Merrick Bank Corporation

Mr*** opened an account with Merrick and activated the card March He has used the account for the purchase of goods and servicesAt the time Mr*** opened the account he provided several phone numbers, home phone, work phone and her cell phone numbersBy providing those numbers
he agreed to allow Merrick to contact him on all or any of those numbersThe disclosure is on the solicitation piece and is also a part of the cardholder agreement which states the following: Section 22: How We May Contact you to Discuss the Account: Your use of the Card or the Account hereby amounts to your express consent for us or our assignee to contact you for any purpose (including without limitation for the purpose of collection or servicing of the Account) in any manner at any telephone number (land line or wireless) of physical or electronic mail address you ever provide or have provided to us Merrick has removed the phone number that Mr*** provided as the work number from the account and will no longer contact Mr*** at that number. The records of the account show the last communication with Mr*** was on April 15, regarding a paymentThere is no other communication after that regarding the accountIf Mr*** needs assistance with the website account he can contact us at ###-###-#### for assistance

After a review of your concerns and the account history Merrick has re-opened your account as you requestedIt was an error on the part of an associate that resulted in the closure of your accountIf you still have your card it should be open and ready to useIf you need a new card please
contact our customer service department at ###-###-#### and request a new card. We have updated the credit reporting on the account from closed to open. Thank you for writing to us via the Revdex.com and explaining your issues. Merrick takes the concerns of its account holders very seriouslyMerrick apologizes for not meeting our usual standards when you contacted us regarding this issue

Ms*** opened an account with Merrick in November and has used the account for the purchase of goods and servicesIn October Ms*** entered into a temporary payment plan which she completed in March Merrick only offers payment plans on an 18-month cycleBecause Ms***
had completed a plan in March 2017, she would not have been eligible for another plan when she called on the November 6, callTherefore, the representative who spoke to Ms*** on that call made an error in proposing another re-age plan for her account. Based upon the review of the calls and the issues raised, Merrick has agreed to grant an additional re-age for the accountThe account was reaged on December 18, and the credit reporting has been revised to reflect that agreement If Ms*** has any additional concerns she can contact us at 800-253-2322. We appreciate the opportunity to resolve this issue for Ms*** and will use this instance as training for the representatives who handle these types of requests

Ms*** opened an account with Merrick in January She applied for the card in response to Merrick’s offer to double the credit line after seven consecutive on-time payments were made on the account. Her due date is the 21th of each month. The payment made on the account on
June 21, was returned unpaid for non-sufficient funds. Therefore, MsPraccia did not meet the conditions for the credit line increaseThe account will still be considered for credit line increases in the future Merrick sometimes delays credit line availability on an account while Merrick waits for payments to clearThis delay can be longer on accounts where prior payments have been returned unpaidUnder 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 According to the notes on the account, the Merrick representative explained to MsPraccia that she could request a release of the available line if she would fax a copy of her bank statement or other proof that the payment had cleared her depository bank. MsPraccia declined to provide such information. Therefore, the open-to-buy for the amount of her most recent payment became available on December 30,

A review of Ms***’s account and the payments made on
that account was conducted. Ms***
opened an account with Merrick in October and has used the account for the
purchase of goods and services. The
account has a due date of the 8th of each month
The last
months of payment made on the account were
reviewed. The months of April June
August September, and January were paid late or the minimum payment
due was not received by the due date.
For example the January payment was not received until January 31,
The amount received on that date included the payment due for February
and the late fee charged for the missed payment in January. Because of the way Ms*** has been
making her payments the account has been assessed late fees and it has been
reported as late to the credit reporting agencies
It is Merrick’s policy to post payments on the date they are
received. If mailed the payments are
posted each day until 5pm ET except of Sundays.
If a due date falls on a Sunday the payment is posted as of the last
business day. If payments are made
online the payments are posted every day until 11pm ET. Same process for payments made on Sunday due
dates applies to online payments.
Merrick does not hold payments for any reason. Ms*** has not provided any proof that
Merrick “lost” her payments that were late in April and May Nor did she
contact Merrick during the April or May time period about the late
payments due on the accountDuring that time period Merrick sent two separate
letters to Ms*** reminding her of the late payments for those
months.
Merrick is required to accurately report its accounts to the
credit reporting agenciesThe information for Ms***’s account is correct
and accurate and Merrick will not modify or delete it. To do so would be a violation of Bank policy
and the Fair Credit Reporting Act
I have attached copies of statements reviewed and letters
sent to Ms*** on the account

