03
Jul
by
Tanesha
Who are they?
Picture it – Ohio… 1900… Harvey Firestone opened the doors of a tire manufacturing company. Starting Firestone Tire & Rubber was a risky venture for the time. There were hardly any cars on the road. But Mr. Firestone envisioned an opportunity that others did not see. For this, he was rewarded with great success. It only took six years for his small company to reach the million sales mark.
Eventually the company’s reign spanned across the nation. Americans were not only choosing Firestone to tend to its automotive needs, but they were also tuning into Mr. Firestone radio show each week. The Firestone name and the Firestone brand had become an iconic.
After standing alone for 88 years, the company was brought under the wing of the Bridgestone Corporation. The takeover exposed Firestone products into a different arena… the global market.
Today, with 6,000 locations, Bridgestone/Firestone is one of the fiercest players in the auto industry. The company offers a wide range of automotive products and services. However most associate them with their signature trademark, tires.
In the news
Recently, Firestone increased the price of tires to compensate for the rising price of rubber. However, with a
weakening economy and sluggish sales, this is still not enough. The company announced last week that its Noblesville, Indiana plant will cease operations in 2009. The plant has been a major employer in the town for 72 year years. Unfortunately the plant closure will result in 300 jobs lost… a hard hit for a small community.
In other news… Although the particulars have not been publicly revealed, the state of Ohio offered a sweet deal to Firestone. This state approved a proposal that would allow the company to skate over $18 million dollars in potential tax bills. What will the state receive in return? An economy-stimulating, state-of-the-art Firestone tire center operating in the heart of Akron for the next 18 years.
The card
Basics
- Firestone’s credit card is issued by Credit First National Association (or CFNA for short)
- 21.84% APR on purchases… which increases to 24.84% for the next 6 months if your payment is not received within 5 days of the due date
- 25 day grace period
- Interest computed on average day card balance with a minimum of $1.00 finance charge for each cycle in which there is a balance
- Staggered late payment schedule – $15 for balances less than $100, $25 for balances of $100 up to $299.99, $33 for balances of $300 plus
- $29 bounce check fee
- Over the limit fee not specified
- No annual fee
- Privacy policy – They’ll collect personal information about you and selective share (sell) it with affiliates, third parties… you have the right to opt out… blah, blah, blah
Extras
- 90 day interest free payment plan for certain purchases
My take
If it were not for the 90 day interest free payment plan, I would say stay away from this card. The interest 
rate is ridiculously high! And on top of having a high APR, there are no benefits (like points, cash back, miles) of having the card. The use of the card is restricted to only Firestone or Bridgestone stores. Therefore transportability is nonexistent. However, if you are planning a shopping spree at the local Firestone, use this card! That is only if you pay the entire balance within the 90 day period. The no interest thing is a good deal. Other than that, 22% interest is a rip off.
The way I see it… the 90 day thing is a ploy to get you to buy their products. And the 22% APR thing is a great deterrent to maintaining a balance.
Use the card the way it was designed to use, then you’ve got yourself a winner. Use it in any other way, then you are getting screwed.
Besides the 90 day intrest free deal, what also sold me was now I’m able to get a full synthetic oil change for half the cost. Use to cost me 65.00 not is cost me half that. Can’t beat that
[Reply]
I strongly suggest that anybody who wants to improve their credit score NOT get a CFNA credit card. I know they are the credit company who provides cards for Firestone and Plaza Tire Service. I would guess there are other companies as well. Before applying for a card please make sure you ask if it is CFNA.
The problem is this — they do not report credit limits to the bureaus. They report your current balance to all three bureaus, but report no limit. An essential part of raising your credit score is having a favorable debt to credit ratio. This ranges anywhere from 20%-35% depending on who you ask. If you have a $1 balance on a CFNA card, your debt to credit ratio on that account is infinitely negative because you’re debt is $1 and your credit limit is unreported (which is considered ZERO by the bureaus).
I sent a few letters to their customer service department, and their responses were abysmal. I paid off the card just now, and will be canceling it as soon as the payment goes through. I see no reason in keeping a card that I can’t use. My credit limit is $1200 and my balance is $159 but since they don’t report a limit my overall debt to credit ratio is 75%. My only other credit card has a $200 limit so it’s showing my overall debt as $159 and my overall available credit as $200. It should be $159 versus $1400 which would be about 11%. CFNA refuses to do anything about it since they are “not required by law to report credit limits”. So much for customer service. I’m glad I paid it off before they got any of my money.
I’m going to try to spread the word as best I can that this is a horrible practice and extremely bad customer service. I opened this account hoping to increase my credit score, and it has dropped it by over 20 points with all three bureaus. I’ve spent a couple years trying to raise my scores and this just set me back a good six months. The inquiry alone will haunt me for two years.
