During the past six months, we’ve been contacted by tons of consumers who’ve seen their credit limts cut, interest rates raised, or had a deadly combination of both. These toxic credit card cocktails have been served up by most credit card companies and have hit consumers with good credit, solid credit histories, and high credit scores at random. At present, the only credit card company that has not recieved a complaint is Discover Card. Prior to that, Capital One was also on that list. However, a recent comment from a visitor changed that. This is what Pam had to say:
“Even though I have had a Capital One credit card for over ten years, paid on time, and paid more than the minimum payment at all times, I received notice from them that my interest rate would be tripling in May. I could accept this or close the account. In selecting to close the account, my attorney tells me that my credit score will be hurt. Is there any action I can take to mitigate the damage soon to be done? Apparently there is no regulation of this industry.”
Pam’s comment is the first word we have heard about this type of behavior at Capital One. Hopefully, this indicates that Capital One will not be doing this too a lot of consumers. However, the strategy here is the same we have seen from Chase, Bank of America, HSBC, and others. Essentially, they give the consumer an offer they can’t refuse: close your account or pay an absurd interest rate. Ultimately, anyone who can’t repay their balance quickly has to accept the account closing. Otherwise, they could see their balances double very quickly.
While it is unfortunate to hear that Capital One is raising interest rates and forcing consumers to close their accounts, this news is not surprising. However, it might be a little too early to put Capital One on the wall of shame, as this is the first complaint we’ve recieved about them.
However, if you’ve had your credit limit decreased by Capital One, please leave a comment so others can learn of new developments.
Also, if you have your credit limt decreased recently, you may find this article on What to do When Your Credit Limit is Cut useful.
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March 16th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
I have 2 credit cards that I use on a regular basis, capital one and barclays bank master card. I was informed that my interest rate on both cards is going to be raised in april, both going up 5 points. I
March 17th, 2009 at 11:00 am
While it looks like your comment was cut off, I would recommend moving your balances to a new card that offers a 0% APR. 5 percentage points is a substantial increase and will cost you $50 a year for every $1000 you currently have in credit card debt.
April 2nd, 2009 at 12:39 pm
I am in the same situation as Pam. I have been a Capital One customer for over 10 years with two different CapOne cards. I have never made a late payment and always pay more than the minimum balance. In March, I received notice that my interest rate will jump by 8.5% unless I close my accounts.
No luck with calling CapOne and getting the increase stopped or reduced. CSR offered to close my cards on the spot.
April 7th, 2009 at 10:16 am
Bob,
I would recommend trying to transfer your balance to another card and keeping your card open. However, if you are unable to do a balance transfer, by all means close the account to prevent the interest rate increase.
Now, if you are able to do a 0% balance transfer, keeping your card open will help your credit score. Unfortunately, closing an account with a 10 year history will definitely have a negative impact on your credit score.
You can use one of the free credit analysis tools listed in the free credit report section of this site to get a sense of how closing the account will affect your credit score.
I am sorry to hear that you have had this issue. In the five years I have been involved in the credit card market, I have never seen credit card companies act so aggresively against consumers. It is truly disgusting.
April 18th, 2009 at 8:47 am
I received a notice in the mail two days ago that I didn’t open because I was out of town. It gives me the option of paying 22.9% interest (I currently pay around 12%) or closing the account. I called this morning and the automated message told me the “time to close your account and decline terms has passed” so I assume I will be paying 22.9% interest this month on my payment. I will be contacting the Attorney General’s office for Arizona and filing whatever complaints I can with ANY banking regulators. Likewise I will be writing all of my congressional representatives. I have had this card for over 5 years and had a car loan thru capital one for 3 years and EVERYTHING HAS BEEN PAID ON TIME. Capital One needs to realize this economy will turn around and people LIKE ME who have good jobs in healthcare and security will eventually want to buy things again. Alienating good customers who are financially responsible will NOT earn them business in the future. I am so irrate about this I can hardly express it. I am very mad. Erik in Arizona.
April 20th, 2009 at 7:57 am
Erik,
If you haven’t attempted to do a balance transfer, I would suggest applying for one now. You can move your debt to a card that offers a 0% rate for a full year. Once that year expires, it is unlikely that you will be slapped with a 22% interest rate. For more information on these offers, please see the balance transfer section of http://www.smartbalancetransfers.com.
Unfortunately, based on the news I’ve been hearing and the fact that this interest rate ultimatum tactic is still being used, Capital one likely did not break any law. They were definitely unfair. They were definitely abusive to their customer. And they definitely used the dirtiest of tactics hidden in the fine print. Nevertheless, it is still worthwhile to report companies that do this. At the very least, it increases government awareness and may lead to some help for consumers such as yourself.
