Advanta Bank Corp. is closing down their small business credit cards in an attempt to save itself from bankruptcy. Advanta serves nearly one million small businesses customers with their credit card services. All current credit cards will be frozen by June 1st, 2009.
Advanta had been unable to collect on a large chunk of unpaid credit card debt which has caused them to close down their entire credit card branch. This is huge news as Advanta is the 11th largest credit card issuer in the United States.
If you had and Advanta business card you might want to take a look at the Discover Business Card which is currently offering a $100 bonus on your first $1,000 in purchases. You should make sure you get a new business card now to ensure that your business can run smoothly as Advanta takes apart its credit card branch. And if you don’t already have a small business checking account you should consider getting one.
Thank G-D, they have been screwing so many people, self included. They doubled my rate for no good reason and when I called all I got were people in India who gave me the run around for hours.
Steve,
sorry to hear your experience with Advanta. The senate just passed a bill that will not allow credit card companies to raise rates for no good reason. Hopefully that will help fix the problem that’s been going on in the credit card industry. Thanks for sharing your experience with Advanta!
Brandon
Readers,
So the closing of the small business credit card division explains why Advanta cancelled our business card with no notice. Found out the hard way when one person tried to use the card for a routine purchases. Plenty of run around trying to find out, final reason was not enough use of the card. We did have “reward credits” and Advanta did pay those, so they did the right thing. Also had to talk to someone that I found it difficult to understand.
Jerry
It would have been nice if I had learned this from Advanta, and not from somebody else.
Guess this is my punishment for always paying my balance off on time. With all of the crap that the CC issuers are wanting to tack on to their cards, I may have to set up a separate account with a debit card. When I can’t do that without ridiculous fees, I’ll just leave the banking system. Yes, there are alternatives, but they are inconvenient — but not as inconvenient as a “Bank Holiday”.
You’d think if it was such “huge news,” they would have bothered to tell those of us who have a small business card at Advanta. I’ve never had a problem with them, largely because I don’t carry a balance, ever, so I don’t care what the rate is; nevertheless, I am sure they have made lots of money on fees for the items I’ve purchased over the years.
I’m still scratching my head over this one. Cutting off your own nose to spite your own face is what comes to mind here….
We just found out via email from Advanta today (5-26-09) that our company credit cards will be invalid on 05-30-09. Thanks for nothing Advanta.
These scumbags at Advanta deserve everything they’re getting now. A few months ago, I accidentally forgot to make my payment online. I called them a few days later after I got a nasty gram in the mail that I was default and that the 0% intro rate I was still paying on was cancelled, and I was slapped with a 28% interest rate. I went from paying 250 a month all princical, to paying 325 a month with only 100 going to princal. They had the current month’s payment LESS than a week after it was due, but they didn’t care. I’m sure they slammed my credit rating too over the whole thing. Now they closed my account same as many others, which I’m sure they hit my credit rating over this as well. It is my sincerest hope that everyone involved in this miserable excuse of a company are all living out of card board boxes very soon. What they’ve done to not just me, but countless others is criminal.
Screwed Again…………. I think we that are in good credit paying our bills thru these hard times get drop by big business should screw them for the funds that are balanced. when you get credit and keep it working well you should not be dropped liken to a hot chilli pepper. they got our funds from our FEDs with out our consent. so I think America should screw the Balances of dropped services……………. and no Question Mark……….. Stand up and shout…..
Advanta has incresed our small business credit line from 12,000 to 18,000 two months ago. I just ordered a computer from Dell and Advanta has cut our credit line to 2,000 and rejected the Dell order. We had the cards for 5 years, never a late payment, never an issue, we use the card for a bout $30,000 a year in charges, we have a highly profitibale business that grows at 20% per year.
Advanta tells me that my FICo score just changed, yes I just refi my mortgage but how does my score change that much to go from 18,000 to 2,000o whcih does not even cover the monthly expenses on the card.
The best thing is, they never even notified us, they told me they will send me a letter in the mail, after the fact. Now are thye goging under or just reducing card limits, either way out of principle, i am applying with another company.
Just more time I need to waste on things that are out of my control.
Last fall my business – actually a non-profit – had a large amount of charges because of a relocation, and for the first time in six years we began to carry a monthly balance. So in the winter, Advanta upped our interest rate to over 30%. In response, I paid off the balance when my major grant came through, applied for a credit card with another company, and have only been using Advanta for minimal purchases such as stamps at the Post Office. Glad now that I took those actions.
The Advanta card seemed like a good idea when I did a balance transfer, 0% 16 months…yeah yeah. I called to make a payment during my promotion when I had no computer access. They said I was OK. Could make a payment the following day.
Well…of course that was a joke.
My promotion was terminated.
I was stuck with an awful monthly payment, which isn’t even a payment that pays down the balance. It is a payment you make for the privilege of having this wretched card.
The folks over in India who answered my calls were less than sympathetic.
Happy I don’t have a balance with them anymore. This is the worst company ever. I hope the powers that Be fall on their faces and crack their Bid Heads!
Luckily, given how much my business leads to being away from home, today I was able to pick up the letter from Advanta advising me of their termination of my business card as of 4 days from now. I wonder how they can legally give such short notice. Advanta is the card I have listed for recurring charges on a few accounts; if I had not been able to change that by May 30, I wonder if those businesses would not have charged me a “return fee” when the charge was rejected? You would think there would be laws preventing this type of abrupt notice.
I too have not carried a balance with them, and never really had a problem because of that. However, this issue I consider a major breach.
How is this incredibly screwed up manuver going to affect my credit rating? Had a Line of Credit for several years well past 15K and always paid early and usually in full. Is it going to reflect poorly on me or on those nimrods at Advanta?
This is just the last of a long series of insults that Advanta has gleefully perpetrated against it’s business customers. Receiving notice on 5/26 that your account is closed effective 5/30 and that they will “try” to honor charges up until 5/29 is typical of the way this company did/does business. As a parting shot, they make sure that your credit score is negatively impacted by dropping your credit line to within $500 of your balance which raises your “credit utilization” to 90%+ regardless of where it was before. If they hadn’t already conditioned their customers to abuse, it would be shocking…
I just transferred $22,000 to Avdanta for the promotional rate May 5 when Cap 1 upped thier rate to 17%. I didn’t get my Advanta statement yet… Hmmmmmm.
