Merrick Bank Corporation

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:The company's syntax is patently deceptive and blatantly misleading. Their response is categorically reprehensible and unsatisfactory. 
Sincerely,
[redacted]

A review of the account and the disputed charge was
conducted.  Mr. [redacted] contacted Merrick
Bank on February 11, 2016 and disputed a charge in the amount of $770.00 which
during the call he indicated was more than he agreed to for a charter flight
from Miami to Columbia. ...

The
representative he spoke to transferred him to the dispute resolution area and
he spoke to a representative from that area who took the information he had in
order to have a claim commenced.  Mr.
[redacted] called back on March 22, 2016 and provided some additional information
to the dispute resolution area regarding his claim.  At that time he explained that he could not
make a written dispute because of his disability but that he would send an
email with the information he had received from the Airline.  The representative explained that the dispute
was with the merchant, the travel agency, not the airline.  She contacted the travel agent with Mr.
[redacted] on the line and they discussed the reason for the charge and why it was
different from the airline receipt that Mr. [redacted] had. The travel agent
offered to send information regarding the cost of the flight to Merrick.  After discussion with the travel agent the
call was concluded. The information provided by Mr. [redacted] was a receipt for
the taxes charged by the airline for the flight. Not the cost of the flight. This
was verified by the travel agent.
Mr. [redacted] called Merrick again regarding his claim on
April 7 and April 11, 2016.  I reviewed
all of the calls concerning this claim and at no time during any of the 6 calls
reviewed regarding this issue, were the representatives unhelpful or rude in
any way to Mr. [redacted].  The last
representative who he spoke to on April 11, 2016 was a supervisor who explained
to Mr. [redacted] that the claim was closed and that there was nothing further
that the bank, Merrick, could do for him on this dispute. She told him that his
recourse lay with the merchant or the courts if he wanted to pursue legal
action against the merchant for what he contended was an erroneous charge.  Once a merchant refuses a charge back attempt
on a charge there in no further recourse that the Bank has against the
merchant. 
I paid special attention to the tone of each call and what
the representatives were saying and how the spoke to Mr. [redacted] regarding this
issue.  I did not find any instance where
they were disrespectful and no one laugh at him or made any remarks such as he
alleges in the complaint. 
Unfortunately there is nothing further Merrick can do to
assist Mr. [redacted] with this matter.  His
only recourse now resides with the merchant.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:  [redacted] is [redacted]'s sister.  Me and my sister are close.  I work a lot of overtime at my job.  I give my sister, [redacted] money to put in her account and she makes the payments for me, to several of my credit card companies.  Including Merrick Bank.  If Merrick Bank desires I can have my sister, [redacted] to write a letter.  It is perfectly fine for my sister to pay bills for me, as long as I give her the money.  I have my own checking account with Bank of America.  However, my personal relationship with my sister is a personal matter.  Merrick Bank does not have any rules against using someone else's checking account to pay a bill.  I know for a fact, Merrick Bank will allow someone else to use their checking account to pay a credit card payment.  I have asked Bank of America to write a letter to Merrick Bank 11/18/17, still waiting for a letter from Bank of America.  Yes, I reject this response from Merrick Bank.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

A review of the account and recent statements show Ms. [redacted] made successful phone payments in August and September.  However all of those payment were returned with the reasons of “Account Frozen” and “Account not authorized”. As a result of the returned payments, Ms. [redacted] account was...

closed. The account was not eligible for the credit line increase due to delinquency which resulted from the returned payments in August.   The cardholder agreement indicates that Merrick can close the account for any reason or no reason without further notification. The account will not be reopened for Ms. [redacted] because the multiple returned payments are considered high risk behavior.

Mr. [redacted] opened an account with Merrick in May 2006 and he used the account for the purchase of goods and services.  The account became delinquent and charged off in September 2014.  According to Merrick records Mr. [redacted] never contacted Merrick regarding the account after charge...

off. Merrick does not continue to report charged off accounts once the charge off has been submitted to the three major credit reporting agencies. The date of first delinquency is the date that drives how long a derogatory report will remain on a credit file. Merrick has not changed that date which is June 11, 2014. The credit reporting history of the account is maintained by the credit reporting agencies. Good credit information can remain on a file indefinitely; derogatory information can remain on a file for 7-11 years.  The term charge-off does not mean the debt is forgiven.  Consumers with charged-off debts are still legally obligated to pay that debt. Merrick has received several credit bureau disputes made by Mr. [redacted]. Merrick responded to each one after doing an investigation of the status of the account. Merrick is required under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) to accurately report the status of accounts it reports to the credit bureaus.  The various statuses’ reported on the account were and are accurate for that given point in time and Merrick will not remove or alter that information.  To do so would be a violation of FCRA.

