Over the past few years, I’ve received countless emails filled with every imaginable credit card complaint. At first, it was shocking to find out how the various credit card companies treated their customers. Over time, however, I grew a bit immune to it.
My immunity to the nasty tactics employed by credit card companies has approached its limit recently. I’ve heard horror stories of interest rates being raised to nearly 30%, credit limits cut so much that people’s credit scores dropped by 50 or more points, and, perhaps worst of all, credit card companies demanding that people pay twice as much every month or else have their interest rate increased.
The slew of recent credit card complaints has caught my attention and I would like to learn more about how the various credit card companies are mistreating customers. Thus, I am opening up the Smart Balance Transfer’s blog as a forum for people to anonymously air their credit card complaints. If you’re reading this and you have an issue with your credit card company, please leave a comment describing the problem. Even though the comment form requests an email, you can use a fake one for an extra layer of anonymity. I would just like to expose what is going on so that I can help others avoid bad credit card companies and perhaps draw attention to the banks committing the most egregious acts.
Thanks for participating and I hope that, with your help, we can ruffle a few feathers.
March 18th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
I have been a card holder since 2005 and have never been late. My credit card limit was cut for $10,000 to $5,300 with out even a phone call, my balance is $5,100 so basically no credit, I noticed it on line. In January 2009 I submitted a balance transfer request and received a phone call asking to update some information and explain a 30 day past due on a HSBC account. That account is a home equity line from my old residence in NYC. Those payments are to be made at the responsibility of me ex-wife. And I have legal proof. The problem is she cannot re-finance it in her name as she does not work. So she plays games on purpose, that line is secured by lien on a residence in Little Neck, NYC. I am current on everything else. I have been a customer since 2005 and require the 10,000 limit. Just cutting someone’s line without notice is not professional, suppose I was out of the country and needed the availability. It is decisions like this that have put this economy in the mess that it is in. In stead of reading credit bureaus which are flawed a dialogue with a good customer is the way to go. In the past Kim Wright from your office has been helpful.
March 18th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
I’m sorry to hear about your situation. In the past, credit card companies may have looked past the issue with the past due loan, but now they are using every trick in the book as a reason to cut credit limts or increase interest rates.
What company did this to you? When you called, have you asked to speak with a supervisor. This may help, but these days, no one at credit card companies seems to have the power to reverse these credit limit decreases.
I would suggest trying to get a new credit card, but the past due account may prevent you from doing that. Although this may not make you feel all warm and fuzzy, you can at least take solace in the fact that they did not raise your interest rate or outright close your credit card account.
April 9th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
Capital one with whom I’ve had a cc card for some time, mails me a bill for yearly fee of $ 19.00. I wrote in big bold letters on the return bill “CLOSE ACCOUNT” (which I made a copy of) . I paid nothing as I intended to cancel the account to avoid the fee. One month later they sent me another bill with a late fee for not paying the yearly fee on time. They screwed me out of the yearly fee, then charged me penalty and interest on a fee that they should have canceled anyway. How is it that they can open a bill, take the check and cash it, but they can’t understand English. Pretty lame company…
April 10th, 2009 at 9:50 am
Robert,
I actually had a close friend whose wife had the same issue. I believe they were able to resolve the problem by calling in repeatedly. However, that was before these credit card companies ran out of control.
On an issue like that, and given my personal experiences with Capital One customer service, I would try the following:
1.) Call them. In all likelihood, a foreign based phone rep will pick up. Ask for an AMERICAN representative.
2.) When you get the American representative on the line, be as nice as possible. Its not her fault the company wronged you, and being nice with operators can go a long way, especially since most people who call them are angry.
3.) If she’s unable to resolve the problem, ask to speak to a supervisor.
4.) If your problem isn’t resolved, rinse and repeat. If it doesn’t work on the second or third time, then you might as well give up.