Mr*** opened an account with Merrick in July 2009. Mr***’s account has had a zero balance and there has been no activity for a year or more. Merrick’s decision to close the account was based upon the inactivity of the account and no other reason. The cardholder agreement
between Mr*** and Merrick allows either party to close the account at any time and allows Merrick to do so for any reason without prior notice. Merrick will not reopen the account

On July 8, Mr*** contacted Merrick regarding the activation of the new card he had receivedThe representative helped him with the activation of the cardDuring the call, the representative reminded Mr*** that his payment was due on that same date and asked him if he was
going to make a payment on the accountMr*** told the representative that he was signed up for recurring payments on the account. The representative explained that she could not see that from the computer screen that she was looking at but that she would go to a different set of screens to see thatShe verified that she did see he was signed up for recurring paymentsMr*** asked for a lower APR and a waiver of the annual fee and the representative explained that Merrick did not consider “on demand” requests for a lower APR and that the annual fee could not be waivedMr*** asked to speak to a supervisorAt that time the call was disconnected, either inadvertently by Merrick or by Mr*** Mr*** called back three more times on July 8, and each of those times he requested to speak to a supervisor. One of the calls had a long hold time of over minutes while the representative located a supervisor to take the call. The other two calls were answered quickly and the hold times were shorter, but only the last call was successfully connected to a supervisor. The calls were placed to Merrick on a Friday evening and the long hold times may have been attributable to fewer supervisors available to accept calls at that time. Mr*** spoke to a supervisor on the last call and the supervisor apologized to Mr*** when he explained what he had experienced with the hold times and he re-stated his requests for a lower APR and a waiver of the annual fee on the accountThe supervisor told Mr*** she would send a request to Merrick’s credit department and that he should hear something in about a week regarding that request and the decisionOn July 17, Merrick called and left a message for Mr*** regarding the request. Mr*** called back that same date and a supervisor explained that the fee could not be waived nor the APR reduced at this timeMr***’s account has had an annual fee since August 2009. After reviewing the calls there was no indication that the representatives made any assumptions regarding Mr***’s race or about any other prohibited characteristicOther than the long hold times on the calls noted above all of the calls were handled in a helpful professional manner

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: This account is reporting on my file inaccurately
Sincerely,
Otha W***

MrH*** accepted a “pre-screened” solicitation for an account in March 2015. The account has been used for the purchase of goods and services. Merrick has placed a temporary do not contact flag on the account. This flag will remain in place for days. This will
allow MrH*** time to contact us to explore payment plan options. Merrick has many payment plans available All of these plans require that the account be closed to new purchases. Many have lower interest rates and some have fixed payment amounts.
Merrick has closed the account as requested by MrH***. However he is still responsible for payments as agreed on the balance and if the account is not paid a possible negative credit report could result from the non-payment of the account. Merrick encourages MrH*** to contact us at his earliest convenience to work out a payment arrangement

Mr*** opened an account with Merrick in October and has used the account for the purchase of goods and servicesThe due date on the account is the 14th of each monthMr*** contacted Merrick on July 19, and told a representative that he had mailed a payment for the account on
July 7. The representative explained that we had not yet received that payment. On July 25, Merrick received and posted a payment to the account in the amount of $ The US Postal Service has experienced frequent and significant delivery delays in many parts of the countryCardholders can be informed of those delays by visiting the US Postal Service website at https://about.usps.com/news/service-alerts/welcome.htmMerrick is obligated by law to post payments when it receives them (not when they are sent), and it is Merrick’s policy and practice to post payments to accounts as of the date they are receivedMerrick verifies this practice by performing recurring audits of our payment posting process to assure that cardholder payments are posted timely. Merrick encourages its account holders to use Merrick’s online cardholder website, their depository bank’s online bill pay service, or other electronic method to make payments to avoid any postal delays

Merrick has no additional reply to this issue

Ms*** purchased a boat in November which was financed by Merrick. On March 5, Merrick received a check in the amount of $21,which was intended to pay off the balance of the account with Merrick. At the time the check was received the principal balance owing on the
loan was $21,506.60. The payoff for the account as of March 5, was $21,738.95. This amount included the principal balance of $21, 506.60, interest from the last payment received through March 5, in the amount of $232.35, calculated at a per diem rate of $7.04. According to the account records no payoff for this loan was requested by Ms*** or by Quicken Loans who remitted the check to payoff the account. When the check was received and applied to the account there was a remaining balance of $2.95. Merrick has waived that remaining balance and the account now has a zero balanceMerrick has reported the account as paid in full The payoff received from Quicken Loans was insufficient to pay the entire balance. There are no excess funds to be sent to Ms*** for this payoff

