SST Card Services review: Unlawful billing tactics and arbitrary fees! 168

Well, I just got my daily call from SST and of course it has frustrated me. I know I owe on my credit card, an honest debt, but the fees that they want to hit with you with, even with an honest mistake. No mercy. I wish I could afford to just get rid of the whole balance and not have the stress. Getting calls every day does not make me pay my bill any faster. I pay when its due. Harassing me just adds stress to my life. I'm tired of the mess. They need better customer service. They do not have to ask me a ton of questions to verify who I am. Customer Rep hung up on me today. She asked my name, my address, my phone number, last 4 digits of my social, and then wanted my mothers maiden name. I just refused to give it. Sheeesh I had already given enough. Anyway she hung up, very professional thing to do on her part. I called back spoke with someone else. Answered 2 questions and dealt with their issue of being over the limit because of their finance charge... yeah hurray... another fee. Any way she said they only were supposed to ask 2 confirming questions. Some people just like to be rude on purpose I guess. I'm tired of the mess.

I agree with many of your complaints. The thing is what do we do? I closed my account and have been attempting to pay it off, however it is difficult with the high interest rate. I have noticed that even though I have paid my account in plenty of time, online, in the past, I still get a late fee. I think that they apply this thinking people won't catch it. I really get frustrated with the fact that I can sign up with the online payment service and the next month my sign in info won't work.

I am not sure if the way they handled my account breaks any laws, however it definitely is not very nice. I had a Providian card which was than sold to Wamu and then sold to SST. I initially had a 14% interest rate which was maintained when my account was sold to Wamu. I was not receiving paper statements, as I opted for online billing notification. When my account was sold to Wamu I received notice from both Providian and Wamu, both online and via postal mail with information re: where to send payments and new account numbers. When my account was sold to SST, I never received notification but then got a phone call letting me know that they had not received my payment and I now owed them a late fee. I had been sending my payments electronically to Wamu through my banks online bill pay service which takes two business days to process. It was taking two additional weeks for Wamu to forward the payment to SST, so my payment was late when they received it. SST refused to remove the late fee and increased my interest rate to 29.99% . They have no program which would allow for my rate to be reduced either based on review of circumstances or for paying on time for several months. The following month i received another call from SST stating that my payment had again not been received, I produced a canceled check showing the they had deposited the check prior to the due date, yet it has been 3 months and they still have not removed the late fee. As much as I am displeased with SST, I am equally upset with Wamu for selling my account that was in good standing to such a notoriously sleazy company. I feel this really tarnishes the reputation of Washington Mutual.

I was sent a letter informing me that my Providian account was sold to SST, no call or previous warning, perhaps asking me if I wanted to pay my account in full before they sold it?! After the letter I was harassed by this new company which I wasnt exactly sure what the name of my new company was. I paid my account online in the past with no problem, all of a sudden my account was three months behind bc the routing number was incorrect. That is their fault, I never changed my banking information, I had always paid the account on time, and the computer was confirming my payments. Three months behind! I supposedly owed over two hundred dollars when my usual balance due was 48 dollars. I was appalled. And they refused to fix their mistake, so I was stuck paying this unfair amount. I am furious and obviously it affected my credit. The website is never available and trying to call them is unbearable. I want something done about this too, as I see everyone is having the same problem.

My account was turn over to SSI and my finance charges went sky high. I don't understand what went wrong. I am trying to get out from under them. I think its a ripoff.

You guys need to pay your bills on time and learn how credit cards work. When you pay off a balance, don't look at the balance on the statement, you have an average daily balance and will have finance charges accrue on the account. It's plain and simple and is the case with every credit card. You guys say they up your apr? might be true, but when you guys signed up for your credit card you took on that responsibility. If you're late, your apr might go up, PERIOD. If you cant pay on the card, you should have never ran up the balance in the first place.

I had my Providian card sold to these guys in April with no notice. When I called the woman at their customer service told me this was a very bad card and to pay it off ASAP. I opened a 0% Mastercard and did a balance transfer. I was then bill $19 in "finance charges" which I have tried to pay twice over the internet. Twice it was returned due to "insufficient funds", I notified them I never got notice of this and have money in my account, they then told me the account number was wrong.

I have now been locked out of their website for 10 days, it got to the point that they were offering me the ability to pay over the phone for a $10 fee, these sharks aren't getting my money. I had my brother log onto his computer, change the account number and pay the $19 yesterday. They have called me 3 times today.