At the very least, you should be able to get the late fee removed. However, to be safe, send in a payment before your account is 30 days overdue. Otherwise, Capital One might report you to the credit bureaus, and you’ll have a credit score nightmare on your hands over a $40 dispute. These can take forever to resolve, and will limit your ability to get good rates on anything for at least a few months.
If you get a chance, let us know how things turned out. Best of luck and thanks for sharing.
May 16th, 2009 at 9:03 am
Called Discover about their proposed interest rate hike and was told I had to mail them on the issue. I sent in a letter complaining about interest rate increase in light of our current ecomomy and asked them to reconsider the rate increase. In my letter I made it perfectly clear that I wanted to continue to use their card since I have since 1987. Their response come clear to me last night when I went to use the card and it was declined.
Facts: I have never had a last fee and always paid off my account
I questioned their decision to increase the rate in this economy
I told them NOT to cancel the card
I have used the 22 years
They cancelled my card without notice after being told by the Customer Service person this month, not cards were going be cancelled.
DISCOVER CARD CANNOT BE TRUSTED……………..
May 17th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
This comment from Mark is the first complaint we have received about Discover and I’m not entirely sure of the specifics that led to his issue. In the interest of getting all information out to the public, I approved this comment. However, I’d like to hear more before tossing Discover into the same ring as the rest of the credit card companies.
May 18th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Capitol One gives me the shaft!! We had been a customer of Capitol One for over 15 years.We had an account with them that had a whole whopping $1000.00 limit.We kept this card paid and wasn’t late or over the limit.we had kept this card for use as an emergency reserve.I had placed a call to Capitol One a couple of months ago to request a new card.we didnt give it too much thought until today when a letter arrived saying that because of inactivity our account was going to be closed.I spoke to two different supervisors and got conflicting stories.One tells me that my Credit rating will be affected and one tells me that it will not.The last supervisor even told me that it stated in the letter that our credit rating would not be affected.I read the letter back to her and nowhere in it did it say our credit rating would not be hurt.
I guess the credit Card companies are punishing consumers for their years of customer abuse and stupidity.They may think they have creating “financial slaves” of us all but in the end they will be the ones who will ultimately pay the price.I am not griping about the people who work in the call centers even though they speak crude English.They are doing a job just like everyone else.The credit card companies will get their just reward.
May 18th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
Whomever you spoke to was definitely lying or had absolutely no idea of what they were talking about. Based on the information you provided, there are a number of ways getting this credit card account closed could negatively impact your credit score.
One factor used in credit scoring methods is account age. As this account is over a decade old, its closure will effectively shorten your credit history. If this is the oldest line of credit you have, the effect would be more pronounced than if you had other accounts of the same age.
A second factor is credit utilization ratio. If you had a $300 balance on this card, you would have been using 30% of your available credit. Now that it is closed, it will look as if you are using more credit than you have available to you (unless you have other accounts, in which case the effect on your credit score would be less pronounced).
On a bright note, I’m happy to hear you did not have your interest rate raised. I just responded to a visitor who missed one credit card payment and had her interest rate raised to 29.99% on nearly $20,000 of credit card debt.
But even though this seems like a small issue compared to that, the real problem here is the misinformation, deception, ignorance, or outright lying going on in the customer service department you dealt with. At a time when our country needs jobs AND honest information about our credit cards, it is truly atrocious to hear that poorly trained overseas representatives are on the other line.
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:49 am
My husband’s Chase account had its percentage bumped up to 29% a few months ago. He called them and was able to negotiate it down to 16%. Our last statement showed it had been raised back up to 29%. When he called them about it, they said it was because the last payment was late. It was due on April 8th, and I paid the bill on their website on April 8th. It was considered late because I didn’t pay it by 4pm est. I paid it at 5pm est.
June 22nd, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Credit card companies are really getting tough on payments. A late payment is one of their favorite reasons for raising interest rates. It pays to get them in as soon as possible.
