Credit card companies annoy me... Long story, but it pissed me off:
I have a Citizens Bank mastercard that I've had forever, and I kept it because it had a 5.9% fixed rate... Over the years, I've added new cards and closed others, but always kept it because of the low rate.
Like many people I have switched to electronic statements... I hardly ever keep a balance on that card, so I just look on the website for the balance, fees (if any), etc. to make my payment. To view my actual "paper" statement, I have to to do another page, download the pdf, then view it... sort of a pain in the ass, so I never do.
Well, about 3 months ago, I realized that my rate jumped up to 15.9%... Since I've never had a late payment or a big balance, I called them to ask about. A rep told me that they notified me on my January statement of the upcoming change... So I looked back and sure enough, buried right in the middle of the fine print, special offers, savings tips and all sort of other crap, was a line saying that my rate was changing... My question to her was "Why hide it?" They e-mail me when my statement is ready, when my bill is due, when I qualify for a balance transfer offer, etc etc etc... why not when my rate almost triples? She couldn't answer.... That kind of crap pisses me off. Now that card is no better than any other card I have, so it's out of my wallet and never being used.
Do you know why the credit card companies are doing all of this (increasing interest rates and lower limits)??? Because they want to make as much PROFIT as they can so that they can repay the federal bailout money they have recieved. And who is going to foot most of the bill for the payback.... credit card holders. They'll be paying back their own taxpayer money through higher fees and rates to credit card companies.
Actually, they are doing this now, because they know they can get away with it until that new legislation passes.
They are trying to stop this from happening.
Correct but if they do this now the new regulations have no effect on it at all. The new terms will stay in place even after the regualtions go into effect and thus giving cc companies a possibility of higher profits.
it's a clusterfuck, no doubt.
vedd, while i've never had your experience...i've heard enough stories that i highly doubt this is a BoA problem, alone. seems many cc companies regularly screw over customers. as do many companies, in general. it's a sad state of affairs, but bottomline...they're a business, they're out to make $$$...and if they can do this and still make $$$, they will, simply b/c they can.
i have ONE credit card. that's all. i have in the past had others, store cards, promotions, etc. all are closed. i know people say not to close accounts, but we do. many were already closed due to inactivity, but yea, closed the rest. i don't need all the open lines of credit, and i am not concerned about it's affect on my credit score, simply b/c we already own our home and cars, and we have no intentions on taking on any mor e loans...ever....but even if we do, so well into the future that all should be fine. we've always had an excellent score, we always pay our bills on time, in full.....tho sure, there have been times in the past that a check was late, whether to the cc or to a utility, whatever......but luckily it's never had an adverse affect on us. if i've paid $100 in late fees in my lifetime, it's a lot. more often than not, we've gotten our fees waved if there's been an issue. we do have another card, a debit card that is treated as a credit card, simply b/c it's tied to our brokerage account, and that's our 'emergency' back-up since it is tied to our savings/investments in any case. i will say, my credit card bill is the one bill i pay by mail, and we do still get paper statements. i like to have paper records of all my purchases, etc....and i'd rather they mail it to me and pay for the paper. honestly, idk how any credit card has ever made $$$ off of us, we have always paid our bills in full each month, on time, with very few exceptions. the one time we ever had a balance, was on a card that was interest free for a year, and we were sure to pay it off before the deadline. bottomline, while i love credit b/c it is sooo convenient and we use it for just about EVERYthing, i do know the whole thing is quite fucked, and a big mess for many, many people.
They've been good to me even when I was late on a payment
My car loan is through BOA..if I'm late on a payment can they F me and raise my interest rate ???
I dont know for sure, but I would think that with a loan like a car loan, that is already more regulated than a credit card. I think you would be ok, but its worth looking into.
They've been good to me even when I was late on a payment
My car loan is through BOA..if I'm late on a payment can they F me and raise my interest rate ???
I dont know for sure, but I would think that with a loan like a car loan, that is already more regulated than a credit card. I think you would be ok, but its worth looking into.