[Reply]
I had to replace a damaged tire on my car, so I took it into Firestone. At that time I had enough money in my budget to pay for two tires, but I could not afford the cost for all four until my next paycheck. The service representative suggested that it would be in my best interest to change all four tires, and offered their line of credit to help cover the cost. I accepted the offer and opened the line of credit, because I knew I would be able to pay off the balance in the first month. In the end this arrangement would end up saving me money, since buying two tires at a time would result in additional service fees.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to pay off the balance in the first month or even the 90 no-interest period. The problem was with their billing. I never received a bill, and they refused to give me my account information over the phone. I kept receiving harassing phone calls from their collections department, wanting me to give my bank account information over the phone. I don’t feel comfortable giving my bank account information over the phone, especially without ever seeing any kind of statement. I have spoken with three customer service representatives and found that they have been sending the bills to an old address (one I haven’t lived at for 5 years). Each time I talked with them I give them my correct address, and requested that they change it. After speaking with the third person, I have finally received my first bill from them. It was hand addressed by the last representative I spoke to. Now between the late payment charges that they have tacked on and the interest rate, the amount of money I owe is considerably higher than my original plan of changing the tires one set at a time. I still have not received an official statement from them, but at least I can pay off the debt with the copy of the statement that was finally provided to me.
I’m still boggled about how they got my old address, when I not only provided my correct address on the original application, but I was also required to show my driver’s license. They also kept sending my bills to the old address after I requested to change it twice. It seems like a scam. I can try to fight the late payment fees, but I will most likely get stuck with the interest rate.
[Reply]
Kim reply on March 5th, 2010:
I have excellent credit and a little savings in the bank. I opened the credit card bc the store representative said I would save 20percent on services each time I used the Firestone card (as Chris stated). I did not receive a bill the first time after I charged to the card. When the Credit First collections dept. called me, I gave them permission to withdraw the amt. from my bank acct., not thinking about the accuracy of the amt. they stated that I owed. Several mths later, I had more service performed. AGAIN, I did not receive a bill. The first “bill” was a notice from CFNA stating that they “made several recent request for payment” and that I was now delinquent. This “bill” is $90.16 more than I originally owed. According to the Federal Trade Commission, Fair Credit Billing, consumers may dispute for:
“failure to send bills to your current address – provided the creditor receives your change of address, in writing, at least 20 days before the billing period ends.”
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre01.shtm
The dispute must be made in writing. Of course, it’s impossible for CFNA to give me the address for the billing inquiries dept. And I probably overpaid the first time the CFNA credit dept. called me. I am disputing these charges.
When I pay with the card, they reduce my check-out price. That’s the only reason why I use the card.
I always pay before receiving my statement, statements arrive intermittently and I never received a statement before I moved. When statements do arrive, they always show the balance (that I already paid before the statement was issued), but not my payment.
If someone wants to start a petition to get them to report the card limits, I would be happy sign. Change in policy often requires large groups of highly vocal dissatisfied customers.
[Reply]
Joe reply on January 14th, 2010:
Other people have commented that CREDIT LIMITS have been reported since sometime last year to all three bureaus.
I hate CFNA, STAY AWAY FROM Credit First (CFNA)!!!!! I have always had good credit and used the card to take advantage of the zero interest program yep I was a sucker. I bought $600 in tires and three vehicles later my balance is still $500. I read that 90% of people fail with this feature.
I never receive a bill so I used the same payment date from old bill. I called to update address several times to no avail. I called today to get payment due and balance to create February’s budget and noticed the minimum had increased, although I usually pay $100 a month, I wanted to note the minimum payment in case I needed the room in the budget. After waiting for 17min to speak to customer service she told me I was charged a $35 late fee.
I paid the bill in cash at a store on the due date and it cleared the next day resulting in the fee. I asked to have the fee refunded and she told me she couldnt I had been late SEVEN times this year. The news took me by surprise.
A combination of NO Statements and the changing due dates killed me. That means I racked up $245 in late fees this year alone. WoW they screwed me. I went back and checked my payments against their records and all of my payments were less than 5 days late. Any ideas on how I can get this fixed?
[Reply]
Wayne reply on October 15th, 2010:
your payments were late, hence the fees. If you don’t want late fees, pay BEFORE the due date. Problem solved. Also, it is the responsibility of someone who owes a bill to make their payments. Whether you received a statement or not, you knew you owed a bill, and should have sent a payment. There are also ways (online, phone, in-store) to get your information to make your payment. You were not screwed at all, you failed to make good on the terms and conditions you agree to when you opened the credit card account. Simple as that.
If enough people file complaints, the Federal Trade Commission will investigate:
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/
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I had an auto loan for more then 5 years and the balance is still at 14,000 that is crazy
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