I am up for a class action suit.

I also have incurred late charges and my min. payment jumped from 153.00 a mo. to 350.00 a month with no explanation. I was one payment late but paid it. Their phone system says they have the payment and my balance is 194.00 which I paid today. But the online min. payment says 350.00 still. Like they never got the payment. Yet it is posted on the account. So I went by the phone amount and what I thought it should be. I should now be current, except when I made the payment... AFTER it accepted it... it told me it may take up 2 days to process. The due date is tomorrow, a Sunday. I would think fairly it would be due on Monday if they do not accept payments on Sat. or Sun. Who knows. I'm sure I will be charged again for a late payment. I also noticed my APR is now 29.99% I incur a little over $100 a month in finance charges now... my balance is 4500.00. So I can't easily pay it off yet. But I will be checking into a better card and doing a balance transfer. I am glad I found out about this card, I had no idea. I actually found out by just trying to search for the payment website. Instead a bunch of complaints came up... scary! I know how evil some credit card co.'s can be. I had no problems with Providian and even Washington Mutual.. but I also got no notice of the change... and change in terms. Which is illegal. Thanks.

Wendy

I had an account in good standing with Washington Mutual. I paid on time, and paid my bill in full (down to a zero balance every month.) I was stunned when it was sold to this company - a collection agency in podunk Missouri.

As of today, July 2, 2007, SST's website where I make my payments is no longer in existence.

I googled SST and was amazed at the number of complaints and lawsuits they have pending. I want to contact them, but don't knoe how. I just want to pay my bill before they start sending me to collection. I don't want to go through this nightmare all over again.

Thanks

I am too, a victim of this horrendous company. Every complaint above, I have experienced. I have a 31.5% interest rate, my balance will never go down and they told me they would help, but of course they didn't. I told every service rep they should be ashamed of themselves for working for a company that swindles people. SST would rather see you go bankrupt and end up on the streets than help. I will find a way out of this because I refuse to have them have a hold on me. I can't say Providian or WAMU is much better. I have stopped using credit cards all together! I'd appreciate anyone's help. I think we need to scam them - BIG TIME! I wanted to pay them a penny a day, but of course they won't let you use the website. They want your $10.00! I am so furious, I have nightmares and I hate them. What can we do?

Hmm, I suggest trying to pay your bills on time so that your interest rate doesn't rise. Or better yet, be responsible enough not to throw yourself into severe credit card debit to begin with...then you wouldn't have any of these problems.

I would like to respond briefly to Paul. People have kids to feed and wishing torture on my family, even though I agree with most of you, is the most immature and inexcusable comment as of yet. SST has done nothing to you comparable to that. You know the location of SST. I live in the same town. You want retribution and revenge look me up joker. I wish you and your family the best. If you had a choice between slitting pig throats or talking to little whiny ### punks like you which would you choose? The simple fact is, if you don't want to work in fast food or a meat packing plant in St. Joseph, MO, you work for SST. I know they can be rude, but Linda raised only one good point, when people call in, they are looking for a fight. If you had ever talked to me you would remember the experience as a positive one, and you would have received much different treatment. I consider that a personal attack and I am waiting with unbridled anticipation for you to justify those comments.

My name is Dustin and I am a former employee of SST (Systems and Services Technologies) in St. Joseph, MO. I can tell you that in the 4 months that I worked for this company I learned one thing, SST HATES YOU! Get out while you can. In the coarse of my employment with this company I saw many questionable charges, i.e. late fees, over limit fees, and undeserved hikes in apr. Of coarse the supervisors had many ways of explaining these and as a simple collector/ customer service rep I basically had to take whatever answer given and pass it on to the customer. I quit 2 weeks ago because I am a person of integrity and the way this company treats its "customers" is absolutely inexcusable and disgusting.

My suggestion is that you make any and all complaints in the name of JP Morgan Chase, then ask them why they will not allow SST to disclose that they are, in fact, owned by JP Morgan. This is part of SST's policy, we are under no circumstances allowed to disclose that SST is owned by JP Morgan. Also the name of the man that purchased these accounts from WAMU is Ari. Do not know his last name but he is a crook. Let me explain how the fees work with SST, I assure you that you will find this completely dishonest. The man who purchased these accounts, Ari, gets to keep all late fees on the accounts, these go directly into his pocket. The final straw for me was when, this month, Ari decided we were no longer allowed to waive any fees whatsoever from the account under any circumstances.