April 24th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Capitol one sent me a letter stating that our interest rate would increase or we could opt out. called in January when we received the letter and chose to opt out. Capital one said that we could use our card and points through May. It would be closed at the end of May. My wife called Capital One yesterday 04/23/09 and to see if she could talk them into not raising our interest rate. The rep. said not and then said they had no record of me calling and opting out. I will be calling them today. It is amazing how they have no record of my call. I will search for the letter they sent and I pray that I wrote down the reps. name that I spoke to.
April 24th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
Shawn,
I really hope your case is an isolated one, because if they start “losing things in the mail” or “getting their homework eaten by dogs” a lot of people will get robbed. I’m going to notify visitors to start requesting written confirmations just in case. If you get the opportunity, please let us know if the issue gets resolved fairly.
May 18th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
they pulled the same thing on me. never missed a payment in over 8 years
May 19th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Just received today, two letters from Cap. 1 regarding my two Cap.1 credit cards. You guessed it, they are raising the rates on both cards from 11.2% up to 17.9%………and just like most people i have not been late on any payments, and we have been customers for about 8 years. This is so incredibly frustrating. Once we pay off our balance, we will NEVER do business with cap.1 again. Their loss.
May 19th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
On May 18, 2009 received letters from Capital One that they were raising rates on the two credit cards I have with them from 8.99% to 17.9% effective July 2, 2009. I have never been late, have a zero balance on the cards and never plan to use them again – but will keep them open. Their actions defy good management practices of building and keeping good customer relationships. When the economy improves – who will want to do business with them?
May 19th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
It looks like a new wave of interest rate increases is coming and it seems the letters are just starting to hit mailboxes.
For a while, I was starting to think that credit card companies would slow down with rate increases. But the fact of the matter is this: irresponsible credit card lenders loaned money to irresponsible consumers. Those irresponsible consumers, many of whom never should have had credit cards in the first place, ran up more debt than they could possibly repay. When the economy turned south, they stopped paying their bills. And when they stopped paying, the credit card companies realized that they could raise rates on deadbeats to 50% and never see a dime. Instead, they chose to raise rates on the honest people who can and will repay their debts.
I’m starting to view these rate increases as a tax on responsible Americans. Those of us who honor our commitments to repay money we borrowed are paying higher rates to cover the spending of the deadbeats who spent more than they could ever afford.
Honest people are truly becoming the victims of the credit crunch. The credit card companies got bailed out. The people who took out sub-prime mortgages on houses they couldn’t afford got bailed out. And the deadbeats who used their credit cards as free money will be declaring bankruptcy or simply ignoring their bills while they watch the flat screen TV they didn’t earn in the house they got to refinance, but never should have bought in the first place.
As an increasingly angry consumer advocate, I have to say that both Joe and Jennifer really nailed the issue on the head. These companies are terribly managed and the only revenge is to take your business somewhere else.
May 19th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Same here, I could have said it better Jennifer.
May 19th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
Ok, this is not good news. In the past couple hours, three people have posted about Capital One interest rate increases. These posts came in after work time, so it seems like a lot of letters went out today.
If you are reading this because your interest rate was increased, please share your original interest rate and the new rate on your credit card so others can get a better idea of what is going on here.
May 20th, 2009 at 8:56 am
Same issue here had a capitalone card for 7 years, never late, always paid more than minimum payment, they just jacked me from 12.9 to 22.9!!! I will be transfereing the balance somewhere fast and will never do business with capitalone ever again and you can bet I will make sure that everyone I know does not either. When I called in to see why they stated due to tough economic times will increased your card and that I have missed the deadline to close the card. My question is how can it be legal to increase the interest rate on a balance that was agreed upon at a lower rate.
May 20th, 2009 at 10:04 am
Dave,
Based on the information you provided, particularly the statement that, “(you) have missed the deadline to close the card,” I imagine you got a notice in the mail informing you that you had the option to close your account or keep it open at the higher rate. Unfortunately, you proably tossed this notice aside when you got it, but in your situation, it clearly seems as if noting illegal has been done. I think the same thing probably happened to many of the people who have posted here- the problem is that the notice could have easily been mistaken for junk mail.
Sorry to hear about your situation. Hopefully it won’t take you too long to get your balance repaid.
May 20th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Yep another victim here ,had account for about 6 years 10,000 balance. Supervisor I spoke with claimed she almost didnt see her mailing that explained the interest rate increase. It is mine boggling that the same issues that the govt.is trying to pass legislation on with credit card companies, they have the gall to raise the rates then lie to you saying they sent some mailor that you can decline the interest rate changes by a certain deadline but they cant do anything about it. Then she had the audacity to tell me that due to tough economic times capital one had to due some tough changes and this was one of them,. [expletive deleted]
May 20th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Unfortunately, it is very likely that a mailing was sent. The mailings are just easy to miss as they may look like junk mail.
