credit card rant !

[rfuerst911sc]

I have been a Capital One user for a good 15 years. In all that time I've never had a late payment. I generally carry a 500.00 - 1200.00 balance. My interest rate in the past was fixed at 7.9% and then about a year ago was raised to 10.9. I figured that the economy being in the crapper was the reason. But today they pissed me off I received a letter stating that due to economic conditions ( not caused by me ) they are raising the rate in April to 17.9%. And heaven forbid if you make one late payment because they state the interest rate will AUTOMATICALLY roll to 24.9% ADJUSTABLE RATE !!!!! It gets better, they state in this letter that I don't have to accept these new terms, just call them to refuse the increase and they will drop me as a customer I have been a loyal good paying customer and I'm being rewarded by their incompetance by this!!!!! Well guess what Capital One, next months statement will be my last because I will pay for it in full and then call YOU to cancel you rotten bastards Are any of you guys and gals getting this same bull$hit ? My wife and I are good hard working people, we pay or taxes and debts just like you're supposed to. We don't ask for handouts we just take care of ourselves.......you know the American dream. This really pisses me off, I need a drink.

[Tim Walsh]

Ohh yes, I got it too from 8.x to 17.x!

My credit card company is changing the rules.

[old man neri]

So just pay it off in time and no problem?

[Porsche-O-Phile]

You can reject the new terms. I did.

[gtc]

Yep. I just got the same letter. I don't even use that card anymore. It just sits in a box at home.

[Schrup]

Citicard jacked my rate last month from 10.5% to 18%. I called them & ask why. She gave me the tough economy spiel. I said that I would move to a different company & she offered me 11.25%. I've always kept a close eye on them because they like to sneak up the rate & I have to call them about once a year to get them to lower it again, but they've never attempted to raise it that much.

I'm waiting for a good offer from USAA before I switch & ditch Citicard. It's a pity, I've been with them over 15 years & for the most part, they've been good to me. When they did this, I googled their rate increase & found that they are quickly becoming a company I no longer care to to business with. I dumped Discover & Bank of America about 10 years ago for these same reasons.

[Pat S]

I got that letter last month. Canceled the card the next day. The service person kept trying to justify it, saying that all the card agencies are doing it, blah blah blah. We never carry a balance and had the car for about 8 years.

Interesting policy... folks who can leave are ones that would make payments and would IMO be good customers. The folks that can't leave and have to accept the terms either have balances that can't be paid off in a month or have no where else to go. So i would think that this policy just increased their risk exponentially. Not sure I understand the theory at all.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Just like current government policies - the good/responsible will be punished in order to offset the effects of the bad/stupid/irresponsible.

[TerryH]

Capital One was always Jekyll and Hyde. One of those fair weather friends that is your best bud in good times, but can never count on when you need them.

They have proposed to raise my rate about 166%, from 6.01 to 15.99%. I will keep paying on a balance at the 0% promotional rate until its gone. The rate increase doesn't affect previous promotional rates. Then I will let the card rot in the drawer. Not sure if cancelling the card completely is best for credit score.

[schamp]

They pulled the same crap with me. From 5.9 to 15.9. Called and got the same run around. Explained I would pay it off and go somewhere else. They don't care. Anyway, I paid it off and called to cancel the card for real. They wanted know why, I gave her an earful. Then she asked if I would stay a customer if the interest rate was 9.9. I told her that any company that treated me that way " I didn't want them in my wallet". I thought it was quite funny. Expect them to tell you that you have to have something like 90 days of a zero balance before they will actually close the account. Thank God you can pay it off. Lots of people can't and are getting the real screw job.

[930LDR]

Just pay your credit card off every month and it won't be a problem.

Quite honestly, those that carry balances that they can't pay off every month represent a credit risk. Not to say that this applies to every body that has an outstanding balance, but there are plenty that have been living well above their means on credit for way too long.

Lenders have a right to be compensated for the increased risk as the market is in decline and those cash flows are put at greater risk. All that said, there is definitely a line that many of these lenders have crossed where they are being just plain unreasonable.

[SoCal911T]

Citibank just jacked my rate up to 18.7% without explanation. I would cancel it on principle but it's my American Airlines miles card and I pay the balance every month so the interest rate isn't an issue. It pisses me off to no end though.

I think pretty much all CC companies will jack your rate into the stratosphere if you're even one day late on a payment.
Chase used to raise my rate using this reason but since I pay electronically, I was always able to prove that the payment was on time. I finally got sick of their little game and closed the account.

[Neilk]

I have an e-mail reminder set to e-mail me 6 days before my bill is due on my Citibank card. Last month I racked up $5k in bills through work etc that will be paid off in full. Well instead of a single e-mail notification, I have gotten one a day for the past week. I think Citibank is obviously desperate for cash and terribly afraid of their customers defaulting.

[TerryH]

Still have to laugh at the irony of our taxpaying dollars bailing them out because they can't handle their own finances and yet they gouge us at every opportunity.

[Rot 911]

Originally Posted by Schrup

I'm waiting for a good offer from USAA before I switch & ditch Citicard.

I just checked. My USAA World Card is 7.75% Not sure you are going to find much better than that.

[strupgolf]

The good customers, us, are going to pay off the bad customers, them, in the next few years. They have to raise rates to fend off all the bad debts that will be coming their way soon. But I'm sure that the Obamatazation will happen soon and everyone will soon be feeling good again.

[EdT82SC]

The interest rate on my credit cards went up too, but it doesn't bother me one bit. I always pay off my bill every month. I charge as much as I can instead of paying cash/check so I get more credit card rewards, which amounted to nearly $1000 last year.