How to deal with Orchard Bank Credit Card Annual Fee

Question

Can anyone tell me if we have any recourse with dealing with Orchard Bank. Here is the situation....my husband had a credit card through Orchard Bank. He paid it off in January, called Orchard Bank, and requested the card be canceled. Well, we received a statement at the end of January stating there was a $0 balance, and we have not received anything since then. We assumed it was canceled. Well, today Orchard Bank called and requested to speak to my husband (he was gone). We looked at the account on-line and now he owes $90 because he had an annual fee charge in June (didn't know about) and since it wasn't paid a late fee of $30. This is very annoying, and when he called Orchard they told him there is nothing they can do - do we keep calling until we can speak to a supervisor or any other suggestions>

Answer 1

You call and ask to speak to a supervisor. Don't answer any questions until a supervisor takes the call. Explain the situation to them. They will usually work with you if you're nice about it. If they don't remove the charges, or do what is necessary to satisfy you, tell them that unless they do you will report them through the fair credit act and the BBB. This probably won't get any results, but if they do report the charges and late payments on your credit report you can dispute it and have it taken off. It's a pain, but it works. If you don't have a copy of your credit report you can get one absolutely free with no strings at:

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/i...

Answer 2

Both GO IN and talk to the manager.

Answer 3

Never close credit cards via phone call - you have no proof that the call took place or that the requested action was done.  Close them in writing and follow up to ensure your instructions were obeyed.  Lesson learned.