How many of you are getting screwed...

[nfpgasmask]

...by your credit card company? I just got a letter yesterday that says they are jacking my APR from 7% to 12.99%. Reading the letter thoroughly states that I can deny this increase but have to cease using the card entirely, which I plan to do, especially since I just charged $6000 to it for my Falcon project. :_brickwal

Just curious, how many of you are getting these damn letters?

Bart

[LittleBeast]

I am at 11% :( I think I need to do a balance transfer to a better card.

[circmand]

Last month they cut my limit in half because I never got my balance above half. I was fine with that. But this month they said they are increaseing my APR from 6.5% to 15% because of the ratio of my balance to available credt. In other words I was at 50% of available credit they cut my available credit to a few hundred above my balance then want to increase my percentage because I have little available credit. I also am taking advantage of the keep the balance and not ge the increase.

[nfpgasmask]

Well, in my case, I am going to stop using this card and hunt for a balance transfer deal, even if it is only for 12 months or whatever. I am going to have to flip flop a little if I can. It's just such BS, imo, it's like they are punishing EVERYONE, regardless of whether you have good or bad credit.

:mad: Bart

[vt_maverick]

My rate has gone up twice in the past year. Apparently Citi has been making a desperate attempt to stay afloat by increasing APRs across the board (even with bailout $$$ on the way). I have a Citi Driver's Edge MasterCard, which earns cash back that can be used to reimburse the card holder for vehicle repair services. To add insult to the APR injury, Citi (for the first time in 4 years) rejected my rebate application because I had to buy the parts from Merlin and then have them installed by a separate shop in VA. Their excuse is that they pay only for service, not for parts. The spirit of the policy is obviously to prevent people from seeking reimbursement for speaker and rim upgrades, but they're trying to exploit it to deny me about $250. I filed a complaint with Citi's rebate office yesterday, and someone from their case management department is supposed to contact me today since this is likely going to be an ongoing issue.

If they can't fix it, then there's no point in having the card at all. I figure asking to cancel my card altogether if they say no again will get their attention.

[Gussie2000]

I used to have four credit cards,now I only remained with two that has the highest credit limits.

This is a game we can't win at all,is almost impossible to defeat the system;No matter whatever the goverment says banks has the control.

My advise to all guys is to stay away from credit offers & get rid of all those credit cards that have no advantages for us to keep using them any more

[Riff Raff]

I've only had 1 credit card my whole life (a MasterCard). I try to pay with cash on everything I buy, and only use my credit card for "emergencies" (when I don't have enough cash on me) or for on-line/mail-order purchases (in which case, I try to pay off ASAP).

[tom4bren]

"But this month they said they are increaseing my APR from 6.5% to 15% because of the ratio of my balance to available credt."

A couple of our credit limits have been lowered recently and I didn't even consider that it would affect the rate ... TRICKSY HOBITSES.

[Marlin]

I used to only have one card, but when I went to get a mortgage, they said I needed at least 3 to get a lower interest rate. So now I have three, but no letters yet. I did manage to get a 5.75% rate on my house...so it was worth it.

[circmand]

"But this month they said they are increaseing my APR from 6.5% to 15% because of the ratio of my balance to available credt."

A couple of our credit limits have been lowered recently and I didn't even consider that it would affect the rate ... TRICKSY HOBITSES.


Neither did I until I got the follow up letter

[mdwyer]

Just curious, how many of you are getting these damn letters?

My rates haven't gone up, yet. But I did get a letter from Citi saying they were closing my old AT&T Universal Card account because I never use it. I stopped using it when Citi bought out the card and the service started sucking.

Most of me says, "Screw them. I don't need them anyway." However, it does mean that my longest-history card is going to go away, AND the total amount of my credit will be going down. This will probably impact my FICO score a little.

I have a couple of other accounts in the same situation... My Fleet card got bought out by BofA. I've got a GMAC card from a medical financing I did. I expect to get love letters from them eventually.