I only inform you of this, not because of disgruntlement with the company, I made a good wage while [censored] out my principles, but because I've been in your shoes. These people will take you for everything you have if given the opportunity. I urge you all, put this shady, seedy, greasy ### on a boat back to wherever he came from. I've lived in this town for 26 years, since I was born, and I can tell you from a native standpoint, he is not welcome here. The policies and procedures of SST do not reflect, in any way, the moral values and principles of our great city. They give the entire state a bad name in my opinion.

I still have many friends who work for this company and please believe me when I say they are not all bad. We have very few jobs to go around here and SST pays their employees well. Unfortunately they instill a general contempt for humanity as a bonus to your paycheck. I welcome any inquiries to my personnel email. Godspeed through the badlands kids, I wish you the best of luck. Be wary though, SST lawyers are JP Morgans lawyers, and they have never lost a case. DOCUMENT DOCUMENT DOCUMENT! Keep every statement, keep a record of all payments and proof of these payments if you really want to make them pay.

First of all I think everyone should be pissed off at wamu/providian, they are the ones that started ###ing people over. Secondly, if it's not YOUR money you have NO say in whether your account is sold or not. it's someone else's money that was borrowed with interest. The person is right about pushing the option for a lost/stolen card, that will get you through every time even though it's a pain in the ###. I got my card paid off as soon as possible. No I don't like SST but if you have any knowledge of credit cards you'd know that it's not just them ripping people off. All credit cards have check by phone fees and all credit cards charge late and over limit fees. I just think people need to take responsibility for their actions and pay off their cards.

My husbands Wamu account was sold to sst in February 2007. We never received anything via mail or otherwise letting us know of the change. We were still getting bills from wamu so i just assumed that was where i needed to send a payment. i have never been late on this account so when i received a call from sst stating that they were now in charge of this account and we were late i was confused. because we are trying to qualify for a mortgage i just paid what they said i owed. unfortunately on my credit report it says that i missed a payment to sst in February when the payment shows on wamus record and that i missed a payment to wamu in march when the account was already with sst and shows that they received the payment. So now i have two negative records for the same account on my credit when i never missed a payment to begin with. its all very frustrating. hopefully we will be able to resolve this matter before we go to get a mortgage. We'll see.

After my Providian card was sold to SST I have also had all the same experiences as everyone here has wrote about. The phone calls and the massive late fee because somehow my payment online wasn't "reached in time". My credit score has changed and the once good service I use to get is now gone. I've basically been screwed like everyone else. There are around 30 websites complaining about this company so I am confused why Providian and WAMU would take good customers and sell them out to this group of extortionists. It's sad that there are that many people suffering and struggling due to one immoral company.

WATCH OUT! I read about all this that SST is doing to everyone, and providian sold my account to SST also, so I did a transfer of my SST balance to a much lower credit card I have. The other CC processed in 2 days. It has been 15 BUSINESS days and still not showing in my youcardaccount.com. I have transfered balances before between CC and its usually done in7-10 business days. I am actually fearful of calling the company in case they want to charge me for calling them.

I just posted to this board and I don't feel that my problems are as great as some others. I would hope that someone with more previous complaints would pursue this.

https://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/submit_form.html?label=unfair-business

If you feel that your problems have been extensive enough then I suggest that you submit the information to this site and have it reviewed. Please include a link to this page and each complaint can be evaluated on its own.

A while back my wife and I had run up a balance on several credit cards. We received an offer in the mail from Providian to transfer our balances to their card at 0.0% for 1 year. We did it and we managed to pay down the debit very quickly.

After having the card for around two years it was sold to WAMU. We were a little disappointed because we were so happy with Providian. We were only with WAMU for about 4 months and our account was sold again this time to SST. We did receive a new card in the mail but we are so used to seeing new credit card offers that we often don't open them and we had never heard of SST. When it came time to make our payment to WAMU we logged into the site and were informed that the account was sold and that we should contact SST. Here is the message that we read:

"This account has been sold and is now being serviced by SST. Please call [protected] for assistance."

