Chase And Their New Account Service Charges

[jmbfl]

---

@Anonymous wrote:
I can't find any mention of this on the web, except for this thread....

---

Thats because we're way hip around here! Stick with us and you'll get a world class headache faster that anywhere else on the web!

Seriously - take a deep breath and relax. It hasn't effected you yet and may not at all. And if you are touched by this the passage of time will make your course of action obvious.

[Anonymous]

I have a statement that cuts tomorrow (which will also be PIFed tomorrow, minus whatever doesn't post until after tomorrow) so I'll find out in a few days if that account will be hit.

The account with the BT cuts its statement Saturday.

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

I wonder if they are doing this to get back at me for using a 3.99%-for-life BT to pay off my $11.5K Chase auto loan, which was at 9.24%.  My payment didn't move; they wanted $235/mo before, and now they want $232.  I've been paying $240.  If I have to pay 5%, my payment will go up to about $575!  I'm not sure what I'll do.  Any BT I do now will make me pay the full 3% fee, as there are no more caps on any of my cards.

I also wonder if this is what this email I received on Nov 13th was about:

Dear Chase Online Customer:

An important service announcement regarding "Important updates to
your Chase Online Legal Agreement" has been sent to your Secure
Message Center.  To see your message, log on to www.Chase.com and
click the "You have new mail" link in the upper left corner of
the My Accounts page.  If you are already logged on to Chase
Online, you can see your message(s) at any time by visiting the
Secure Message Center.

The message will be available in you Message Center until
01/30/2009.

Important! This service announcement will not appear in your inbox
until you access your Secure Message Center. So, even if your My
Accounts page says "You have no new messages," please go to your
inbox to read this important announcement.

Thank you for being a valued Chase customer.

I didn't have any mail from them when I logged in, so I ignored it.

Message Edited by Mike14 on 11-17-2008 01:40 PM

---

I think this is the same message they sent about my husband's account... and like you, he had no mail waiting to be read upon logging in, either. Weird. 

[Anonymous]

Well I have until December 3 to transfer the balance to a Citi card that is 4.99% until paid, with a $99 cap.  The only trouble is, I have a $7K BT already in there at 0% until March, and only $5K in the bank to put towards it.  Even if I PIF first, $11K on a card with a $12.7K CL is really going to be close!

Message Edited by Mike14 on 11-17-2008 05:05 PM

[Anonymous]

I read the AnnualRenewal Notice on my last statement.  I states, "If you have an annual fee, it will be billed yearly or in monthly installments whether or not you use your account, and you agree to pay it when billed.  It further states the fee is non-refundable unless you notify them you wish to close the account.  Now this disclaimer appears on every statement that I can access.

Additionally, on their website it states: Rates, fees, and terms may change: We reserve the right to change the account terms (including the APRs) at any time for any reason, in addition to APR increases that may occur for failure to comply with the terms of your account. The APRs for this offer are not guaranteed; APRs may change to higher APRs, fixed APRs may change to variable APRs, or variable APRs may change to fixed APRs. Any changes will be in accordance with your account agreement.

So, realistically they can do what they want...

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

I read the AnnualRenewal Notice on my last statement.  I states, "If you have an annual fee, it will be billed yearly or in monthly installments whether or not you use your account, and you agree to pay it when billed.  It further states the fee is non-refundable unless you notify them you wish to close the account.  Now this disclaimer appears on every statement that I can access.

Additionally, on their website it states: Rates, fees, and terms may change: We reserve the right to change the account terms (including the APRs) at any time for any reason, in addition to APR increases that may occur for failure to comply with the terms of your account. The APRs for this offer are not guaranteed; APRs may change to higher APRs, fixed APRs may change to variable APRs, or variable APRs may change to fixed APRs. Any changes will be in accordance with your account agreement.

So, realistically they can do what they want...

---

Yes, this is true.  The arrangement (2.99% for the life of the balance) I agreed to had similar terms.  Basically, 'we reserve the right to change your terms at any time, for any reason'.  I guess they grew tired of waiting for people to default on their conditions of the 'for life' agreements..

I'm just going to suck it up and pay the cards in full before January.  I'm not giving them one more cent in interest   Then, I suppose I can call and get the $10 a month ASC waived, correct? 

[Anonymous]

Unfortuniately, I haven't seen the literature for the Account Service charges.  If they imply the fee applies only if you carry a balance, and you PIF, I would assume the fee is waived.  If the intent is to charge carte blanche, no.

[Anonymous]

Well, paranoia got the better of me and I called Chase. I said I had heard that some accounts were being changed to require 5% min. payment and a $10 monthly fee. The CSR said only some accounts would be affected and didn't see anything in the notes for my account, so I'd probably not be affected.

I only asked about the one account though, so my Freedom cards may still be hit, but I PIF those twice a cycle, so it'd be no problem to cancel.

But before I called Chase, I called Citi for a CLI, and they gave me an additional $2300 for a total CL of $15060, which will really help both my current util (now 50%) and if I need to transfer my balance to them!

Message Edited by Mike14 on 11-18-2008 01:48 PM

[Anonymous]

@Anonymous wrote:

I wonder if they are doing this to get back at me for using a 3.99%-for-life BT to pay off my $11.5K Chase auto loan, which was at 9.24%.  My payment didn't move; they wanted $235/mo before, and now they want $232.  I've been paying $240.  If I have to pay 5%, my payment will go up to about $575!  I'm not sure what I'll do.  Any BT I do now will make me pay the full 3% fee, as there are no more caps on any of my cards.

