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I am just MAD. Apparently Citi sent me a change in terms in October, which I can't believe I did not see because following this board has me checking every correspondence from CC companies. APR from 13.24% to 29.99%? Have had the card for three years without a single late payment. High balance from BT a couple other cards pretty recently and $2000 in auto repairs. My highest CL at $7000, with a balance of $6500. I found the change when checking my new statement. To make a long story short, I called and was told I missed the cutoff date so there is nothing they could do even if I closed the card. I asked to speak to the retention dept and was told I did not qualify????? Apparently rate jacking someone more than double their current APR does not qualify. I asked to speak to a manager after the CSR closed my account to see if I qualified to speak to a retention person. She restored my original rate as a COURTESY, but the account must stay closed or go to 30%. I have been rate jacked by a couple other customers, but this is just criminal. I can see a couple points with the way the economy and the laws have been changing, but 16.75%? It is high time I find a credit union and just say F- off to all of these filthy banks.
I'm sorry this happened to you. You say you've followed the forums, so you know this is happening to a lot of people.
In the end, you are fortunate they took your interest rate back down. If you can, work on getting your utilization down. That's what causes a lof of these adverse actions.
I'm sorry this happened to you as well, and although I know that it doesn't give you much comfort, you did a good job getting them to rollback the APR.
Wishing you Happier Holidays (and a slightly-belated Happy 2 Year Anniversary) Bigned!
Stick to your plan, Bigned. You're paying them the same interest that you had intended on when you formulated your snowball plan. Right now, your credit score should not be affected, because the account closed with a balance...which means both the balance and the card's credit limit will still be figured into your overall utilization. But, once you pay that card to zero, the CL won't figure into your utilization anymore, and balances on other cards will show as a much higher utilization than they do now.
My vote is to stick with your original plan. Don't let your emotions take over the gray matter between the ears (like I sometimes do!), play your own game, not theirs.
Good luck, Bigned...I know you can do it!
Something similar also happened to me....they sent me a notice in October as well telling me that my 13.99% apr is going to be 23.99% for no other reason other what they gave as an excuse in the accompanying letter about the rate increase..... they need to make up for the loss in revenue from defaults and the credit market in general.....So, they're hitting up all of their good paying customers right before the holidays when there just might be a chance that you're going to carry a a balance and they can get the higher rate out of you.....My solution? I pay off the card early and often, in full. I never carry a balance so I could care less if they charged me 75% apr....What I'm most pissed off is how blatant they are about rate jacking customers that have been loyal to them for decades all in the name of 'leveling the playing field' and paying for the moochers that decided to default on their credit card obligations.
I don't fault the people that legitimately had hard times...I'm angry about the person who deliberately overspent and left everyone else to pay for their irresponsibility. Pathetic.
Sorry to hear that Bigned. I'm so glad that I didnt get a card from those Citi slicker/loan sharks.
Their new slogan "Join Citi, where your nickel and dimes equal billions to pay your back your TARP fund."
Ole my2cents.
Bigned wrote:
...... so how do they justify 29.99%?
This has all been extensively discussed previously, but the reason they can justify the high rates is they are only responding to what WE, the taxpayers, have requested. We have asked that laws be passed to stop other activities that we have deemed to be offensive, so the companies are protecting their franchises by raising the rates to a high level as the standard rate before all the new laws come into effect. This allows them wiggle room as things sort out. As others are quick to point out, don't take it personally. It has nothing to do with your track record with the company. The best plan is to pay off your balances and get on a PIF program going forward. When you PIF a sky high interest rate is immaterial.