Merrick Bank Corporation

A review of Ms. [redacted]’s account was conducted.  On May 31, 2016 Ms. [redacted] contacted Merrick to file a dispute for a cash advance transaction on the account, during the call Ms. [redacted] explained that the transaction from April 13, 2016 was not authorized by her.  Merrick issued a credit...

to Ms. [redacted]’s account and opened a new account ending in [redacted]. Merrick then closed the old account ending in [redacted] because of the apparent fraudulent charges appearing in that account.  This was done to prevent any further fraud from occurring on the [redacted] account.  The adjustments to the [redacted] account were completed on August 12, 2016 after the investigation into the fraud claim was completed.  The balance on the [redacted] account that was shown on the online system was correct. However, for a short time both the [redacted] and [redacted] account histories were viewable online which may be why Ms. [redacted] believed the fraudulent charge as being re-billed.  The total amount of credits, including the interest and any fees that had been assessed to the account is $657.73.  Ms. [redacted] had also made payments on the [redacted] account during the investigation and when she closed the account there was a credit balance which was sent to her on August 22, 2016 in the amount of $49.09.  These adjustments are shown on the statement dated August 22, 2016 attached for her review.

A review of Mr. [redacted]’s concerns was conducted. Attached is an example of the exact solicitation that Mr. [redacted] received for a Merrick Bank card.  This is a firm offer of credit contingent upon the applicant continuing to meet the criteria as obtained in the pre-screen prior to the offer...

being sent. Mr. [redacted]’s application was denied because his full credit report showed him as having serious delinquencies, and other factors that were not present at the time Merrick made its pre-screened offer of credit.   The pre-screen process takes place two months prior to the offer of credit. On the application, the applicant authorizes Merrick to obtain a full credit report once the application is received. The offer of credit is contingent upon the applicant meeting the criteria that was in place at the time the pre-screen was conducted. Because of the issues noted above Mr. [redacted]’s application was declined.   I have also attached a copy of the decline notice that Mr. [redacted] received after he submitted the application.

Attached is an example of the exact solicitation that Mr. [redacted] received for a Merrick Bank card.  This is a firm offer of credit contingent upon the applicant continuing to meet the criteria as obtained in the pre-screen prior to the offer being sent. Mr. [redacted]’s application was denied...

because his FICO score no longer met the qualifications for the offer among other reasons.  The pre-screen process takes place two months prior to the offer of credit.  The application allows Merrick to obtain a full credit report once it is received.  The offer of credit is contingent upon the applicant meeting the criteria that was in place at the time the pre-screen was conducted.  Because of the issue noted above Mr. [redacted]’s application was declined.  Merrick will not remove the inquiry made on his credit file. Merrick had permissible purpose to review his full credit file when he submitted the application.

A review of Ms. [redacted]’s account was conducted. This review included listening to the calls Ms. [redacted] made to Merrick on June 29 and July 7, 2016.  Upon review of those calls it was found that the call Ms. [redacted] made on June 29 was not completed correctly by the customer service...

representative.  That representative told Ms. [redacted] that the representative would cancel the payment made online on June 28 and substitute it with one from Ms. [redacted]’s savings account.  The associate did not cancel the earlier payment when she took the account information from Ms. [redacted] on the June 29 call.   As a result Ms. [redacted]’s account was assessed an NSF fee for the returned payment.  Merrick has waived the NSF fee imposed by Merrick in the amount of $27. 00.  She should see this adjustment on her next statement.  If Ms. [redacted] can provide proof from her depository bank that she was charged and paid an NSF fee, Merrick will consider a refund of that fee to her as well.  She can send proof of that to Merrick at ###-###-#### (fax number).  Merrick apologizes to Ms. [redacted] for the issue and any distress this may have caused her.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:The payment I made of $49.00 I made over the phone with a rep on 11/5 WAS the minimum due and was $10.00 OVER THE MINIMUM DUE. My minimum due at that time was $39.00. That is what the supervisor told me she was going to review on 12/7 was the call on 11/5 when the rep told me over the phone before I made $49.00 payment that was more than minimum and late fee would be waived. Why is there no comment made about why that supervisor said on 12/7 and never called me back? I have had issues with this company before with policies like this and they can never get it right or explain how they are charging me again for another late fee and the response is unacceptable as I made the minimum payment due because the late fee was waived and I did not need to make a $88 payment and that is what rep told me on 11/5. Their phone reps who take payments are giving out the wrong info over the phone THEN charging me again later on statement then saying oh no your payment was not the minimum. Okay why was the late fee waived on 11/5 if the minimum payment had not been made??  
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:   Merrick Bank says that they post payments as soon as they receive the payment.  However,  My March payment was mailed out on the 2nd at 7am.  The complaint that I filed with the Revdex.com was done on the 17th.  Then on the 19th the check showed up being cashed by my bank.  My statement on the 17th was not showing the payment.  Then Merrick Bank said that the check was posted on the 10th.   Had the check been posted on the 10th as it was supposed to be.  Then I would have not filed a complaint.  Also the according to my credit score the two months that the payments are listed past due are December 2017 and January 2018.  These payments were not past due as they were payments under the payment plan.    The payment for December 2017 cleared my bank on 12-11-2017.  The January 2018 payment cleared my bank on 1-11-18.  Since my payment is due on the 16th.  These two payments were not late.    Merrick Bank also in their response also claims that the USPS is also slow.  However 3 instances of missed or late payments in a 6 month period defies even the most liberal statistical applications know to man.   I still will appreciate my credit report to be fixed.     This is practice is unfair to their consumers.  I feel that a more in depth investigation may be warranted. 
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Mr. [redacted] opened an account with Merrick in March 2011 and has used the account for the purchase of goods and services.  The due date on the account is the 17th of each month.  The payments for the months of August and September were made after the due date. This resulted in two late...

