"I Guess This Card Is Okay"
Continental Finance MasterCard® Review
Written by: erin on 2007-08-07
Overall Satisfaction
Customer Service
Rewards
Account Management
Delivery Time
erin's review: 
I just got this card and was a little alarmed when I called due to question I had about the payment procedure. I could not get a hold of a real person. So I called the bank that actually issues the credit card (first bank of delaware) and they were able to connect me right with a representative. I would not suggest doing online payments for two reasons (1) they charge you $4.00 for doing so and (2) they hold the amount of your payment from your credit. So my initial credit limit was $53.00 and I made an online payment of $50.00, but they held the payment amount against my credit and charged me $4.00, so I was actually - $1.00 credit !!! I was shocked. But when I called they said don't worry about it. It takes 7 days for your credit to reflect your payment. And they ensured me I would not be charged an over the limit fee. I guess for someone to rebuild their credit its something you have to do. The fees are high, yes, but if you stick with this card for say a year or so and do well with it I'm sure you'll get more reasonable offers from other companies.
I just got this card and was a little alarmed when I called due to question I had about the payment procedure. I could not get a hold of a real person. So I called the bank that actually issues the credit card (first bank of delaware) and they were able to connect me right with a representative. I would not suggest doing online payments for two reasons (1) they charge you $4.00 for doing so and (2) they hold the amount of your payment from your credit. So my initial credit limit was $53.00 and I made an online payment of $50.00, but they held the payment amount against my credit and charged me $4.00, so I was actually - $1.00 credit !!! I was shocked. But when I called they said don't worry about it. It takes 7 days for your credit to reflect your payment. And they ensured me I would not be charged an over the limit fee. I guess for someone to rebuild their credit its something you have to do. The fees are high, yes, but if you stick with this card for say a year or so and do well with it I'm sure you'll get more reasonable offers from other companies.
2 Comments
Comment 1 by erin
THIS IS A GOOD CARD;NOT GREAT, GOOD 
on 2007-09-22
I have written a review for this card before... All you people are complaining about is things you were told upfront... You knew what the fees were... You knew what your initial available credit was going to be... And YOU decided to apply and accept this card. I have this card... Have had it for about 6 months now and have NEVER had a problem... If you want to talk to a real customer service rep I suggest you call First Bank of Delaware directly... They will connect you immediately to a Continental Finance rep... The card has worked every time I've went to use it... They immediately reported to the credit bureaus... My credit score has gone up... I got this card knowing what the fees were and what my credit was going to be... And I was able to work with it... I hate to say it this way but maybe this is why some of you have bad credit because you do this "complaining" with every card you get and then don't pay your bill... Blah blah blah... Just pay your bill... Pay on it every month (more than the minimum due) and there should be no problem... If you send em a check they do put a hold on it for 7 days... BUT ONE WAY TO GET AROUND THAT WOULD BE TO SEND THEM A MONEY ORDER (TA DA!)... The website does suck... But after all, you should know what your credit is and how much is available. It does suck that they charge us $10.00 a month for account maintenance and the information on the website is not correct... But when it comes down to it... Your able to use the card if you pay your bill... To establish/rebuild your credit its a good card... Beggers cannot be choosers... Sorry to be so blunt about this... But I cannot stand when people sit here and complain about something THEY WANTED AND SIGNED UP FOR...
on 2007-09-22 I have written a review for this card before... All you people are complaining about is things you were told upfront... You knew what the fees were... You knew what your initial available credit was going to be... And YOU decided to apply and accept this card. I have this card... Have had it for about 6 months now and have NEVER had a problem... If you want to talk to a real customer service rep I suggest you call First Bank of Delaware directly... They will connect you immediately to a Continental Finance rep... The card has worked every time I've went to use it... They immediately reported to the credit bureaus... My credit score has gone up... I got this card knowing what the fees were and what my credit was going to be... And I was able to work with it... I hate to say it this way but maybe this is why some of you have bad credit because you do this "complaining" with every card you get and then don't pay your bill... Blah blah blah... Just pay your bill... Pay on it every month (more than the minimum due) and there should be no problem... If you send em a check they do put a hold on it for 7 days... BUT ONE WAY TO GET AROUND THAT WOULD BE TO SEND THEM A MONEY ORDER (TA DA!)... The website does suck... But after all, you should know what your credit is and how much is available. It does suck that they charge us $10.00 a month for account maintenance and the information on the website is not correct... But when it comes down to it... Your able to use the card if you pay your bill... To establish/rebuild your credit its a good card... Beggers cannot be choosers... Sorry to be so blunt about this... But I cannot stand when people sit here and complain about something THEY WANTED AND SIGNED UP FOR...
