Make no mistake and your rate can still spike

[superconnected]

Source: Komo TV news

Better be careful -- there's a new trap that can catch even the best credit card customers.

You pay on time and stay within your limit, and your rate can still spike. How can that possibly happen?

Credit card companies are always coming up with new ways to make money. Slip up and they'll bump up your interest rate. But the latest gotcha takes the cake.

Make companies now put language in their contracts that gives them the right to change your interest rate whenever they feel like it.

Read more: http://www.komonews.com/news/25835394.html

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So they can now change your rate whenever they feel like it for no reason, and when they change it, it will affect the existing balance as well as the new things put on the card.

[sazemisery]

1. Discover did this to me

I haven't been late or over-limit. But I received a letter saying I could accept their rate increase or surrender my card and continue to pay my balance. Fuckers.

[madaboutharry]

8. Here also, so I called them up and

told them if they raised the rate I would cancel the card. They left it alone.

[Jawja]

13. Discover did it to me, too.

No reason. They just raised the rate. I paid it off and canceled the card.

[unpossibles]

2. I had something similar happen to me

I was paying more than the minimum, on time, and considerably under balance.

Then one day, they said I was late (I sent it in on time, but it got processed "late"), so they lowered my limit to match my balance, then applied late fees, and voila! Welcome to credit card fee hell.

[Sherman A1]

3. My solution is simple

I use my Discover for pretty much every expense I can during the month and then pay it off completely each and every month. I build up the cash back bonus which I exchange for gift cards for a variety of things that I want or need and they don't collect a dime from me in the process. They certainly collect enough in merchant fees which of course I indirectly pay through retail prices, but I would be paying them in any event, so I try to game them as much as possible.

The Borders gift cards do come in handy for Birthday and Christmas gifts for nieces and nephews, thereby saving me a few bucks of outlay at those times.

It's probably not a perfect system, but I am going to by gasoline, groceries and whatever anyway so I do what I can to make the best deal for me.

[Tab]

4. Bastards cut my limit to limit their exposure

We weren't over balance.

We weren't late on any payments, nor late on any I can remember.

But they decided to do a "credit review" and limit our balance to perhaps a quarter of what it had been.

I hadn't made any new applications, we kept up with our payments, etc. But they get the nervous nellies and now people they formally approved are on their drop list, even without having any negative reports.

[superconnected]

5. What gets me is that this is legal and they can change rates on exisiting balances

That really should be illegal.

[FiveGoodMen]

9. Yup. The rest of it sucks, but unilaterally changing the contract on a loan -- WTF?

What slimy bastards in DC okayed that?!

[NMDemDist2]

6. credit cards are evil, cut em up, pay em off and forget about them n/t

[physioex]

7. I am going to take the contrarian view.....

Actually they are great in my opinion. It just depends on your financial abiliites. I for one am able to pay my balance in full on a monthly basis. So I am able to take advantage of the cash back like the previous poster mentioned. It is my way of "sticking it to the man".

PS I suggest all DUers' watch the movie Maxed Out on google video.

[Blaq Dem]

10. My Discover Card interest rate increased to 20% even though I paid it on time

I called them up to ask why it went up to 20%. They simply had no answer for it. My bills are always paid on time. They have a universal default where if you're late on anything else other than Discover, they can shoot the interest up to 25-30%. This wasn't the case in my situation. Those bastards increased it anyway. I can't wait to pay it off (if ever in my lifetime.)

[pitohui]

11. mine was canceled, i called up to ask why, they said katrina

i didn't miss one day's payment because of katrina, i was evacuated elsewhere and paid my bills from there but they took it on themselves to cancel the card "just in case" -- the others like citibank took it on themselves to automatically grant 90 days grace period -- quite a difference in service!


a few months later they were calling me on the phone whining to know why i never used my discover card

well i dunno mr discover card company maybe because you're a bunch of fuckwits?

hell i got a letter from them today begging me to use their card

these folks don't know whether they're coming or going

[Amonester]

12. at this rate (of management stupidity) they'll soon be going to...

the food bank.

[Blaq Dem]

14. Wow, we black people call that "red-lining"

That was geographical discrimination. How do they get away with that mess?

I stop using Discover Card last year. I'm in the process of just paying them off and leaving them alone.

[Demeter]

15. So Glad I Cut the Card

8 or ten years ago....