38.9% interest on Credit Card!

[hnhlvr]

Hi everyone,

I have two citicards and one is maxed and the other has about $3-400 left on it. I had done a few balance transfers last month, and now recieved my current statement and my purchases are at 14%, first transfer at 4.9% and the second is a whopping 38.9%!!!

Has anyone had such a huge rate like that on a CURRENT w/out any late payments card? Maybe the company sees me at a huge risk at this point, but raising my rate THAT high on a current card baffles me. The amount of the balance at rate is $800.

Am I missing something or can Citicards do whatever they please? I realize some states have NO cap on interest rates, but why THAT high?

[sick of debt]

OUCH!!!!!!!Are you going to call them?

[hnhlvr]

I'm not sure what to do. I fear everything I say will be used against me, you know!

I've considered filing for bankruptcy and their little move here isn't helping their case any.

[gymbo]

What???

I didn't even know that was legal.
The most I've heard of is 28.99%.

[momof5]

Our Citicard is the card that finally pushed us right over the edge. They would not work with us and were unwilling to lower the interest rate to an affordable amount. They raised it, no explaination then would not discuss lowering it. I believe the amount was 28 or 29% though from 11.9%.

38.9% is amazing but it doesnt surprise me that they would do that or at least try.

[hnhlvr]

I didn't even know that was legal.
The most I've heard of is 28.99%.

I didn't think it was legal, either, so I did a search and found that some states do not have caps on the amount of interest that can be charged and as a result certain credit card companies have their locations in those states just to take advantage of that law.

What a bunch of jerks!

[Flamingo]

I've heard of 31.99%...nothing higher than that. It all depends upon either where the creditor is incorporated or what state it is doing business as to whether or not a cap can be placed on the interest rate. Your credit must be in the tank for this to occur plus all your cards are probably near being maxed out. You stated you are considering filing so your balances must be way up there for them to come out with a rate like that.

[fltoo]

Delaware has no usury. All the major cc companies are located there.

DuPont used to be the major employer until the gov came up with this bright idea and all the NY cc companies moved in. Now they are the major employer. The giant MBNA took over many of the DuPont empty buildings but eventually folded when BOA took over.

They did this years ago with corporation laws also, made it so easy to incorporate that all corporations flocked to DE.

In what state are you?

[AngelinaCat]

Where are you located??? This is USURY!!!

Google the term. Find out what the laws against usury are in your area. If necessary go to your local, state, then Congressional level, always with written letters, certified-return receipt, so that you have the paper trail.

You can also always email, but ask for 'read receipts' returned-[which the recipient doesn't have to do]. But, in NO WAY expect email to supplant the paper trail of the Post Office!!!

Spoken by the daughter of a Postmaster, and grand-daughter of a Postmaster!!!

[AngelinaCat]

fltoo, I sincerely hope the OP is located somewhere else, because if that is so, the lender has to operate within the laws of that state that the OP is located in.

[Pinkie86]

How did you not drop and have a heart attack right there after seeing that?! I would have!!!!

This is a silly question, but perhaps the system screwed up somewhere and entered an incorrect number?

[justplaintired]

We went from 14% on one card to 32.99% on that same card. We had the largest balance on that card and begging them to lower the rate got us no where. We even told them that we would have to call an attorney if they wouldn't, basically they said go ahead. So we did.

This was a GM card and it pushed us into BK. When we asked why, they said we had been late once in a year. I was speechless. 7 yrs of being a perfect customer didn't seem to matter. So much for loan sharks, we stopped dealing with them. You know that's all a cc company is, they are loan sharks. What they do would have been illegal years ago, now they do whatever they want and get by with it!!

Anyway sorry for rambling, it just still burns my a** when I think of what these cc companies can do to good hard working people. They suck us in we go along willing and then once they have us, they stick it to us. I know, some will say we could have said no, but come on now, when your broke and you need to feed the kids, and that little plastic card is sitting there who says no??? Robbing peter to pay paul!!

[Pinkie86]

Plaintired - It's so true. The more I read these forums, the more I realize that CC Companies are just Predators. They don't care who they hurt, what homes they destroy, they just want to collect as much money as possible at the end of the day.

[Flamingo]

Plaintired - It's so true. The more I read these forums, the more I realize that CC Companies are just Predators. They don't care who they hurt, what homes they destroy, they just want to collect as much money as possible at the end of the day.

Credit card lenders are businesses and businesses are in business to make money. We all need to keep that in mind when we sign a credit card application.

[AngelinaCatHub]

Not being a liar, errr, I mean lawyer, I thought these cards had to abide by State law where used in that state? Am I right or wrong. (I was wrong once last year) 'Hub