We have had this card for over 5 years and have charged over 2 million dollars on this account. I can’t believe they can just leave businesses with this short of a notice regarding the closure. Has anyone been able to get through to them? I keep getting a message that they cannot process my call at this time. My largest concern is what will happen to my 650k+ rewards points I have. They say we have at least 60 days but what in the heck can I do with that many miles in 60 days! Not to mention if I cash them in for bonus cards, they expire in a year and I am not even sure they will be any good then anyways.
This sucks!
It is amazing how quickly this country has fallen to hell. It is a direct result of companies such as Advanta, Its really a sad commentary when you can no longer trust financial institutions. Finally greed has reached the US and now all of us hard workers are paying the price. I too am a victim of Advantas outrageous practices and unfortunately transfered my balances to another credit card, I should have let them bite the bullet.
Same here: Got a letter on 5-26-09 saying my card will be useless after 5-30-09!
I’ve always had a 45,000.00 line of credit with them and paid on time.
We depend on this card for extraordinary expenses.
Right now we have a delivery truck in the repair shop and by the time it’s ready to go we will have no credit card to pay with!
Obama is the cause of this mess with the new credit card rules that have not been thought through. If he did know this kind of thing would happen then his goal is to ruin small businesses.
Greed always backfires. So what will happen here? Are they selling their accounts?
We too received our letter today, May 27, notifying they were cancelling our account as of May 30. Boss leaving for a week long trip and had planned to use the card which has a 30,000 limit and we pay in full each month. Thankfully we have another card to fall back on but we also have a few automatic annual payments going to this Advanta card. That will be a pain in the a– notifying all those companies. The three day notice is unconscienceable and the fact that they will not take calls in irresponsible. I suspect a lot of credit card companies will be doing this to those cardholders who pay in full each month because they are not making any money off us, both business and personal accounts. Sorry Linda, but I do not blame Obama, he is trying to straighten these sharks out and this is just part of the fallout.
Advanta started screwing over it’s amall business card holders about 8 months ago. I belong to a group of about 300 of them. They all had excellent credit, paid their bills on time, had high FICO scores, etc. Advanta has rate jacked them over the past 8 months with NO Opt Out notice received. Advanta’s default rate has jumped to over 20%. They refuse to publish your good credit to your personal credit agencies, and they are truly a personal card because they used your FICO and personal credit history to issue you a card and didn’t even validate if your business existed. They laid off their entire customer service department and outsourced it to India putting 300 people out of work. They refuse to negotiate about the interest rate and raising them to from 30% to over 44 percent with any of the debt consolidation companies. They are worse than loan sharks. If you quit paying, they start reporting the negative information on your personal credit record. I among hundreds of others would love to see Advanta go down in flames. I should feel sorry for Mr. Alter living in his 19 million dollar house with 30 rooms, but I don’t. The news on Advanta just keeps getting sweeter every day.
I wish Advanta a slow, painful death for abusing and screwing its customers…
This decision by Advanta Bank is a real blow to my startup business. I have had this card for over a year and initially I paid my balances each month. In July, 2008, I started accruing the balance and using the card like a loan which is better than any loan I could fine, 3.99%. I pay my monthly minimum at this point, because I don’t have business income yet, but I planned on paying it down as soon as I started having a positive cash flow. I have been treated fairly by Advanta Bank and I do not have any ‘horror’ stories at this point. I am now seaching for a replacement card, but I’m sure that I will not find one with such a good rate.
My question is, can they still charge you interest on a closed account. They want to still collect the interest, sounds like a loan-shark street business practice. They may even send someone to break your legs or arms, so be careful. I don’t think it is to continue to charge interest on an closed account. We should call the BBB and your state or local consumer protection division. I am calling the texas consumer protection division as soon as I finish this note.
I had a Advanta MC for years. It was paid every month in full. Card is being cancelled with less than a month to obtain a new card. Since it was the only credit card that my business had the notice was not very timely. These guys must not be very smart. One would think that they would have at lease enough knowledge to sell the porforming cards to another bank. Glad they don’t work for me!
@Steve L
Right on, Steve! thank G-D indeed!! May Dennis Alter go down right with the rest of the sharks!!!
Advanta bank is the worst bank in USA ,This bank was lie and cheat for everything,specialy services was tereble and bad ,All business owners was lucky because this advanta bank are in problems now .
I hope gorverment or FBI or CIA check over ,they were too much lying and cheating.
Just My Luck,
I am on a needed vacation with my wife who is going to have major surgery next week (still on cruise untill Sunday) when I got the email. Sort of got shocked when I got the word and I used my Advanta as my sorce of funding. I called for several hours with no luck. I finally got somebody to answer and told them that I had no other way to pay for the vacation since
I was out in the middle of no where.
Thanks alot Advanta. You could of used a little more sense for a customer of more than 9 years.
David
I had no complaints about Advanta. I got my small business card about 2 years ago after being screwed over by Cap 1. I had a very low rate and high limit, though I never have much of a balance. I had no yearly fees and got cash back. I am very sorry to lose that card. I just got Discover at double the rate. I only use one card and had to replace it soonest. I will shop around for a better deal.
i’ve paid my advanta business card on time for 5 years up until they jumped my rate to 34.99%; chase just did the same thing; i had a 730 (now 540 due to them) credit score until after trying and not being able to spread the debt over 5 years i sent them a letter acknowledging i would pay it out over that time with one of their account executives talked to me in a civil manner;the previous one name shawn ranted and screamed @ me….when i told him that behavior was not necesasary and that as an mba he ranted ” will i have 3 mba’s and going to ruin you;
i had advanta for 8 years. last 6 years i have not paid a dime in interest. i have no complaints of greedy business practices. 2 weeks after my sole business card has been closed, i am unable to acquire a new business card. i can’t figure out why a guy with near perfect credit(750+)is unable acquire a credit card after at least 72 months of balance paid in full. i was an extremely happy customer of advanta. fantastic policies for disputes, monitered irregular activity, and the card always worked.
Looks like they got what they deserved… if you look at the lawsuits they are in because of their actions on the credit cards. They put themselves in Utah because of the law their allowed them to steal. I hope that more banks that have done what they have also go under.
This Advanta Bank already closed down every one business owner account ,but these bad Bank company still send out the statement ask for the all account payer pay them 29.99% up to 39% charge with balance .I hope any gorverment department need to stop them ,they were too much lies and cheating consumer.
They fill the bankcrupcy and run away ,now they wanted the people pay all the money high % rate money back to them .???