I hope its a fixed rate on the loan...I better check
My drinking team has a hockey problem
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
Credit card companies annoy me... Long story, but it pissed me off:
I have a Citizens Bank mastercard that I've had forever, and I kept it because it had a 5.9% fixed rate... Over the years, I've added new cards and closed others, but always kept it because of the low rate.
Like many people I have switched to electronic statements... I hardly ever keep a balance on that card, so I just look on the website for the balance, fees (if any), etc. to make my payment. To view my actual "paper" statement, I have to to do another page, download the pdf, then view it... sort of a pain in the ass, so I never do.
Well, about 3 months ago, I realized that my rate jumped up to 15.9%... Since I've never had a late payment or a big balance, I called them to ask about. A rep told me that they notified me on my January statement of the upcoming change... So I looked back and sure enough, buried right in the middle of the fine print, special offers, savings tips and all sort of other crap, was a line saying that my rate was changing... My question to her was "Why hide it?" They e-mail me when my statement is ready, when my bill is due, when I qualify for a balance transfer offer, etc etc etc... why not when my rate almost triples? She couldn't answer.... That kind of crap pisses me off. Now that card is no better than any other card I have, so it's out of my wallet and never being used.
That shit ain't right. If I were you, just on principle, I would close the account and mail to them the shredded plastic with a brief explanation like you stated above as to why you are no longer a customer. They basically screwed themselves out of a great customer.
We consumers must take a stand and control our credit and control our business with cc companies. They need us more than we need them. :x
~*~Me and Hippiemom dranketh the red wine in Cleveland 2003~*~
First PJ Show: March 20, 1994 | Ann Arbor | Crisler Arena
I had a similar situation last month I think, I paid about 2-3 days late. Just a stupid mistake, I thought it was due further towards the end of the month than it was. So I got hit with a late fee, no big deal, it was expected.
My credit limit wasn't cut, my rate did not increase, but I don't carry balances either.
There must be something more to why they lowered your limit and raised your rate, but don't blame the bank. And don't try to tell people to stop using a bank just because you weren't on the ball this month. Thats pretty childish.
To the other dude though, mca47, now THAT sucks. You have every right to be pissed.
Hey, if you think Bank of America is on the up and up, feel free to continue using them. I'm merely sending out a warning. I have never had this happen before.
No, there is nothing more to the story. Thats exactly how it happend.
I had a similar situation last month I think, I paid about 2-3 days late. Just a stupid mistake, I thought it was due further towards the end of the month than it was. So I got hit with a late fee, no big deal, it was expected.
My credit limit wasn't cut, my rate did not increase, but I don't carry balances either.
There must be something more to why they lowered your limit and raised your rate, but don't blame the bank. And don't try to tell people to stop using a bank just because you weren't on the ball this month. Thats pretty childish.
To the other dude though, mca47, now THAT sucks. You have every right to be pissed.
Hey, if you think Bank of America is on the up and up, feel free to continue using them. I'm merely sending out a warning. I have never had this happen before.
No, there is nothing more to the story. Thats exactly how it happend.
Bank of America sucks
This isn't a hard concept, late payments = riskier customer, which means increased rates to make sure that banks get their money.
If you have car insurance and hit someone... your rates can go up too, because you're a bigger risk.
If you have health insurance and you smoke... your rates are higher because you're a bigger risk.
-one thing to remember, always have a good time, all the time
You have other credit issues if they dropped your limit and raised your rate for being 3 days late. There is more to this story. Check your credit report and go cry to your mommy next time. This is pathetic!
Not true. I work for a bank, a smaller bank. I work in the Bankcard Credit dept. and i know for a fact that in these times all it takes is one late payment to reduce a credit limit. I'm not happy about it, and really i have nothing to do with it. ( i just make sure everyone else in my dept. gets their work on time ) but it still nags at me knowing i work for a place like that.
and i have had big problems with Bank of America in the past. i just paid off my card last week. but had problems with them for the past 4 years. i had to live off that card while going through my divorce, because it was the only card i had that was not in both of our names, and ALL my cash was tied up until the divorce was final. It took me four years to get back to normal in the finance area of my life, and BOA made it fucking near impossible at times. fuck them.
