Has anyone tried to get their Credit Card Co. to reduce the interest rate? I just did, and failed.

[Mira]

Rundown of what happened, don't only be bored, instead think about that more of us should make these calls.


Capital I, the one credit card I still use, has raised my rate to 17.9 %.


I called them up just now and asked when did they do that.

In August.

What was it before?

7.8 %


I assume you asked my permission?

Yes a letter went out to you in June.

Do you have my agreement in writing?

No, if we don't hear back we assume agreement.,


Did my payment performance and my history have anything to do with this increase?

No, Ma'am, it was a business decision.


So you made a business decision to more than double my interest rate because times were tough, and assumed chances were high your customers are also in trouble and would go along because they had little choice.

Well, we tried to inform you.

I understand. Is there anything you can do about lowering that rate?

Hold on, and I will get my supervisor.

=============

Supervisor:

First we establish what I'm calling about and if he wants to lower my interest rate.

He tells me about business decision and that it has nothing to do with me.


Is your company a company that accepted bailout money?

Yes we did.

Then do you think my being upset over the fact that my tax money is bailing you out in a climate of a prime rate of zero percent, and you then more than double my interest rate in return could be a bit irritating?

Yes I understand your position.


Is your company one that has begun to repay the bailout money?

Yes, I believe we are.

Well, it is quite clear to me just how you are able to repay it. You are grabbing the money from us who bailed you out and use our funds to pay the government back.
You are doubly using our contributions to help you. No help is passed on the us the user of your product, instead we pay extra. We get to pay for the trouble your poor business decisions have gotten you into.


I never got angry, I never raised my voice, I said it plainly, and I got no where.

I told him that I realized his company is not the only one who has done this to us.

I told him as a business decision of my own I would look around at some other cards I'm holding and not using right now, and I may or may not cancel his, that I am not in a position of power the way I used to be, and that I would do what is best for me once my research is completed.

And I told him to tell his supervisor that the folks out here who bailed them out are waking up to how they steal money out of our pockets and call it a business decision.

Useless rant, but I'll post it anyway.

[pitohui]

1. well you failed because you put yourself in a vulnerable position

even at my worst and darkest days i never, ever, ever let myself get down to "one" credit card

i always had another empty credit card that i could switch to at a moment's notice, although i usually only pulled the switch to get some kind of benefit

there are still credit cards out there, giving away such things as 25,000 frequent flyer miles (enough for a cheap domestic flight on some airlines) or $25-50 off your first purchase and so on

whenever i get one of these offers i look into it and i take the little goody and maybe i switch my business to that card, at least for awhile

i NEVER allow myself to be put in a position where, if my credit card lender raises my rate, i can't get away to a lower rate

i realize this is not conventional wisdom but conventional wisdom about using credit cards appear to be mostly wrong and designed to make naive people lose their money

for the last several years i pay no interest and don't really care what my rate is because i have gamed the system pretty well and balances never build up, but right now i'm helping a friend try to get away from predatory lenders and cut his expenses and, slowly, slowly, we're getting there -- but they won't cut his rate while they know he can't open another acct and i don't blame them -- if you were in their shoes as a business, you wouldn't either -- if i have a captive audience, i'm going to ding them for every penny, and right now you're in a situation where they feel they have you captive

stuff happens but if at all possible...once you get out of that situation don't ever allow yourself to be put back there again...there are lots of free credit cards -- free, hell, lots that pay you something to take their card -- look into it and have options

[Mira]

3. Oh nononono - I did not elaborate enough. I was not in a weak position.

I have a stack of cards, open, that I can switch to. I told him that, too, with higher credit limits even than the one I use.
I have a FICO score of 735.

I was not between a rock and a hard place in any way. As I think I said, they ALL do it. And I wanted to see what the people with whom I am doing business right now would do if asked.

Remember, it used to be they would negotiate with you if called upon.

The point of my post is that I tested out how things have changed. That I found them inflexible. And that I wanted others to be encouraged to start raising a bit of cain with the "fat cats" that are double dipping into our money.
When we whom they are shafting raise up, then they can't do it like that any more.

As I said in my post, and to him, I will make my own business decision if they will keep my business or not.

[Zodiak]

12. Always one person uses this as an opportunity to toot the ole horn

Yes, yes...you're wonderful, we get it.

I never will understand this behavior.

You have advice? Give it. Don't tell someone they are "allowing themselves to be weak". That's just the wrong way to give advice.

[valerief]

2. Wow, only 17.9%? Lucky you. Try 23.99%. That sucks. Well, both are usury. nt

[Blue_Tires]

24. +1...i haven't been at 17.9 in almost a decade

i'm around 24-25 percent as well (DOWN from the 31 percent i was dealing with in 2003...)

[dkf]

4. I haven't heard of any credit unions doing this.

Isn't that the best way to go?

[Mira]

5. You are correct. At this point Credit Unions are more stable,

and what I did is check the ratings of the bank I use, left my business checking, and moved mostly to a local Credit Union and deal with debit cards.

But for my business I kept this credit card I am telling about active, for book keeping reasons as well.

The point I'm trying to make is not exactly that we need to guard against their abuses, but that we need to call them on them.
The fact that we need to act on the instability of the banks is definitely a given.

When I moved my money from my bank to a credit union, I told them it was because of their 1 star rating.
And that the FDIC is not all that stable, either.

My story is just about fighting back against the interest rates they dare charge us. While re-grouping with our money, they steal more from us to pay it back so that they again have no oversight for sure.
It is our job to be vigilant, and show them we are on to them.

