I am not sure if anyone would have any advice, but I will give it a try. My Wife paid a credit card payment late by accident, not a money issue but an oversight. The payment was credited 10 days late and was the only late one. When I got my next statement they had changed my APR from7.99 to 29.99 :af: When I called to complain they would do nothing for me, and said I could call back after 6 months of on time payments and request a review. I told them I would have no choice but to close out the card and that got me nowhere.There is no way I will pay 29.99% for anything :af: Anybody else run across this problem? Thanks, Chris
I would take another CC app out and change companies fast!!! There are two many companies out there at 0% for 6 monthes to play with these morons. My sister goes from one to another company at the 0% every 6 monthes so that she can actually pay down the 5 figurers she owes!!! ou:
Just dont go shopping a new credit card deal by sending out multipule credit card applications. Hurts your Fico score (credit score). And yes they can and will do that to your credit card per their agreement you agreed to with them. You have too many choices though to be at their mercy. I would call back again and ask them to review your past payments and ask them if its worth it to them to lose you as a customer. If you dont get anywhere with theassociate, ask to speak to a supervisor...... Worth a shot, but its happened to me, I just bounce the balance into a ZERO finance rate card anyways. Have 1.9 on a Citi card till (I believe) 11/05 right now.....
That's what they do best (screw us). They do that in hopes that you will miss a payment so they can inforce the small print. Just one payment missed is all they need to charge you more. Very common problem with credit cards. I hope you don't have a big balance on that card. Good Luck
I've read the fine print on quite a few CC apps that come in the mail. I know I've seen terms that state something like "3 consecutive months" of late payments, can result in your rate going way up like that, but never from just 1 late payment. Definitely ask for a manager or supervisor if you call back, but better yet, dump them and transfer the balance to a new card. What has really ticked me off a couple times, was the CC company posting my payment late. Mailed 5 days before the due date, and they posted it to my account 1 day late... and charged a $35 late fee! You better believe I called and got a supervisor on the phone! They agreed to credit back the late fee "this one time only". That's happened on 2 different credit cards. Now I always mail it a full week ahead of due date, just so I don't have to screw around on the phone with them if they are slow to process the payment. I tried to send a payment by certified mail one time, with signature required. I wanted to compare the date they signed for it, with the date on my statement that they applied payment. Yeah right... they got the payment, but the post office did not get a signature. I should have known better. I'm sure they look at the fact it's going to a CC payment processing center, and just threw it in with the rest of the mail.
I only use CC's that I can pay with my CU's online payment system electronically. If it can't get there in 2 days electronically I don't use it. I don't trust the mail or the CC companies. We have had a Discover card for years but too many problems with having to mail the payments virtually the day after you get the bill so they can be on time. CC companies make a ton of $$$$$$ on the late fee's. The other thing to look out for is your other cards can raise your rates on their cards for a late payment on a different card. Larry
The whole thing is a big game and at least it sounds like the folks on this board know how to play it! My wife just went through the whole credit score thing. We owe very little but you need to keep in mind that they look at available credit so what ever the balance of the total of the cards you will never use is, you can't borrow! She had so many cards that were never used just because they would have some deal where you got an extra 10% off that day it you signed up for a credit card. I think just about everything I owe now is at 0% interest including my truck. i also get a few 0% applications every week and most will do a balance transfer with no fee for signing up. I don't think I would spend too much time argueing with them over your "new" interest rate when you can just get a lower rate card and make them go away. Ken
Sounds like you signed a contract with a rip off. It is normal for CC companies to do this. I have been lucky enough to have them reverse it with a nice phone call. If no luck find another card. A 9.9% card will be easier than a 0%, just depends on your credit. Just watch out for balance transfer fees!!! Some can kill you. Also make sure of the rate on transfers. If you continue to use the card and carry the transfer balance ask how your payment will be applied and what is the rate is on the "new" purchases. HTH Good Luck John
David - It's absolutely going to a bank processing center (called a lockbox). All companies which receive a large amount of checks do this - it's a 'service' offered by banks. I used to work in the lockbox department for two years for a bank as a check encoder. Our processing center was physically located in Ridgefield Park NJ, and all the PO BOX numbers were Newark NJ addresses (about 20 miles away). The mail would come in huge bags, some receipt requested. I don't remember (12 years ago) ever sending receipts back...
