Merrick Bank Corporation

Mr. [redacted] opened an account with Merrick in May 2015 and has used the account for the purchase of goods and services.  The due date on the account is the 12th of each month.  All of the payments made on the account have been made via money order sent via the US Postal Service.  The...

payments made by this method are posted as of the date they are received by Merrick.  All payments are posted by 5p.m. on the date they are received by Merrick from the USPS. Any payments received after that cutoff time are posted the next day.  Merrick posts payments each day except for Christmas day. Merrick audits and reviews this process to ensure that the procedure is being complied with consistently.   I reviewed the payments received in the past 6 months.  All of the payments were posted within 5 days of the date the money order was dated.  The only exception was the December payment which was received 6 days after the money order was dated, however took additional time to post to his account due to research because the statement coupon was not included with the money order and the account number written on the money order was illegible.    The December payment was back dated appropriately to December 9th and no late fee was assessed in December.  The PO Box on the website is a correct address for payments to be sent to Merrick, as is the PO Box address on the statements that Mr. [redacted] receives.   Prior to January 12, 2017, Mr. [redacted] has not received any late fees for payments made, nor has there been any negative credit reporting submitted for his account with Merrick. We have not received a payment for January.  If Mr. [redacted] can provide proof that the payment has cleared then we can research the payment upon receipt of that documentation.  Mr. [redacted] can always make payments on line through the cardholder website, via the mobile app, or Merrick’s automated phone system.  If Mr. [redacted] choses to mail his payments, to avoid future delays we recommend that he include his statement coupon with his payment and mail his payment 7 to 10 days in advance of his due date.

Ms. [redacted] contacted Merrick Bank on February 27, 2018 and reported her card as lost/stolen.  On May 9, 2018 four transactions were removed as possible fraud and provisional credits were issued totalling $392.00.  An acknowledgement letter regarding the claim was sent that same day.  ...

The investigation into the fraud on the account is ongoing and Ms. [redacted] will not be responsible for payment on the disputed amounts until the investigation is completed.  If the investigation is found in her favor the provisional credits will become permanent and she will be notified by letter of the final outcome of the investigation.  The process should be completed before the end of May.

Merrick Bank is in receipt of your complaint dated February
26, 2016 regarding possible reimbursement and the customer’s concern about
Merrick Bank not receiving payments she made online. After reviewing the
cardholders account, I was able to determine in September 2014, the cardholder
was...

offered a fee waiver program. With this program, the cardholder had to make
a payment of a certain amount and Merrick Bank would in turn, waive a set
amount of fees in the form of a credit to the account. On September 22, 2014
Merrick Bank received a payment of $[redacted] and as previously promised, fees in
the amount of $[redacted] were credited to the account on October 1, 2014.The payment made in September 2015 was made after the due
date. This caused a late fee to be added to the account and as a result, increased
the minimum amount due the following month. When the cardholder paid her
account in October, she did not pay the full minimum payment due and as a
result was late again. This pattern of not making the full minimum payment has
continued every month since October 2015. Merrick Bank is receiving the
cardholder’s payments however the payments are not enough to satisfy the
minimum payment due. Customer service has offered numerous payment options for
the cardholder yet the cardholder has not taken advantage of any of the recent
programs offered to her. Merrick Bank would be happy to work with the cardholder
to make payment arrangements. At this time the account is delinquent but open.
If the customer needs a new card, one can be requested through customer service
when the account is brought current.

Mr. [redacted] opened an account with Merrick in September 2016 and has used the account for the purchase of goods and services.   Four payments made on the account have all been returned by JP Morgan Chase Bank for non-sufficient funds.  Mr. [redacted] has not replaced those payments on the...

account. The account has charged off for nonpayment and has been reported as such to the credit reporting agencies, and is the correct reporting under the circumstances.  A letter was sent to Mr. [redacted] on February 22, 2018 explaining that the account was closed due to the returned payments. A copy of that letter is attached.

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] opened an account with Merrick in September 2011 and has used the account for the purchase of goods and services.  On December 20, 2016 Ms. [redacted] made a payment in the amount of $85.00 via the cardholder website.  That payment was returned unpaid by her bank on that same...