Filing a complaint with FTC against Advanta. I like many other customers of Advanta just had my rates increased to unreasonable levels and my account closed after several years of excellent credit history. Here is my story and the response from Advanta.
On May 18th I spoke with customer service regarding the offer to opt out of the proposed rate increase. After a discussion about the possible impact on my credit for opting out and you closing my account, I made the choice to not opt out. Less than one week later I received e-mails and letters that my account was to be closed. My rate was increased from 9.99 for purchases and 19.99 for cash advances to 17.15 and 35.15%. If your customer service rep had properly disclosed that the accounts would be closed the next week, I would have taken the opt out offer. I have again called customer service and requested that my interest rate be reset to the opt out rate as I was misled and full disclosure was not given to me to make an appropriate decision. I have not heard back from my request made several weeks ago. I plan on filing a complaint with the FTC and other regulatory agencies to investigate your failure to properly disclose your intent to close the accounts. On one level I consider the handling of the account misleading and may even constitute fraud. I will again make my request to have my interest rate reset to the rates of 9.99 and 19.99 that were in force prior to the closure of the account.
Thank you for contacting Advanta regarding your account.
Unfortunately as mentioned in the notification the last day to receive the letter requesting to close the accounts at the old terms, was 05/18/09. As the you have crossed the time frames, we are unable to process your request.
As communicated in our recent letter to customers, we deeply regret that all Advanta Business Credit Card accounts have been closed effective May 30, 2009.The reason that you were not notified sooner was because the trust discontinued funding account balances sooner than we expected.
We very much wish this was not necessary.
Mac J
Account Manager
Advanta
Two agencies handle consumer issues related to lenders. Rederal Reserve Consumer Help and the Federal Trade Commission. I suggest that each of you that experienced the same thing I have with Advanta file a complaint today. Mary
I owe Advanta quite a bit of money. I own a small business and have tried repeatedly to arrange payment plans/settlement amount. What are my options? I do not have the money to pay what I owe. They started this process by raising my rate unbelievably to 29.99%. Now at 39.99%. Again, I run a small construction business and it has been slow. Its been difficult just to keep my small house. I want to pay what I can but would prefer to come to a settlement agreement. Does anyone know how to get a settlement/payment plan with out paying the whole amount? I am not trying to scr@w Advanta, they have been as far as I can tell, pretty normal. They just don’t seem to want to hear it when you have financial challenges.
MY SITUATION IS SIMILAR TO VINCES. SMALL CONTRACTOR STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE THE CRIMINAL GAMBLING DEALS GONE BAD WITH TAXPAYER MONEY BY THESE CRIMINAL “BANKERS”!! WHY ARE THEY ALLOWED TO EXTORT MONEY FROM TAXPAYERS WHO ARE BAILING THEM OUT? I AM SENDING THEM WHAT I CAN AFFORD TO PAY DOWN DEBT. OR THEY WILL GET NOTHING. THE GREEDY B——S NEED TO BE TARRED AND FEATHERED!!
This company is vampire ,this crazy Advanta bank increase the interest rate from 9.9% jump up to 29.99% with good credit 745+,I hope this company will be criminal in the jail ,they were cheating too many too many good business owners in United State ,this is the worse and the bad bank in USA.
There is no circle in hell bad enough for Advanta! They have been arrogant and unyielding as long as I have done business with them. What comes around goes around. This is a little good news in a terrible year.
@Vince
Absolutely. For one thing even the collection agencies who bought Advanta’s debt are selling it off to other collection agencies. First of all you should use as your starting point only what you actually spent — deduct all of Advanta’s usury level interest then under no circumstances should you negotiate a penny more than 50% of your original debt and if you do have any cash at all the collection agencies will actually bargain down to as low as 10% just throw that hardball back into their court Vince and shut your ears to all their nasty comments!
They out of nowhere closed my account and without even being late on any payments my monthly due and interest rates increased. Something should be done, any suggestions out there??
Don’t you see what is happening? Advanta bank is about to go “Bankrupt.”
It is a classical financial strategy. First they rack up billions of dollars of “bad loans and default payments” and then they go before a bankruptcy judge and have their books wiped clean. Then they skip out of town. In the interim millions of people and businesses have their credit ruined. And of course this is very convienent time since it and it all coincides with the 350 billion “Bank Bailout” program.
I would not feel bad at all if they never got another nickel out of me.As a matter of fact, they never will. If you screw me once and I will screw you back, and I will win in the long term. As Donald Trump once said “Sometimes you have to screw the bastards to even the score.”
We will all get even with Advanta when a class action lawsuit is filed.
Just heard from Advanta that they want me to redeem my CD early for a giant bonus of $100. All of this bankruptcy stuff was news to me. Glad I didn’t have a credit card with them.Guess you had to live in Utah to know what was going on.
I did not receive my monthly statement and the JACKED my rate from 2.99% to 24.99% WITHOUT NOTICE. I called and talked to INDIA!!!!!!!! No help, and they barely understood ENGLISH – so what else is new.
Corporate America thinks this is GOOD business – NOT! You get what you pay for. I only want to deal with US citizens in the US. Corporations like this WILL lose my business & I’ll find companies who value the USA and not the few pennies they save using India!!!!!
I feel your pain guys with credit cards. I am on the other end of this scheme – have a CD with Advanta and can’t find tails and heads of it! Their listed phone numbers all go to former CC business service center in India, and there is no one to tell me what will happen with my 50K. Tried to call FDIC – no luck either. Would appreciate your advice.
I owed Advanta just under $7,000 when they cranked up the interest rate from 2.99% to 35.99% without any warning. I ran a computer model to determine how long it would take to repay the entire amount if I just made minimum payments. The simulated computer model said I would have to live to be 146 years old in order to make the last payment at 35.99%. (I’m currently 56 years old, so it would take about 90 years) and I would pay over a quarter million dollars in interest on a $7,000 balance. Wow! So now I’m all done with credit cards. Most of my life I have been a pay-as-you-go consumer and never incurred debt. I actually opened my first credit cards in year 2004. Now I’m going back to the old methods of purchasing that has always served me well. If I need to carry plastic I will use a debit card. Why should I be made vulnerable and held hostage to the financial industry?
CASH IS STILL KING !!!!
well i’ve reduced my own monthly pmnts and starting to get the usual notice from one of the credit raters warning me of drop in credit score. wat a joke. does this exist anymore for anyone? bankers are robbers. from the inside out. ridin a wave now!!!