June 24th, 2009 at 5:43 am
I’m one of the “Chase 5%.” Chase sent everyone promotional checks offering us fix rates for the life of the loan. The lowest of these offers was 2.99% and the highest was 5.99%. So I consolidated all my bills into two Chase accounts totalling approx $40,000 with a 2% monthly payment. I paid like clockwork for 18 months, paid the balance down to approx $34,000, so my monthly payments had dropped below $700. I figured I was in good shape.
Just got a notice from Chase. They’ve decided to raise my minimum monthly payment from 2% of the balance to 5% of the balance, meaning my minimum monthly payment will jump from $ 680/month to $1700/month. I can’t possibly pay this! What to do?
I went online and found out they are doing this to pretty much everybody who accepted these offers and, if I call them up, they will offer to “refinance” my loan, letting me keep a $700/month payment if I agree to a new higher interest rate of 7.99%.
Then in six months or so, I guess they’ll raise my payments again and offer a new higher interest rate of 15%?
I’m going to talk to them about it, but I’m thinking seriously about just not paying the loan back. What would happen if I deliberately default on the loan? If they sue me, I have very little equity in my house due to the recent housing market crash and my only other asset is my retirement account.
So what can they do to me if I just refuse to pay? Because I have 30 days to make the decision and I’m very seriously thinking about just telling them, okay, so sue.
June 25th, 2009 at 9:24 am
MaryAnn,
A $1700 monthly payment is a lot for a credit card, especially if you are budgeted for $700. Its really shocking how many people have sent in complaints about this practice, though the fact that they are willing to offer you a 7.99% rate is a great deal more reasonable than giving you no option and trying to steal a mortgage sized payment from you every month.
I really don’t advise not paying, even when the credit card company does something this absurd. If you are really struggling, I would consider a non-profit credit counselling company such as can be found at http://www.nfcc.org. However, a credit counseling company may not be able to get your rate below the proposed 7.99%, so the safest thing to do is continue making payments while checking out your options. Failing to pay will surely give them the reason they need to raise your rate to 29%.
June 25th, 2009 at 11:48 am
My question is, if I make a conscious decision to deliberately become a deadbeat debtor and do everything I can to avoid paying Chase a penny, how do I work it? I know that if a determine debtor wears a credit card company down, the credit card company will often “charge off” the debt and the debtor never has to pay it back.
I’ve never been late on a bill before, so I have no idea what deadbeat debtors to do wear credit card companies down.
But I’m thinking it might be justified in this situation. If I make a conscious decision to simply default on my credit card and my mortgage (Chase has the mortgage on the house) and walk away from all my debts, they will:
1. raise the interest rate to 2000% and make the nominal total of the debt much larger
2. pay people to call me and leave nasty messages on my answering machine
3. ruin my credit rating
4. probably hire a lawyer to sue me and get a judgment.
5. pay more people to try to collect the judgment but since I don’t have any assets except the small amount of equity in my house, which would be wiped out in a foreclosure sale, and my retirement account, which they can’t seize, they won’t have much chance of collecting anything.
So how hard is it to be a deliberate deadbeat? WHat are the strategies?
June 25th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
MaryAnn,
As much as I detest the type of behavior credit card companies are engaging in, I really do not condone deliberately becoming a deadbeat. I’ve heard countless stories from people such as you who truly are forced into corners they never thought they would be in and I deeply sympathize. However, it is clear to me that you are honest person and I really hope you can find a company that will work with you to get you out from underneath your debt.
What I do know, however, is that credit card companies will surely harass you and ruin your credit score. I really think you should be able to find a way to work this out with the company and I hope you don’t have to sink to the level of the banks, though I understand why you would.
July 18th, 2009 at 7:54 am
Discover just cancelled my credit card with no notice whatsoever. I went to use my card 2 days ago to make a purchase and it was not accepted. I called Discover only to be put on hold for over 20 minutes, so I hung up and resorted to emailing customer service. I finally received a response from them 2 days later and was informed they cancelled my card back in May, that they will not consider re-opening this account. To top it off, they did not say anything in the email why they closed my account.
