Merrick Bank Corporation

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:Merrick Bank Corporation was falsely charging late fees saying the postal service was not very reliable and blaming themI checked with the postal service and they informed me that it only takes seven to ten days for the mail to get from Virginia to Dallas TexasI was mailing payment fourteen to seventeen days priorPayed the same way for the hole time I had my account and all of a sudden they were saying payments were late every monthYes they credit back the three months of late fees but did not clear it up until the 26th I tried to explain the problem to merrick bank and they chose to ignore it and charge me a late fee even if I paid the minimum amount due minus late fee they charge another late feeMerrick bank is nothing more than a corporate bully and thriving on charging late feesThey do nothing to help or work with their customers and I would like to add that merrick bank is the only one I have had trouble with I pay my bills on time with an A on my credit report
Proves that
Sincerely,
***

Mr*** submitted an application for a Merrick Bank secured card on March 5, The application was approved pending the receipt of the security deposit. Mr*** contacted Merrick on March and March 7, and withdrew his application. Merrick contacted Mr*** upon
receipt of this complaint and he confirmed he wanted to withdraw his application. Merrick explained to him that his security deposit would be refunded to him by regular mail and that he should receive it by April 1, If Mr*** does not receive his security deposit on or before that date, he can contact us at 801-545-and speak to the credit department to follow up on that refund

Merrick reviewed Mr***’s account history. Mr*** opened an account with Merrick in May and used the account for the purchase of goods and services On September 29, one of Merrick’s collection agencies, Carson S*** offered to settle the account for a lump sum
payment of $239.32, which represented 25% of the balance on the account. Mr*** agreed to those terms and remitted a payment for that amount which was received and posted to the account on October 19, Merrick submitted an update to the credit reporting agencies that the account status was now settled in full for less than the full balance was a charge offBased on the facts described above, this is the correct reporting for the account. Merrick is required to accurately report the status of accounts it reports to the credit bureausMerrick will not delete or modify the reporting of Mr***’s account

A review of the account was
conducted and Ms*** has an annual fee on the account since she opened the
account in August 2011. The first year
the fee is assessed to the account in one lump sum and each following year the
fee is assessed monthly at the sum $4.00.
This
information is disclosed on the pricing appendix that is sent when
the account is opened
In accordance with the Cardholder Agreement, Ms*** agreed
to pay the Annual Fee(s) for each year the account is open and for each year in
which there is an outstanding balance on the account. The Cardholder agreement sets forth the terms
as follows: If your account is closed but you fail to pay off the full account
balance, you agree to pay the amount of the Annual Fee and applicable fees
billed to your account for each month there is an outstanding balance. Even
though the account was not used it was open.
The request to close the account was complied with on April 7,
2014. There were no payments received
for several months this is the reason of the credit reporting that was made on
the account. I have attached statements
for her information. Strictly as a
courtesy Merrick has removed the last negative reported months from Ms***’s
credit reportsThe request has been submitted by the credit reporting agencies
can take up to days to complete Merrick’s request to remove this information

Merrick reviewed Mr***’s account and this review included listening to phone calls Merrick made to the phone number Mr*** provided at the time he opened the account. A representative from Merrick called to speak to Mr*** and a person who would not identify themselves asked the
representative to stop callingSince the person who answered would not identify the residence or who they were, in order to protect Mr***’s privacy Merrick could not identify itself other than to say it was personal business for Mr***The law prohibits Merrick from discussing accounts with anyone who is not its account owner or an authorized partyMerrick has placed a do not contact flag on the account. Mr*** can contact Merrick to discuss payment options or find out if a payment plan is available for his account

Ms*** was sent a solicitation via regular US mail for an account in October which was a “firm offer of credit.” The offer included a disclosure regarding the amount of credit being offered and the fees that would be charged on the account. The solicitation disclosed that
there would be a $set up fee and an annual fee of $48.
Ms*** responded to the offer by returning the Acceptance Certificate. Merrick received the Acceptance Certificate and opened the account. The card carrier contained a notice that Ms*** could reject the fees by not using the account and notifying Merrick of that rejection
The CARD Act allows for fees including setup fees that do not exceed 25% of the initial credit line offeredThe total fees charged were $sfee, and a $annual fee for a total of $which is less than 25% of the credit line Ms*** accepted
Merrick has waived the balance and the account is closed. The trade line for the Merrick account has been deleted from her credit file

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me
Sincerely,
*** *** if this credit does not come through on my next statement I will report this to the Revdex.com again, thanks so much for resolving this issue

I have faxed Mr*** a settled in full letter per his request, to the number he indicated in his complaint to the Revdex.com

