woohoo, we just got the "Capitol One F-you Letter"

[NightWatcher]

in which they announce that due to tough times, crazy financial shit, Venus aligning with Uranus, whatever, that they are jacking the rates from normal to (drum roll) 22.9%. Had held the card for about 6 years or so and only had maybe 4 late payments, none in the last 4 years.

They give the option to close it and pay off any balance at the current rate.

Then they enclose a flyer about a home loan or car loan from them. I bloody think not.

How long before we send them a few billion more dollars in bailouts to pay for their dumb decisions?

[JoDog]

1. What was "normal"?

Are we talking a doubled rate?

[NightWatcher]

7. more than doubled. from 8.9% (I know shame on me)

[EOTE]

8. I know some people are getting their rates quadrupled or more.

I know of some people that have gone from a 6% rate or so all the way up to %30 or more. It's basically legitimized robbery. I thank god I was able to get rid of my credit cards, and I offer sincere sympathy for people who are stuck with them and the usurious rates they're charging now.

[NightWatcher]

11. I thought 30% was illegal or at least usery

[EOTE]

17. Usery, definitely. Illegal, unfortunately not. NT

[MissB]

2. I hope you're opting to

tell them to fuck right off and close it. If you can, that is.

Our credit union credit card and USAA card haven't gone up at all - in fact, they've either held steady or gone down in the past few months. The credit union is headquartered in the town just down the freeway, so it isn't some faceless entity. If you can switch over to something more local and less TARP-fundish, that may help.

[Xithras]

3. Heh, that's the normal interest rate on my BofA Platinum Visa

Of course, BofA just slashed my credit limit from $27,000 to $2,500 in spite of the fact that I've been a customer for 9 years, didn't carry a balance, and have never been late on a payment.


Why, exactly, are we bailing these assholes out again?

[Kindigger]

13. Ahhhhh

I remember when I got my B of A card. My credit limit was more than my yearly income, and they're still raising it. I'm tempted to go all out on a trip to Europe.

I got it at 0% for the life of the loan, and bought my CAR. :)

Paid them their last $150 yesterday, and I'm not using it again until they fix their arses next year?

[Kajsa]

4. That's insane-22.9%!

No Thank You!

Hey, Capitol One guys, how about lowering interest
rates, instead of jacking them up?
What are you guys doing with the bailout money
you got from taxpayers?

I may just close my Capitol One account, now!

:(

[960]

5. 22.9%? They're practically giving you the money for free

They tried to jack mine up to 33.99%
I had 2 cards with them. No late payments etc.

I told them that I would not be paying that interest rate.
They offered to set it back to the previous (still outrageous) 18 something percent.
I just paid off the cards and closed them.

[lyonn]

6. Oblivious, they know no shame.....nt

[Buzz Clik]

9. That low? I dumped Cap One for good when they pushed our rates from 14 to 29% in 1 month.

Card was destroyed, zeroed out the account, and cancelled in less than 2 days.

Goodbye forever.

[Warpy]

10. It's unsecured debt

and in most cases, there's nothing to repo.

They want their money. If you close the card and pay it off, there's a good chance they'll issue another one at a lower rate than 22.0%. However, you need to ask yourself what you need so badly as to risk paying 22.9% more than its cost over a year. The wise thing is to pay that puppy off ASAP.

I get by with an ATM card and have done so for 18 years. I keep the balance in that account low enough that it won't hurt if some hacker gets it. I don't have to worry every month about the USPS dragging its feet so I get socked with late fees and I don't have to worry about paying interest.

It's possible to live without a credit card. Really.

[Kindigger]

12. Capital One?

Nice to know. I was considering financing a laptop. I had called them to ask what my rate was since I hadn't used it for a long time. I was told 7.99 was as low as they could go. Also, I had been at the same credit limit since I got the card five years ago.

This is compared to B of A which has raised my credit limit every month for the past year, and I still wouldn't put anything on the card.

I was beginning to believe Cap One was one of the frugal, sensible, honest ones. :rofl:

Guess I'll go take the 6 mo same as cash from Amazon.

[KansDem]

14. I agree with the OP--I got rid of CapOne last year...

They were jacking up my rates--I don't know what my interest rate was when I closed out with them once and for all, but I believe it was somewhere in the mid-20s.

Come to think of it, if I remember correctly, they fouled up a "check by phone" once. I had a balance of something like $600 with CapOne and I set up a check-by-phone for the minimum payment, which I think was something like $50. Well, when the day came, they tried to take out the whole remaining balance of $600! I was extremely upset, because I didn't have that much money in my account (the reason for the minimum payment), so no money went out but my bank still charged me a $28 "bad check" fee. I went in to my bank and requested that no more checks-by-phone go to CapOne. I was afraid they'd try it again and I'd be out another $28 "bad check" fee! :grr:

You'd do better to go with someone else! :hi:

[Kansas Wyatt]

16. I NEVER set up automatic payments with anyone.

Any corporation can screw someone over in a hurry, just like in your case, and that practice is more common than people think. All you may get is a "sorry" (most likely not even an acknowledgment they screwed up) and a hell of a lot of misery correcting it.

[gratuitous]

15. What's in YOUR wallet?

Well, for one, a little bit more room.

[MISSDem]

18. someone isn't keeping up. The credit card companies are

raising the interest rates if you are a credit risk determined by your credit report.

[SpiralHawk]

19. Republiconomics in action - predatory financial screw jobs

Ptoooey on Republicon-minded screw-job artistes

[lazyriver]

20. Citibank sent me a similar letter 9.99 to 16.99 and have never

been late with a payment. I opted out. The same day I got a packet of "balance transfer checks" offering me 1.99 on all new balance transfers. WTF?

I say no more bailout money, no nationalization, just let the crooked stupid fuckers fail. Make a grand old example out of them and tell all the other banks/credit card companies/loan sharks to get their shit in line or they're next.

[skeewee08]

21. I work at a Credit Union and I have stated in the past that the

best Credit Card to get is threw your local Credit Union.

[Terran]

22. Shop around for a low rate card

and transfer that Capitol One crap to someone else. Someone else is dying for your business, I'm sure.

I've had cards with them in the past and am glad they're long gone.

[marshall]

23. Kids at my college get one credit card after another

And charge them up to the hilt like it's money in the bank rather than credit paid back with high interest.

It really frightens me to see the way young people spend, spend, spend, with no thought as to how they'll pay it back.

[MadHound]

24. Take them up on their offer, pay off the debt, cut up that card, along with any other cards

And go to a cash/check/debit card basis. Your life will be much better because of it.

[onethatcares]

25. amen to that, and you'll feel a lot better

it takes a while to get the "i wants" outa your own system, but once they're gone, yeehaw. You start to have money in your pocket and in your accounts instead of paying 25.00 on every 100.00 you borrowed for a Wi or some other nonsense.

Once you see those greenbacks goin, you question yourself, but it's a good thing.

Peace

[bermudat]

26. I got the same letter from Chase and Discover,

and I never carry a balance. I was going to close both accounts, but decided the keep both cards at zero balance in case there is ever an emergency.