that they can just charge me for renewal even though I informed them about a month in advance that I no longer want to continue with their services.

I was new to the country when I got suckered into this credit card. The card has a bunch of fees on it when you get it. I made a mistake of paying one of my bills on it (in hard economic times) and I am still paying for it. I forgot to make a payment one time and I remembered on the day it was due and they wanted to charge me 11 bucks for making a payment over the phone on top of my payment. I was charged 7 bucks extra for paying online. Jeez; fees with everything. Who charges its customers for making a payment for giving them money. I am transferring the balance as soon as my payment posts and than closing this ### stupid ###ed up card! PLEASE EVERYONE BEWARE AND DO NOT GET A CARD FROM THEM.

first premier bank
attn.chargeback department
pobox5524
sioux falls sd.[protected]

I never fill that card