I called the number and found as many people have that there is no way to get a living-breathing person online unless you select the option for reporting that your card had been stolen. I contacted WAMU and there service reps couldn't help because the account didn't belong to them anymore.
I finally got someone from SST on the phone and verified that the payment was due. I made the payment over the phone ($10) and I asked that they resend the information to me in the mail. I had moved during this same month so I updated my address with them.

The following month I still had not received my information in the mail so I called them again (this time I knew the secret) to make the payment. I told the customer service rep that I was not going to pay the phone fee because I never received the requested information in the mail nor had I received my monthly statement. She helped me get logged into the web site to make the payment w/o the fee. Up to this point I didn’t have much reason to complain about them or the customer service.

This past month (month 3 with SST) I did receive the statement in the mail and my wife and I sat down to pay the bills. We paid the SST payment on the day that it was due using their online system (Sunday the 10th of June 2007).

Today (4 days after making the online payment) I received a call from SST telling me that pay payment was late and that I could make the payment over the phone to bring my account current. I was shocked. I told the lady that we had made the payment on Sunday (the day that it was due). She told me that she could see that the account was accessed but we must have not "confirmed" the payment. Not being an idiot I thought that there was no way that I had failed to finish the payment process and I told the lady that there must be a mistake. I was concerned about things that I have read and heard on the radio and TV about Credit Card companies jacking up your interest rate if you are a day late with a single payment. I asked her about the consequences of being late. She told me that my interest rate would stay the same but that we would be charged a $39 late fee. I have a friend who works for Discover card and she told me that if you are polite and not a repeat offender then you can request that the fee be waived so I tried that. I was told that the policy of Columbus Bank and Trust is to NOT waive any late fees. This bothered me and so I asked to speak with a supervisor. When I got one on the phone I explained what happened and I asked that the fee be waived. He told me that per the policy when I signed up for the card, no fees COULD be waived. I didn't believe that this was true. I had never made a payment late even through the sale of my account and me changing address. Why wouldn't they do this to keep their customers happy WHEN I KNOW THAT THEY CAN?

After getting off of the phone with that supervisor I did a little searching online and I found this site.

I called back to SST and spoke with a new CS person. I told her that I wanted to close the account and just pay off the balance over time. She set it up for me. I asked several questions about any negative ramifications to doing this and she assured me that there were none. No interest rate increases, no additional fees for having a closed account with a balance, etc. So I did it. I also asked her about a few things that I had read about payments over $200 taking 10 days to process. She informed me that as long as the payment is made (online) 48 hours before the day that it is due, then the amount doesn't matter. If they hold it for 10 days but it was made on time then there is no late fee. She also confirmed that if you log in and make a payment on the day that it is due then you will be charged a late fee if it doesn't process that same day. In some instances it will and in others it will take the 48 hours. It depends on your bank but you still have very little control over it.

From my experience and what I have read here and on other sites SST is a horrible company for us the consumers. I am sure that the company makes tons of money for the share holders etc, but I will never do business with them or Providian or WAMU. If there is a legal recourse (class action suit) then I am interested in perusing it because I have nothing better to do right now but I don't know the first thing about getting it started.

I head a report on NPR (radio) about the practices of credit card companies to get you to have to pay fees. Things like:

• Requiring that payments from the east coast be sent to the west coast and vice versa just to make payments late.
• Having that payments rerouted in their own offices so that they are processed late after arriving on time.
• Requiring that you send proof from your post office that they payment was mailed out on time when it actually arrived at their office on time as well.
• Changing the due date with little or no notice.
• Purposefully failing to mail out statements and charging late fees when payments aren’t received on time.
• Adding on insurance that customers have not agreed to and failing to remove it when it was requested.
• Charging a fee for you being over your limit when you aren’t
• Increasing your interest rate when something negative shows up on your credit report even when you have made every payment on time.
• Charging you a fee for not using your card or even closing your account.
• Receiving your payment on Saturday but marking it as being received on Monday, though actually it has been processed the minute it has been received because most credit card issuers have credit card processing centers that operate 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.
• Charging you an over limit fee when you have a pending dispute about a charge, or when you have used your card at a gas pump (they verify a $50-$75 available credit even if you spend $33).

Many of these practices are illegal.

Checkout this site

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/03/credit_card_reform.html

I loved reading it.

Indeed all of the horrible stories are true. But, the ones to blame truly is Providian. I called Providian myself and asked them for an explanation for their actions. The said "that all card holders even having a history of being late on their utilities automatically puts the individual on a risk category, that generates a list and they in turn sell it to SST for a percentage of the actual 29% SST charges the card holder. So, the best thing to do is close the account.