fees being assessed to the account.   The late fee of $37.00 assessed in August was waived as a courtesy. A minimum payment is due each month there is a balance owing on the account. A fee waiver does not reduce the minimum payment due in the month the fees were waived but that waiver does reduce the following month’s minimum payment due. Merrick has as a one-time accommodation to Mr. [redacted], waived 2 additional late fees on the account and adjusted the minimum payment due for the month of October. Mr. [redacted] can see these adjustments online or he can contact us to find out what the October minimum payment is.

I was able to locate the
account in question, my apologies for any confusion caused by the prior
response. I can see there has been a payment arrangement made on the account
and a payment has been scheduled for a future date. If there are any additional questions, please
let us know.

Merrick’s records show that Ms. [redacted] opened an account with Merrick in April 2017 and used the account for the purchase of goods and services.  The account history shows that Ms. [redacted]’s account had a recurring payment schedule set up on the account with payments being remitted from an...

account ending in 9217 from Founders Federal Credit Union.  One payment for $240.00 made on April 16, 2017 was returned unpaid. That was the last payment remitted for the account. When Ms. [redacted]’s account charged off in June the recurring schedule of payments was cancelled.  However, in the process of changing the status of the account from active to charged off there was a system error which remitted a payment originally scheduled for July 2017.  Merrick apologizes for this issue.   If Ms. [redacted] incurred any fees associated with this issue she can submit proof of those fees to Merrick and we will review them for reimbursement to her.  She can contact customer service at 800-253-2322 for information about how to send that information.

Ms. [redacted] opened an account with Merrick in July 2016 and has used the account for the purchase of goods and services.  The due date on the account is the 21st of each month.  Ms. [redacted] made her August 2016 payment late.  Subsequently the following months Ms. [redacted] did not make the...

full minimum payment due.   This resulted in late fees being assessed to the account.   The late fee of $27.00 assessed in August was waived as a courtesy, as well as the $37.00 late fee for September.   A minimum payment is due each month there is a balance owing on the account.  A fee waiver does not reduce the minimum payment due in the month the fees were waived but that waiver does reduce the following month’s minimum payment due.   Merrick has waived the two additional late fees of $38.00 each on the account and we have adjusted her minimum payment due so that it reflects those waivers.   Her January 2017 minimum payment due will now be $35.00.  She should be able to see those adjustments to her account online.

Ms. [redacted] indicated in the complaint that she was told there would be a $15 fee to make a payment to her Merrick account using a live representative. This fee was disclosed to her in the cardholder agreement and on a phone call on January 5, 2016 when she called and asked about the fee to make a...

payment.  I reviewed the 3 calls from that day.  The representative explained she could make a payment via the VRU for free and he transferred her to that process.  Ms. [redacted] called back and spoke to a customer service supervisor that same day and told him she believed the VRU was not working properly.  He attempted to explain that it was up and working properly.  Ms. [redacted] indicated that she believed there was a problem because the system was telling her she had pressed a wrong key.  The supervisor told her that the system indicated she had input the wrong routing number but that the VRU was working properly and she could again try to make the payment for free through that system.  Ms. [redacted] vigorously requested to speak to a manager and told the supervisor that she would not pay the fee that a manager would waive it for her.  The supervisor transferred Ms. [redacted] to a manager who again explained that the VRU was functioning correctly and if she used a live representative to make a payment a fee of $15 would be charged.  At that point Ms. [redacted]’s discussion devolved and the manager disconnected the call.
It is Merrick’s policy to charge this fee and it is fully disclosed to the account holders when the open the account and again when the want to use a representative to make a payment.  The fee is normally not waived unless the VRU system is down or if they have access to the cardholder website and that method is down they the fee will normally be waived in those instances.  Ms. [redacted] did not make a payment on January 5 nor has she made a payment after that date.  If Ms. [redacted] wished to sign up for the cardholder website that is another way to make payments for free on her account.