May 20th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Yes, just opened my letter today and searched the internet for what is going on with Capital One.
My old interest was 9.8 and will be increased to 17.9. One funny thing, however, is the increase will not take effect until April 2010. It says I will not be assessed a higher purchase APR at this time, but will become a “promotional Purchase rate” as of July 2, 2009. If I am understanding this correctly, I need to have my balance paid off by April 2010. Is that correct?
May 20th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
I just received the same mailing BOTH my cards are going from 13.9% to 22.9% in January- that effectively will double my payment each month on EACH card. May I ask where they expect people to get that extra $400 or so a month?? Certainly not from the non existent raises at work? The commuter rail goes up, groceries go up and while people are trying to deal with that and gas prices and more taxes the banks and credit card companies decide let’s make things a bit harder. I just received a lower interest rate from Capital one on both accounts a few months ago because of my payment history and to thank me they are now doubling my payments? THIS IS WHY people default on their credit cards! Even those who try to do the right thing end up losing. Apparently the answer to tighter regulations on credit card companies is a race to bleed their customers dry while they still can! Maybe government should put these companies into receivership- they couldn’t do much worse! Obviously our big corporate execs don’t want to lose their fancy bonuses and perks-can’t have that! But PR is worth something too and eventually, people are going to get smart, stop taking out cards at all and then where will these companies be? Just point me to a low balance card and I will transfer my capital one balances and close the accounts= is that what Capital one really wants to happen??
May 21st, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Wow. A lot feedback in a very short time. Consdering that only a fraction of readers actually post feedback (and only a fraction of people who get hit with rate increases actually search on the matter) I am having a very hard time imagining just how many people have actually been hit by these increases. My guess is that the victim count is in the tens of thousands.
I think the poster Mam made a really good point. If rates weren’t raised so high, fewer people probably would defualt, which would decrease the need for these rate increases.
I think the real problem, in all honesty, has been government intervention. Credit card companies didn’t really start levying these huge rate increases until the government threatened their business. Even though the credit issues were there, the banks were only raising some interest rates by reasonable amounts. Now, threatened with the new rules, they seem to be raising the majority of rates by dramatic amounts.
What I don’t get are situations like Mam’s or even Eddie’s, who pays his balance in full. They had their rates increased by 50%. Is this because they had jobs and thus stood a chance of paying the debt back. Regardless of the logic, this is really sickening. Having the cost of interest go up 50% is just unfair.
I really thought I had grown a thick skin with this, but hearing from the victims really sickens me.
May 21st, 2009 at 4:51 pm
This was an across the board interest rate increase across their entire card portfolio, just like American Express did earliet this year.
May 21st, 2009 at 9:20 pm
I, too received word today that Capital One will raise our interest rate 5 points as of April 2010. A few years back, before the economic crisis, our two Cap One cards were both raised to 9.9% — one was 4.9 and one 7.9, both were FIXED rates… So what was the reason as I have excellent credit rating, never late, and pay 3 to 4 times the minimum? “It was an executive decision accross the board” was the reason I was given. I was able to get them to settle at 8.9% but now they want to raise it to 14.9???? What the heck? Just because they can? I know that some states’ Attorney Generals did charge a class action suit. New York did not. I plan on calling my Senators and the White House tomorrow…. This is highway robbery against people who are struggling to stay afloat in terrible economic times while the government is bailing out the company and the President of the company takes a 6 figure salary…. Not fair. Totally unjust…. No reason for this! Call your Attorney Generals, Senators, and call the White House comment line — 202-456-1111. In 5 years, our interest on these FIXED accounts has gone from 4.9% and 7.9% to 14.9%! And, we have never been late, and we pay much more than the minimum. This is wrong….. Call! Demand that this be stopped. Hell, take the bail outs from these companies and give them to us, the little guys, who don’t make a 6 figure salary, so we can continue to pay off the increasingly obscene interest rates!
May 22nd, 2009 at 2:47 am
My wife and I too received notices of rate increases, from 9.6 percent to 12.9 percent and from 9.9 to 17.9 percent, respectively. My guess is that nearly ALL CapitolOne card users received such notices.
The notices were all sent out the day after Congress passed new legislation regulating credit cards. Were the rate increases a last-chance-under-the-wire tactic to wring maximum profit before the new laws go into effect? Or an attempt to raise a public outcry to convice lawmakers to change tack?
I don’t know, but like the previous readers, I plan to pay down my balance to zero, use up my awards, then cancel the card.
It seems Capital One will lose a lot of loyal customers over this. Obviously, they don’t care.
May 22nd, 2009 at 5:41 am
Same here – CapOne letter yesterday. Held this card for 20+ years. Started off at 7.99%, then a lost payment in the mail (was sent never recieved by them) raised my rate to 12.9. That pissed me off but decided to keep the card. Now they are bumping it up to 17.9% or close the account. Bye bye fawkers.