Peace, Love.
"To question your government is not unpatriotic --
to not question your government is unpatriotic."
-- Sen. Chuck Hagel
i closed my account with them a few years ago. i had both a checking and savings account with them. i made some paypal payments from my savings account,and was 3 cents short, just 3 cents! i had a lot more than 3 cents in my checking account but instead of taking it from that they charged me an overdraft fee. they said overdraft protection only goes FROM a savings to checking, not the other way around. granted i should've done my math better or double checked it or left more in that account but still, it seems heavy handed
then months later the last straw came when i ordered out, picked it up and a business was picking up food for their party at the same time, which was a couple hundred bucks, which i didn't have. the restaurant caught it right away, did something on the machine giving me a receipt saying the $ would not be taken and even called to make sure the transaction would be canceled....but bank of america kept it in my pending column for 2 days causing me to be overdrawn giving me overdraft fees for that transaction and a few other recent ones since i was now overdrawn....they said it still takes time to go through the system and they are not responsbile but i think that's bullshit
i closed my account and just kept all my money in a credit union i've had for a while
i got a credit card when i was 18 and was stupid with it. i paid it off and haven't had 1 since.
don't compete; coexist
what are you but my reflection? who am i to judge or strike you down?
"I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank." - Barack Obama
when you told me 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'
i was thinkin 'death before dishonor'
i closed my account with them a few years ago. i had both a checking and savings account with them. i made some paypal payments from my savings account,and was 3 cents short, just 3 cents! i had a lot more than 3 cents in my checking account but instead of taking it from that they charged me an overdraft fee. they said overdraft protection only goes FROM a savings to checking, not the other way around. granted i should've done my math better or double checked it or left more in that account but still, it seems heavy handed
then months later the last straw came when i ordered out, picked it up and a business was picking up food for their party at the same time, which was a couple hundred bucks, which i didn't have. the restaurant caught it right away, did something on the machine giving me a receipt saying the $ would not be taken and even called to make sure the transaction would be canceled....but bank of america kept it in my pending column for 2 days causing me to be overdrawn giving me overdraft fees for that transaction and a few other recent ones since i was now overdrawn....they said it still takes time to go through the system and they are not responsbile but i think that's bullshit
i closed my account and just kept all my money in a credit union i've had for a while
i got a credit card when i was 18 and was stupid with it. i paid it off and haven't had 1 since.
to be fair, the exact same scenarios would occur with ANY bank or credit card, not just BoA. not defending BoA in the least, just adding some perspective. of course, for the cc issue, if you were a good, long-standing customer....they could've waived the fees in that instance. all depends. however, again, all these scenarios can and do happen just as easily with all other banks and credit card issuers.
I agree -- I have BofA but I can't wait to dump them. I was told they would refund a fee on my account and they never did. When I called back to find out why, they had no record of the conversation nor would they issue my refund. The guy kept repeating the same thing over and over so I finally asked if him if he was a real person or a robot. He said, "I assure you I am a real person." Lovely.
i closed my account with them a few years ago. i had both a checking and savings account with them. i made some paypal payments from my savings account,and was 3 cents short, just 3 cents! i had a lot more than 3 cents in my checking account but instead of taking it from that they charged me an overdraft fee. they said overdraft protection only goes FROM a savings to checking, not the other way around. granted i should've done my math better or double checked it or left more in that account but still, it seems heavy handed
then months later the last straw came when i ordered out, picked it up and a business was picking up food for their party at the same time, which was a couple hundred bucks, which i didn't have. the restaurant caught it right away, did something on the machine giving me a receipt saying the $ would not be taken and even called to make sure the transaction would be canceled....but bank of america kept it in my pending column for 2 days causing me to be overdrawn giving me overdraft fees for that transaction and a few other recent ones since i was now overdrawn....they said it still takes time to go through the system and they are not responsbile but i think that's bullshit
i closed my account and just kept all my money in a credit union i've had for a while
i got a credit card when i was 18 and was stupid with it. i paid it off and haven't had 1 since.