Is there someone who has started proceedings to file a class action suit with these dirty cheats yet? I would definitely want to be included, as I to am getting screwed out of being able to get them to put my int rate back down to a level where I’m chipping away at the balance. grrr……
signed, a tiny microscopic business owner who was duped by these fraudulent jerks.
The FICO score and the so called “good credit rating” is a system that is a complete joke because it keeps every “trapped” into the financial system. Even the more wealthier people can miss a few payments every now and then. The poor hard working bastards on the bottom end of the economic scale who attempt to play by the rules and honestly attempt to pay their monthly bills on time get ran over and trounced on by large corporations who pull all the strings and keep us a “puppets” to the financial industry with their so called “credit reporting and scores”. Meanwhile, the banks like Advanta and JPMorgan Chase screw the lttle guy over for everything he has with all their fees, and can actually force you into bankruptcy. Whatever happened to doing business on a handshake? I’ll never again put my name on the dotted linel Screw Advanta!!!!
Ever notice how these banks can create money out of thin air with their so called fees. They have a name for every single possible situation, Just about every type of fee is a “late fee”. The credit card companies are doing their best to keep you poor, they don’t want you to escape debt. They actually call the customers who pay off their outstanding balances in full every month “deadbeats” because these people refuse to carry debt. Advanta Bank deserved the $21 million dollar fine they got for screwing people over. I wonder how that figure was derived? Will it be paid off from the Bank Bailout money? Who actually gets the $21 million? And of course Advanta will just state it as a loss on their taxes !!! Where is the help for the entrepreneur who drives this country????
Advanta raised my rate for no reason in May and even lost a payment. I have asked repeatedly for copies of my payment record for 2 months but have not received it. These people are impossible to deal with. There is only one number to call and it is in another country. They only answer from what they are told to say and have no authority to look for an answer.
****IMPORTANT NEWS**** See the link by the Salt Lake Tribune dated August 24, 2009 “Advanta Bank Told To Stop Taking Deposits” I stopped mailing them money once I read they were sued by FDIC for $21 million dollars. I still get a monthly statement— but with no interest charges or late fees incurred. If everyone stops sending in money to these assholes, collectively, we can force them out of business and close down this friggin rotten bank. There is strength our numbers!!! Don’t be afraid of your FICO Score!! Years from now you can always settle for pennies on the dollar. They will get what they deserve and it is payback time for the emotional harm they have caused to many good, hardworking individuals and businesses. Every dog has its day!!!
Advanta agrees to pay customers $35 million
NFIB SmartBrief | 07/02/2009
In a deal reached with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Advanta has agreed to pay its small-business credit card customers $35 million for alleged “deceptive and unfair” business practices. Advanta, which froze almost 1 million credit card accounts of small businesses at the end of May with little warning, will also pay a $150,000 civil fine. Bloomberg (07/01) Forbes (07/01) Philadelphia Inquirer, The (07/01)
Just another consumer here that got take by ADVANTA
They have already started the process of ruining my credit when I like most of you were in good standing until they decided to skyrocket my interest rate.I canceled my card the day I discovered the rate hike.I now am behind due to the current economic condition this country is in.I have tried repeatedly to negotiate a settlement with advanta to no avail.Upon doing research over the last four hours on advanta, I have discovered that even the collections company’s are trying to get get rid of the advanta accounts.Advanta sent me a standard form letter outlining the law suit they intend to file in the UTAH courts,and I only have one request. I had a credit line of 13,000 and a balance of 6000 not a balance of 13000 and a credit line of 6000. Since advanta has already done damage to my credit and other credit cards company have also entered the fray by jacking up rates and decreasing credit to further damage a flawless credit score up until this crisis,I have decided to not pay advanta another dime and wait for the collection company’s to contact me and settle with them for pennies on the dollar.At this point most of the damage is done and all that is left is the rebuilding process.When in 36 months I am debt free I will never do business with another credit card company again. They have cut their own throat and I will joyfully stand aside and watch them bleed to death.
CASH is KING !
I was paying on time and more than the required amount when last Jan. Advanta raised the interest rate on my business card from 9.9% to 29.9%. When I asked them why they said to me “because we can”. Nice huh. I used the card for my small business and the monthly rate and finamce charges in this ecconomy have all but put me under. I recently took money from my 401K and I am paying off the card this week. The one thing I learned is do business with people in this country. I found the India reps to be hard to understand and miserable to do business with.
I refuse to pay another penny to these frigging crooks at Advanta.May they all burn in HELL!!!!!!.
Advanta offered me a credit card. In the promotional material it was promised to stay at 7.9%. Even though I had made every required payment on time, they upped the rate to 22.9% and then very quickly to 34.99% in spite of the promotional material that said the rate would stay at 7.9%. The minimum payment went from $221.00 per month to $774.00 per month. I tried reasoning with them but it didn’t work.
Advice to cardholders: When their collection company calls, repeatedly tell them you are at work (which I was). They will ignore your notification that you are at work and demand to stay on the phone like they did with me. They will probably yell and scream on the phone like they did with me. Record the phone call (notify them that you will). I now have a complaint going in to the Federal Trade Commission making a formal complaint that 1. They are repeatedly calling me at work when they are not supposed to after being notified they were harassing me at work, 2. They are making threats on the phone, and 3. Deceptive advertising.
If everybody makes a complaint and doesn’t pay them, it will financially break them.
I think they are very dishonest in their advertising.
I have an account with Advanta in good standing. They have not raised my rate from 7.99% since they closed everyones account. However, I cannot seem to get new credit card, personal or business. My personal credit is outstanding. Did their closing of my account cause this impact on my credit? Is there any reason to continue payments or has the damage already been done? If so, then I may consider defaulting.
SOUTHERN BELLE… if you are still in good standing with Advanta and they have not raised your interest rates, you are doing much better than the rest of us. The reason why you may not be able to get any additional credit cards is because the credit markets and lending by banks is still tight and frozen due to the weak economy. For six dollars you can pull a credit report on your finances and see how Advanta is reporting you as a customer. It is the only way you can find out if they are hurting you. Closing your account in itself will not do very much damage to your credit score, but if they are deliberately reporting late payments or some other false activity, then they are doing (and have done) permanent damage to your credit history and credit score. In that case screw the bastards by defaulting….but be prepared for the long-term (7 years) consequences.