May 22nd, 2009 at 8:07 am
I started with a Capitol One “No Hassle” card with a 6.9% “fixed” rate. Account in perfect standing- never a missed or late payment, carried a balance, so they were making some money on me.
Two years ago,they jacked it up to 11%, I called to ask why and was told it was “to keep in line with the changing market”- whatever that meant.
A year later, I called to complain again, and they lowered my rate to 10.9% ( gee, thanks) and told me to keep checking back from time to time.
Yesterday- I got the same disguised-as-junk-mail notice that my 10.9% is going up to 17.9% effective Apr. 2010. Called and got the same “due to the financial markets” crap excuse. Rep even confirmed that I had a perfect account record.
From 6.9% to 17.9% in 5 years with a perfect payment history? WTH are they thinking?
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:55 am
Wow-this is really shocking. I’ve never seen so many responses so quickly. I noticed in Mrs. D’s posting that her interest rate increase won’t take effect until April 2010.
Has anyone else been given until April 2010 before the increases take effect or are most of these changes taking effect immediately? Would be good news if everyone had a year to pay off their balances and that would actually be very fair if Capital One did this. Most other companies are raising them right now.
Also, Georgianna posted some info on who to contact if you want to report this. Here are her suggestions, in case you missed them:
“Call your Attorney Generals, Senators, and call the White House comment line — 202-456-1111.”
While I unfortunately am quite sure all of these increases are perfectly legal, it might not hurt to draw attention to the matter.
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:10 pm
I have a Capital One Visa and Mastercard. The APR on the Visa was 8.65% and I missed the due date by one day a couple of months ago. They charged me the $39 fee but did not raise the rate. They also refunded the fee after I called and requested. I thought things were fine until I got my statement for this month and saw that the APR had been raised to 17.9%. However, this had nothing to do with the late payment but was for the across the board change in terms that I see now that lots of people are complaining about.
My complaint with Cap1 is that I never got the notice for my Visa card. I got the notice for my MC and I cancelled it. The cards have the same due date and I always get offers and notices at the same time for both of them. I had assumed that the Visa card was not being affected. However, this was not the case.
I called to get the rate reverted and take advantage of the opt out just like I did with the MC and had no success. After my 3rd rep, my call ended with a senior account rep by the name of Arlene and I could go no farther. She said there was nothing they could do even if she wanted to.
Surely, a credit card company should have something in place for people who miss those change in terms notices but see it when they get the first bill that is affected.
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:42 pm
Add me to the list. I got my letter from cap one last night. My rate went from 8.9 to 17.9 ( it had been a fixed rate). I called like everyone else the only option they gave was to coldly say close the account. I have been with them for 15 years, I never took advantage of teaser rates from other banks, I stayed loyal and was happy with what I thought was a fair rate. My credit score is 795, always made more then min. payment. Looks like the joke is on me…and the rest of us that lead responsible lives. Well Capital One can go bleep themselves. I’ll be transfering the balance and they won’t even be getting 8.9 in interest. To go one step further, I’m going to refuse to accept Capital One cards at my business. It won’t hurt sales, everyone has more then one card. I’ll be joining the rest and calling Tuesday morning to complain about cap one mafia style tactics.
May 23rd, 2009 at 1:19 am
I received a letter in the mail today saying that after July 2nd, 2009, my rate (15.8%) will become a promotional Purchase rate. Beginning April 2010, the rate will increase to 22.9%.
I can choose to decline the changes and have until July 28th to decide. If I choose to decline, my account will be closed on August 2nd. I can pay down my balance at the existing terms. Also, once I decline the changes, I will not be able to re-open an account. It will be permanently closed.
May 23rd, 2009 at 9:56 am
I received the letter too. Mine will be increasing from 11.9% to 17.9%. Changes to APRs will take effect for all billing periods that begin after July 2, 2009.
May 23rd, 2009 at 6:01 pm
As I always, I’m sorry to hear everyone is having these problems. Normally, I try to respond to every posting individually, but there have been so many, I think the best thing here to discuss some of the general trends.
1.) Not everyone is getting the same rate increases: This is truly perplexing. It seems some people are getting “lucky” so to say and not getting rate increases immediately. For those who are given the close now and keep your rate option, I would definitely consider your ability to repay within one year. If you can, it may be better for your credit score to keep the account open and zero out the balance. This will leave you with unused available credit which improves your credit utilization ratio.
2.) The people getting immediate rate increases are getting hit very hard: The size of these rate increases tend to range from 50% to 100%. If calling gets you nowhere, credit counseling or a balance transfer to another company may be the only way to stay on top of bills.
