Capital One Interest Rate Issue

[shane82388]

So my Capital One card has been in penalty APR (29.40%) for a LONG time now...over a year at least, but I just realized it should be a temporary thing and not permanent. According to info on this site, 6 months from after the last late payment it should revert back to normal APR...is this correct?

I wrote a letter to Capital One asking them to switch it back to the normal APR, which i cant even remember what it was at this point, but they just sent me a letter back saying they are "currently unable to lower the APR's on their products."

Anyway, I happened to just be bored and clicked the balance transfer offer link on my Capital One account main screen and it said if I did transfer balance to my Capital One card it would be subject to my "existing purchase rate APR of 14.8%"....

Does this mean that this is my APR currently and its been switched from the 29.40% and I just havent noticed because I havent gotten the latest statement with the new interest rate on it?

[Anonymous]

In the past, many banks would charge a different rate for new purchases vs. existing balances.  Since the laws have been changed, that no longer seems to be the case.  However, I doubt they will change the rate on existing balances that have been assigned a penalty APR.  Guess you'll have to wait for your statement in order to know for sure.

[chasmith]

The new credit card act requires them to reinstate the non-penalty rate after six months of timely payments.  But I wonder if they put you "in the penalty box" before the new law took effect and are relying on that to keep you there.

I might write back politely asking why they aren't honoring the provisions of the law (cite the specific section, I don't have that handy).

Something like:

Dear Crap1:

Thank you for your letter of MM/DD/YYYY declining to reinstate my non-penalty rate.  I have made X current payments since MM/DD/YYYY and I don't understand why you aren't following Section ZZZZ of the Dodd/Franks Act. 

Please return me to a non-penalty rate or explain the reason you decline to do so.

[MarineVietVet]

Read Section 171 of the Credit Card Act 2009.

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802, EQ - 10/10-813, TU - 10/10-774

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

[BungalowMo]

If they refuse to drop your rate, I'd get ahold of your other cc companies & ask about a BT.  Check for BT fees & rates.

Then sock drawer the Cap 1....  They obviously have given you no incentive to continue using them, but a good reason to stop.