to be fair, the exact same scenarios would occur with ANY bank or credit card, not just BoA. not defending BoA in the least, just adding some perspective. of course, for the cc issue, if you were a good, long-standing customer....they could've waived the fees in that instance. all depends. however, again, all these scenarios can and do happen just as easily with all other banks and credit card issuers.
i'm not so sure. i never had it happen but i bet if this occurred with my credit union they would've put a hold on the transaction. at the very least they wouldn't keep charging me overdraft fees when i had proof the large transaction was cancelled. and not only did they charge me overdraft fees they gave me non sufficient funds fees for some of them meaning they charged me the same amount as being overdrawn but denied teh transaction causing me to pay $30+ to the merchant as well. like i said, i'm pretty sure my credit union wouldn't have done that. the only times i had overdrafts were because of 3cents (again, while i had plenty of money in my checking account they could've taken the 3cents from) and my debit card being swiped for the wrong order. and before that i never dealt with them personally other than when i opened the account and had the account for about 2 years before that happened.
i'm sure similar scenarios COULD happen with other banks, i don't doubt that. i'm just stating my experience with bank of america. i called and went into my local branch and they were unwilling to help 1 bit.
don't compete; coexist
what are you but my reflection? who am i to judge or strike you down?
"I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank." - Barack Obama
when you told me 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'
i was thinkin 'death before dishonor'
They just raised my 8.9% to 14.9 with 14K max for NO REASON..other than the economy. Never late, etc....needless to say I transferred balance to another card. I only need to keep it to show to pick up tickets (to a paperless ticket show)
If a man speaks in a forest and there is no woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?
Bank of America and others test program that hits their best customers with new fees.
Posted by Kim Peterson on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 1:22 PM
Pay all your bills on time and have perfect credit? How dare you.
All that responsible behavior is doing nothing for banks. They can't slap a single overdraft fee or service charge on you. It's no fun to have you as a customer because, well, you're just too good!
So now, Bank of America (BAC) and other institutions are testing out a new annual fee for perfect customers.
•Find a better credit card
If you do everything right and play by the rules, you may be asked to pony up between $29 and $99 a year. Welcome to the new world of banking, where no good deed goes unpunished.
"There is a big segment of their population that they will have never made any money on, which is people who pay their bills on time every month," a research director at CreditCards.com told CBS News.
Bank of America and Citigroup (C) say they're just testing the fees now, and haven't made any decisions.
This isn't the first time we've seen this. Banks and other credit card companies are jacking up interest rates and closing the accounts of all types of customers -- including those who pay bills religiously.
It boils down to this: How much are Americans willing to take? Banks are trying to find out exactly how far they can push their customers.
When they say they're testing a new fee, they're really waiting to see how many complaints they get.
And I hope everyone who gets thrown into this lose-lose situation complains, because this is no way to treat customers.
I have been calling them and faxing in documents since March in attempt to modify my loan under the new govt help plans, and they are CONSTANTLY disconnecting me, losing my paperwork, and just stringing me along. I'm about to turn my damn keys in and tell them they can have their house back. Its disgraceful the way they have handled a longtime customer with a perfect track record.
I have been calling them and faxing in documents since March in attempt to modify my loan under the new govt help plans, and they are CONSTANTLY disconnecting me, losing my paperwork, and just stringing me along. I'm about to turn my damn keys in and tell them they can have their house back. Its disgraceful the way they have handled a longtime customer with a perfect track record.
hopefully they get you sorted. they were really dragging their feet on those programs and they got a lot of shit from the govt for it. rumor has it they've cleaned up their act a bit and are catching up. hopefully that rumor is true.
i've never missed a payment or overdrafted or anything, but i have carried balances which were always paid timely. they raised my rates and my limits too. there's major overhaul around the corner and they're all scrambling to milk as much out of their customers as they can before they get the smackdown from new legislation.
i bank up here with TD and I've noticed that they have a bunch of branches now in NYC - not sure if they are anywhere else. Anyhoo - the stuff I'm reading about american banks is pretty disgusting and I'm pretty sure they wouldn't get away with that here ...