3.) Does persistence pay? Not sure if people are trying multiple calls, getting US representatives and speaking to supervisors, but if possible, do everything you can to negotiate a more reasonable rate. In general, the first person you get on the phone is only there to get you off the phone. They tend to have little ability to change an account, and may even mislead you, as has been the case with more than a few of the people who posted here. Thus, always get a supervisor on the phone.
This bout of rate increases seems to be hitting customers with especially good credit. One poster has an 795 credit score. I think we can all thank the new credit card legislation for this. Banks who used to make their money on late fees and high rates on deadbeat customers are turning to honest, fiscally responsible people to create revenue.
I really hope to see the pace of comments slow. Its very frustrating to hear that credit card companies are taxing good, honest people.
May 24th, 2009 at 2:54 am
I have one to add.
A couple of days ago I received my notice.
Also, this is the first credit card I’ve had and was opened when I had no credit history.
Current rate = 15.8%
Beginning April 2010, it will increase to 22.9%.
Luckly, my balance isn’t large at all, and I was planning on paying it off within the next couple of months.
So question, can I just leave this card open with a $0 balance and not have it impact me in a negative way?
May 24th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
It seems you lucked out by getting a year before the rate increase. As to your question, if you are not paying an annual fee, it is probably worthwhile to keep the card open, as it not only will improve your credit utilization ratio, but is your first card, and thus important in establishing the length of you credit history.
Although the new rate is definitely higher than would be considered reasonable to carry a balance from month to month, if you can pay your card in full, it would be worthwhile to use it, especially if you earn rewards.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
I’ve had my Capital One card since 2005, with never a late payment, but I always paid them some interest, so they were always making some money on me. Now they have raised my 8.9% to 17.9% … when I called to ask why, I was told it was a “business decision made in order to remain competitive in the credit card industry.” My new rate is effective for billing periods that begin after July 2, 2009.
If I decline, my account will be permanently closed. Permanently closed? This is my only credit card.
I can’t figure out why they would want to drop me as a customer. They make money on me. I don’t have a huge balance, but I always pay some interest. What do you recommend I do? I can apply somewhere for a new card, but I imagine the rates are now the same everywhere.
Thanks for your help.
May 26th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
If you have a balance on your card and know you will need time to pay it off, you may want to close the card or transfer the balance to another card. However, since this is your only card, closing it can have a big, negative effect on your credit score. This is a particularly dicey situation and I think keeping the account open is definitely the only way to avoid a big hit to your credit score.
June 6th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Well, we got the wonderful surprise today from Capital One. Our new wonderful rate is effective this month. Went from 6.61% to 15.90%! That is a 9.29% increase per month. We also, are faithful on- time payers sometimes paying more than the minimum due. We are on a fixed income as seniors and I was shocked as to how much our monthly payment went up. Sorry we didn’t opt out, but like others has said, does this effect your credit? We really could have as we plan to never put another charge on this card and at our first opportunity the money will be moved. By the time our government moves in to control this, we will have paid them millions of greedy dollars because some of us can’t get out of the situation as fast as we would like. What’s in our wallet?” You’ll not see Capital One in our wallet ever again.
June 8th, 2009 at 9:33 am
Judy,
6% to 15% – a 150% interest rate increase! That’s impressive, in a bad way. Fortunately, I get the impression that you and your husband are not carrying too much debt on your card, so getting a 150% rate increase won’t be hurting your wallet as bad as it could.
As to your credit score, closing a credit card account can hurt your credit score in a couple of ways. First, if you have debt on this or other cards, it increases your credit utilization ratio, which is simply the amount of credit card debt you have expressed as a percentage of your total available credit. The credit utilization ratio accounts for about one third of your credit score and the lower it is, the better. A high credit utilization ration indicates a person is maxed out.
A second way closing a credit card account can hurt your score is by reducing the length of your credit history. This is more of an issue if this is your oldest credit card or if you only have one or two.
Basically, if you are not paying an annual fee, you might as well keep it open. If you have a balance, you may want to transfer it to a new card. Ultimately, however, unless you will be relying on your credit score for a home or car purchase in the near future, you should choose to do what is best for your wallet, even if that means your credit score goes down a few points.
Lastly, as to the laws, not only will they not help anyone until February of 2010, they are hurting millions of Americans. The rate increases you hear about have been a direct response to the new laws, as credit card companies try to make as much money now as possible.
And as a faithful on time payer who cares about her credit score and manages her money well, you are the new target of the credit card companies. They seem to have come to the conclussion that they can’t wring money out of deadbeats, so they’re attacking the people who can and will pay. Its truly sickening.
June 21st, 2009 at 3:19 pm
I have been a faithful customer of Capital One for over 14 years and always paid on time. I recently received a notice like so many others that my rate will increase from 8.9 % to 17.9 beginning July 28. I am in shock and was told by the customer agent that it was a business decision because of the economic crisis! I am outraged and I feel we should all write to our representatives about these crooks! We should not have to pay for irresponsible customers that did not pay their bills.