The one that's going to kill me is when my current favorite card raises my rates because I pay off the balance every month. Until then, though, they are my favorite, and I recommend them. (link (http://www.firstnational.com/001/html/en/personal/cardproducts/creditcards/credit_card_main.html?utm_id=16))


I keep getting more and more frustrated that I'm doing everything 'right', and I'm still getting screwed. How ironic would it be if my credit score went screaming down because I'm a reliable borrower??

[djvx]

Yep, they got me too man. Jacked me up from a super low rate of 4.9 to a decent low rate of 8.9...In my haste I reacted stupidly and cancelled that card--Not realizing my rate didn't go up that much. My girlfriend got jacked up much higher. It sucks, those of us who pay our bills get screwed.

[taylorRichie]

Anyone else using mint.com?

It's amazing, free, and they give you credit card recommendations, based on your current rates. I love it!

[VXR]

RBS closed my account altogether because I never use it:confused:

[VehiGAZ]

These stories make me mad!! It's just so wrong to do that to their customers! But many banks have big problems now and have to pull these tricks just to stay afloat.

I've got a Chase Travel Rewards MC at 8.65% with no recent changes in the rate or the limit. I have a >$20k limit, even though I have never put more than about $5k on it in a billing cycle, and I've almost never carried a balnce of more than $2k.

I also have an MBNA MC account which I haven't used in years, but they haven't tried to close it on me yet. It used to be my primary, but they jacked the rate from 8% to 13% a few years back and wouldn't step back, so I just switched my charging to the Chase card.

I don't know why they haven't taken a swipe at me yet - maybe because Chase has not had the problems many other large banks have been having, so they are not battening down the hatches (closing inactive accts) or screwing customers (see above) like other banks have, or maybe it's because I've got >800 credit scores across the board and I put a lot of activity on my primary card (~$2k/mo). Dunno... maybe both.

PS - the Chase Travel Rewards card is an great card if you want to get travel bennies from your CC. I found out about it at cardoffers.com (http://www.cardoffers.com/Default.asp).

[WormGod]

I don't know what you all are complaining about. They have to raise APR so we can all pay for everyone else's inability to pay their debts. C'mon, it all makes sense, right? I actually know morons who were material-charge-happy with their 12 cards and are now unemployed in this sad market. Makes me bitter. :mad:

I now only have 2 cards, and only one of those has a high limit so it never gets used unless an emergency arises. 90% of my purchases are usually on my bank card so it comes out from my account directly. No APR at all. That's the good stuff. :)

[circmand]

they raised the rate on new purchases only and left the old balance at the agreed upon rate and applied payments to the old low interest balance first. However to loan monay at an agreed upon rate and then up the rate afterwards is wrong.

[mdwyer]

Anyone else using mint.com?

It's amazing, free, and they give you credit card recommendations, based on your current rates. I love it!

Mint scares the hell out of me. I'm so uncomfortable with giving a third party access to all my banking account logins.

Still... despite that, i tried them. They don't yet support my little hometown bank, so I can't get anywhere with them, yet.

[KeithVXlvr]

I do not know what my APR is becaue I pay it off every month.:eek: Crazy, I know.

How the heck can you let the balance roll and get hammered :smack: like that ??? It is like throwing money away.

I have one card that gets miles and I pay it off every month so, the APR doesn't even matter. And if you get caught in a bad spell, you can call them and tell them you are going elswhere unless they lower the rate.:)

[handeeman]

I haven't gotten any letters about rate increases or such, yet. However my sister got the one increasing her rate and cutting her credit limit to within a few hundred of her current balance. So here's the gaff, her credit score dropped because now it appears she is nearly maxed out on her cards. She had never even been late.

[taylorRichie]

Mint scares the hell out of me. I'm so uncomfortable with giving a third party access to all my banking account logins.

Still... despite that, i tried them. They don't yet support my little hometown bank, so I can't get anywhere with them, yet.