Since my account was closed mid May, I was not notified by postal mail, email, or by phone. They did not notify me period. I had been a Discover Card customer since 1997 and had never been late on a payment. My credit limit was $7,600. I always respected and thought highly of Discover, but not any longer. I am so infuriated about this!
I also took back my cashback bonus of $67 that I had accumulated.
July 18th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
I have had 2 accounts with Citibank one for 20 years. I for 22 years. Received notification this week that raising interest rate on one from 18.99 to 29.99 and from 14.24 to 29.99. These rates and these payments are not affordable or sustainable. NEVER been late on either account. Checked with credit bureau today. No negative information on my report and never any late payments. Tried to reason with Citibank was shut down. Told I could close my account and pay them off. Which I was forced to do. That is not fair and will have a negative impact on my credit report. Should not be allowed. I have contacted my representatives in my state a
July 20th, 2009 at 9:27 am
I think pretty highly of Discover as well. They have really been the only good credit card company during the past six or seven months. I would call again. Customer service is normally great there and at least they may give you your cashback.
July 25th, 2009 at 7:49 am
I decided to look into credit card arbitration to see what I would need to do to set up an arbitration with Chase, because I don’t feel like what they are doing is legal or fair and I thought maybe the arbitrator would side with me and help me work something out with Chase.
It turns out I CAN’T set up an arbitration because the entire arbitration system has been a fraud from the beginning and the entire arbitration system has just collapsed. You literally can’t get a credit card dispute arbitrated in this country today. There are no arbitrators in the house.
Chase promised us that credit card disputes would be resolved by a neutral arbitrator when, in fact, Chase was using a collection agency (disguised as an arbitrator) to do the arbitrations. Google “Chase Credit Cards National Arbitration Association NAF Minnesota” and you’ll see what I mean. They’ve been out to cheat all of us from Day One. They’ve lied and misrepresented at every turn.
I’ve been honest and responsible and Chase has played me for a sucker. Okay, no more sucker. I’m going to do everything I legally can to protect myself and my family. I don’t think paying Chase is in my best interest and I won’t pay. If that means my credit rating goes to the bottom of the barrel, I don’t care. If that means I take bankruptcy, I don’t care.
July 27th, 2009 at 11:07 am
Whats up with Chase abruptly closing out credit cards?? I was a WAMU customer until Chase took them over. Paid my total balance every month.. Then out of the blue they up and closed my account without a letter or anything. Went to use my card and was denied. Called customer service and was told to call experian.. I had rewards racked up and lost those also. Emailed Chase to ask about my “lost” rewards and they said I could not get them. Found out quite a few WAMU customers card holders were closed by Chase. Chase is an institution that practices bad business ethics and should be reported.
August 2nd, 2009 at 7:37 am
Reading your story sounds like what just happened to me. I also was a wamu customer, chase took over. I always never late paying my bill for over 2 years, went to use my card and was denied, couldn’t believe it because I knew I had the available credit, called customer service and was told the exact same thing. I am still furious with this. How can they do this legally, something just doesn’t seem right about it.
August 10th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
On 7/29/2009 Chase closed both my Wamu credit cards (Despite having maintained perfect account status with Wamu and Chase )with a notice saying that “too few cards were paid as agreed compared to total cards” and“Total available on bank cards were to low I have never been late or over limit and the balance on my credit cards is less than 3% of the total value of my cards,When I called them on 08/04/2009/the girl was extremely aggressive about it and said “call Experian, we can’t help you.Experian says Chase never requested any credit info on me.and my cards and accounts are all Paid as Agreed.I called them back on 08/10/2009 after they sent me a new Chase card to replace my Wamu card and they told me the same thing Experian said blah-blah which I now know is a lie.Now they are going to mess up my credit (which took me a long time to build up)by closing the accounts for reasons they made up.I would think this is at the very least fraud.