Chris, I see you are in Mass...you can have a little fun with this if you have the spare time, as Massachusetts has bylaws preventing interest rates of more than 18%. Contact the Atty. General's Office or the State Banking Commisioner. Here's a generalized link: www.state.ma.us Steve
Cris, I learned a long time ago that when you are dealing with outfits who are out to take your money any way they can get their hands on it, you need to be one step ahead of them. Once I did the same thing. I was juggling 0% cards to pay off a huge balance. Instead of calling up all huffy over the $35 charge and admitting I forgot to pay the bill, I insisted in a very calm and friendly manner that I mailed it and that my past history of always paying on time speaks for itself. They erased the late charge, (one time only) and I had to send out another check. I did have to pay the interest charges however. Another option is a phone check, sometimes maybe if you offer them immediate payment they'll accept that and erase the charge. But the "FEE" for that is something like $10 also. :bglasses:
But doesn't that only apply to in-state businesses? From what I understand, credit card companies are heavily located in a few select states, that have much more lenient laws on how they can operate.
I used to have several difference CC's by Visa and / or Mastercard. At the time, I was acdumulating airline miles for a "free ticket". When I couldn't redeem the mileage (this was a NorthWest CC), I cancelled the card and now have a Capital One miles card. But I primarily use Discover. I pay the bill directly through their website and if it's paid by 3 pm, it's credited the same day. Capital One allows that too, at no charge. I'd say try one more time to get the charge reversed then change companies. By the way, by the time you spend enough on the CC to qualify for a free ticket, you've send $30M dollars...that's one expensive ticket :laugh:
There is always the GM card? I have one with the 0% intro rate and used it to buy me a little time whan a company I deal with failed to set up my credit in time for a shipment I needed. I put it on there just to get me by and then paid it off but I still get the GM credit towards a vehicle purchace. I know a lot of people who use the GM card like they would use cash and never carry a balance. Just a way to lower the price of a new car with no cost out of pocket. They have really changed the way the card works now and I know my brothers card is actually losing money every month. A friend of mine wrote a $10,000 check to another one of his accounts a few days before he bought a new truck and got credit for it! He just paid it back and never paid interest but I'm sure that loop-hole is closed now. He told me he actually called the 1-800 number and told them what he was going to do and the person he talked to said there is nothing that states you can't do that. I don't remember what discount that got him but if it was $100, it was still worth the effort! Ken
PBS' Frontline had an excellent one hour documentary (which you can watch for free on the internet) about the credit card industry. It is at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/credit/ It showed interesting facts like most processing centers are in Delaware and Iowa because they were the first states that repealed laws so that credit card companies could legally fleece consumers. I highly recommend the Frontline documentary.
I have a GM card but is is sort of a double edged sword. They have a few different plans that limit how much you can redeem at a time. I max out my rebate $$$ about 6 months from my anniv date. I could go to a platinum card to get more rebate $$$ but then they limit how much you can redeem at a time based on the car you purchase. The platinum card also restricts the use of "supplier pricing" and my wife works for a supplier so I am hesitant to give up that option. The GM card has not given me an extra $1300 to use before 1/3 along with their current red tag sale. Another benefit but only is I buy now and I'm not sure that is the best way to go right now. No real need but a new Escalade or Denali would be nice. Now most of the charging goes to my LL Bean card or I just us my debit card and am done with it. I'm going to start looking for a new reward card afer the first of the year to charge the finishing my basement. Might as well get some benefit out of spending all that $$$$$$. Larry
