Fucking Scumbag Banks

[Dr.Phool]

I had to leave town on an emergency on July 31st. I thought I made sure all the bills were paid ahead of time before I left, since I wasn't sure how long I'd be gone.

I missed 2 credit card bills, and when I came home 9 days later, I paid them immediatly. I got new statements today, and they raised my interest rate to 27 FUCKING PERCENT. They were both under 9%, and I've had these cards for over 10 years, and have never been late on a payment before!

I'll be paying these balances off real quick, and if I ever use these cards again, the balance will be paid in full each month.

[Midlodemocrat]

1. Call them and explain.

They might reduce the interest rate for you if you tell them it was an emergency.

[bribri16]

2. Don't hold you breath. They wait for situations like yours. n/t

[depakid]

7. Yep- that's what we get for having no consumer protection laws

And you can thank both sell out Dems as well as Republicans for this little taste of usury.

[PurityOfEssence]

3. Call them, thump on them and cancel them

If you have decent credit, you'll get many other offers.

What the hell ever happened to usury laws? With inflation so low, how does anyone justify such rates?

This is one of the many reasons I liked John Edwards: even though he came from the state with the second largest banking economy in the country, he constantly fought against "predatory lending". It wasn't just the check cashing places either, it was crap just like this.

Mercifully, as a homeowner with a good credit rating, I am able to simply dismiss assholes like this, and I've had to do so. They are worse than just mere opportunists.

Money is everything in this society, and those who control it will never get enough.

[Dr.Phool]

4. I've got excellent credit.

And I get dozens of offers every week. I can't shred them fast enough.

[KarenInMA]

12. Call the company, give them ONE CHANCE

to fix this. Then, pay the balance off, or if you can't, get a new card and transfer the balance. Sometimes you can even transfer the balances over for 0% for 6 months.

Make sure you pay them off in 6 months, if you can.

There are tons of credit card companies. You don't need this crap.

[mcscajun]

8. Usury laws are a state-by-state thing; some states have no limits

Like South Dakota, for example. (Which is why Citibank and others moved their credit card operations to that state.)

[RebelOne]

5. Yup, Providian did that to me.

I was late on one payment and they raised my interest to 27-1/2 percent. I also had $3000 credit available and they changed that to 0 credit available.

[Dr.Phool]

6. I had a Providian card about 8 years ago

And they jacked up my rate, and I was never late with a payment. Another bank did that too. Advanta raised me from prime to 19.9% without notice, and no late payments.

[bufffbison]

9. both my citi card and GM card raised the interest rates

i've never missed a payment, and i actually pay my CC bills twice a month. That way I won't forget to make a payment. i'm very anal about stuff like that.

[Spike from MN]

10. Citibank sent me a notice that they were cancelling my card.

I had a zero balance and hadn't used the card in I-don't-know-how-long so they ditched me because I'm a "deadbeat." Hah! I was going to cancel the card anyway but decided to leave it open for a bit just to cost them $$ to maintain an account they wouldn't make any money off of. I'm not sure why I had a Citibank card in the first place but it must have been because they had a 0% offer. Those are the only cards I ever get. If I need to buy a big-ticket item, instead of writing a check I just get a 0% card and pay it off before the 0% introductory period runs out. Might as well use their money instead of mine.

I have excellent credit and no balance on either of the remaining credit cards I have so you know the credit card companies just hate me. ;) I get offers in the mail every week so I just stuff the prepaid envelopes with other junk mail and stick them in the mail. I cancelled all of my cards except for three when the Bankruptcy Bill passed and I write checks instead of using my check card so Visa doesn't get their 1% or 2% or whatever their cut would be. Man, I really hate credit card companies. Twenty-seven percent is beyond outrageous. Dr. Phool, pay off the balances as quickly as you can (yeah, I know --easier said than done) and then tell them to shove their card. You'll be much better off once you never have to deal with those assholes. Good luck!

[beyurslf]

11. Bank of America did it to me. Laid off for 10 months and living off

credit cards. I finally got a job and and was 2 weeks late with a payment. Interest shot to 24.9% from 6%. They were kind enough to waive the $32 late fee. Slimy bastards.