Another one to look out for is "The Discount Tire Store".

I just received a notice from my credit monitoring service that a change was made to one of my credit reports. I log on, see my SST (formerly Providian) card is now over limit. I call them up to see what's going on and they say they never received my last payment. I'm confused. "I can't believe I didn't make that payment!" I say naively, because obviously if they tell me they never received it, then I must not have mailed it. But I am flabbergasted. I've been paying off balances on various cards left and right and conscientiously paying at least the minimum on whatever account I am not aggressively paying down at the moment. I just KNOW that I sent them that check but as far as I can tell, I have no proof - no carbon copies, no payment sent registered mail. Then I find this page and I am shocked to read other people recounting the exact same experience. Why are these ### stealing our hard-earned money? Can we take these scumsuckers down or what?!

I was not even under the impression that my account had been sold to another company. I am complaining about a $200.00 on my account that I know nothing about. I was paying providential faithfully and they slog my account and now I have a 200. 00 on there I know nothing about. I do not trust this. Please include me in this investigation also.

Though it is possible to make a payment online, it is difficult to find the correct address to start with, and then they have all these rules... And forget paying by phone! Funny I had thought First Premier and HSBC could be dirty dogs, but then Providian -the nutmonkeys- sold my account to SST and I discovered the very definition of a consumer-debt-buying-abomination! (Be wary fellow consumers, FP has monster fees for everything, and HSBC will kill you with finance rates, annual fees and the costs thereof). I have not used my SST card in over a year; had taken Providian up on a great transfer balance rate, and had only been doing business with them a few months, when they sold my account to SST.

I've experienced the same difficulty with bill paying and charges as my fellow posters (the exception being Linda who OBVIOUSLY works for this terdnugget company, you can tell cause she talks about us, not her experience with her card through SST), so instead of re-hashing the same VALID issues already presented, I'll bring up a new one. One of their latest tricks - an offshoot of the call-you-nonstop-trick, is to have an automated service call you with an automated message, promising a great rare one time offer! weehoo! The number given rings to another automated line that never once says anything about said "offer". You wind up in a tedious automated loop that never once gives a "to speak to a customer representative" option. I called a different number I have for them, and again not pressing any dial keys, the automated message looped at least 3 times before it finally gave up and switched me to a person.

Well, they'd picked the wrong doggone day to be pulling my chain, and I advised the agent who answered unless she wished to receive the blunt of my wrath, she'd better transfer me to a supervisor. "I still need your name and I have to attempt to solve your issue" (the can't possible pay me enough to be in her job) but since I'd given her fair warning, I let go and fired away. Of course she didn't give me a satisfactory answer, and I said so and NOW will you transfer me. Of course I hold for a LONG time, and finally reach Leslie/Lindsay? At this point I just want them to see that what I am saying is reasonable, not just me being an annoyed customer. And after some discussion she allows that the message could be confusing. Wanna know what the message was about really? Their finance charge, acted on after I had made a hefty payment (fees had me overlimit), brought me back over limit by a few bucks and some change! Is it possible to pay down this bill or have they got us all by the shorthairs?

So on the condition that I pay those couple of bucks (less than $5), they said my number would not get any more of those misleading phone calls. I said okay I'll pay it, on the condition that my concern goes to their quality assurance people, or the director of Customer Service.

Everyday I go to work, I am working Customer Support, handling phone and email requests. The way I do my job - earns me thank you emails and folks who are obviously (by tone) smiling when they hang up.

The truth is if this company gave a half a measly hoot about their customers, they would practice FAR FAR better business. But they don't care, and they'll keep raking in our dough and buying new customer accounts to manipulate and torture if someone doesn't stop them.

I unfortunately do not know anyone that practices Law in the fields of Consumer Interests or Banking Fraud. And do not have the funds to sponsor my own individual case.

IF ANYONE FOLLOWS THROUGH ON THE NEEDED LAWSUIT AGAINST THESE FOLKS, LET ME KNOW!

Meanwhile best wishes, and good luck! - Jen-of Pat and Jen.