Comment 2 by james03
Good on 2007-10-27
If more people would read the fine print their would be no questions asked about credit cards. For instance
I got this from the term and condition page when you apply for the card...
Internet Payment Fee. You may request that we arrange an internet payment on your Account. At your option, you may make a single payment over the internet rather than by mail. We will assess a $4.00 Internet Payment Fee for each internet authorized payment.
Credit Availability/Payment Hold. Payments made by guaranteed funds (for example, money orders, debit cards, credit cards, cashiers checks, MoneyGram and Western Union) will increase your credit availability on the day your payment is posted. For all other payments, depending on the payment amount and/or how long your Account has been opened, and if you have previously made a payment that was not honored for any reason, such payment will not increase your credit availability until we are assured that the payment has not been dishonored. This payment hold will take at least seven (7) days.
YOUR BILLING RIGHTS
KEEP THIS NOTICE FOR FUTURE USE
This notice contains important information about your rights and our responsibilities under the Fair Credit Billing Act.
Notify Us In Case of Errors or Questions about Your Bill
If you think your Monthly Billing Statement is wrong, or if you need more information about a transaction on your Monthly Billing Statement, write us on a separate sheet at the address listed on your Monthly Billing Statement. Write to us as soon as possible. We must hear from you no later than 60 days after we sent you the first Monthly Billing Statement on which the error or problem appeared. You can telephone us, but doing so will not preserve your rights.
In your letter, give us the following information:
Your name and Account number.
The dollar amount of the suspected error.
Describe the error and explain, if you can, why you believe there is an error.
If you need more information, describe the item you are not sure about.
If you have authorized us to pay your credit card bill automatically from your savings or checking account, your can stop the payment on any amount you think is wrong. To stop the payment, your letter must reach us 3 business days before the automatic payment is scheduled to occur.
Your Rights and Our Responsibilities after We Receive Your Written Notice.
We must acknowledge your letter within 30 days, unless we have corrected the error by then. Within 90 days, we must either correct the error or explain why we believe the Monthly Billing Statement was correct.
After we receive your letter, we cannot try to collect any amount you question, or report you as delinquent. We can continue to bill you for the amount you question, including Finance Charges, and we can apply any unpaid amount against your credit limit. You do not have to pay any questioned amount while we are investigating, but you are still obligated to pay the parts of your bill that are not in question.
If we find that we made a mistake on your Monthly Billing Statement, you will not have to pay any Finance Charges related to any questioned amount. If we did not make a mistake, you may have to pay Finance Charges, and you will have to make up any missed payments on the question amount. In either case, we will send you a statement of the amount you owe and the date that it is due.
If you fail to pay the amount that we think you owe, we may report you as delinquent. However, if our explanation does not satisfy you, and you write to us within 10 days telling us that you still refuse to pay, we must tell anyone we report you to that you have a question about your Monthly Billing Statement. And, we must tell you the name of anyone we reported you to. We must tell anyone we report you to that the matter has been settled between us when it is final.
If we dont follow these rules, we cannot collect the first $50.00 of the questioned amount, even if your Monthly Billing Statement was correct.
Special Rule for Credit Card Purchases.
If you have a problem with the quality of property or services that you purchased with your Card and you have tried in good faith to correct the problem with the merchant, you have the right not to pay the remaining amount due on the property or services. There are two limitations on this right:
(a) You must have made the purchase in your home state, or, if not within your home state, within 100 miles of your current mailing address; and
(b) The purchase price must have been more than $50.00.
