FINGERHUT CUSTOMER SERVICE (META BANK)
Fingerhut Complaint
- Just called MetaBank customer service (fingerhut), to make payment on account.
- Payment not due until 1/7/12…customer service rep charged me 5.00 extra dollars to make sameday payment.
- I always call the 1st of month to schedule payment for date due, but because of holiday I did not call until today.
- I have never been charged a 5.00 processing fee….I was furious.
- Told customer service rep this and she argued with me and said I authorized the payment…she said she asked me if I was calling to make a payment today and I said yes.
- I told her I call every month to schedule my payments.
- She said I did not say “schedule”, and that their policy is to charge the 5.00 fee for same day payment.
At this point, I am absolutely furious….she tells me ” this call is being recorded” and I tell her I don’t care, I do not authorize a 5.00 fee. After 15 minutes of trying to make my point and her telling me that this call is being recorded, I requested confirmation# and hung up. Checked my credit card and it was charged for the payment amount plus the 5.00 fee.
I could barely understand this customer service rep…can they not find anyone who speaks half way decent english either???
MetaBank’s customer service is horrible….can’t understand half the people who answer the phones when u call, and the website does not allow payments with cc/debit cards.
My husband and I live on his disability payment…he is a disabled vet. I have never been behind with our payments so that we avoid late fees. It’s not that 5.00 is a lot of money, but when you live on limited income, every penny counts.
[Please note that one of the most targeted potential clients that METABANK focuses on is a person who receives a government check such as a disability check. METABANK knows that the US government will pay the money and that the US Government is okay with doing direct deposits…… What METABANK practices is immoral. However, METABANK hires Rupli Lobbyists to advocate for laws that protect their interests and not the consumer/customer’s interest. The thinking behind this is that consumers will find it difficult to form any kind of major counter practices to offset what METABANK does…. No matter who you vote for this November 2012, you as a consumer must contact your elected officials to tell them your story and ask for laws that will protect you and all other consumers. This is the only real power that you have.]
 Comments (3) |
| 1. Written by Josh on January 15, 2012 From Guatemala, Guatemala, GT let me guess her name is “celest” anyway what you can do is just call in and schedule payments to come automatically from your bank account this way you wont get charged for the 5.$ processing fee 😀 GoodLuck[ I wouldn’t trust METABANK. I do not wish to give METABANK any control over my money after having been so badly abused by them before. I wish to warn others so they don’t have to be taken advantage of like I was by METABANK. Do not give METABANK any kind of control over your hard earned money…. if METABANK is dishonest in one instance why would they be able to provide wonderful service by taking on even more of their services????? ] |
| 2. Written by Mick on January 6, 2012 From Corinth, Mississippi, US They do charge for phone payments. She says she’s with MetaBank, but that is who Fingerhut credit is issued through.She is very hard to understand, but very plainly rude. [She has been taught by METABANK to be rude to customers and to absolutely not fix the problem. This is by design. METABANK is nothing really but a collections agency.] She should be try polite and professional. Fingerhut’s online payment site is always down the first of the month, so they charge late fees regularly. [This is also by design.] Have done business with Fingerhut several times throughout the years but they have really gone down. when I finish paying this time – I will never order again. |
| 3. Written by Allen on January 4, 2012 From Sioux Falls, South Dakota, US
First, I do not believe you contacted MetaBank as they do not charge for customer service. I believe you contacted Fingerhut directly regarding purchases you have made for one of their products.