I had an account with Providean and i loved it. I was never late and never seemed to have any hidden fees. It was always easy to keep it under the limit. Then my account turned into Washington Mutual and i was always getting hit with hidden fees and i got so far behind on the card that i couldn't get caught up. I would pay high payments over the phone with the fee and they would say i was caught up. Then next months bill would come. I would be over the limit AGAIN. This went on for months, my card has been cut up for almost a year now! I am still not caught up and it hasn't been used. This is a horrible card i wish i never accepted it in the first place! Now SST has bought out the account, i have received numerous phone calls a day even after speaking to someone and paying a payment over the phone. They set me up an account with them to pay off the debt monthly online.Can this be trusted? ANY INPUT WOULD BE APPRECIATED! THANK YOU!

Something MUST be done to stop this company (SST CARD SERVICES) from cheating anyone else. This is fraud.

Steve Affolter

Heres the info i have uncovered so far:

SST email contacts - http://www.sst-mo.com/contact-sales.html

GA banking & finance complaints - http://dbf.georgia.gov/00/article/0,2086,43414745_46389324_67823584,00.html#complaintform

Address to send or fax complaint form to - Legal and Consumer Affairs Division
Georgia Department of Banking and Finance
2990 Brandywine Rd., Suite 200
Atlanta, GA [protected]
Fax: [protected]

We need to play their game, and start sending twice as many emails & complaints to their staff & the Finance Division, as they are making cold calls. If we get enough momentum, something can happen. If anyone needs ideas of what to write, email me and ill send you examples.

Regards,
kyle.

My closed account was sold to sst back in march. Was not notified by either one of the credit card companies. Asked them if i was in good standings and they said yes, get a call the next day and they said my account was delinquent. My account is closed, may i remind you, and they raised my interest rate. Now they keep calling my phone and my husband phone, who is not on the account and is illegal. This is the small version. You got my email if anyone wants to respond.

I agree with you all! This outfit is the ### of the earth feeding on people whom are trying to pay on time etc. I have found fighting fire with fire does work some. For starters, do not talk to them (collectors) Send in WRITING a request that all communication with you be done in writing, keep a log of how often the call you dates and times and what number they are calling you at( home/cell etc.) Finally, if you can pay bills on line through your own bank, do it and do it often even if its a few bucks... heres the fun part. It cost them $ to process your payments, so just for kicks send them $3.96 every now and then just for spite. Best advice, keep a folder on this outfit with all of your statements and payment history including your personal bank statements. you will need this information later. Also, file a complaint with the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance, Legal and Consumer Affairs Division. www.gadbf.org

FINALLY! I'm not the only one! I just got off the phone with these people. The first time ever a supervisor tried to bite my head off, and interrupted everything I said. My balance w/Providian was paid - and the same day SST bought the account, they charged me $15! wtf?! I know if i pay it ill never see it again. And if it goes to class-action, i want in.

I'm currently filing a formal complaint w/the GA Banking and Finance Division. If anyone wants the info, shoot me an email.

Regards,
Kyle Davis.

I am beginning to think Linda (above) is part of SST. She sounds just as pitiful as their customer service reps do. Its a dam shame that this company buys cards and seemingly raises rates and makes it impossible to make payments. The bottom line is this, SST s**s a**, they have infringed on my lifestyle as a god loving American citizen and i hope everyone of them suffer a horrible death. In fact, I hope their family are tortured and killed in the worst way possible, because that is what they did in theory to my family because of their lack of customer service and hidden fees and ridiculous transfer fees. I hate them all and i hope someone goes postal on them cuz i will be there spitting on their grave. As for Kevin Pruner the top dog off SST, he has to be the biggest F*C*ing idiot ever. I will pray for the day i get to meet him face to face. As for SST, i have a lawyer relative that is gladly doing some pro-bono work and his initial take on it is promising for me.

The comment above from "Linda" actually sounds like a customer service rep of SST, with all the rudeness and insensitivity I've experienced from them!

My WAMU card was bought out, as well, and when I caught a glimpse of the SST website (as somebody else pointed out), I thought it was some kind of scam! I mean, what reputable credit card's website reads "www.youraccount.com"? So, after I got out of my denial state, I tried to start paying off my card through my Bill Pay, but the new account number wasn't going through. And you know the rest of the story. When I called, it was one of the worst experiences I've had with customer service, after I finally was able to get a hold of somebody.