Mr*** opened a Visa credit card account with Merrick in September 2015. When Mr*** was sent the credit card a pricing appendix was included with the card which further explained the assessment of the annual fee. A pricing appendix is the summary of the costs associated with
the credit card account, such as interest rates, fees and important information about how the account works. The first year the fee is assessed to the account in one lump sum and each following year the fee is assessed monthly at the sum of $ 5.00. The first statement on which the monthly fee appears is the September 28, statement that is a year after the account was first opened In accordance with the Cardholder Agreement, Mr*** agreed to pay the Annual Fee(s) for each year the account is open and for each year in which there is an outstanding balance on the account. If the account is closed but you fail to pay off the full account balance, you agree to pay the amount of the Annual Fee and applicable fees billed to your account for each month there is an outstanding balance According to the account history email reminders were sent to the email address of *** on April 29, for the days past due reminder and again on May 30, for the days past due reminder. The email regarding statements for April and May was sent to that same address within days of the statements being generated Merrick is required to accurately report the status of the accounts it reports to the credit bureaus. The reports submitted for Mr***’s account is correct and accurate. Merrick will not delete or modify the reporting of the account. I have enclosed a copy of the cardholder agreement and the pricing appendix for the accountTell us why here

A review of MrA***’s account was conducted. On August 8, a representative called MrA*** to determine why there had not been a payment on the account since a payment received on May 31, 2015. In reviewing the call it appeared that the representative became frustrated when
MrA*** began questioning who was calling. The representative tried to explain to MrA*** why and who was calling. MrA*** and the representative began talking over each other and the call ended with MrA*** requesting a supervisor. I did not hear any threats from the representative regarding releasing personal information to credit agencies. The representative attempted to explain that because the account was past due more than days a negative report was possible if a payment was not made. Because of the representative and MrA*** speaking over each other it is unclear he could have understood what she was trying to convey
MrA*** spoke to other representatives on August 8, one of which was a supervisor. During that call it appeared the call was disconnected before completion of the call. MrA*** called back about minutes later and spoke to another representative who indicated her supervisor was not available but indicated she would give a message to them to call MrA***
MrA*** call again on August 13, and spoke to a representative regarding his request to close the accountThe representative asked about his reason for closing the account and he cited “poor customer service” as the reason. He then requested a supervisor and was transferred and spoke to a supervisor who took the time to explain the nature of the first call from August 8, which MrA*** acknowledged he understood and she assisted him with the closing of the account which at that time had a zero balance as he had paid the past due amount owing on August 9,
After reviewing the calls, the service provided during the first call in particular was difficult. The representative became frustrated with MrA*** and there was no need for her to talk over him rather than listen to his concerns. He commented that the unknown number was a problem and wanted to validate he was actually speaking to Merrick Bank. The representative did not handle that questioning in an adequate manner. Merrick apologizes to MrA*** if he felt he did not receive the type of customer service he felt he deserved. It is our goal at Merrick to provide excellent customer service; we continue work towards that goal. MrA*** was a longtime customer of Merrick and we appreciate his business over the years

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:I was sold an a promise of having the ability to dispute transactions onlineThis company has lied to meThey are responsible for what they advertiseI demand compensation
Sincerely,
*** ***

MsD*** accepted an offer of a Visa credit card from Merrick in De4cember Her payment due date is the 26th of each month. The statements for her account cycle on the 1st or the 2nd of the month. MsD*** has paid in advance of the statement cycle for the month of May
There are no pre-payments on revolving accounts any payments received prior to the statement cycle date will be applied to the most recent statement. In this case the payment had been applied as an extra principal payment for the prior months’ cycle. If MsD*** wishes to pay in advance of the due date on her account she must wait until after the 3rd of the month in which the statement is generated to ensure the payment sent is applied to the month she wishes it to be applied
The statement cycling and due date of the account are standard industry practice for a revolving account and are in compliance with the CARD Act
The cardholder agreement under Section indicates the following;
…you must pay at least the Minimum payment shown on the Billing statement by the Payment Due Date. Even if you pay more than the Minimum payment in one Billing Cycle, you still must pay the full Minimum Payment in future Billing Cycles…
Merrick has increased MsD***’ credit line to the DYL limit of $***, as we believe she acted in good faith in making the payments on time, even though the May payment was too early. Because she made that payment early she has incurred a late feeAs a courtesy Merrick has waived the most recent late fee that had been assessed on the account. I have enclosed copies of the statements reviewed and the cardholder agreement that governs the account