[Allen, why do you say this? The phone number that was given to the customer is the one they use. It will say METABANK and the customer base of METABANK isn’t stupid, they have simply been conned. METABANK gets partner corporate companies to push their product, but then METABANK steps in to do the collecting of all income and to manage the money for that corporate partner…. Yes, it had to be METABANK. Look at the METABANK website and see how METABANK markets itself to potential corporate partners. METABANK isn’t going to hand over to fingerhut the control of the income potential and their collection agency technics which METABANK has honed to a fine art, or rather, a major scam where they set the rules and are always able to come out on top….. By the way, METABANK has at least three branch offices in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA.]Fingerhut has more than likely contracted with MetaBank to be an issuer for their credit program. In doing so, Fingerhut is responsible for the call center/customer service functionality along with all other aspects of their program. [Of course, Fingerhut has contracted with METABANK to do their collection work for them, but METABANK isn’t about to let Fingerhut control the collections process. It is through this partnership that METABANK gets to put their collection agency techniques into action. This is exactly how METABANK increases their profits; it is by design. FingerHut is also being scammed in the relationship with METABANK. METABANK wines and dines the top officials at any partner company so much so that the partner company cannot believe that they have contracted with such an unscrupulous partner such as METABANK really may be. To be partners with METABANK, any corporate entity allows METABANK full access to their customer base and then from that point onward, METABANK begins their scam on the customer base of the partner company…. METABANK ia also misleading the corporate partner and lying to them, but it is METABANK who is promoting the scam…. This is how METABANK operates.] I would suggest that you politely and professionally contact Fingerhut customer service back and ask for a transcript of your telephone conversation. You can then compare this against the terms and Condition of the program which you have enrolled in to obtain a credit status at Fingerhut. [I believe that the customer has adequately explained that they have been contacting the number given to them by FingerHut which is METABANK… there is nothing to indicate that the customer was rude to the person on the other end of the phone until that customer had been abused and mistreated by that customer service representative… METABANK’s customer service representatives have actually been taught to be rude, to lie and to take advantage of the customer…. This has happened over and over again with any product that METABANK has issued. METABANK’s products have been issued, again by design, using many different names, but for the same exact poor, horrible, customer service. This isn’t the way that any customer should be treated…. If a customer gets mistreated and lied to by any entity and then feels frustrated by that poor customer service, I believe that the customer should speak up and indicate that the service has been improper….Implying or saying that the customer has been rude when they have been abused and mistreated is a discount of what that customer is asking for…. I will never knowingly do business with METABANK again…. I am asking corporate entities not to use the services of METABANK because first that corporate entity will end up losing business; their entire customer base is at risk. Second, customers want to be treated fairly and with respect. Because that didn’t happen in this case, METABANK should be kissing the feet of the customer who brought this to their attention so that it can be fixed and corrected immediately. Because of the thought process that goes behind how METABANK operates that encourages it to abuse the customer base of their partner company and because METABANK refuses to “get it,” the third necessary step is for the community of consumers to work to get laws passed that actually protect them as consumers.] If there is a discrepancy you can then contact Customer Service back and request to speak with a member of management; aka a supervisor, to discuss theses variances in attempt to collect you $5. [ I believe that this is the problem: any customer who phones in will be put on hold and passed from one customer representative to another. This may be followed by someone with a useless bank title who simply perpetuates the lie made by the customer service representative in the first place. This was my experience and apparently very similar to that of the person who is complaining here. The difference being that METABANK is using another corporate partner to push their scam off onto the consumer.] [It appears that you, Allen, have failed to comprehend the real nature of the problem as indicated in the original complaint. The deaf ear of having full control of a stranger’s money is infuriating to any and to all customers especially when they have been treated unfairly and are working to correct that problem with the source of the problem.] Just a suggestion for you. [First, Allen, you must indicate that you have actually understood the problem from the consumer’s point of view. I do not see that here in your comment and suggestion…. The problem didn’t originate with the customer, it originated when FingerHut joined up as a partner of sorts with METABANK. Any corporate entity who has ever done business with METABANK has the same exact customer complaints. METABANK misleads the partner company and then gets the partner corporate entity to give METABANK access to their customer base. METABANK then scams that customer base and they are nasty about it through the process.] |
FingerHut
Fingerhut
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Fingerhut (disambiguation).