Ms. [redacted] opened an account with Merrick in January 2006.  She has used the account for the purchase of goods and services.  Ms. [redacted] requested an interest rate reduction on July 30, 2016. It is Merrick’s policy to not allow “on demand” APR rate reductions. The representative who...

spoke with Ms. [redacted] explained that Merrick does not offer rate reductions to any of its customers. The representative also explained that the annual fee assessed on the account was not a fee that Merrick would waive for its customers.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:  The initial application process required my DOB, and Social Security # at that time Merrick Bank ran a credit check which is reflected on my credit report.  That is when they sent a welcome email as new customer, and instructions on how to send the security deposit.  If my bankruptcy statues was the reason for decline, then the decision should have been made at time of initial credit check process, not after they send you a welcome email requesting you send money to them.  I don't appreciate Merrick bank disclosing the reason for denial in this inquiry that is personal information, and not appropriate to disclose.  I just received my refund which was dated (06/19/2015), however the actual postage date on envelope was (06/25/2015), another delay tactic.  I have included a copy of the welcome email from Merrick Bank for your review.  I'm only one person can you imagine how many people this is happening to, and I would like Merrick Bank to disclose how much the value of the "non-interest bearing account" really is.  I'm happy to have received  my refund, and  most certainly have learned my lesson dealing with Merrick Bank, and as far as I'm concerned this matter is over..
Sincerely,
Edward O[redacted]

Ms. [redacted] opened an account with Merrick in June 2016.    Ms. [redacted] has used the account and the associated credit for the purchase of goods and services.   At the time she received the card a pricing appendix was also sent to her outlining the fees and costs...

associated with the account.   The card carrier sent with the plastic had a disclosure that indicated how to opt out of the fees associated with the account.   Merrick fully complied with the requirement regarding the disclosure of the fees and costs of the account and Ms. [redacted] had the opportunity to reject those fees prior to using the account.    Ms. [redacted]’s account was closed due to multiple returned payments.  Two payments made in August were retuned unpaid by Ms. [redacted]’s personal bank.  The cardholder agreement that governs the account indicates that Merrick can close the account without further notice for any reason or no reason.   Merrick will not waive the fees associated with the account nor will we change or modify the accurate reporting of the account status with the credit reporting agencies. Merrick will consider re-opening the account for Ms. [redacted] if she brings the account current by October 20, 2016.  She can do so by making a payment of $39.00.

Ms. [redacted] opened an account with Merrick in June 2011 and has used the account for the purchase of goods and services. According to the account history on October 3, 2017 Ms. [redacted] called Merrick regarding possible unauthorized charges on her account.  The account notes indicate that there...

were 3 charges that Ms. [redacted] did not recognize.     On November 19, 2017, Merrick completed its investigation into Ms. [redacted]’s dispute, accepted the claim and sent her a letter about the resolution of her claim. Following that letter, Merrick has given her account a credit for $125.57 and the purchase interest was adjusted.

Merrick’s records show that Mr. [redacted] opened credit card account with Merrick in June 2012. Mr. [redacted] used the account to purchase goods and services until it became delinquent and charged off for nonpayment in April 2013.   Merrick’s records do not indicate that a change of address was ever...

received on this account.  There has been no returned mail from the Postal Service for this account.  Once the account is charged off there are no further statements generated.  The account has been outsourced to several collection agents in the past two years.  They don’t indicate any change of address sent to them nor do they show any returned mail. Mr. [redacted] does not indicate in his complaint when he moved from Nevada to Georgia. If it were after April 2013 no statements would have been generated on the account.   Merrick is required to accurately report the status of accounts that it reports to the credit bureaus. The status’ of Mr. [redacted]’s account are correct according to the history of the account.  If he were to pay less than the full balance of the account the credit reporting would be updated to “paid for less than full balance”, similarly if he were to pay the full balance the reporting would be changed to reflect “paid in full was a charge off”.  These are the correct reporting status’ for those possibilities.   Merrick does not delete its trade line in exchange for payments on an account balance that is owed by its account holders.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:After a lengthy conversation with Merrick Bank THEY indicated to me that there was a processing issue on their part. No transaction from them ever hit my bank account and I have faxed over paperwork verifying this.I have NEVER bounced a check and this is very frustrating that they are accusing me of doing so.Furthermore, if in fact what they are saying is true then why did they reverse the NSF fee?Last time I checked you don't reverse fees for legitimate issues. I request that whomever is in charge at Merrick Banklook at the fax I sent of my ENTIRE transaction history on the account that was used for payment that CLERLY shows no transactions from them on the date indicated and certainly no returned items.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Mr. [redacted] opened an account
with Merrick in October 2015 and has used the account for the purchase of goods
and services.  The due date on the
account is the 7th of each month.  
Mr. [redacted] has made 3
payments that have been due on the account. 
Each payment...

was received and posted to the account as of the day they
were received.  Two of the payments have
been received after the due date. The
second payment made on the account was also for less than the minimum payment
due on the account as shown on the statement dated 12-3-15.
It is Merrick’s policy to
post payments as of the day they are received. 
Payments are posted each day until 5pm ET if received via US mail. On
line payment are posted as of the date they are received until 11pm ET.  According to the USPS mail from Georgia to
Florida can take 3-7 days to be delivered. 
The payments made on Mr. [redacted] account posted on average in 5 days.
I requested that the most
recent late fee in the amount of $36.00 be waived as a courtesy.  Mr. [redacted] should see this adjustment on his
next statement.
I have enclosed copies of the
statements reviewed for the response, payments received, and the cardholder
agreement that governs the account.