Advanta is not appearing on any of my three personal credit reports. I have a business account with them as a sole proprietor. I do not have a duns number…How do I request a business credit report and from what company(s)? Also, this is interesting…I have requested a copy of the signed agreement from Advanta and they have not been able to produce one.
SOUTHERN BELLE…If Advanta is not reporting your credit account to “personal” credit reporting agencies, then they are most certainly reporting it to “commercial” reporting agencies. This is actually a good thing in many ways because your business debt is not showing up as your personal debt, and therefore will appear as “off the books”—so to speak. When you applied for the card as a Sole Proprietor business owner you must have supplied to them a Tax Identification Number (TIN) as well as your Social Security Number, which still makes you personally liable for the business debt.
Therefore, to get your business “commercial report” you have to write to:
Equifax Commercial Services, Inc
P.O. Box 2002
Allen, TX 75013-3742
Telephone: 1-800-727-8495
It may cost you five dollars to get a commercial report or you may be able to obtain one free commercial report per year. If Advanta to date hasn’t badly mistreated you, it is in your best interest to keep the payments going steadily and to continue to establish your business credit in good standing. If you default on their business card, they may decide to report it to the personal credit reporting agencies as well as the commercial credit reporting agencies, as noted above by some of the irrate writers.
If they won’t comply to your request for a copy of the application and signed agreement, you can try to send a well crafted “certified letter” to them, which may cost you another $3.00-$5.00, and that may just jolt them into responsive action. Good Luck!
I got a letter with a check for about $40 today to settle with me on the “unfair repricing event” that occurred last year….LOL….it’s just so funny! At least their feet were held to the fire…they’re trying to stay in business….I just hope they can improve their business integrity………..
I got a card with Advanta some years back. I uses a balance transfer promotion with a low or 0 apr I can’t remember. It then switched to the 7.9% rate….not a bad rate, but I intended to pay it off as I could do better. Within a few months, they bumped it up to 11 something. I saw the writing on the wall and paid it off. Then they made my apr 35%. I see now that they never intended to stay with that 7.9% rate and this is how they sucker people in and make money. A clear cut scam….Should definitely be against the law.
Advanta is the WORST!! I am part of a private blog made up of business people screwed by advanta. Watch for class action suit. Advanta practices unfair collection tactics.
I was an Advanta customer for many years-they targetd me for a credit card. God knows how much money I have paid Advanta over the years. I received an email notice that all advanta business accounts were being closed. This notice was sent on a holiday weekend knowing that no one would be in the office. They gave me $500.00 over my balance and 3 days to find other credit. My next bill was due on 5/30/09 which was the day that supposedly they desolved Advanta. I was waiting to see what was going on so I did not pay my bill on the day it was due and my interest rate went from 5% to almost 30% – I paid my bill on 6/7/09 after receiving harrassing phone calls at least every minute from Advanta (some Iraqi or India person that I could not understand)telling me that they would continue to harrass me every minute of every day until I paid them-so I paid my minimum due (because I was trying to see what was going on)they have since turned me and my companay in to Experian over and over again and have ruined my credit. They should be held accountable for the harm they have caused many small business customers. Is anyone listening? Deceptive trade practices, fraud, etc.
@Avoid Advanta
LONG LIVE FPUer’s
They suck…I am enjoying there harresing phone calls….Advanta can burn in hell …….
I disputed my balance a year ago with Advanta and they settled the matter with me, after I sent them some recorded conversations where they lied to me again and again. They claimed I owed $7500 but my “real” balance was around $4500. After getting the recordings, they settled my account for $2200.00 . Lesson..
RECORD YOUR CONVERSATIONS !!! Now the IRS is trying to collect income taxes on the “forgiven” balance, that was not valid to begin with! When does the evil end ?
Good!
These corporate leeches deserve more than “closing their accounts to small business as their exercise! They have used legal loop-holes an dishonest
techniques to DEFRAUD small businesses for years.
Raising interests rate to ridiculous rates after they raped small businesses with promises of FIXED rates,waited a few months aftr small busissnessman consalodated their debts to them and them showed their true greed asses with a bunch of “representatives” that backed it up and tooted such lines as “It’ the economy”.
These jerks should be thrown into jail and brought up on any charge that is viable. BUT, that is the problem. Their lawyers an their board of directors found a perfect leagal way around good business practices.
Oddly enough,Advanta still sends me US posts about the “great” opportunity to get a reduced interest card on “the very same debt they screwed me with a 41.99% intrest rat!”..
Yeash… The ONLY Avantage is top the CEO an the BOD of this horrible and truely corrupt corporation. AVOID THEM AT ALL COST!!!!
They just sent me a check for $200 and said cashing it would bar me from any future legal action. I not cashing it yet till I find out what further legal action they were talking about?
Hi,
My credit card was cancelled. I was wondering, however, if I could still get a copy of the 2008 Statements. I am in an audit and need some items. Thanks, Beth
My credit card was canceled like everyone else. I have made steady payments up to September of this year and made a late payment by 1 day. My rate climed from 9.9% to 32.9%. I too have a small busines and can not make there new payment of $1400.00 dollars a month so now they are trying to push me to a Credit counseling service that I do not want to do. I even pleaded to them that I would make catch everything up and pay on time as I had for years if they would bring my rate down to where it was before. They told me there was no way that hey would do that and continued to ask me for another payment. If there is a class action lawsuit I want to be named in that suit so I can make them fry for damage to my credit that I had worked so hard to make excelent. As I read all of these post is this just another terriost plot to destroy the financial stability of the small bussinesses in America?
i am with beth and dws. does anyone know of any further leagal action being taken against advanta? if so please let me know. i also received a check from them ($57.23). i am not cashing it until i know nothing else can be done. i was a customer ot theirs for 15+ years. i am a small business owner and 1 month never received a statement from them. this was about 7 months ago. i have personal bills as well as my business bills so i don’t track when they are supposed to send me a statement. the next month i received my statement they took my interest rate from 7.99 to 35.99. i called them and informed them i never received a statement from them and their response basically was too bad and there was nothing they could do about the interest rate. i have never been late (always early) paying my balance with them in 15+ years. i closed my account with them that day and sent a check for the balance due ($18,600) and now i read all these blogs about how they just up and closed all these accounts. just another typical cc company tring to screw over anybody being a good payor or slow payor. i contacted the FDIC today (10-29-09) and was curious as if there was further action before cashing this paltry check. i was directed to 3 different people and the last (all were extremely nice to talk to) before i could even tell her the name of the company i was calling in reference to said i must be talking about advanta! she told me that the FDIC was all done with advanta with their suit and the check i received was for a 2 month period even though the original period was for 7 months! i hope that the A HOLES get everything they have coming to them. unfortunately this is the new way of doing any financial business and i don’t see any big changes (execpt worse) coming form the new administration. i hope we all can benefit something out of this goat rodeo! let me know if anything is happening. PLEASE.