These limitations do not apply if we own or operate the merchant, or if we mailed you the advertisement for the property or services.
on 2007-10-27 If more people would read the fine print their would be no questions asked about credit cards. For instanceI got this from the term and condition page when you apply for the card...
Internet Payment Fee. You may request that we arrange an internet payment on your Account. At your option, you may make a single payment over the internet rather than by mail. We will assess a $4.00 Internet Payment Fee for each internet authorized payment.
Credit Availability/Payment Hold. Payments made by guaranteed funds (for example, money orders, debit cards, credit cards, cashiers checks, MoneyGram and Western Union) will increase your credit availability on the day your payment is posted. For all other payments, depending on the payment amount and/or how long your Account has been opened, and if you have previously made a payment that was not honored for any reason, such payment will not increase your credit availability until we are assured that the payment has not been dishonored. This payment hold will take at least seven (7) days.
YOUR BILLING RIGHTS
KEEP THIS NOTICE FOR FUTURE USE
This notice contains important information about your rights and our responsibilities under the Fair Credit Billing Act.
Notify Us In Case of Errors or Questions about Your Bill
If you think your Monthly Billing Statement is wrong, or if you need more information about a transaction on your Monthly Billing Statement, write us on a separate sheet at the address listed on your Monthly Billing Statement. Write to us as soon as possible. We must hear from you no later than 60 days after we sent you the first Monthly Billing Statement on which the error or problem appeared. You can telephone us, but doing so will not preserve your rights.
In your letter, give us the following information:
Your name and Account number.
The dollar amount of the suspected error.
Describe the error and explain, if you can, why you believe there is an error.
If you need more information, describe the item you are not sure about.
If you have authorized us to pay your credit card bill automatically from your savings or checking account, your can stop the payment on any amount you think is wrong. To stop the payment, your letter must reach us 3 business days before the automatic payment is scheduled to occur.
Your Rights and Our Responsibilities after We Receive Your Written Notice.
We must acknowledge your letter within 30 days, unless we have corrected the error by then. Within 90 days, we must either correct the error or explain why we believe the Monthly Billing Statement was correct.
After we receive your letter, we cannot try to collect any amount you question, or report you as delinquent. We can continue to bill you for the amount you question, including Finance Charges, and we can apply any unpaid amount against your credit limit. You do not have to pay any questioned amount while we are investigating, but you are still obligated to pay the parts of your bill that are not in question.
If we find that we made a mistake on your Monthly Billing Statement, you will not have to pay any Finance Charges related to any questioned amount. If we did not make a mistake, you may have to pay Finance Charges, and you will have to make up any missed payments on the question amount. In either case, we will send you a statement of the amount you owe and the date that it is due.
If you fail to pay the amount that we think you owe, we may report you as delinquent. However, if our explanation does not satisfy you, and you write to us within 10 days telling us that you still refuse to pay, we must tell anyone we report you to that you have a question about your Monthly Billing Statement. And, we must tell you the name of anyone we reported you to. We must tell anyone we report you to that the matter has been settled between us when it is final.
If we dont follow these rules, we cannot collect the first $50.00 of the questioned amount, even if your Monthly Billing Statement was correct.
Special Rule for Credit Card Purchases.
If you have a problem with the quality of property or services that you purchased with your Card and you have tried in good faith to correct the problem with the merchant, you have the right not to pay the remaining amount due on the property or services. There are two limitations on this right:
(a) You must have made the purchase in your home state, or, if not within your home state, within 100 miles of your current mailing address; and
(b) The purchase price must have been more than $50.00.
These limitations do not apply if we own or operate the merchant, or if we mailed you the advertisement for the property or services.
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Disclaimer: This content is not provided by First Bank of Delaware. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by First Bank of Delaware. Review content is powered by Finance Globe.
Disclaimer: This content is not provided by First Bank of Delaware. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by First Bank of Delaware. Review content is powered by Finance Globe.