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Same thing with me,I have been with Capital One for 10 years.They have never seen a late payment.Payments are always on time and I send more than the minimum due. Now my interest rate will increase from 9.8% to 17.9 beginning july 10th. I have called three times to see if anything can be done but have been told that the rates can not be lowered. They will see my account close soon and I will no longer do business with them.
June 29th, 2009 at 9:43 am
I too was betn over by Capital One. My rate went from 5.5% to 15.9% in a matter of one month. I complanied and spoke to a manager and they said there was nothing they could do. I feel I am being penalized because other can’t pay their biils on time. Something needs to be done.
July 14th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
I, too, am appalled by how I have been treated by Capital One. They sent me a new card in April 2009 because they have found accounts to be compromised – I’m sure somewhere there was hidden agenda – no where on this card shows I have been a Cap One customer for over 10 years.
My rate increased to 17.99 from 9.99. I have an excellent credit score and this is the ONLY credit card I utilize – my payment doubled. They have members by their toes – they know the common consumer can’t go out there and pay it off.
Treatment of consumers like this, should be illegal. Instead of Obama helping out the banks, auto dealers, why not help out the common folk who work hard for a living… doesn’t go on welfare… doesn’t file for bankruptcy…. those of us that want to pay their debts but don’t want to work to be paying interest. This is insane!
August 20th, 2009 at 11:26 am
I have a Capital One card also and had a rate of about 6%. I have been trying to pay off the balance for years and have made more than minimum payments and have never been late. But I too got a lovely notice that the rate would go up to 15.99 in August. My understanding was this would be on any new purchases and since I don’t use my credit card unless it is emergency, I wasn’t worried. Imagine my surprise when I opened this month’s bill! Almost $40 in finance charges based on the whole balance. I was told sorry for the misinformation and then went to supervisor who told me no lower rate was available. I have top credit all my life always paid more than minimum. I guess it doesn’t pay to be a good citizen!
August 24th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
My interest rate went up in August 2009 from 11.99 to 22.99% I have had no late payments and use 1/4 of my credit limit…They gave me the option to close my account or accept the new rate…Amazing! Just in time for the new laws to take effect!
August 24th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Just opened a Capital One statement and was shocked to see that my 4.99% “Fixed for the Life of the Account” rate had skyrocketed to 14.9%! Never late on a payment. I called and was informed that there was a notice of increase mailed in February and that nothing could be done now. I had an balance of about $21,000 on the card. I certainly would have opted out had I received the notice (or noticed the notice, as the case may be). I looked at previous statements and there was no reference to the pending rate increase – seems like a common sense thing to mention on an account statement, yes? So, it appears that over the past 3 months I have paid about a $480 extra in interest before I even figured out what was going on (spouse pays the bills). I will never use a Capital One card again. Moreover, I will actively support regulatory reform – something I never would have been inclined to do.
August 26th, 2009 at 7:50 am
A lot of people missed the Capital One notices. I swear they must have been disguised as junk mail. Have you tried to negotiate with them? Its seems really unfair to get charged an extra $2000 a year in interest, especially if you are just using the card to pay down balances.
August 26th, 2009 at 7:51 am
Hope you chose the opt out or have a low balance. Might be time to get a new credit card
August 31st, 2009 at 11:48 pm
Got a letter in the mail today. My juniper mastercard rate will be going from 7.99% fixed to 12.99% variable. I’ve never been late, never missed a payment, and always keep a balance lower than 20% of the limit.. Called customer service and was informed it was an across the board rate increase and was affecting 5.5 million of their customers.. The rep even informed me that this rate increase was a direct reaction to the passing of H.R. 627. Effectively telling me that it’ll be illegal soon so they have to do it now..
August 31st, 2009 at 11:51 pm
I’ve already filed complaints with both my state senators as well and the senators from Delaware, all of which voted in favor of H.R 627, and have also filed complaints with the Attorney General of NC, as well ass the BBB and the FTC.
While they may be following the letter of the law, the are trampling all over the spirit of it..
September 3rd, 2009 at 1:18 pm
It is time we start an email trail like the one that got started to boycott gas on one day that hit the gas stations for around a billion dollars in one day. And it is time to start an email trail letter to Mr. Obama. Juniper screwed me with over 10% increase in rates for no reason. Chase screwed me by lowering my credit limits by enough to take my debt to limit form 60 percent range to 98 percent range (so did Juniper) I have no capital one card for all the reasons mentioned in this trail. Who wants to start the email trail?
October 22nd, 2009 at 11:19 am
Most consumer got rate hikes last spring, now the second wave is coming through. Ironically I just had my credit limit doubled and have had same card with CapitolOne for over 10 years. Just this week they are adding an additional 7% to the rate now at 17.9% to 24.9% in December. Good thing I dont use that card and will never in the future either.
