MBNA is the Devil

Friends, this entry is not funny at all. It's not fun. It's not sad or tragic. It subject matter is important in a general sense, but the specifics are not. I just need to do what I can, because I am entirely pissed off and I can't punch the responsible parties in the face.

So we have this credit card. We've actually had it since 2000, when I signed for it thinking I was signing for more information. Instead they signed me up for the card.

We sat on this card for years, not knowing we even had it, until they sent us an account update. "Well," I thought, "expenses are getting tight; it couldn't hurt to have a credit card." So, while I had originally thought to call them to cancel the account, I ended up requesting they send us a card. They signed us up for a promotional rate, so that our minimum monthly was around $15 so long as our debt was less than $15oo.

So far so good. We used the card sparingly, until recently when I had to make some major car repairs. We still made our monthly payments, and paid more at times so as to keep the debt as low as possible.

And then suddenly, a late fee. Why? Because I paid the monthly bill a day before their computer was ready to accept payment for that cycle, which rather than being monthly is some kind of idiotic "rolling cycle" that lasts anywhere from 3 to 5 weeks, depending on . . . I don't know what. They tell me over at MBNA that all credit card companies do this. Maybe so, but that just makes it even stupider, that an entire industry can't seem to get their lazy asses on a monthly schedule.

Even worse, back in February we had a late fee, which was remitted, because I had paid the bill too early that time, too. But during that conversation, the lady on the phone didn't explain this rolling cycle garbage. Instead, she told me if I just paid my bill on the 2nd of every month, I'd be fine.

Yeah.

So then when I call yesterday to find out why I had a late fee again, and was told why, I tried to explain that one of the MBNA representatives flat out told me to do exactly what I did, which ended up causing the problem. And this new rep then proceeds to tell me that the MBNA representatives aren't responsible for what they tell us -- she may get a rebuke from the head office, but I'm still stuck with the late fee. Why? Because technically, all this was spelled out in the fine print.

Which I'm sure it is, but it seemed wrong to me that their reps could basically say whatever they wanted on the phone and have no fear that it would come back to them.

Well, I ended up paying the late fee. And then, when I checked my email this morning, I find out that my monthly rate has gone from $15 to $60 a month. Turns out that promotional rate ended with the late fee, and while we probably won't be paying $60 a month every month, we sure won't be paying $15.

The final straw came when I called in today to find out what had happened. The snooty representative (the second snooty one in a row, now) told me:

- They couldn't waive this late fee
- I should just pay in advance

When I told him paying in advance caused the problem, he had nothing to say. Yes, he could verify that I paid in advance. Yes, he could see that it was more than was owed for the month. Yes, he had a record of the phone call in February (but couldn't access it; that's not part of their "business practice"). No, he couldn't help me. No, there wasn't a supervisor available: he was the account manager, and there was nothing he could do "at this time" (meaning, ever).

It does me no good to know that we can get a better card somewhere else and pay this one down. It doesn't make me feel any better knowing we don't actually owe them more money, we just owe them more per month. Nothing can change the fact that this huge multibillion dollar company has ridiculous practices designed to benefit them and screw their consumers, and that there's no accountability on their end. There's nothing I can do.

Except what I've just done -- attach as much negative feedback in cyberspace as I can to the name "MBNA", and hope that someone, somewhere, searching for them, finds me instead and realizes how much of a mistake it would be to go there for a credit card.

But ultimately it won't do any good -- they'll go somewhere else and get a card from a company equally as disreputable and just as unaccountable. As Wargames tried to teach us, the only way to win is not to play the game. Stay credit-card free as long as possible.

I suppose we should just be thankful we found this out by experience before the damage was severe, like it is for so many other people.