Ms. [redacted] opened an account with Merrick in September 2015 and has used the account for the purchase of goods and services. The account was closed by Ms. [redacted] on March 25, 2016. I reviewed the account history and recent statements related to the account and found the balance owing on the account...

of $[redacted] was correct. In the statements attached, you will see in February 2016, the Previous Balance on the account was $[redacted] and the Purchases totaled $[redacted]. In February and March 2016 payments were received for the Previous Balance and the Purchases in the total amount of $[redacted]. There was trailing interest for the average daily balance for the statement cycle which closed March 22, 2015.  This was the amount indicated above plus $1.00 minimum interest charged on the next statement cycle for a total of $[redacted]. The cardholder agreement sets forth how the interest on the account is calculated.  To avoid this Ms. [redacted] would have had to have fully paid the balance of the account prior the date she submitted the last payment in March.  As a courtesy, the balance of the account in the amount of $[redacted] was waived and the account is now showing a zero balance. I have enclosed copies of the statements for Ms. [redacted]’s review. Tell us why here...

Ms. [redacted] opened an account with Merrick in December 2017.  Ms. [redacted] contacted Merrick on January 2, 2018 and explained that she had received the PIN for the account but not the card. A new card was sent to Ms. [redacted]. Because the first card was apparently lost in the mail, Merrick required...

valid proof of ID from Ms. [redacted] to ensure that the correct person had received the card and to protect both her and the Bank from any possible ID theft or fraud if someone else had received the first mailed card. On January 11, 2018 Ms. [redacted] sent the requested information but part of it was illegible.  A representative spoke to her on January 12, 2018 and requested that she re-send part of the documents requested.  On January 13, 2018 Merrick received the additional documentation and removed the block on the account.  Ms. [redacted] activated and used the account that same day.

A review of the account was conducted. Mr. [redacted] opened an account in November 2015 and has used the account for the purchase of goods and services. The payments on the account are due on the 18th of each month. The most recent payment was received and applied to the account on November 30, 2016,...

but access to the credit limit was withheld.    According to the account records Mr. [redacted]’s normal payment had been $35.00 a month since the account had been opened.  The payment in question was $454.00 which is obviously much larger than pervious payments made on the account.   Merrick’s policy is to implement a credit limit access hold on some accounts. This helps the bank detect potential fraud, understand the account holder’s usage on the account, and reduce its credit risk. Under Section 10 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 11 days from the date posted. This 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.   The hold was released in 6 days from the date the payment was received.  Mr. [redacted] has access to the full amount of the credit limit available since December 5, 2016.

Ms. [redacted] opened an account with Merrick in August 2014.  When the account was opened Ms. [redacted] received a pricing appendix which outlined the fees and costs associated with the account.   The first year of the account the annual fee is charged as one sum and in the following...

years it is charged in 12 equal monthly increments.   In accordance with the cardholder agreement Ms. [redacted] agreed to pay the annual fee for each year the account is open, or if closed, has a balance owing on the account.   According to the account history Ms. [redacted] received email notifications of the past due status of the account on March 3, 2016 and March 18, 2016. Ms. [redacted] may want to check her email settings to assure email from Merrick is going to the proper address and assure Merrick email is not going to her junk email box.   Because of Ms. [redacted]’s contention that she did not receive any of those notifications Merrick has removed the delinquency reporting from her credit file.  This request to remove the delinquency can take up to 30 days for the credit reporting agencies to complete. Tell us why here...

Ms. [redacted] can make a payment on her account at anytime.  Acceptance of payment on the account has nothing to do with the name associated with the account.  She can pay online or via the VRU.  If she wants to change the name on her account she can provide a copy of the marriage certificate and a written request to change the name.

Mr. [redacted] opened an account with Merrick in June 2011 but the account has had a zero balance and 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.  Merrick will not re-open Mr. [redacted]’s...

account. Merrick sent a letter to Mr. [redacted] regarding the closure of the account on November 2, 2017, an example of that letter is enclosed. The cardholder agreement between Mr. [redacted] 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 reported the account as “closed by credit grantor”, which is the correct reporting on the account.

The notification was send both via regular mail and via an electronic notice either text or email.  Merrick has no further response.

In response to her complaint, I researched Ms. [redacted]’ ([redacted]) account history and found that a payment was made on the account in January 2017 in the amount of $400.Merrick was unable to accurately identify the proper account number using the information included on the check. Once...

additional information from Mr. [redacted] was received, we were able to identify the proper account to credit, and the check in question was posted as of the date it was originally received by Merrick which was January 30, 2017.    Ms. [redacted]’ account was closed in March 2016 because the account was seriously delinquent.  There had been several months where no payment was received or payments were received for less than the minimum payment due. The credit reporting on the account is correct and accurate and the reporting will not be removed or modified.  To do so would be a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Bank policy.