February 19th, 2010 at 5:48 pm
We just received our statement in the mail with the rate hiked up to 17.9%, even though we opted out from the rate hike per the agreement they sent to us in 2009.
When I called to complain, I was told they had no record of me calling. That is convenient as it is now my word against theirs.
I spoke to 2 people at Capital One, and was informed there is nothing they can do. When I asked, they said no one at the entire company can lower the rate.
I will be contacting whomever I can to dispute this. Suggestions?
Augh!
February 20th, 2010 at 11:58 am
Kelli,
I’m not sure if this will work, but may be worth a try. If you called on your cell, or even you home phone, there should be a record that you called them and the length of the discussion. Tell them you have this, which proves you called around the time of the letter, and threaten to sue. May be the angle that persuades them. Just be sure to get a supervisor (preferrably a US rep) on the phone.
February 26th, 2010 at 11:28 pm
Hi I have been a very good Custimer for Capital one for quite some time. They just raised my intrest rate from 9% to just over 17% they said they sent me a letter saying I had a choise to accept this or opt out. However if I Opt out then they would close my account and in turn this would hurt my Credit Score. I have always payed way over the ammount they have asked for and now because they raised my intrest rate it put my account over the limate. This is a very unfair action done by Capital one and if any one has a classs action law Suite I would like to join in. They had no reason to do this and when I called them on the phone they were very unreasonable and only gave me the choise of closing my account to go back to the old intrest rate wich inturn would hurt my credit score or to keep the intrest rate and keep my card active. What the hell can be done here I am sure that I am not the only one looking for help in this matter….
March 2nd, 2010 at 12:05 pm
As an update to my post dated 2/20/10, my husband did call Capital One back again and went through the entire explanation again. He had to speak to 3 different people and spend 40 minutes on the phone, but he did manage to get Capital One to agree to let us lock in at the original 9.9% rate. Yes, we did have to agree to close the card but we were OK with that since we knew that was part of their deal that was offered way back last year.
So, if you are saddled with a balance due at Capital One and they have jacked up your interest rate (ours was going up to 17.9%), call them and be persistant. It took 3 different people but when my husband did manage to get to the right department the woman was kind and agreed within one minute to allow him to lock into the 9.9 rate.
If our credit score goes down a bit due to this, it is a small price to pay when you compare the interest rate difference.
Just thought I’d share this update.
March 2nd, 2010 at 12:34 pm
Kelli,
First off, I’m glad to hear you got your rate reduced-the amount of money you’ll save is a lot more valuable than a few points on your credit score that you can worry about later.
I’m also glad to see that persistance paid off for you. Most of the other credit card companies are simply ignoring the pleas of their customers, but Capital One appears to be acting very fairly. If someone only saw this page, they would think Capital One was just another unreasonable credit card company. But, as your story indicates, they are being much more reasonable then the big banks and I think they are probably one of the better companies to do business with these days.
March 3rd, 2010 at 2:52 pm
Balance Transfers Helper.
Capital One is not at all an understanding company willing to work with the customer. After treating Kelli in the most disrespectful and unprofessional manner, I called back. After recording 25 minutes of run around rood and unprofessional treatment, the 3rd (invisible and non existent person… there words)did cancel my credit card and reduce the rate back down. For most people with financial difficulties, simply picking up the phone and being approved for transferring to another low interest card won’t happen. We the people as a whole have to work together for a better tomorrow. I posted a video showing the credit card companies their making the same mistake the banks are doing by turning their heads on the customer. This was done in a “positive” manner since negativity never resolves anything.
March 4th, 2010 at 11:07 am
Jim,
While I can see why you rightly believe that Capital One is not an understanding company, as someone who hears from hundreds of consumers, I can confidently say that they treated her much better than a number of other large banks. With the exception of Discover Card, the major credit card companies turn a deaf ear to consumers who fall into situations like Kelli’s. That is why, despite all the hoops she and her husband jumped through, I can assert that Capital One is a good credit card company. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take much to be a good company these days, but from my perspective, Capital One is behaving better than their competitors.
March 6th, 2010 at 11:11 pm
I paid off my Capital One card balance in full on 2/14/10 taking screen shots of the website during the entire payment process. I’ve received a statement from Capital One which shows I owe interest on a “0″ balance. What happened to the following?
No more double-cycle billing: Finance charges on outstanding credit card balances would be computed based on purchases made in the current cycle rather than going back to the previous billing cycle to calculate interest charges. So-called two-cycle or double-cycle billing hurts consumers who pay off their balances, because they are hit with finance charges from the previous cycle even though they have paid the bill in full.
