Goodbye WaMu

When I first moved to America, I had to start my credit from scratch. It's not easy to obtain credit without a verifiable domestic credit history, but after some searching I finally found a credit card company willing to trust me. That company was Providian.

Everything went just fine for a few years, but ultimately they couldn't compete with any of the major companies like MBNA, Discover, Bank of America, and even Chase. So I paid it off and left the account dormant.

Eventually I got a letter from Washington Mutual (WaMu) who informed me that they had bought out Providian and now my deal was with them.

They sent me some ugly ass card, much like the one above, and told me it was business as usual.

I called them one time and asked them why their card was so ugly. They told me that was all that was available. I asked them why their interest rate was nearly double all my other cards. They told me it was company policy.

So with no incentive to use the card, I continued to leave it dormant until WaMu wrote me to tell me that my business was no longer required. They canceled my card and terminated my relationship with them.

With customer service like this, it is of little surprise that they just went tits up, so to speak.

If there is one good thing that might come out of this financial collapse, perhaps the weak companies with poor customer service will be swallowed up by quality companies that understand that if you treat people like crap, they will have a hard time investing in your company.

So goodbye WaMu. Thanks for your shitty service, your ugly card, and your inferior products. I'm glad you got bought out. I'm sure the millions of dollars handed out among the useless executives will teach them a valuable lesson in customer service and running a successful business.