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me
Sincerely,
*** ***

Mr*** opened an account with Merrick in June and has used the account for the purchase of goods and services. Mr*** indicates in the complaint that he requested the account be closed in July 2017. However, Merrick has no verbal or written record of such request. Merrick
closed the account at Mr***’s request during a phone call on September 7, 2017. It appears from the purchase history of the account that Mr*** had a subscription service with two merchants, Vitaproxin and PSV Oxford Communique. These are the two purchases that were billed to Mr***’s account in September Mr*** continued to pay on the account from July to September when he requested that the account be closed. Because of the nature of the issue regarding the recurring charges from the merchants, Merrick has waived the balance owing on the account in the amount of $and has also removed any negative reporting on the account for those months Mr*** will receive one more statement showing the adjustments to his accountThe credit reporting update can take up to days to be completed

Merrick Bank has no further response to this complaint

A review of the account was conductedMr*** opened an account in April and has used the account for the purchase of goods and servicesThe payments on the account are due on the 23rd of each monthThe two most recent payments have been placed into a payment hold statusTherefore, the
payments were applied to the account but were not immediately available on the credit line Merrick’s policy is to implement a payment hold on some accountsThis helps the bank detect potential fraud, understand the account holder’s usage on the account, and reduce its credit riskUnder Section of the cardholder agreement titled “About the Credit Limits on the Account” it states as follows: We may in our sole discretion decline to permit use of a portion of the credit limit equal to the amount of the payment or credit for up to days from the date postedThis delay in increasing your available credit will not affect the proper crediting of your payment or credit to Purchase, Cash Advances, and finance charges, and will not alter the calculation of finance charges Merrick received information from Mr***’s bank in an effort to get the payment hold removed from the account. However, that information was not sufficient to allow Merrick to remove the payment hold on the account. The hold for the payment made on July 15, was removed on July 22,

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: I sent my payment on the 26th of mayI first called to complain it was taking too long on June 9thThey finally cashed my money order on the 18th of JuneDoes it really take over days to process a payment? They are still charging me a late fee, which I am paying under protestI have contacted the Attorney General's office for the state of Utah and also the consumer affairs divisionIt is clear Merrick Bank is holding payments received by mail until after the due date in order to get the late feeThe Attorney Generals office has informed me that if there is evidence of this they will investigate
Sincerely,
*** ***

A review of Ms***’s account was conducted. Ms*** opened an account with Merrick in
October 2015. She has used the account
for the purchase of goods and services.
The first statement on the account was dated November 6, with a due
date for payment of December
1,
Ms*** made payments in January. One for $and one for $78.00. The payment for $was returned as NSF by
her bank
The return code on the rejection for the return is R
which means insufficient funds available. This was the code placed on the return by your
bank, Fort Bragg Federal C.U
As a result of this return a return item fee of $
was assessed to your account. There was
no double charge on the account the $was retuned and no replacement payment
was receivedThe original $was a late fee that was waived the second
$was the returned item fee that was assessed to the account
The cardholder agreement that governs the account sets
forth in section the amount of the fee that will be assessed for returned
payments. You also received a pricing
appendix at the time the account opening that enumerated the fees that would be
assessed to the account for various items
Merrick has fully complied with its disclosure
obligations under Regulation Z; Truth in Lending, there has been no negative
credit reporting submitted on your account as of the date of this letter. The policy of the Bank is to waive one fee in
a month period. Ms***’s account
will not qualify for any additional fee waivers for year

Mr*** opened an account with Merrick in January 2015. Mr***’s account was charged off in August and was sent to collectionsThe final payment on Mr***’s account was received on 10/26/and on that same day Phillips & Cohen Associates sent Mr*** a letter dated
October 26, stating that the account had been satisfiedI have enclosed a copy of the letter for reference

A review of the account was conductedMs*** opened an account in December and has used the account for the purchase of goods and servicesThe payments on the account are due on the 14th of each monthThe most recent payment has been placed into a payment hold statusThis was because
the first payment remitted for February was returned unpaidTherefore, the payments were applied to the account but were not immediately available on the credit line Merrick’s policy is to implement a payment hold on some accounts when it has reason to believe a payment may not be honoredThis helps the bank detect potential fraud, understand the account holder’s usage on the account, and reduce its credit riskUnder Section of the cardholder agreement titled “About the Credit Limits on the Account” it states as follows: We may in our sole discretion decline to permit use of a porting of the credit limit equal to the amount of the payment or credit for up to days from the date postedThis delay in increasing your available credit will not affect the proper crediting of your payment or credit to Purchase, Cash Advances, and finance charges, and will not alter the calculation of finance charges Ms*** was told that if she provided proof from her personal bank that the payment had cleared the hold would be releasedMerrick has not received any information from Ms***The payment hold will be released on September