I am interested in being notified of up-dates concerning Advanta and other industrial banks. Victor Perri
Today,Nov.9,2009,Advanta(credit card division)filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.Now what?
@Rebecca
Where’s your blog and what’s the status of the class action filing?
Advanta sent me a notice and informed me that my account was being “charged off” as a bad loss because I missed six consecutive payments. Then in the same letter they stated they were going to file a 1099 Form with the IRS and report the $8,000 I owed them as an “income” and that I may have to pay taxes on that money owed.
Since when does a bad loan on a credit card become justified as a “income? Since the “charge off” they don’t call my house anymore and the interest rate is now at 0%. Once the account is “charged off” they are not allowed to call you anymore and not allowed to charge you interest any more. The damage to my credit has already been done by the bastards, and the only thing left to do is to “settle” for pennies on the dollar once the economy improves.Or maybe I will just ride it out for seven years and the black mark on my credit report will dissapear afetr 84 months and one day, and they will never get the 8,000 out of my wallet. The nightmare is over!!!!!
I used their check in March 2009 with a 3% fee. I was told to make the minimun monthly pyt and the final pyt was due in Jan 2010. In November they started charging interest. When I called in, the people in India were rude and would not transfer me to a United States supervisor. They insisted the promotion ended Nov 1st. They would not go back & check previous phone records. I am trying to pay the final balance and the online banking will not accept the payment. My other choice is to call in & pay the $12 additional charge for phone service. This is the worst service I have ever received in my 25 years of being in business.
Here is 2-contacts names
Advanta Corp. Chris Curran vice-president 215-444-5335 [email protected]
Advanta Corp. David Goodman Director-communications-215-444-5073
[email protected]
Legal Prodceedings—Jan. 22,1999 Fleet filed law suit aganist Advanta
July 26, 2001 Chase Manhatten Mortgage Corp. file a complaint againt advanta.
November 2009 Advanta payed 21 millon to settle with the FEDS and a 150,000 fine Advanta states they did nothing wrong.
Advanta is going back into busines once they file a written plan with the FDIC.
What I see here is the consumer is getting ripped off and these clowns go on doing busines as nothing is wrong. You can thank your so called elected officals for not standing up to these jerks.
Call your states attorney–how ever advanta has finished their legal problems with the FDIC.
Busniness OWNERS you were SCREWED
Wow! Seems like everyone has been duked by them. My story is the same. I have been unemployed for six months. I notified advanta and they indicated there is nothing they can do. i continued to make the payments until 2 months ago. My interest went from 7.99 to 30%. Their reps called and lied to me about their repayment programs. When asked to hear the recorded conversation, they refused to allow me to hear it. The supervisor was very rude. I am not happy with their practices. I only owe 3400. I will pay them and get them out of my hair. Very bad experience.
My account was charged-off by Advanta Bank and sent to a bill collection agency. Now the collection agency is having trouble trying to contact me so they have resorted to calling my daughters house trying to contact me. I made a counter move and I have sent the colection agency a certified letter stating that they must “Cease and Desist” from attempting to contact me, since I do do not deal with third party bill collectors agencies, and that any attempt by them to contact me in the future by either by phone or mail will result in me bringing a law suit against them for “harrassment.”
I’ll keep everyone posted of the results of the certified letter. God bless you all.
The CEO of Advanta should be arrested for fraud to the consumer. All he did was pay a company fine to the FDIC and walk away with his hands clean! The FBI should take his large home in Montgomery County section of Pennsylvania his shore home, his cars for all of the money he stole from all of us.
Where the fuck is the PA Attorney General’s investigation into this fraud. The FBI?
Bernie Madow and the CEO of Advanta should be in the same fucking cell together. Why are we taking this shit from these assholes????
Fight back. Advanta fucked up my personal credit report. We all need to write to all three reporting agencies (Transunion, Equifax & Experian) and all send dispute letters about the fraud committed by Advanta! Do It now and flood their phones with consumer credit reporting complaints. They are going down fast so lets keep up the pressure. WE HAVE TO STICK TOGETHER ON THIS ONE TO SINK THEIR SHIP!!!!
Jim, I agree with you whole heartedly. The bankers can ruin and destroy our lives in a New York minute. The FICO Score, the Credit Rating Score and the Three Credit Reporting Agencies is nothing but a “ponzi scheme” system that works in favor of the financial industry and a “pyramid system” that keeps us all entrapped like puppets and enslaved. They tell you: Ooohhh… you have to many credit cards with outstanding balances. Ooohhh… you don’t have enough long-term credit to establish a history!!! Oooohhh…. you were late on car payments 15 years ago….Ooohhh you did not pay your electric bill on time. Oooohhhh…. you did not pay your oil bill last winter…Ooohhh, you forgot to pay the trash man.. the dentist… and the girl scouts for the chocolate chip cookies you bought back in 1985… Ooohhh your cat died in 1999 and now you are late again on your car payments. Blah… Blah.. Blah…Blah…The Three Credit Reporting Agencies are also part of the problem. They are in partnership with the banks and all the other lending institutions. One year agao I spent $5.00 and put a “security freeze” on my account through Experian. And now nobody is allowed to look into my credit report. I get a lot less junk mail and absolutely no more credit card solicitations anymore. Absolutely none, zere. I pay cash for everything,and rarely will I even use my ATM Debit Card. I have kicked all these bastards right out of my life. They go around “Profiling” people, by determing what stores you shop at to determine your personal wealth. If you shop at Wal-Mart—you must be broke. If you shop at Nieman Marcus or Sacs Fifth Avenue— you must be rich, so we will send you our best gold card. Then we can affect your credit score all over again!!! It’s a vicious cycle that you must learn how to break free from. Once you are free from these assholes, then you will be truly happy, and have a lot more cash in your pocket. FIGHT BACK.
I agree we should all write the three reporting agencies and “dispute” Advanta for what they have doneto us all. I also agree we should write our state Attorney Generals office and report them as being deceptive.
If you go with another business credit card you are giving advanta money.