date.  Ms. [redacted] contacted Merrick on December 21, 2016 regarding the returned payment and indicated during the call that she saw the payment being taken from her personal bank account.  On December 21, 2016, Ms. [redacted] faxed Merrick a letter from her bank, Central Bank that it had not rejected the payment of $85.00.  However, Merrick as of that date had not received those funds. Upon receipt of Ms. [redacted]’s complaint, Merrick investigated this issue and contacted Central Bank directly.  On December 23, 2016 Central Bank sent Merrick a fax indicating that it had in fact returned the payment in error and requested that Merrick resubmit the payment.  Merrick did so.  The original payment made on December 20, 2016 was credited to Ms. [redacted]’s account as of that date and an adjustment in the interest charged to the account in the amount of $.54 was made, as well as the late fee waived.  She can see these adjustments on her account by accessing her account on-line through Merrick’s website.  I have attached a copy of the letter from Central Bank regarding its error on the returned payment for her information.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:The issue is that my account record with this company bears a "past due" notation.  My request was that the company take this notation off my account record with them.  Their Customer Service Rep informed me that this would be impossible.  Nothing is impossible.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Ms. [redacted] opened an account with Merrick in February 2011.  The account was used for the purchase of goods and services. The account became delinquent and charged off for nonpayment in April 2016.   Merrick’s collection agency FBCS entered into a settlement agreement with Ms. [redacted]...

for 50% of the balance of the account.  Ms. [redacted] made 2 payments totaling $1750.00 on April 12, 2017.  FBCS remitted that money to Merrick, and informed us that the account was “settled in full for less than full balance.”  Merrick sent an update to the credit reporting agencies on May 8, 2017 updating the status of the account to “settled in full for less than full balance.”    The credit reporting agencies can take up to 30 days to comply with Merrick’s request to update the status of the account. Ms. [redacted] should check her credit report the end of May to ensure that the updated status is appearing on her report.

Merrick has no further response to this issue.  If he can provide a statement from his bank stating that we received the funds he sent we can investigate further.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: Merrick Bank has indicated: "reason code R20, which indicates the BBVA account is not a transaction account from which payments can be made" which is false. If Merrick Bank checks my account records they will see payments have been made from that exact BBVA account many times in the past year. I have attached a screenshot of my recent payment history which shows some transactions coming from the account in question, which means Merrick Bank's R20 error code is incorrect.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Ms. [redacted] contacted Merrick by phone regarding a pending authorization for a charge from Enterprise Car Rental on August 12, 2017.  The representative explained that Enterprise could cancel the authorization and Ms. [redacted] indicated she believed they had done so.  The representative...

explained that it appeared that the merchant numbers did not match the authorization, and explained that if the merchant faxed Merrick some information regarding that authorization we could release that authorization.   Ms. [redacted] said she would ask the merchant to fax that information.  Ms. [redacted] called back on August 12, 2017 and the representative told her Merrick had received the fax but that the merchant information still did not match the authorization information so the authorization could not be released.    In reviewing the account information for this reply it appears that Merrick received correct merchant ID information from Enterprise on August 14, 2017 and the amount held as authorized was released.  Ms. [redacted] has used the account and the available credit since that date.  Merrick apologizes to Ms. [redacted] if she felt she did not receive the type of customer service and assistance she needed in this matter.

A review of Mr. [redacted]’s account was made.  According to the log from the cardholder website Mr. [redacted] did not have any issues logging in and making a payment from the account for the past 8 months that we reviewed.  The pass word for the account was reset with the help of a...

representative on January 5, but he did not log in on that date. According to the history his last log in was on December 22.
No fees have been assessed to Mr. [redacted]’s account the only late fee assessed was waived in October and the last two payments made by phone had the phone fee associated with those payments waived.  There have been no other late fees assessed to the account in the last 8 months.  With the exception of 6 hours on December 4, 2015 the website has been up and available for general access and use.
The cardholder website is provided subject to the terms of use document which set forth the availability of the web site and the use of it subject to that document.  A copy of the liability portion of the document is attached for Mr. [redacted]’s review.
Merrick declines to pay any damages to Mr. [redacted].  If he continues to have issues with the website he can request information about his account via another method.

Mr. [redacted] opened an account with Merrick in May 2016 and has used the account for the purchase of goods and services. According to the account history, on June 1, 2017 Mr. [redacted] called Merrick regarding disputed charges on the account. The account notes indicate that Mr. [redacted] disputed one charge....

Mr. [redacted] indicated that a charge of $69.95 from a merchant called Smartdiethelp.com was not a charge he recognized. During the course of the investigation, one of the representatives made an oversight regarding a credit given to Mr. [redacted]’ account from a different merchant as a refund of the disputed charged noted above. The representative therefore mistakenly closed Mr. [redacted]’ dispute.    Mr. [redacted] called Merrick on July 12, 2017 and asked for the dispute to be reinvestigated and explained that the credit given was for a different charge from a different merchant. Merrick reopened the investigation and submitted a charge-back to the merchant Smartdiethelp.com. The merchant refused the charge-back but gave a credit to Mr. [redacted]’ account for $5.95 of the $69.95 charge. Merrick sent a letter regarding the status of the claim to Mr. [redacted] on August 15, 2017. The charge for the difference was rebilled to Mr. [redacted]’ account on September 6, 2017.   Because of the oversight in this matter, Merrick has provided Mr. [redacted] a courtesy credit for the full amount in dispute of $69.95. He should see this adjustment to his account on the next statement.

