Credit Cards From Hell: A Credit Card You Want to Toss[BusinessWeek]

Monday, February 18, 2008

A Credit Card You Want to Toss[BusinessWeek]

Bank of America abruptly notified cardholders in good standing their rates would skyrocket if they didn't opt out fast. Is BofA greedy or needy?

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They didn't even buy us dinner..."Boosting rates on existing credit-card holders is one of the quickest levers a bank can pull to try to boost earnings," says one analyst. "A Credit Card You Want to Toss" [BusinessWeek]
Why is Bank of America raising it's interest rates on it's good customers?

BusinessWeek has just published an article about Bank of America's recent surprise mailings in January to some of its customers, announcing "that it would more than double their rates to as high as 28%, without giving an explanation for the increase." These customers have good credit scores and hadn't made any late payments, and those who called Bank of America to ask why this was happening weren't given clear reasons. Industry experts say Bank of America has reached a "new level" of "lack of transparency in raising rates," beyond anything Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase currently practice, because BoA is apparently using some undisclosed internal metric to determine who gets the rate hike.

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New Endangered Species: The American Credit Card Customer

Many Americans are saying that when you get little pieces of plastic from Chase or Bank of America, you are stuck with Credit Cards from Hell. I agree. After thirty years of good credit scores and no late payments on any bills, They both have the gall to raise my interest rate to over 30%. PLEASE POST YOUR STORIES HERE OR EMAIL THEM TO CREDITCARDHELL@HOTMAIL.COM. OUR VOICES MUST BE HEARD.Thanks to Chase and BOA, the American consumer may be the next endangered species. The DEVIL is not just in the fine print it is also in the lack of support and protection provided to us by Congress and the Whitehouse. They had no problem spending billions of our tax dollars to bail out rich people who put more than $100,000 into savings and loans even though the sign on the door told them that was all that was insured. But why can't they help the millions of hard working Americans that live from paycheck to paycheck and who are being taken to the cleaners by the Big Banks. We must demand a BILL of Rights for Credit Card Customers!Please visit http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=4277250&page=1 for the story that ABC's Good Morning America did on the problem on February 12, 2008. The reporters were CHRIS CUOMO, JIM BUNN AND IMAEYEN IBANGA.You can also let Congress hear your stories or opinions please visit http://levin.senate.gov/senate/investigations/index.html The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations initiated an investigation into unfair practices within the credit card industry. As part of this investigation, They commissioned a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that was released in September 2006 and held a hearing in March 2007 that focused on three fundamental issues: grace periods, interest rates, and fees. The subcommittee plans to hold more hearings on other unfair credit card practices. If you would like to tell the subcommittee's investigative staff about an unfair credit card practice that you have experienced, please send an e-mail to mailto:creditcards@hsgac.senate.gov Are we just peasants living in a feudal society created by BIG Banks? Now we know how repressed coal miners felt when they lived in company houses and owed their souls to the company store. They have taken our jobs overseas, sucked the profits out of American corporations, gutted the bankruptcy laws, destroyed the mortgage markets, and are trying to squeeze the last drop of blood from hard-working Americans.Some Important Points We Need to Consider: 1 - When I went to check my credit scores and get my credit reports from the three CRA's Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax and found many discrepancies on my records. It is tedious work to even try to read them - not to mention try to get them corrected. Here they are selling false information about me and getting paid for it. What do I get? Higher interest rates and other problems. 2 - The federal government should mandate a specific easy to read format for all three to use so all Americans can understand them and make it easier to get them corrected. 3 - We should get a copy of any reports that our sold by the CRA's. 4 - I am looking for an attorney that can help me copyright our family's personal financial information so I can permanently restrict access and charge a fee for its use. If the CRA's can make money off of my information why shouldn't I. 5 - Also in 2007, our auto insurance company said that they would now base our premiums on the use of credit scores also. How does my credit score affect my ability to drive? The federal government should regulate or ban this practice also.Credit scores can impact auto insurance rates 6 - We should support Senator Levin's legislative efforts. On May 15, 2007, Senator Levin introduced the Stop Unfair Practices in Credit Cards Act, S. 1395, [PDF] in an effort to ban the unfair practices exposed in this investigation and to protect consumers who seek to pay off their debts in good faith. 7 - If Chase and BOA felt the need to raise my interest rates to what amount to usury fees, then why do I get offers in the mail almost everyday from my current credit card companies that want to increase my limit and from other companies including American Express that want to give us their cards? We have received over 70 offers in the last six months. 8 - Why is it when we loan money to corporations that they only pay us interest in the form of dividends and increased stock value based on what THEY can afford. Seems pretty lopsided to me. Go Figure and stay in touch.

Credit Cards From Hell

Monday, February 18, 2008

A Credit Card You Want to Toss[BusinessWeek]

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