All customers that have been with advanta get a finders fee from these credit card companies. The Discover Busniess Card included. In the beginning of this page is an advertising for the Discover Card-and they are hoping that past customers like you will get the this card and then advanta gets a kick-back. So far todate (01/25/2010) advanta as raked in millions from this practice. Let us ALL SEND A LOUD MESSAGE–by NOT using any credit(s)cards period. Also do not put your money into Advanta Bank Corp.-if you have money in this bank then pull it out. Then both advanta business card and advanta bank corp. will go out of business.
My accunt with Advanta Bank was “Charged-off” after missing six consecutive monthly payments due to the weak economy. Advanta Bank then sent my account to a bill collector and the bill collector began to harrass me and my family by text, postal mail and voice mail messages. I immediately shot back and sent out a certified “Cease and Desist” letter to the bill collectors address and told him I am protected by the consumer laws within the state that I reside in.
I wrote him and told him I do not deal with third party bill collectors, that I only deal directly with the lender who actually lent me the money and gave me the card. I sent the letter by certified mail. The letter was opened and read by someone, but on the envelope it was marked “Adress Unknown – No Such Address”
The conclusion that I reached was that either the bill collector went out of business or he was operating from a bogus address. Perhaps out of a suitcase or the kitchen table or the trunk of his car. I never got another phone call or letter from the bill collector.
The lesson to be learned here is that you are under no obligation to deal with a third party bill collector, whether they are an attorney or anyone else. Use the consumer laws to protect yourself.
Does anyone know the address of Credit Saver that is the card protection
program of all of the credit cards issued by Advanta Bank Corporation?
I called the number mentioned in the statement and I got a voice mail message
announcing that someone from Credit Saver would call me in a matter of 2
business days. So far, it did not happened.
Could it be another excuse of the Advanta Bank to do not comply with the
obligations of card protection program?
Anyone that had have same problem, could feed on my concerns?
Thank you.
…found this jewel published on Jan 26th, 2010.
“GREAT NEWS! FDIC DEFINATELY WANTS MORE STORIES!
THEY ARE TAKING ADVANTA COMPLAINTS QUITE SERIOUSLY.
Many small business owner’s now know that Advanta Bank engages in horrendous business practices.
I am among those with a FIXED RATE ACCOUNT that was jacked from 7.99% FIXED to over 32%. 750+ Fico, No lates anywhere, etc.
You all know that same story.
But, what you may not know is how much the FDIC CARES about this.
I spoke with some high-up people at the FDIC and they not only know about it, but their regulators have been notified. They have expressed sincere and deep concern over this.
So PLEASE SPEND 5 MINUTES AND TELL YOUR STORY…THEY NEED THE STORIES TO JUSTIFY HARD ACTION!
GO HERE Right now: https://www2.fdic.gov/starsmail/index.asp
(Special Tip: Don’t put any dashes in phone numbers on the form and make sure dates are in this format XX/XX/XXXX…..)
48 hours later, call this special number at the FDIC: 800-378-9581 and verify that they have your complaint, POLITELY restate it and ASK for help. They DO want to help, but can’t act without your story.
Be polite, clear, brief and specific.
I have heard, that just 200 more complaints, will trigger big trouble for Advanta.
Please go to this form: https://www2.fdic.gov/starsmail/index.asp and tell your story.”
So, if you have a story to share, make it worthwhile.
Well I’m really fed up I’ve tried to contact the customer support advanta help and try to work out an arrangement with them to settle minus all the high interest. But I give up all I get is run around. So what should I expect next if I don’t send in the payment. Really FED UP
@Simply Screwed
Has it worked
Great post “Researcher” !
I received a letter from Advanta Bank Corp with a check for #1,600+, which Advanta said was a “settlement” because the FDIC identified me a a consumer that was wronged by their business tactics (fixed rate, 7.99% went to 31.99& with no reason but “it’s the economy” regardless of spotless payment history etc., etc.) I SHOULD STATE THAT THIS WAS ONLY THE interest THAT WAS PAID BACK TO ME FOR ONLY A THREE MONTH PERIOD WHEN I CONSOLIDATED ABOUT $20K BUSINESS DEBT. I cashed the check and am now done with this horrible institution.I guess that I am out of the legal options now because of ADvanta Bank Corps. sly little statement that by cashing the check, I hold them “harmless” because THEY DISAGREE WITH THE FCC FINDINGS. I just guess that they are STILL as SLIMY as ever, because they just can’t find it possible to admit that they really ran a scam and thought Americans were too stupid to recognize it! I agree with another poster on this thread: They [meaning their CEO’s and BOD folk] should be living in card board boxes… but, being more compasionate, perhaps, I would like to add that their children should deliver them stone soup everyday, three times a day, even though it would interfere with their Ivy league education that was paid for by us consumers. Yeah! Damn right! I am angry!
Now, getting my anger aside (and probably yours if you are reading this thread), I encourage everyone to contact the FCC and take some time to deal Advanta their final blow! This is a prime example of Corporate excess and legal loop-holing that honest Americans should not put up with.
Ooops… Advanta doesn’t disagree with the FCC as in my previous post, it’s the FDIC. Sorry ’bout that.
Does anyone know if Advanta actually follows through with it’s threat to take legal action? Or is that just a tactic, and they send the account to a collection agency for collection or settlement. I have been pressured to come up with money or they are going immediately to legal, just after 3 missed payments. They have some sort of hardship program, but it is not very friendly in terms of low payments. But anyone know if they actually go to court for a money judgement and liens?
I’d be interested to know that too. I have tried to get a settlement by asking online, what a joke the same statement comes back call our collections department. Think they communicate?
Are there any Lawsuits pending?
@Douglas
Who is it you actually got a hold of to bargain down the deal is it possible to deal with the bank itself before the collection agencies get involved?
There is no rhyme or reason as to how they handle each and everyone of the accounts. So if you were lucky in any sense through your experience, such as getting ahold of American people who might try to understand and you can understand. Or how to get them to settle before going to collection please share this wisdom.
Is everyone happy?
i also paid on time all the time at7.99% was a good and easy way to pay
they changed my interest for no reason and it kept going up and up, all the phonecalls i made did not help,then it was closed for no reason
they devidet the money i owed in to 2 purchases 16.99% and cash advances 24.99
which was used to pay higher intrest creditcards at the beginning, very little of the payment goes to the amount i owe.as a very small businessowner
its hard to run a business without a creditcard and c.o.d.costs extra .all of the creditcard companies did that but advanta was the worst, im very angry and i hope somehow they get paid back with what they have done to so
many of us
with them
What happens to those of us who used Advanta, and owed a big balance? WIll it be forgiven?
