If you have had trouble with credit in the past and your credit score has been damaged, there is a good chance that you have received a credit card solicitation from Aspire Visa. Aspire, which is a card marketed by Compucredit Corporation and Columbus Bank and Trust (of Columbus, GA), promised to help cardholder rebuild their credit with a $300 limit secured credit card.
The catch, as noted by California consumer lawyer Mark Anderson in his blog is that Aspire VISA charged consumers a $29 finance charge, a monthly $6.50 maintenance fee, a $150 annual fee all charged against the $300! The consumer received a mere $63 in credit while being charged $257.
At this point, no settlement has been reached and the case could go to trial next year. The plaintiff cleared a procedural hurdle in August of this year when the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the class action (Greenwood vs. Compucredit and Columbus Bank and Trust) could go forward despite provisions in the small print of the cardholder agreement requiring customers to submit to arbitration rather than the courts.
The Greenwood case illustrates the perils of fine print in credit card agreements, especially if you are a customer who is post-bankruptcy or dealing with a poor credit history. While credit cards like MasterCard or Visa are great for rebuilding credit, we have found that it can be easier to start with a gasoline credit card or a retail store card rather than a general purpose card. With new consumer protections in place, you can be sure that credit card issuers will be sure to find loopholes to add fees and costs.