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
There is still a hold on my NEW account number Also, all reverse charges should be permanent along with the interest charges from the fraudulent transaction I have never had such a difficult experience with a credit card company before
Sincerely,
*** ***

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:Apparently there are only certain days that their mail is checked ,because it would only take days for a letter to reach Dallas, from what the Post office told meIs it my fault that they don't retrieve the mailIf I mailed it on the 22nd it should have reached them by now.
Sincerely,
*** ***

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: This is a slap in the face by the businessIn years, I have not met any of the qualifications for an increase This is silly and truthfully unmitigated My payment history and credit scores speak for themselves
Sincerely,
*** ***

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
I paid directly on the Merrick website, so there is no check or money orderMerrick has records of paymentsI am trying to deal with Merrick, the business in which I had an account withI do not deal with unknown third partiesThere are too many scammers out there to deal with unknown entities Merrick offered a deal, and I made the first payment to that dealThis payment was made directly on their website, and they know thatThere are no checks or money orders to show, they know that as wellThey also know they made an arrangement then closed my online payment access making it impossible to pay themThey did not follow terms of their own deal, and are in violation of several federal and state laws in their practicesI ma trying to give them the opportunity to settle this rationally before advancing to the next step in resolutionThey are still refusing to settle this matter, as seen in their response.
Sincerely,
*** ***

Merrick has no additional reply to this issue

of goods and services. The account became past due and Ms*** accepted a temporary payment plan for the account in June The payment plan is for months and reduces the interest rate and the fees charged to the accountOn June 11, when Ms*** called to discuss the account,
she asked the Merrick representative to speculate about the possible effect on Ms***’s credit report if Ms*** accepted the payment plan offer, the Merrick representative speculated that entering the plan would not have a negative effect on Ms***’s credit standing; but the representative was clear that the representative did not know for sure what the effect may beMerrick representatives are instructed and trained not to speculate as to the effect of any particular action on an individual’s credit standing and we apologize for giving Ms*** the wrong impression about the potential effect of entering the payment plan on her credit standingMerrick has no way to know how an individual’s action may impact that individual’s credit report, and our representative was in error to speculate about thatIn order to mitigate the risk of verbal information being misunderstood by cardholders, Merrick sends a confirmation letter to all cardholders who enter into a payment programI have attached a copy of that letter to this response, and you will see it states the following: Your monthly statement will reflect the entire past due amount because your account is currently delinquentWe are required to accurately report this information to the consumer reporting agenciesYou may pay the entire past due amount at any time to bring your account current and allow us to report you as current When Ms*** enrolled in the payment program, her account was already days past dueTherefore, when the statement for July cycled, Merrick reported the account as past due to the consumer reporting agencies

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: it does not answer with a response on weather or not the account would be removed from credit report..
Sincerely,
*** ***

A review of the account was conducted; this included listening to the calls made by Mr*** on October and October regarding payments on the account and how the balance of the account was calculated. The account history shows that Mr*** made a payment on the account in the
amount of $on October 23, 2015. The payment was returned to Merrick unpaid. The notation on the return indicated that an account was not authorized for this type of payment
The cardholder agreement that governs the account indicates the method of payment that is acceptable for Merrick’s accounts. In section of that agreement it states as follows:
You must pay us in US Dollars, with a check, draft or money order drawn on a United States Bank or the United States Postal Service, or through an automated clearing house acceptable to us at our sole discretion
Merrick does not accept payments via debt card or pre-paid card for its accounts. Electronic payments can be made using the checking or savings account number and routing number via the cardholder website or through the VRU-automated system. Those electronic payments are converted into an ACH debit from the checking or savings accounts that are input into those systems. No other form of payment is considered validThe account used for making payment must be owned by you or you must be the co-owner or authorized user (signatory) on those accounts
I reviewed all of the calls made regarding the account and there was no indication on any of those calls that the representatives said that it was acceptable to use an ATM/Debit card for a method of payment on the account. The call on the 20th of October the representative indicated that only a checking or savings account could be used for payment on the account. Mr*** indicated on the call that he had a routing and account number that would allow ACH payments to be made.
If Mr*** account is showing that the $payment was debited from the account he used he will need to contact the company who issued the account and discuss it with them as it was not honored as a payment for his Merrick Bank account Mr*** can request that the account be reinstated. He can contact customer service and make that request