MasterCard - Household Bank
Written: Mar 02 '02 (Updated Jan 29 '03)
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Pros: Pre-Approval, Easy to open an account
Cons: Privacy Policy, Customer Service, Terms & CONFUSION!
The Bottom Line: Research & Compare First . . . and still stay away.
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| khahn86351's Full Review: Household Bank Credit Card |
Lately it seems like I’m always getting “YOU’RE PRE-APPROVED” offers in the mail. I always read them thoroughly just incase the rates or terms are better than the credit cards I have now. I also research the companies through Epinions.com and via their own websites as well, before making any decisions. I had already decided against accepting this card before I started “researching”. I’m certainly glad I did after what I encountered in 30 minutes of research.
TERMS & CONDITIONS
Before I go into my “short” experience with this company, I’d like to disclose the terms, rates and fees associated with HOUSEHOLD BANK MASTERCARD.
The offer that was sent to my home included the following:
~ Annual Percentage Rate ~
Purchases: 18.9%
Cash Advances: 18.9%
Variable Default: MINIMUM of 22.9%
The variable default rate is applied when you are either 30 days past due on your payment OR you are 50% or more over limit. Here’s the catch: They can add up to 13.9% to the highest Prime Rate published in the WALL STREET JOURNAL. This means if the highest Prime Rate changes to 25%, your default rate could equal 38.9%. OUCH! Of course this is explained in several fine print choppy sentences, located on different sections of the disclosure statement. Consumers would need to have knowledge of rates and terms to figure this out.
If you pay your credit card on time, NEVER LATE, this would not apply.
~ Grace Period ~
Consumers have 25 from the date of the statement to pay the balance in full to avoid a finance charge.
~ Processing Fee & Annual Fee ~
A one-time processing fee of $19 due before they issue your card. They do not bill this fee to the card. They also charge an annual fee of $39 that is billed on your first statement. If you are comparing these fees to other cards that require them, these are very low. There are numerous other cards/companies that do not require these fees.
~ Monthly Maintenance Fee ~
This fee is only applied to closed account with a balance due. The fee is $3.50 per month.
~ Other Fees ~
Transaction Fee for Cash Advances: $4 or 3% of the advance, whichever is greater
Late Payment Fee: $29
Overlimit Fee: $29
Household Bank & PRIVACY
Aliases:
Household Bank (SB), N.A.
Household Credit Service, Inc.
Household Credit Services (II), Inc.
Household Bank is an international company, has been in business for over 122 years and has millions of customers around the world. Household Banks insists they respect the privacy of their customers by not disclosing information that isn’t publicly available, yet if you visit their website, they “MAY” collect certain information about your Internet usage, via a cookie. They also SHARE information, ”from time to time”, with other companies within the ”Household family.” This family could include loan, insurance and auto companies, or travel and shopping clubs. And the information can include is everything from what you provide them with OR anything on your credit report they receive! WHAT PRIVACY? They actually state all of this in their disclosure statement (only for legal purposed I’m sure).
Customer Service
Since I declined my invitation with Household Bank, my experience with the company comes from a different point of view. After deciding to write a review about this company, I needed a little more information. I decided to visit the website offered in my acceptance letter and go through the motions of applying. I wanted to see how the approval process actually worked, how their service was, and what would happen when I decided not to actually take the card.
I proceeded to www.hbaccept.com to enter my “acceptance code”. Since a $19 fee was required before the process would be complete, I figured if I didn’t pay, I wouldn’t have to worry about getting the card. When I went to the site, the first page that comes up is a form to enter the “acceptance code”. Seems after entering the exact code several times, the code was not found in their system. Hmmmm, they send me an offer, with a pre-approval code, a website to enter my code, yet it doesn’t work? I also noticed when I typed in www.hbaccept.com, I was automatically re-directed to orchardbank.com division of Household Bank. Orchard Bank isn’t listed as an alias of Household Bank in the disclosure statement. Hmmmmmmmm . . . so off I go to www.householdbank.com.
Here I can try to enter an acceptance code again, yet amazingly they do not have my acceptance code in their system. Also, after browsing that site, the rates and terms of the cards offered were not anywhere near the same as what was sent to my home.
CONFUSED? So who is actually offering me this card?
I call the 800 number also provided on the “pre-approved” letter I receive. After waiting for over 5 minutes for an operator to take my call, she ALSO cannot seem to find my approval code in her system. She then proceeds to talk me into applying anyway.
NO THANK YOU!
I asked her what bank or company this offer is through. HOUSEHOLD BANK (SB), N.A. is her answer. I questioned her about Orchard Bank being involved and she was clueless. (Of Course!)
January 2003 Update
Household Bank has continuously sent the SAME pre-approval letters to our home for the past year. My husband and I receive separate offers once a month. The rates and acceptance fees on these offers vary from month to month.
The latest card offer I receive was right before the holidays:
0% interest until May 2003, 12.9% after May
12.9% for Cash Advances
NO ACCEPTANCE FEE
Since over 50,000 consumers have read this review and commented, I decided to apply for the card to find out more about this company.
I called the number located on the pre-approval letter and signed up for the card. The sign up process was extremely simple, and I received my card within approximately 2 weeks.
Although I was told I would receive a credit card limit up to $2500 . . . I received a card for $400. (My credit rating is over 700, which is considered to be very good.)
Then in late December, I receive my first statement. I charged a few smaller items to my card, since there is no interest. Well, there wasn't an acceptance fee, but there was a $59 MEMBERSHIP FEE.
So of course I called the long distance Customer Service number located on the back of my card. A CS representative took my call quickly and explained there are membership fees on ALL their cards. She also vaguely addressed my questions pertaining to the low credit limit. Since I was a new customer, they would review my credit limit at the end of 6 months to see if I could handle an increase.
When I told her I was not told of the $59 membership fee, she said I could cancel my card. Well, I could, but I wanted to at least keep the card for 6 months until the 0% interest went to 12.9%)
And so far, that 0% intro interest has remained constant, but I find the $59 acceptance fee rather disturbing.
I did pay the fee and am planning to keep the card until May. I will also update this review monthly with experiences.
Online Bill Pay
I chose to explore HHB's CORRECT website at
http://www.householdbank.com/hb/CustomerCare?cmd_Redirect=HomePage
(This isn't the site they disclose in their pre-approval letters)
The site is simple to navigate. All that is required to access your card information and statement is registration for a user name and a password.
I chose to pay my first months bill online. I paid via check, which they DID NOT charge a fee for! I was pleased with their online bill pay option because of the lack of a fee. They credited my statement and have sent January's statement via mail and via email since then.
Customer Service: 1-503-293-4037
SO WHAT DO I THINK NOW?
I still believe there are better companies to deal with besides HHB. Because of the "hidden" fees, as well as the incorrect website address they provide in their pre-approval letters, I am still very skeptical of this company.
I still say STAY AWAY.
© khahn86351 2002 (update January 2003)
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
khahn86351
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Member: Kati
Location: Ohio, USA
Reviews written: 123
Trusted by: 98 members
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