I was too... but if you do any kind of search for them they've won a million awards, and I haven't found any negative press on them (relating to identity fraud) I love the at-a-glance approach to every account I have, including investment accounts.

If they built in a bill pay system I'd have no reason to log in to my bank account ever.

[PittVXr]

Citibank tried that little trick on me last month. One phone call got my APR back down to where it was. I have had an account with them for close to 15 years now and this is the first time I can remember my interest rate taking a huge jump. I guess they figure that most Americans don't even bother to read their statement when it comes in the mail. They just mail in the minimum payment and stretch their debt out for another month.

I was actually surprised that they lowered it with no argument. I guess sometimes all you gotta do is ask.

[mdwyer]

I was actually surprised that they lowered it with no argument. I guess sometimes all you gotta do is ask.

Well, I called up Citi a few hours ago and asked to close my account. I almost lost it when they ran me through the retention process.

"You're a valuable customer! Why are you leaving us?"

"Funny you should ask, since you're they one closing my account."

The woman I talked to was very nice, at least. She asked why I stopped using the card, and offered up a couple of options to keep me as a customer -- like a new points plan, and cutting the APR by 20%! I'd been a customer for 14 years!

I'm probably going to regret it, but I was just too pissed at them. It bothers me too much that they leave me hanging for five years or more, threaten to close my account, then suddenly they want to be my friend when I try to close the account under my own terms. I just refuse to do business with companies that insult me like that... not when I have a choice, at least.

Companies like Comcast and Ticketmaster are still able to screw me because of their monopoly. But I see no reason to put up with a company that doesn't care about me. Sprint, for all their failings, at least appreciates that I have a good history with them.

Argh! :mad:

Still, it says a lot towards what PittVX was saying: If you actually call up and ask, you might be suprised at just how willing they might be to keep you.

[kodiak]

This will explain everything.;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_TjBNjc9Bo

[AK Falco]

Just got a letter from American express. they dropped my limit to just above my ballance. I dident know it until I went to use it ane my card was declined. ? what a scam!

[taylorRichie]

Just got a letter from American express. they dropped my limit to just above my ballance. I dident know it until I went to use it ane my card was declined. ? what a scam!

They did the same to me...

Not sure why either :( really sucks... I carried a balance with them for a few months after a vacation, that I booked through them!! using my amex. After I got it paid off they said I carried a balance and thus was given a credit limit.

Then Last month they cut my credit in half because I wasn't using it???? What?!?

[vt_maverick]

Discovered a new level of shadiness a few minutes ago, not credit card related, but sorta related.

I was in Cali last summer on a business trip and found myself at a toll booth without the required change. But unfortunately they don't have an ATM or off-ramp to an ATM anywhere near by, so I got the pretty orange fine card. I talked it over with Hertz and they promised to forward me a copy of the bill once it arrived.

Fast forward 8 months... I get a letter in the mail from a collection agency, which claims that Bay Area Transit has attempted to contact me (Hertz rather) twice and since I've chosen not to respond (:rolleyes:) they've turned it over to collection. So I go ahead to the collection company's website and pay the $74 bill online, then call them up to verify they received payment and won't report it on my credit report (which they aren't). Now $74 is a nice chunk of change, but I did the crime so I was okay with paying up, UNTIL the very nice agent said casually "It's a shame you didn't call before submitting your payment - I could have reduced the charge to $29 on the spot."

Q#@$%!@T!#^U$%@&%^*#%^R^&@%R^@#$%#$%!#$%!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh and :mad: :madr2: :_mecker: :argue: :flame2: :_brickwal: :disturbed:
So I say to him, "Well if I stop payment on my card and call you back, can you rebill me for $29 instead?" Things get shifty on the other end of the phone, and he eventually tells me that if they see my payment fail, they'll add an additional penalty and won't even consider dropping the amount to the lower $29.

WTF?!?!?!?