Advanta Bank Closed by Utah Regulators
Advanta Bank Corp., the small business credit card lender that last year settled “unfair and deceptive practices” charges with regulators over rate hikes imposed on small business customers, was seized by Utah banking regulators Friday.
What does this mean for small business borrowers? When Utah regulators seized Advanta bank, the FDIC was named receiver and could not find a buyer for Advanta’s operations. For borrowers who owed money to Advanta Bank, “right now the FDIC is the owner of those loans,”.
Some Advanta borrowers have already had their debts sold to third-party debt collectors. Advanta’s seizure shouldn’t affect them. It’s unclear whether it will affect those whose debt is now owned by the FDIC.
The most significant consequence may be whether those borrowers trying to renegotiate their payments and write down their debts will have an easier time doing so now that the FDIC is their creditor.
This means, now you’ll have to negotiate with the FDIC.
So we owe them on a business acct and they talked up into a paymetn plan with a lower rate but they insist they can not take less thab 467 a month and we cant pay thqt much so what are our options? Should we stop paying ? make smaller payments or what ? I know you have to be 90 days late for some offers they try to give you of lower payments. Not sure what to do ……………. Advantas phone numbers and emails we had are all no good now so what happened ? they are still calling us though even though i sent a letter askign then to cease !! What can I do ?
I would love to find out what to do… I pay over 1K a month and that covers all the interest. I want to make a settlement, my taxes are paying for their bailout.. I want to pay .50 cents on the dollar since I have been paying this high interest rate for so long FICO score is 780. I want to keep it
@broke
BROKE. In response to your request, A “Cease and Desist” letter will only work with a 3rd party bill collector, such as a lawyer or bill collector agency. To get to that level the account muct be charged off. To be charged off you must be 180 days late, or miss seven consecutive payments. Once charged off it then will go to a bill collection agency. Then you can negotiate a small $5.00 a month payment. Or just stiff Advanta altogether, since they have been taken over by the FDIC. Don’t answer your telephone or respond to letters. Your credit is already ruined for 7 years anyway
@I’m poor too
Any way to avoid it ruining my credit?
My business was closed in 2005. I continued paying even more than payment when possible. Tried in 2008 to have finance charges lowered. Was told no programs available. Tried again in Dec. 2009. I was running out of my retirement money which is how I was paying them. Jan. 2010, I sent a partial payment deducting the finance charge. I had paid almost $10,000.00 in finance charges the past 2 years. Right away the calls started. At first is was “You have excellent credit”,(so keep paying us these high fees). Then it was threating calls and letter with legal action. I don’t know what to do now. I am submiting my story to the FDIC to see what happens. I am a little worried as the calls have suddenly stopped. Anybody else have that happen????
I held back payment for just less than a month and was called over and over again. Tried to negotiate a settlement over and over again. Wrote to FDIC and this is what the offer was no deduction on balance but interest was dropped to 16.99 %. If there is anything else happening I’m trying to keep informed. THanks
I just got my interest reduced from 34.99 to 16.99. I contacted them numerous times, and I emailed customer service since the FDIC took over. I think my last email may have threatened to stop paying on the account, but I don’t remember, I’ve sent so many. I don’t how, but I got a letter yesterday from Melissa Bleeze, account specialist, saying that even though the the interest had been raised in accordance with their policies, they were lowering it to 16.99%. So they won’t admit that interest was raised unfairly, but they lowered it. I haven’t cashed by settlement check to keep my lawsuit options open. That may also have something to do with it.
Keep asking for lower rates. It looks like since the FDIC took over they are having a change of heart regarding these outlandish interest rates.
what are the chances if i hold for a lower interst rate that it wont be a ding on my credit..What records do they have that its even my account if i dispute with all the issues with being taken over.
My recommendation is don’t pay them anything. They are in bankruptcy. Taken over by the FDIC. Non-existent. Non-existent. Gone. Vanished. If you have to pay, just give them $5.00 a month for the rest of your life. Your credit is already ruined. So what if your credit is ruined for 7 years. Nothing you can do. They have managed to screw you anyway. Don’t answer the telephone. Don’t write back. Don’t talk to them. Just don’t pay. Play hardball. They screwed over millions of hard-working people. Now it’s thier turn.
With another credit card company, I just wiped out $1,800 in debt, and it was perfectly legal and required by law.
Bcause of the slow economy, I was unable to pay my bills. I fell behind on six payments 180 days and the account was 10 days away from being charged off. The bank immediately offered me one last chance to make 4 consecutive payments of $90.00 each for a total payback of 360.00. With all the late fee and late payment fees I owed them $2,100 dollars, so I saved 70% off the total bill, or settled for about 30 cents on the dollar.
They told me they were required by law they make me the offer. All i will get on my credit report is a minor black eye, that will read “Settled As Agreed Upon.” I didn’t even have to use a Debt Management settlement company or pay any fees. They were just happy to get some money out of me.
Well I have good news I spoke to the FDIC who put me in tpuch with someone at Advanta in the USA, after paying 33% of the balance they offered me zero % for the life of the loan.
Not bad
Advanta has issued a warrant in debt for me to go to court. Who is taking me to court Advanta or the FDIC? Is Advanta still operating or are they closed up?
My Advanta business card account interest rate was suddenly and unknown to me, increased to 34.99%. When I called for an explanation, they were not specific. I asked if it was because of my late payment in November 2006 and the guy said there were many things considered but not just that one aspect. He would not be specific. I stopped using the card and then they cancelled it. I now am acruing over $400 per month in interest charges and have been for over 2 years now. Someone please give me some info on the class action lawsuit. I’d like to be involved in giving these crooks what they deserve.
I have the same story 7% to 29% was never late, screwed up my credit and now contacts my relatives and has scared them. WHAT A BUNCH OF THIEVES
Advanta reported me to be DECEASED to all the credit reporting companies. last july I asked in writing to settle this account, no responce repeated the request to settle every month for 5 months, no responce advanta had a collection agent in India ringing my phone to harrass against M.G.L. Chapter 93, Section 49 209 CMR 18:15 paragraph 4 I got them to stop calling after I sent them the call id log and a fine for 10,000.00 for every call. they have since charged off the account, but I still wanted to settle and now they as an act of malace reported me deceased and move the credit reporting from business to personal reporting.