[dkf]

6. I figure if I just use my credit union I will avoid all those hassles.

Works for me.

[HipChick]

7. Navy Federal Credit Union and Penfed have raised rates for some

Mine stayed at 7.9%

[OffWithTheirHeads]

8. Hey Mira! We simply stopped paying them. Now they come begging

I got laid off six months ago and have pulled every rabbit out of the hat that I could to stay current. I'm out of rabbits. We simply told our credit card companies to pound salt. I should mention that I am still current on my Sheet Metal Workers credit union account (Still around 7%) but my wife's accounts who have raised the rates to around 30% we just told them that we can't pay them. Period. Suddenly, they want to work with us. How about if we cancel the interest and you just pay the principle off at a very low rate was the offer we got from Lowe's today.

The fact of the matter is that THEY are the ones over the barrel, not me. I can't pay them. Not because I'm lazy, unskilled or unwilling to work. There are simply no jobs. They are starting to get the message. They can lien my home. The home that was worth $450,000.00 when I re-financed and, being cautious, borrowed $350,000 on that is now worth maybe $250,000.00 but that won't help them. I am essentially judgment proof. My home equity is gone, my job is gone and they either figure out a way to work with me or write the debt off.

They can raise all the interest rates they want. They can impose all the fees they want. They are simply not going to get paid until I go back to work.

It is amazing how much more cooperative they have become when they figure out that they cannot guilt trip me into paying them their "New" rates.


Am I supposed to feel bad about this? Shitty bank just walked away from five office towers in San Francisco because they were upside down in the mortgages. Yeah, I feel as bad as Shitty bank.

[Mira]

10. I hear you, friend. And I hate it so bad. You are right on all counts. Yours is a different

scenario from mine, that's all.
And I understand it pretty well, it is a horrible climate in which we are all operating the best we can.
They try to get blood out of everything, including turnips, and their bonuses are increasing as I type.

You talked about maybe moving to greener pastures....what's up with that?

[OffWithTheirHeads]

16. My son in law has offered to let us rent/buy one if his houses in Mississippi

The monthly nut would be about 1/4 of what it costs in Silicone Valley . My little condo here (1,100 sq. ft. costs about 2,500.00 a month.) His 2,000 sq. ft.House on 3/4 acre in Miss would cost < $800.00 per month no matter how we slice it. This would allow us to live very comfortably on the rest of our retirement. I don't see a downside. AND, I would be close enough to visit you. What more could I ask for?

[Mira]

18. That's the sort of thing I was talking about. Well worth discussing.

Look at this. This is NC. This house would rent for about 1200. Plus utilities.
And you would not need to have one this large, probably.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=280&topic_id=63971&mesg_id=63971

[dixiegrrrrl]

9. I am happy you have choices as to which cards to use.

I just dumped my Citibank account.
I kept the local bank card with the 9% interest rate.

Credit union cards were also good at one time.
but no Big Bank or infamous credit companies for me any more.

[scarletwoman]

11. Why do you have a credit card?

I'll never understand why anyone willingly shackles themselves to Big Banks.

[Mira]

14. Well, I've run a business for 30 years. Small, but it fed me and mine.

Credit cards are the way to order supplies and keep the personal and business charges separate etc. etc.

Things have changed, but the skeletal operations are still in force, and I'm trying to make the best of the system and tailor it to still serve me.
For now.

[Zodiak]

13. I think you did fine

I am kinda that way, too. Sometimes you cannot help but to get screwed, but if that is the case, you let the person screwing you know that you are onto his bullshit. Then they have to enter their screwing you under no pretense.

Trust me, they do that all day, and it will start eating at them.

You totally did the right thing rhetorically.

And it should make you feel better that you did not go gentle into that goodnight.

and, with that, goodnight!

:hi:

[Mira]

17. Thanks. I feel understood. N/T

[rhett o rick]

15. Stop using credit cards. Move your money to credit unions. nt

[madamesilverspurs]

19. I have no credit cards.

However, my wee struggling business accepts credit card transactions and the fees for doing so have steadily eroded our meager account. Then the company that processes those transactions made one of those "business decisions" and required us to complete a "survey" to ensure our security compliance. And this would only cost us $55, which they already filched from our account; failure to "comply" would result in a penalty of a couple hundred dollars. Adding insult to injury, the required survey was apparently composed by someone who was thoroughly intoxicated and utterly unacquainted with the basic rules of English grammar. Over twenty questions, mostly at the level of: There is a shoe, there is a toaster, which one uses electricity?

Hold onto your pocket lint, they'll come after that when the cash is gone.


---

[Mira]

21. One of the many things I like about you, is that you can be astute AND funny

even without one of your wonderful cartoons.

I really like Zodiac's reply about how to at least tell them we're on to them, no swallowing this crap whole letting them think we don't get it.
We get it and we'll get them, and we do that by complaining and as Zodiac said it will start eating at them (like corrosive liquid).
A
S
A
P

[lunatica]

20. Thanks for letting us know about your conversation with them

I think the credit card industry is a bubble about to burst and they know it. They're squeezing their best customers now. What do you think would make them do that if not seeing the writing on the wall. They seem to just want to get as much as they can out of those who are left - their best customers before they go bust. I'm sure they believe they'll get away with it because they're too big to fail.

[GreenPartyVoter]

22. I love you, you know that? :^D

[Mira]

23. :^

I know it now. Thanks for telling me.
I love you too, and esp. your little one.