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Aspire Credit Card
The Worst Credit Card Ever
According to the Motley Fool website the Aspire VISA has as many ways to separate you from your money as do most Vegas card sharks. Here's a brief list.
Annual fees. The Aspire VISA charges $150 a year for the right to extend you credit. Even among those cards designed for those who are seeking to rebuild their credit history, as Aspire credit card claims to be, this VISA falls far short. For example, the Orchard bank 2% cash back MasterCard, a top choice from the editors of researcher Cardratings, charges those with poor credit no more than $59 annually.
Monthly fees. But there's more. Aspire credit card also dings its customers $6.50 monthly for the right to have a card. Nice. Why not raid the fridge and kick my cat while you're at it?
Application fee. And finally, there's the cruelest charge: $29 just to open the account.
Debt without any collateral that can be taken back if you don?t pay.
Examples: credit cards, dept. store cards, personal loans, cell phone bills, legal bills, medical bills, credit lines, health club memberships.
No mortgages, auto loans, etc.
Step 1: A debt consultant will contact you over the phone for a free counseling session. He'll review your financial situation and suggest the right solution to your debt problems.
Step 2: With your approval, the consultant will start contacting your creditors for a negotiation. The purpose here is to reduce your outstanding debt amount or lower interest rates and eliminate late fees/penalty charges. The consultant will also help you to avoid harassing calls from creditors and collection agencies.
Step 3: The consultant will provide you with budgeting tips so as to help you manage your money better. He'll also guide you on how to rebuild your credit and raise your credit score.
What, exactly, do all these fees buy you? A lower average interest rate, perhaps? Hardly. Aspire credit card terms and conditions set the rate at 19.75% as of December 2005. But that may be cheap. Taken from the terms and conditions for the Aspire credit card:
"Your APR may vary. The APR for Purchases is determined by adding 12.50% to the Prime Rate, but in no event will be less than 19.50% ... The Prime Rate used to determine the applicable APR is the highest 'Prime Rate' published in the 'Money Rates' section of The Wall Street Journal on the 25th day (or if not published on the 25th, then on the date of the next publication following the 25th) of any of the three calendar months immediately preceding the month in which the Billing Cycle begins."
More Bad News for Aspire Credit Card
GREENWOOD v. COMPUCREDIT CORPORATION, No. 09-15906.
Wanda GREENWOOD; Ladelle Hatfield; Deborah McCleese, on behalf of themselves and other similarly situated, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. COMPUCREDIT CORPORATION and Columbus Bank and Trust, jointly and individually, Defendants-Appellants.
CompuCredit marketed a subprime credit card under the brand name Aspire Visa to consumers with low or weak credit scores through massive direct-mail solicitations and the internet.2 CompuCredit marketed the card and the cards were issued by Columbus Bank and Trust (collectively “Credit Providers”).
Greenwood and her fellow plaintiffs (“Consumers”) allege CompuCredit marketed the Aspire credit card by representing to consumers it could be used to “rebuild your credit,” “rebuild poor credit,” and “improve your credit rating.” Consumers allege the promotional materials noted there “was no deposit required,” and that consumers would immediately receive $300 in available credit when they received the Aspire credit card. In fact, they allege, Credit Providers charged a $29 finance charge, a monthly $6.50 account maintenance fee, and a $150 annual fee, assessed immediately against the $300 limit before the consumer received the card. In aggregate, the Aspire credit card had $257 in fees the first year. Although the promotional material mentioned the fees, it did so in small print amidst other information in the advertisement, and not in proximity to its representations that no deposit was required. Consumers each applied for and received an Aspire credit card, and were charged these fees. Consumers allege the Credit Providers' actions constitute several violations of the CROA and of California's Unfair Competition Law.
Before receiving the Aspire Visa credit card, each Consumer received a mailing entitled “Pre-Approved Acceptance Certificate.” The Acceptance Certificate includes the following paragraph:
By signing, I request an Aspire Visa card and ask that an account be opened for me. I certify that everything I have stated in the Acceptance Certificate is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge. I have read and agree to the be bound by the “Summary of Credit Terms” and “Terms of Offer” printed on the enclosed insert, which insert includes a discussion of arbitration applicable to my account, and is incorporated here by reference.
One Consumer mailed in her acceptance, one applied over the internet, and the other applied over the phone.