Fingerhut is a catalog retailer and an online retailer.[1][2]
Fingerhut was founded in 1948 by William Fingerhut and his brother Manny, selling automobile seat covers. In 1952, the business re-positioned itself to a mail order catalog company and diversified its goods to include towels, dishes, and tools. In 1969 the company went public.[3]
The Fingerhut brand has passed through several ownerships during its existence, including onetime ownership by American Can Company and its successor Primerica, Federated Department Stores (1999), and Petters Group Worldwide (2002), and Bain Capital Ventures (2004).[4]
References
- ^ Moore, Janet (January 17, 2002). “Fingerhut to shut down; 4,700 jobs lost in state; Finding buyer to save catalog retailer is unlikely, analysts say.(NEWS)”. Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN). Retrieved 2009-01-05.
- ^ Kaufman, Leslie (February 12, 1999). “Federated Department Stores to Buy Fingerhut”. The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
- ^ “History: Fingerhut Companies Inc.”, Funding Universe
- ^ “Fingerhut Receives $62.5 Million Equity Investment: New Financing Positions Company for Significant Growth”, Minneapolis, MN, March 31, 2004, press release.
[I believer that METABANK seeks out any company that may be feeling some financial pressure to stay “in the black” that is solvent and able to continue on. METABANK makes that company an offer that may appear like a dream come true, but in reality METABANK is only looking out for their own interests.]
[On the opening pager there is a link to getting credit to buy from the FingerHut online catalogue. The credit is given easily and quickly. They say that
“APPLICATION FOR FINGERHUT CREDIT ACCOUNT ISSUED BY WEBBANK”
Who or what is webbank, you may wonder. METABANK has offered regularly scheduled training for other banks in their practices.
WebBank/BML is the identifier used for the Bill Me Later program.
[This relies on publicity that indicates that we should be entitled to buy something and have it right now. Our culture is one in which we are always surrounded by people who are spending and this is encouraged by credit card companies, prepaid bank card companies and lenders of any kind. This sounds so absolute “Pursuant to the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (“CARD”) Act signed into law on May 22, 2009,
listed below are links to view WebBank’s current product offerings or request your cardholder agreement.”
In 2009, the Prepaid Bank Card Association headed by METABANK and METABANK paid Rupli and Associates more money than any other entities to push the PREPAID BANK CARD’s availability on the market even further through this law. Rupli, DC Lobbyists, worked hard to push this law into place so that METABANK and now this WEBBANK out of Salt Lake City, Utah can entice the consumer to get credit, perhaps credit the customer will not be able to pay off easily… they don’t care because these banks make the most money from interest and late payment… in fact, by design the phones are all turned off so the customer can pay on time at the first of the month… the customer is a disabled veteran…. Only consumers making complaints to the proper elected officials in DC will get them better consumer protections. Unfortunately, it is by design that these loans are targeted at the most vulnerable element of our society.]
To obtain additional information about this program, call: 866-528-3733 [ This is the only phone call where you will be treated properly; then it will be downhill from there.]
(when prompted to enter an account number, press the # key three times to be forwarded to an agent.)
Bill Me Later, a PayPal service, is a convenient and secure payment method designed for purchasing on the web or over the phone. As an open-end credit account, Bill Me Later provides you with the flexibility to purchase without using your credit card. Bill Me Later is subject to credit approval as determined by the lender, WebBank, Salt Lake City, Utah. [An open-ended credit account!!!!??? This sounds like the basic premise underlying how they will begin the scam…. You see they will have control of your money and income source from the outset… You will be giving up control of your own money to a total stranger and this is a very bad idea.]
[Allen has told you to make a phone call to….., to be polite etc. I believe that the customer has been polite, but abused and mistreated. How much groveling are customers/consumers required to do simply to be lied to and mistreated again and again?]
[Allen, your help is needed. You must understand the consumer’s side of this issue and then work to restore their confidence. Restoration of confidence may become the most difficult task at hand because there is absolutely no reason for this customer to believe anything that METABANK or any similar lending system may offer…. Why should we allow ourselves to simply lay down and make ourselves the financial slaves to the few very wealthy who have the power to pull all of the strings in their favor. This scam is well honed as it has been repeated over and over again. The American economy needs real and genuine bank reforms.]
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