Mr. [redacted] opened the account with Merrick in June 2013.  He used the card for the purchase of goods and services.  During October 2016, Mr. [redacted] made an online payment on the account that was returned. As a result, Merrick closed his credit card account and sent Mr. [redacted] a notice. ...

Mr. [redacted] contacted Merrick on October 14, 2016 regarding this issue and explained what had occurred with his personal bank account. Mr. [redacted] did replace the returned payment promptly and provided information to Merrick regarding the reason why his payment had been returned.   Merrick has re-opened the account and changed the credit reporting status to open from closed. Mr. [redacted] can use his same card and if he has any problems doing so he can contact us at 800-253-2322 so that we can assist him with any issues.

Mr. [redacted]’s payment due date is the 21st of each month. If there is no payment received by that date or a payment is received for less than the minimum payment due there is a late fee assessed to the account. There is no grace period past the due date.     Mr. [redacted]’s account was...

due for the December and January payments when the payment made on January 16 was returned unpaid.  Mr. [redacted] made another payment on the account on January 31, 2017 but it was received after the January 21 payment due date. As a result, Merrick reported a late payment to the consumer reporting agencies.   Merrick is required to report accurate information to the consumer reporting agencies.  The information reported on Mr. [redacted]’s account is correct and Merrick will not remove or modify that information. To do so would be a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Bank policy.

A review of the account opened by Ms. [redacted] was conducted.  Ms. [redacted] opened the account in November 2016. When a new account is opened the transactions are monitored by Merrick for the first few months in order to help avoid risk to both the Bank and the account holder.  If there is a...

suspicion of possible fraud activity on a new account a representative will contact the account holder to verify that the purchase has been made by the account holder.  If the representative is unable to speak to the account holder when the attempt to contact is made a “block” is placed on the account in an effort to avoid any continued fraud on the account.  Once the account holder verifies they have made the purchases the “block” is removed. Merrick attempted to contact Ms. [redacted] on November 20 but did not speak to her regarding the purchase.  When she contacted Merrick and she verified she did make the purchase that prompted the call the “block” was removed from the account. However, shortly after the block being removed an additional “block” was added due to additional activity being deemed as suspicious.   Ms. [redacted] has since contacted the Bank and we have opened a fraud claim to further investigate multiple transactions which the customer stated were unauthorized on the account. We will advise her of the outcome of our investigation once it is completed.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: I am completely baffled that a check written and sent to the exact address we were given by Merrick Bank can be cashed and they claim NO knowledge whatsoever of this check. They have blamed myself and OneMain Financial. They have been completely uncooperative in trying to get to the bottomof this matter. They have provided no proof on their end.The customer service people that we have dealt with have been rude and condescending. Stories change from one employee/day to the next. 
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:While I appreciated the most recent late fee being waived, there is still the issues of my current minimum payment still being too high, the late fee that wasn't waived in December of 2016, and a sufficient explanation as to why my payments are not being posted in a timely fashion despite the fact that I am sending my payments well in advance of the due dates.I do not understand why the minimum payment on my current summary is $57.00 and not the customary $37.00 or $38.00 I am usually charged.There is the matter of a $27.00 late fee charged to my account in December of 2016. The payment for that month was posted 2 days after the due date, despite the fact that the payment was mailed almost as soon as I received the bill by mail.I do not understand why some of my payments are being posted after the due date. I have been carefully tracking when I send my payments to Merrick Bank. For example, October's payment was sent on October 7--exactly 14 days before when the payment was due--and it was not posted until October 28. Why did it take 21 days to post my payment? There is another situation brewing--November's payment was mailed on November 4 and I see that the payment has not yet been posted (as of November 16). As I have stated in prior complaints, Merrick Bank is the ONLY company I have this problem. I have other bills I pay using the USPS and they reach their destinations without incident and on time (despite one of them having to travel farther than Dallas, TX). I've been told more than once by Merrick Bank representatives that there have been problems with the postal service. If that is indeed the case, customers should not be penalized for situations beyond their control. Moreover, I do not have access to the suggest alternative payment methods (hence the money order payments). Also, if I am sending my payments in a timely fashion, I should not have to go through the extra expense of sending a payment by expedited methods. Had I known sending payments by regular mail would become such an issue, I would never have done business with Merrick Bank from the start.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

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.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:I was lied to by their reps and the company still didn't address the issue why I was lie to more than once. Since then I recently I've had another situation with reps that lie. 
Sincerely,
[redacted]