Recently my husband opened a mailing from one of his credit card companies letting him know that his interest rate was being raised from 10% to approximately 30%. Of course he was furious and instantly called the company. He was informed that there was nothing that could be done about the change. The woman even commented that since he didn't carry a balance she didn't know why it mattered to him. For him, it was the principle. My husband has had this card for 14 years. He pays his bills on time and does not carry a balance. However, he uses his card for EVERYTHING so this bank makes good money from his merchant fees. When he told the customer service agent that he would not accept this interest rate change she informed him that she would record that and that his card would automatically close when it expired. No attempts were made to work out a compromise.
It's amazing to thing that a company that has received billions of dollars in tax payer bailouts could make these unilateral decisions without care for how it impacts consumers.
Everyday on the news I hear stories of people who have their minimum payments triple over-night. One couple had their payment go from $300 to $990 another from $90 to $300.
It is important to ensure that you understand the agreement that you have with your credit card companies. Too many of us don't read or understand the fine print and then get caught when these changes are implemented.
Many companies are making these sudden changes now because congress has enacted rules about these practices that take effect early 2010, so the companies are trying to get these done prior to these planned regulations. Now is the time to be especially vigilant about reading the correspondence we receive from our credit card companies and don't be afraid to fight these changes.
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