To the above person who touted the SST customer service reps, I am not rude on the phone because I know what reps have to put up with. However, I have had to call SST numerous times and was treated the same way each time, before I had even stated the reason i was calling! I have gotten hung up on, transfered to fax machine numbers, and have been told that I could close my account at any time because my business isn't needed. What kind of customer service is this? I understand that reps get tired of people sometimes, but this has been a consistent pattern with only SST reps.

So, when I finally paid of my balance, I couldn't wait to close the account. I had to call over 6 times to have it closed, because when the reps would tell me they closed it (and a few were smacking gum while they were telling me this), it never happened! Finally, I asked for a letter to confirm the closed account and I told them I would take legal actions if they didn't close the account after the 6th time I called them in a 3-week span.

Absolutely horrendous! In all fairness, I did get the notice in the mail that the account was being sold to SST. However, it is still no excuse to raise my interest raise a good 10% higher and to make it nearly impossible for me to pay my bill on time through my bank on such short notice of the sale of the account (and to pay by phone through SST would have cost me!). Not to mention the horrible customer service.

This is in regards to all the complaints against SST. To begin with if all the card holders that were with Providan or Wamu opened their mail they would have been notified that Columbus Bank and Trust bought the accounts not SST. As far as being ASKED if their account could be sold Providan and WAMU did not need their permission, if they would have read the terms and disclosures they would have found out that it might be a strong possibility that their account may be sold. This is the same practice that mortgage companies due. All this negative publicity is due to the fact that the credit card holders did not read their terms. As far as the reps being rude, try putting yourself in their place by putting up with rude,name calling ADULTS. So before the card holders join ranks and want to sue every company, get your head out of your a%^&(* and realize that this is all legal.

I thought I was the only one being harassed by them. My providian card was "sold" to SST, an d all of the sudden the balance is twice the amount. I have been fighting with SST for three years. I thought I was wrong somewhere, but reading all these comments... I'm going to do some research... Also, I didn't know that SST is a division of Chase. Had I known that I would have taken a loan out, just to not have to deal with them. They are the worst... no wonder SST is terrible and a bunch of THIEVES. SOMEONE NEEDS TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS COMPANY. Is there anyone I can contact about it?

These people don't care if you are late or not... they are trying to drive us all to transfer our balances somewhere else because they are simply debt buyers who purchase debt for discounted rates. If you transfer your $500 balance to another card, they have just made a lump sum off of you. If you continue to pay them monthly, they keep on screwing you over and still getting more money out of you.

Did you know that you legally do not have to pay a company that purchases your debt. This scam here is a debt buying company, who has disguised themselves as a credit card company...

Who ever heard of a credit card company that wouldn't let you PAY your bill with another credit card... my A$$!

Im with you. We need to drill this company with lawsuit after lawsuit. They bought my account from WAMU. I lost all my benefits and to top it off, i waited almost a month to get contacted to no avail. I tracked them down and they had already charged me late charges, ridiculous finance charges and all sorts of stuff. when i opened the card in 05, i somehow wound up with a cash advance of 6.58. They are now charging me 14.00 dollars a month for the lifetime of the card on that one cash advance.

I really hope someone gets on board and lets bring this company down. This is robbery. We are first class citizens being treated like dirty filth. Whos in!

Same story for me. My account was sold to SST. I don't see how this can be legal. I Paid off my providian account in full (over $3000 dollars) and this letter came in the mail that my account had been sold? This is how they reward you for being a customer for several years and paying off your credit card? I think a lawsuit is appropriate.

I can relate to all of these stories, I was a Providian customer, received misleading statements, spoke with incompetent "Customer Reps" if that's what you want to call these people. After reading these posting, I can't get my balance transferred fast enough, As soon as I am done with this posting, I am transferring my balance, I hope that everyone else reads this and does the same thing, These people WANT YOU TO BE LATE, they do not know how to be helpful or understanding. They are incompetent and I am hoping that something is done to protect the consumers.

PLEASE contact me, I am getting as many people together as I can. If you have a paper trail it's even more helpful... I want to drown these slugs in their own snot. One of their "Customer Service" people asked me if I was on crack!

I have a long typed up letter detailing my experience with them. I insist that you do the same and send me your email address so I can get the ball rolling.

Amazingly, I made a payment Sunday afternoon & it posted to my account the following business day. I am totally & underly amazed ... to boot, no late fee either. What did I do correctly?

I am in contact with Class Action lawyers concerning the SST behavior. I too have been raked over the coals by this unethical company and it's time we all band together to sue the snot out of them.