March 8th, 2010 at 10:11 am
Sandra,
I hope you caught the interest before late fees were applied. I don’t think Capital One used double cycle billing-the interest may have been accrued since your last statement. Either way, I really do hope you escaped late fees. Many people pay off their cards and then ignore statements with a few dollars due that turn into pass due accounts with mounting late fees.
April 3rd, 2010 at 1:40 pm
Well, I wrote my letters to the NY Atty General, the credit monitoring boards, etc…. Got nice little notes in return from all thanking me for writing, including Captital One, who thanked me for bringing this to their attention…. ummmmm, ya think. Anyway, they have managed to irritate me even further…. Today we got a note that one of our cap 1 cards will be subject to an extension of our promotional rate (the one that was raised from a fixed rate in 2005?? their calling a promotional rate!)till April ’11. That’s great, right?? Wrong! The extension of the promo rate is on the card with the 0$ balance!!!! The card we have with a sizable balance which I have been trying to pay down before the new rate goes into effect in May still goes up to 17.9….. Gee thanks guys! That’s a backhanded compliment if I ever heard one…. But then again it is the mafia of credit card companies I am dealing with — Capital 1! So so annoyed!
April 17th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
They got me too… Here’s what I wrote to them:
I just got off the phone with customer service after learning my interest rate increased from 9.98% to 17.9% and I’m extremely upset. I have had this account for a very long time and always paid it on time. This is an OUTRAGE! It was also quite a sneaky thing to raise my limit by $4000 one month before this happened. Now I’m very glad I didn’t use much of that increase. This is some of WORST business practice I have ever encountered and the kind that bring about law suits. I informed the customer service rep that if this was not rectified, I can and will payoff and CLOSE this account. She had no options to lower my rate so I will be closing my account this week. After such long standing good account activity I can’t believe CapitalNone would treat me like this. Credit card companies think they can do whatever they want as they say “or you can payoff and close the account” knowing full well 99% of the card holders can’t possibly do that. Word of mouth can go a long way and I’ll be spreading this poor customer treatment as long and far as I can.
April 18th, 2010 at 10:07 am
Jim,
When I wrote about this topic last year, Capital One was instituting rate increases. However, unlike most other banks, they gave their customers about one year to pay down their debt before the rate increase. They also allowed for people to opt out and maintain their old rate.
While I am not defending these rate increases, I do have to say that, compared to other banks, Capital One was much fairer about their rate increases. That said, I very much understand your frustration and can join you in saying customer service and treatment need to be improved at Capital One.
April 28th, 2010 at 9:28 pm
CAPITOL ONE should be put on the wall of SHAME!! I too got a letter after having an account for over 9 years with them at 12% that my rate would be trippling in March! According to them they sent me notice last year?? They absolutely did no such thing! Last year I had a Zero balance, and I would have KEPT it that way. I thought with the new credit card laws they wer NOT allowed to raise the rates on existing balances? If so, this is why they are claiming that they sent me a notice one year ago. That is nothing more than a bold faced lie! If there is a Dept that I can report this to I would so appreciate a name.
April 29th, 2010 at 8:19 am
Cheryl,
Around this time last year, I wrote an article expressing my concerns about this issue. At that time, Capital One was sending opt out notices in the mail. Unlike most other companies, the rate increases were slated to take effect a year later, rather than in a few months. My concern then was that people wouldn’t notice the letters or that people would choose to keep the cards open with unrealistic expectations of getting their cards paid back.
Having heard literally thousands of complaints about all the major credit card companies, I have actually grown to think positively about the way Capital One handled rate increases: they were not as high as some companies (Citi raised rates to 29.99% on some customers) and they did give people time to repay their balances.
That said, I believe you are not alone in not getting your opt out letter. I think these things do get lost in the mail and it was also quite possible that it simply looked like a piece of junk mail that you tossed aside. And, even though I appear to be taking Capital One’s side, I really am not. I just think they were better to their customers than other banks.
Unfortunately, Capital One customer service is not great. I would try calling and speaking with a supervisor (ask for a U.S. rep), explain to them that you never got the letter (why would you have run up a balance if you knew the rate was going up?) and see if you can get a deal. If not, you might want to do a balance transfer to a card with a 0% interest rate.
If you do a balance transfer, don’t close your Capital One account. Leaving it open with a $0 balance will help your credit score.
Hope this helps. If you want to learn more about 0% balance transfers, see the main section of Smart Balance Transfers.
Lastly, if you have success dealing with Capital One, please come back and share.
May 18th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
Rick,
I apologize, but I cannot post the comment you sumitted, as you provide no reason for your stance on this company. Please feel free to post the reason behind your negative review and I will approve it.
I strive to keep this forum open so everyone can have a voice: I do not edit or ignore any comment that is backed by experience. Your comment clearly displayed your anger, but did not provide any assistance to other readers, since the reason is not stated at all.
Jeff