Comments
Exactly. Such a ripoff.
Nuclear fission
it's a clusterfuck, no doubt.
vedd, while i've never had your experience...i've heard enough stories that i highly doubt this is a BoA problem, alone. seems many cc companies regularly screw over customers. as do many companies, in general. it's a sad state of affairs, but bottomline...they're a business, they're out to make $$$...and if they can do this and still make $$$, they will, simply b/c they can.
i have ONE credit card. that's all. i have in the past had others, store cards, promotions, etc. all are closed. i know people say not to close accounts, but we do. many were already closed due to inactivity, but yea, closed the rest. i don't need all the open lines of credit, and i am not concerned about it's affect on my credit score, simply b/c we already own our home and cars, and we have no intentions on taking on any mor e loans...ever....but even if we do, so well into the future that all should be fine. we've always had an excellent score, we always pay our bills on time, in full.....tho sure, there have been times in the past that a check was late, whether to the cc or to a utility, whatever......but luckily it's never had an adverse affect on us. if i've paid $100 in late fees in my lifetime, it's a lot. more often than not, we've gotten our fees waved if there's been an issue. we do have another card, a debit card that is treated as a credit card, simply b/c it's tied to our brokerage account, and that's our 'emergency' back-up since it is tied to our savings/investments in any case. i will say, my credit card bill is the one bill i pay by mail, and we do still get paper statements. i like to have paper records of all my purchases, etc....and i'd rather they mail it to me and pay for the paper. honestly, idk how any credit card has ever made $$$ off of us, we have always paid our bills in full each month, on time, with very few exceptions. the one time we ever had a balance, was on a card that was interest free for a year, and we were sure to pay it off before the deadline. bottomline, while i love credit b/c it is sooo convenient and we use it for just about EVERYthing, i do know the whole thing is quite fucked, and a big mess for many, many people.
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
Citi, CapitalOne, etc.
I have just never had this problem with my other cards.
I'm sticking with AmEx and my Credit union Card for emergencies.
Nuclear fission
They've been good to me even when I was late on a payment
My car loan is through BOA..if I'm late on a payment can they F me and raise my interest rate ???
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
I dont know for sure, but I would think that with a loan like a car loan, that is already more regulated than a credit card. I think you would be ok, but its worth looking into.
Nuclear fission
I hope its a fixed rate on the loan...I better check
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
That shit ain't right. If I were you, just on principle, I would close the account and mail to them the shredded plastic with a brief explanation like you stated above as to why you are no longer a customer. They basically screwed themselves out of a great customer.
We consumers must take a stand and control our credit and control our business with cc companies. They need us more than we need them. :x
First PJ Show: March 20, 1994 | Ann Arbor | Crisler Arena
want to be enlightened"
This isn't a hard concept, late payments = riskier customer, which means increased rates to make sure that banks get their money.
If you have car insurance and hit someone... your rates can go up too, because you're a bigger risk.
If you have health insurance and you smoke... your rates are higher because you're a bigger risk.
Nuclear fission
Not true. I work for a bank, a smaller bank. I work in the Bankcard Credit dept. and i know for a fact that in these times all it takes is one late payment to reduce a credit limit. I'm not happy about it, and really i have nothing to do with it. ( i just make sure everyone else in my dept. gets their work on time ) but it still nags at me knowing i work for a place like that.
and i have had big problems with Bank of America in the past. i just paid off my card last week. but had problems with them for the past 4 years. i had to live off that card while going through my divorce, because it was the only card i had that was not in both of our names, and ALL my cash was tied up until the divorce was final. It took me four years to get back to normal in the finance area of my life, and BOA made it fucking near impossible at times. fuck them.
"To question your government is not unpatriotic --
to not question your government is unpatriotic."
