In November 2009, I accessed my Tribute account online to make a $200 payment, as I would customarily pay far more than the minimum. I cannot accurately describe the astonishment in realizing that my "Credit Limit" was $0 and not the $1, 050 I had built it up to. I actually had to look at it several times and navigate through their site to try and make some sense of what I was seeing. I had not received any prior indication from them, via the net or snail-mail, that my account had been closed.<br />
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In an attempt to rebuild my credit after a divorce I was proud to know that this company honored the original agreement and rewarded me with increases to my credit limit from an initial $300 or so to $1, 050. It was my second credit card and I had the account for 4+ years. I was a day or two late perhaps four times...always due to an oversight on my part. Unfortunately, I rely on paperless, online notifications from my creditors but Tribute does not have that option.<br />
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Granted, this is a card to "help" consumers re-establish their credit and being late is never a good thing but even the most organized individual can miss a deadline for whatever reason. <br />
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From what I've read online, there is not an individual out there who has exceeded the $1, 050 limit without being shut down unexpectedly...most without having been late a single time. The representatives who've been harassing me with endless phone calls have told me that the company who financially backed Tribute decided to end their contract, thereby closing all Tribute accounts...not just mine. In fact, they went so far as to ASSURE me that it had NOTHING to do with my payment history or account activity. Yet, one woman broke protocol and told me, "Lots of people are enduring hard times and not paying their bills", to which I replied, "And that has 'what to do with me since you just assured me it had nothing to do with my personal account?" <br />
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At first I believed their crap but due to their vagueness I began to search online for more information. What I found was, not only a whole lot of people like me but advertisements for new cardholders to apply for a Tribute card. I've enlightened Tribute's collectors that I am aware of their scheme and how many complaints have been lodged against them but it always falls on deaf ears. They never have a direct answer to my affirmation that, if searched online, there are several ways to obtain the same card they say is no longer being 'backed' by the financier.<br />
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The calls have come as frequently as 10 to 12 times per day and occasionally they use a different number to catch me off guard but I just keep saving them in my "contacts" as #1, #2, #3, etc and giving them a silent ring tone. Barring an unusual experience they are typically the first to call EVERY morning. The person with whom I spoken to have varied from cold and impersonal, or rude and adversarial, to understanding and compassionate...(once)<br />
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For anybody who has experienced a recent and unexpected closure of their Tribute account, I would highly suggest they go online and print out as much payment history as possible and record every phone call, voice, text, and snail-mail from Tribute. <br />
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Here is a link I found particularly useful as a starting point in determining my rights. <br />
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<www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf><br />
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Just because you owe this debt does not give Tribute the authority or privilege to wreak havoc on your life. There are options and avenues available that I encourage you to investigate.

I signed up for a Tribute Gold Master Card in response to an ad that came in the mail claiming that it would fix my credit score, and I was virtually pre-approved. I was approved, and my Tribute Card came in the mail shortly thereafter. I've used it for the past few months with no problems, until a couple of weeks ago I received a call from a salesman telling me about a new product that Tribute was offering called Privacy Matters.

This new product, like many others that are offered by credit card companies, will monitor your account for fraud and give you a free credit report every month. I decided to sign up for the service, but was told that the service wouldn't become active until I received the welcome kit and activated it by phone. I figured this would be no problem.

Well a few weeks went by, and the welcome kit came in the mail the same day as a phone call from Tribute saying that my account was past due and that if I didn't set up a payment before hanging up, I would go to collections. My statement says I am not due until the 30th, and the call came on the 21st. I was somewhat angry, but I set up the payment

Today, I recieved something in the mail that says that my account is overdrawn, and that they have revoked my credit card privileges with them. I looked at my account on line and found out why. They have charged me an overlimit fee for the supposed 'late' payment, as well as billed me for this 'privacy matters' thing that I haven't activated yet.

Not only am I angry that I have been billed for a service I am not using, I also don't feel its right to charge a late payment fee and threaten to send someone to collections for not being more than 9 days early, and I also am very dissatisfied that I am down one less credit card. If any big whig lawyer from Tribute is reading this, I hope you are prepared to deal with a lawsuit and I'm not afraid to do it either. See you in court.

I don't see this as anything but fraud. Just add Tribute to the long list of other dishonest and fraudulent companies out there.