Providian Credit Card

Last Updated on Friday, 10 February 2012 06:02

Providian Visa Credit Card

This card is no longer available since Providian was bought out by Washington Mutual in 2004. Washington Mutual sold their banking services to Chase in 2008, and Chase now issues their credit cards.

If you have heard of Providian from the news or was their customer you may know of the class action lawsuit that were filed against them.  The lawsuit claimed Providian of selling their credit card protection services too aggressively. 

On 11-7-2001, a settlement had been approved by the courts.  Providian was required to pay $100 million dollars in damages to the class.  This is the highest settlement reached against a credit card class action lawsuit.

Many people have shared their horror stories on the Internet with Providian customer service reps.  Some of them go into great detail of how many times they asked questions about the protection service and the customer service rep would give vague or indirect answers.  Another story tells of how a customer was bombarded with the protection service offer despite saying several times they weren't interested.

Providian Financial Corp. practices have left a black eye on the whole credit card industry, but I think it's damage began wearing off soon after it was sold to Washington Mutual.  Many people forget about a brand after it disappears from the market.   The protection service they sold is still used by many other credit card companies to this day, although probably not marketed as heavily.

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