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

Ms. [redacted] was sent a solicitation via regular US mail for an account in July 2015 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 $75.00 set up fee and an annual fee of $48. 
Ms. [redacted] 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. [redacted] 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 offered. The total fees charged were $75.00 set-up fee, and a $48.00 annual fee for a total of $123.00 which is less than 25% of the credit line Ms. [redacted] 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 [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Mr. [redacted] contacted Merrick on July 21, 2017 regarding a payment sent to Merrick for payoff of the account. The representative explained that Merrick had not received the payment. On August 2, 2017 Mr. [redacted] called back and spoke to another representative regarding the missing payment. The...

representative explained that Mr. [redacted] would need to get a copy of the front and back of the check and send it to us to research where the payment had been posted. The representative explained that it may take up to 10 days to resolve this issue. On August 11, 2017 Merrick received a copy of the check sent and cashed from Mr. [redacted]. An investigation into where the payment had been applied was commenced. On August 16, 2017 Mr. [redacted] contacted Merrick again regarding the payment issue and the representative he spoke to explained that the investigation was on-going and it could take a few more days to determine where the payment was and correct the issue.     Merrick found the payment posted to the wrong account and corrected that issue on August 24, 2017, and the payment was backdated to the date it was actually received which was July 5, 2017. The interest that had been charged on the account was adjusted as part of the posting process. These adjustments will appear on Mr. Meehan’s next billing statement. Merrick apologizes for this issue and any distress it caused Mr. [redacted].

Ms. [redacted] accepted and agreed to the terms and conditions of the account when she opened and used the card and the associated line of credit.  As stated she can payoff the balance in full and avoid the fees and interest in the future or continue to pay on the account under the terms she agreed to.

Ms. [redacted] applied for a secured card account via the Merrick Bank website.  Her application was declined as noted on the adverse action letter sent to her. A copy of that letter is attached.  The deposit sent by Ms. [redacted] will be refunded to her within 20 days from the date Merrick...

received it.  According to the information regarding the deposit that date will be on or about March 2, 2017.   Ms. [redacted] indicated in her complaint that she received an email regarding the return of the deposit.  Merrick Bank does not communicate this type of information via email so it is not clear who may have sent that information to Ms. [redacted].  If Ms. [redacted] does not receive the refund of her deposit by the end of the first week of March she can contact us to find out the specific date is was mailed to her.  Our number is 800-253-2322.

Ms. [redacted] opened an account in February 2018 and has used the account for the purchase of goods and services. The payments on the account are due on the 21st of each month. The most recent payment received and posted to the account on May 10, 2018, but the corresponding credit was not...

immediately available. Merrick’s policy allows the Bank to put a hold on available credit for a specified number of days when certain payments are received. The Bank’s internal criteria takes into consideration a number of risk-based factors when determining whether to float a payment and, if so, for how long. The payment made on May 10th was returned for insufficient funds on May 14th. 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 portion 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.   I reviewed nine calls that Ms. [redacted] made to Merrick between May 8th and May 14th regarding the delay of the credit line increase.  All of the representatives gave Ms. [redacted] accurate information regarding this process, when the credit would be released, and how she could get the credit released sooner by sending in certain information. However, calls on May 4th and May 9th appear to have involved miscommunication between Ms. [redacted] and the representative where Ms. [redacted] mistook the posting of the payment to be when the credit would be made available. We apologize for the inconvenience this caused Ms. [redacted].   The credit for Ms. [redacted]’s two most recent payments were made available on May 15th and May 16th as was disclosed to her on calls from May 11th and May 14th.

A review of Mr. [redacted]’s account was completed. I have enclosed copies of both the original submission for the payments and copies of the rejections by Mr. [redacted]’s bank for the payment order made on May 16, 2016 for $72.00 which was retuned. The return was for an invalid account number input at...

the time the payment was made.  Because the payment was returned and no replacement payment was made prior to the due date a late fee was assessed to the account.               When Mr. [redacted] opened the account he was provided a pricing appendix, a copy which is enclosed. Mr. [redacted] agreed to pay the fees including late fees that are associated with the account as shown in the pricing appendix. I have requested that the late fee of $35.00 be waived as a courtesy. According to the account information Mr. [redacted] is still being mailed statements to his address of record. If he is not receiving them he can contact us for more information or sign up for the cardholder website where he can view his statements and account information online 24 hrs a day.

I apologize for the error in the response.  I was reviewing the wrong statements when I indicated there had been some address changes.  Ms. [redacted] has only had one address on her account.  The address in Pennsylvania.  The remainder of the response is accurate and correct.