I also wonder if this is what this email I received on Nov 13th was about:

Dear Chase Online Customer:

An important service announcement regarding "Important updates to
your Chase Online Legal Agreement" has been sent to your Secure
Message Center.  To see your message, log on to www.Chase.com and
click the "You have new mail" link in the upper left corner of
the My Accounts page.  If you are already logged on to Chase
Online, you can see your message(s) at any time by visiting the
Secure Message Center.

The message will be available in you Message Center until
01/30/2009.

Important! This service announcement will not appear in your inbox
until you access your Secure Message Center. So, even if your My
Accounts page says "You have no new messages," please go to your
inbox to read this important announcement.

Thank you for being a valued Chase customer.

I didn't have any mail from them when I logged in, so I ignored it.

Message Edited by Mike14 on 11-17-2008 01:40 PM

---

I found the message (after a few emails back and forth), and it was just some changes about communications to their legal agreement-nothing about fees or balances or the financial aspects:

We're writing to let you know about updates we've recently made to some of our online disclosures and agreements.

First, we've revised an online disclosure you accepted when you enrolled to use Cardmember Services Online. The Online Service E-Sign Disclosure and Consent describes how many of the communications you receive regarding your accounts and online service can be or will be delivered electronically. Here's a summary of the changes:

• A clarification that the Disclosure also applies to accounts accessible through the Online Service.

• An updated definition of the term "communication" to include monthly billing or account statements and tax statements.

• A clarification that your consent to receive electronic communications and transactions includes, but is not limited to such other Communications we may include from time to time as part of the enrollment in Paperless Statements.

• A revision to include PDF (Portable Document Format) as one of the forms of electronic communications you may receive from us. Certain statements or documents online may require you to download a PDF file using software that enables you to view them properly.

• A clarification that, if you have enrolled to receive Paperless Statements, you can withdraw your consent to receive these communications electronically by simply changing your delivery preferences within the Online Service and not be required to call us to do so.

The revised terms will be added to the Cardmember Services Online Service agreement and will be available online for your review on November 16, 2008. They will go into effect on November 16, 2008.

Second, we are updating the terms and conditions for Cardmember Services Online to cover the addition of new mobile products and services.

Here's a summary of the changes:

• A clarification to all customers that, if you provide a phone number to us as a contact for any Cardmember Services Online product or service, you agree that we may call that number with service messages pertaining to that product or service.

• A clarification that if any litigation related to Cardmember Services Online is approved for class action status, then that resulting class action dispute will not be resolved through arbitration.

• A section has been added that will apply to any enrollment, activation and use of Mobile Services offered by Cardmember Services. It reads as follows:
  
  Mobile Services
  
  Your enrollment in the Online Service may include access to some products and services through a mobile device ("Mobile Services"). By using the Mobile Services, you agree to the following terms. You agree that we may send you information relative to Mobile Services through your communication service provider in order to deliver them to you and that your communication service provider is acting as your agent in this capacity. You agree to provide a valid phone number, e-mail address or other delivery location so that we may send you certain information about your applicable account or otherwise related to the Mobile Services. Additionally, you agree to indemnify, defend and hold us harmless from and against any and all claims, losses, liability, cost and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from your provision of a phone number, e-mail address, or other delivery location that is not your own or your violation of applicable federal, state or local law, regulation or ordinance. Your obligation under this paragraph shall survive termination of the Agreement. The Mobile Services are provided for your convenience and do not replace your monthly account statement(s), which are the official record of your accounts. You understand and agree these services may not be encrypted and may include personal or confidential information about you such as your account activity or status. Delivery and receipt of information, including instructions for payment, transfer and other move money transactions, through the Mobile Services may be delayed or impacted by factor(s) pertaining to your Internet service provider(s), phone carriers, other parties, or because of other reasons outside of our control. We will not be liable for losses or damages arising from any disclosure of account information to third parties, non-delivery, delayed delivery, misdirected delivery or mishandling of, or inaccurate content in, information and instructions sent through the Mobile Services. Additionally, not all of the products, services or functionality described on the Site(s) and the Agreement are available when you use a mobile device. Therefore, you may not be eligible to use all the products, services or functionality described when you access or try to access them using a mobile device. We reserve the right to determine your eligibility for any product, service, or functionality. Information available via the Mobile Services, including balance, transfer and payment information, may differ from the information that is available directly through the Online Service and Site(s) without the use of a mobile device. Information available directly through the Online Service and Site(s) without the use of a mobile device may not be available via the Mobile Services, may be described using different terminology (including capitalized terms used in the Agreement or on our Site(s), or may be more current than the information available via the Mobile Services, including but not limited to account balance information. The method of entering instructions via the Mobile Services may also differ from the method of entering instructions directly through the Online Service without the use of a mobile device. Processing of payment and transfer instructions may take longer through the Mobile Services. We are not responsible for such differences, whether or not attributable to your use of the Mobile Services. Additionally, you agree that neither we nor our service providers will be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. You are responsible for any and all charges, including, but not limited to, fees associated with text messaging imposed by your communications service provider.

You can review any of these revised documents online anytime on or after October 31, 2008 by logging on and clicking the "Legal Agreements" link at the bottom of any page.


Sincerely,

Online Banking

Message Edited by Mike14 on 11-18-2008 01:51 PM

[BBYGRL]

I received the online legal notice. I haven't received the $10 monthly fee/5% notice. I hope it doesn't apply to my account. If it does, this card will get the ax pronto!

Message Edited by BBYGRL on 11-18-2008 12:54 PM