-- Sen. Chuck Hagel
then months later the last straw came when i ordered out, picked it up and a business was picking up food for their party at the same time, which was a couple hundred bucks, which i didn't have. the restaurant caught it right away, did something on the machine giving me a receipt saying the $ would not be taken and even called to make sure the transaction would be canceled....but bank of america kept it in my pending column for 2 days causing me to be overdrawn giving me overdraft fees for that transaction and a few other recent ones since i was now overdrawn....they said it still takes time to go through the system and they are not responsbile but i think that's bullshit
i closed my account and just kept all my money in a credit union i've had for a while
i got a credit card when i was 18 and was stupid with it. i paid it off and haven't had 1 since.
what are you but my reflection? who am i to judge or strike you down?
"I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank." - Barack Obama
when you told me 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'
i was thinkin 'death before dishonor'
to be fair, the exact same scenarios would occur with ANY bank or credit card, not just BoA. not defending BoA in the least, just adding some perspective. of course, for the cc issue, if you were a good, long-standing customer....they could've waived the fees in that instance. all depends. however, again, all these scenarios can and do happen just as easily with all other banks and credit card issuers.
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
i'm not so sure. i never had it happen but i bet if this occurred with my credit union they would've put a hold on the transaction. at the very least they wouldn't keep charging me overdraft fees when i had proof the large transaction was cancelled. and not only did they charge me overdraft fees they gave me non sufficient funds fees for some of them meaning they charged me the same amount as being overdrawn but denied teh transaction causing me to pay $30+ to the merchant as well. like i said, i'm pretty sure my credit union wouldn't have done that. the only times i had overdrafts were because of 3cents (again, while i had plenty of money in my checking account they could've taken the 3cents from) and my debit card being swiped for the wrong order. and before that i never dealt with them personally other than when i opened the account and had the account for about 2 years before that happened.
i'm sure similar scenarios COULD happen with other banks, i don't doubt that. i'm just stating my experience with bank of america. i called and went into my local branch and they were unwilling to help 1 bit.
what are you but my reflection? who am i to judge or strike you down?
"I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank." - Barack Obama
when you told me 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'
i was thinkin 'death before dishonor'
I second this. That is all I use and I can't here
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/In ... =1,1340412
Banks punish perfect customers
Bank of America and others test program that hits their best customers with new fees.
Posted by Kim Peterson on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 1:22 PM
Pay all your bills on time and have perfect credit? How dare you.
All that responsible behavior is doing nothing for banks. They can't slap a single overdraft fee or service charge on you. It's no fun to have you as a customer because, well, you're just too good!
So now, Bank of America (BAC) and other institutions are testing out a new annual fee for perfect customers.
•Find a better credit card
If you do everything right and play by the rules, you may be asked to pony up between $29 and $99 a year. Welcome to the new world of banking, where no good deed goes unpunished.
"There is a big segment of their population that they will have never made any money on, which is people who pay their bills on time every month," a research director at CreditCards.com told CBS News.
Bank of America and Citigroup (C) say they're just testing the fees now, and haven't made any decisions.
This isn't the first time we've seen this. Banks and other credit card companies are jacking up interest rates and closing the accounts of all types of customers -- including those who pay bills religiously.
It boils down to this: How much are Americans willing to take? Banks are trying to find out exactly how far they can push their customers.
When they say they're testing a new fee, they're really waiting to see how many complaints they get.
And I hope everyone who gets thrown into this lose-lose situation complains, because this is no way to treat customers.
Nuclear fission
its the sad state of affairs we find ourselves in in 2009. trust me, boa ain't the only one doing this
hopefully they get you sorted. they were really dragging their feet on those programs and they got a lot of shit from the govt for it. rumor has it they've cleaned up their act a bit and are catching up. hopefully that rumor is true.
i've never missed a payment or overdrafted or anything, but i have carried balances which were always paid timely. they raised my rates and my limits too. there's major overhaul around the corner and they're all scrambling to milk as much out of their customers as they can before they get the smackdown from new legislation.