That's GOOD advice, Mike! :bglasses: Actually, though, You shouldn't use ou: for what you just explained. You should LEARN from HER, because SHE is :Smarty: ! If your sister would TEACH Other People how to do that, she could be making a CAREER for herself (and Getting Paid, WELL!), as a "Financial Advisor"! :bglasses: Yes, she can contact me, and I can tell her how to Get Started! :TU: That's EXACTLY what I teach My "Clients" (Friends, Relatives, Neighbors, and even Total Strangers who WANT HELP, to Get Out of Debt!) to do! :Smarty: ANY amount at "0% Interest" will help to Pay DOWN on a (Mortgage, Car Loan, Student Loan, Credit Card Balance, ANYTHING with an "Account Number" that you are making a Payment to!), and with patience, those loans will be PAID IN FULL, a LOT "SOONER", than if people just continue to pay ANY interest (EVEN 1% is "Too Much", over a period of time, you will lose THOUSANDS of Dollars to the Credit Card companies that you are paying! That's what Credit Cards are DESIGNED to do: KEEP YOU IN DEBT, and KEEP THEM IN BUSINESS! THEY have nothing to lose, but YOU DO!)! Does anyone here have a Mortgage? (Don't answer to me, Keep it to yourself!) Ask Yourself these 2 questions: "WHEN will I have this thing PAID OFF?", and "HOW MUCH will my TOTAL COST be, INCLUDING THE INTEREST PAYMENT?" You can actually figure that out, YOURSELF (but most people don't Realize it, and they don't "worry" about it, either! They SHOULD, though! :shock: ou: ) On a 30 Year Mortgage, the Difference between paying (Monthly) and (Bi-Weekly) for a $100,000 Home, at 7% Interest, the Buyer can save "$82/Month", until the home is Paid For, in 30 Years! (That's $29,520, if you were to save $82/Month for 30 Years!) You save LESS, because you are Paying the INTEREST, for a LONGER TIME, and NOT on the "Balance" (what you ACTUALLY Owe!)! On a 15 Year Mortgage, the Difference between paying (Monthly) and (Bi-Weekly) for a $100,000 Home, at 7% Interest, the Buyer can SAVE "$315.49/Month" (and your home will be PAID FOR, in 15 Years! 1/2 the time of a "normal" 30 Year Mortgage!) NOW, Ask YOURSELF, "What could I do with $315.49/MONTH, if it was MINE to SPEND, for the NEXT 15 Years?" (That's $56,788.20, if you SAVE $315.49/Month for 15 Years! If you leave it in the Bank, to build Interest For you, you will have EVEN MORE when you want to Withdraw it!) The advantage of "Bi-Weekly" payments, is that more money goes towards the "Principal" (Balance owed on your home) than it does towards the "Interest" (what the Mortgage company is Charging you, just for HAVING your Loan WITH THEM!), so you can Pay It Off, SOONER than what you would, if you would just make your "normal Monthly payments"! To my knowledge, there is ONLY ONE Company that will not charge you or "penalize" you for making Bi-weekly payments on your Mortgage (and I work WITH that Company, of course!)! MOST other Mortgage Lenders will TELL you , "Sure, we can give you Bi-Weekly payments, if you'd like.", but they WON'T tell you that, "There will be a $5 Processing Fee, for EACH payment that you make, by changing from Monthly to Bi-Weekly payments!" Do you UNDERSTAND that?:eek2::af: They're basically saying, "Ok, we'll help you pay your Loan off, SOONER, but We're Also going to CHARGE YOU MORE, for doing that!" (Bi-Weekly is 2 times/month x $5, for EACH "Processing Fee", that they do ANYWAY For FREE in your "MONTHLY" payment, so that's $10/Month for 180 Months, a total of $1,800, just because you ASKED them to HELP you!) What would you do with $1,800, if you DIDN'T have to PAY "THEM"? And you SHOULDN'T have to! That's just an "example", too, because they can charge $5 or they can charge $10 or $25, for EACH Payment that you make! It's whatever they WANT to CHARGE!o No: I cut my own Mortgage payments down from "30" Years to "12" Years (to Completely OWN my home!), still making the Same monthly payment, by using the same idea your sister is doing! Use the LOWEST INTEREST RATE that you can FIND (preferably "0%"! And, YES, it IS "available", through Credit Card Companies!) :Smarty: I have a separate account that actually Builds Interest FOR me, that I use to pay my Home Insurance, and Property Taxes, etc., but the longer that I leave it alone in the account, the more Interest that I get from it (which, to me, is like getting "Free Money", to use for Buick Parts, or Home Repairs, or Dinner/Movie money, or WHATEVER!) :bglasses: As long as she continues to do what she's doing, by "Transferring" her Credit Card Balances, eventually she will be Totally "Debt Free", and when she gets rid of the Credit Cards, she should be able to pay CASH for everything, once she "gets ahead of the Credit Card game"! :Smarty: She's definitely heading in the right direction! :TU: I still use my Credit Cards, because I keep them ALL at "0% Interest"! If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be buying as many Buick Parts, as I have been, for the past 4 Years!:bglasses: As I've always said, "Credit Cards are NOT (Bad) things to have! Most people just don't know HOW to use them (the RIGHT way)!" and THAT'S where they get Themselves into "Financial Trouble"! The way to help those people to Get OUT of that "Financial Trouble" is what I GET PAID For! :bglasses:
