Today was the final straw.
A few years ago I signed up for a Amazon Visa Credit Card. Whenever I ran up debt on it, I would pay it off the next month with no problem. This went on for a few months and even a full year, and all was right with the world. Then, I hit hard times. It got harder and harder to make payments and I soon fell behind. It even got to a point where I had maxed out the card. I decided then and there that I would do everything I could to fix the card and straighten out my finances! With a new job, more money, and a fresh start, what could go wrong?
That was back in April of 2008. Today, things are worse.
Starting April of 2008, I was put on a plan to pay off my then $700 Chase Card bill. The plan was simple: In exchange for making $50 a month payments, Chase would in turn not raise my interest rate or charge me an over-limit fee of $35 a month. My limit was only $400. The agreement was to get it back below $400 and work from there. To me, that was more than fair, so I complied. I still received statements but rarely opened them since, to me, there was nothing to see since the money was being taken from my account every month.
So imagine my shock when, April 2009, I took a look at my statement and saw that, once again, my bill was $700!!!!
HOW did this happen, you ask? It turns out that a check had bounced. Not only had it bounced, but Chase STILL got the money anyway and then dropped me from the plan because I had "missed a payment"! I found that out after calling them to find out what was going on. I never got a letter, never got a phone call, I was just dropped off their plan!
In April of 2009 I called Chase Card Services back to get onto a new payment plan. There was still some time left to pay off the card and still use it (about 5-6 months), so I asked the person if the money I had been paying on the plan could go towards the current bill since I was taken off the plan without ANY notice. They said no. Without much of a choice, I took the hit and agreed to a new plan with the same terms: $50 a month, no fee, and we pay off the entire debt.
There was a new twist: MY CARD HAD BEEN CANCELED!
I repeat: My Credit Card was CANCELED! WITHOUT ANY NOTICE AT ALL my card was canceled! Never got a letter, never got a call, it was CANCELED FIVE MONTHS EARLY! I was informed of THIS when I said I was willing to cut up my card to make sure nothing like this happened again.
So, let me sum up what happened within a year:
- Put on a payment plan to pay off debt
- Taken off payment plan without notice
- Not allowed to put past payments toward current debt
- Credit Card Canceled without ANY notification 5 months early
Fast-forward to November 2009.
I'm looking over the finances as November comes to a close and am living on the edge. Knowing that I owed Chase their $50 payment for the month, I did what I could to ensure the money was in the account. Sadly, it didn't work, and here's why:
The agreement with Chase says the money will be deducted from my account on the 20th of the month. Sometimes it isn't. Sometimes it's deducted late. Or, sometimes, even earlier. Either way, they get their money. In this case, the money wasn't taken from the account until THE 25TH OF THE MONTH. Is it Chase's fault? According to them it isn't. Is it the bank I do business with? Possibly, but I doubt it.
So, the payment is missed and, ironically enough, this is the one that would have gotten me to my below-the-limit amount. It would have put me at $375.77.
IF I went down to $375.77, guess what would happen? If you said I would be under the limit and thus stuck with all the problems associated with it... you're right.
This means I would rack up more debt as my plan would expire. No matter what, the $50 payment would never be enough as I would be hit with $35 in return, plus whatever interest would occur on the account.
So far, over the last year and half, CHASE BANK has gotten $800 DOLLARS from me on a $700 DEBT!
Today was the last straw!
Today is Sunday. A day of rest.
I've gotten 10, count them, TEN calls from their Debt Collection Department! Every single time I answered the phone, NO ONE answered, no one said anything, and no one told me WHO they were are WHY they were calling! TEN GOD-DAMN TIMES ON A FUCKING SUNDAY! TWO OF THEM AFTER 8PM!
Finally, I had enough.
I called the number back and spoke to an agent. I told the person what I told you, and in the end, I got nothing. No apologies for the calls, no apologies for calling so late, and nothing towards just settling this entire thing.
For the last week, I've gotten a call or two from Chase and I've told them the simple fact that I was sick for the last week and a half and I can't work. I told someone calling to collect the debt the first time that I was sorry about the payment but I wanted to just work out a settlement on the account and pay it off. Granted, I couldn't do it all at once or soon since I was sick, but I wanted to pay them off and be done with it. They said I would get a call in a few days with a possible offer or a reason why it would be decline.
After today... I don't know. I have no idea where to go from here.
Here's what I want: I want to not owe you anything, and I don't want to keep getting calls from you to collect this debt. Either make a settlement offer and I'll do my best to pay it, or don't bother calling because it isn't going to go anywhere at all! Personally, I think I've been pretty fair about this. Again, I've paid you over $800 on a $700 debt, and I've done what I can to hold up my end the agreement.
IF you don't agree.... WELL, I'M WITH HER!!!!!!!!!
DEBTORS OF THE WORLD UNITE!!!!!!
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