Can Creditors do this?

[jessegirl]

Hi can creditors raise your interest rates on items already purchased or on balance transfer that have already been done?

I thought that they passed a new law that creditors cannot raise rates on already purchased or bal. transfer. Only on items newly being charged? Has that law gone into effect yet?

[TooMuchCredit]

It doesn't take effect until next year. July I think.

[Amy26]

Yea its so stupid... we need the help now not a year from now.

Chase decided to raise my interest rate to almost 30% just because they felt like it. Making a payment on 10k over 400 dollars a month. One of the reasons I'm having to file... I dunno why they think they are doing any good raising people's interest rate...if you couldn't afford it when it was at 10% what makes them think they will get any money if they raise it to 30?

[jessegirl]

You are abolsutely right!!! and now these creditors on running to raise everyones interest rates before the law goes into affect. This is such a joke. Uhhhhmmmmm, if you cannot afford 40.00 a month then why raise there payment to 120.00? Its like they want you to bankrupct. Why not? the federal government keeps bailing them out.....Scummmmms

[jessegirl]

It doesn't take effect until next year. July I think.

Thats a joke, everyone needs the help now....not next year...unbelieavable....

[DeadManCrawling]

Yep, terrible.

I was late on one card, by one day.

The next month ALL of my cards were at 30%.

In fact, this occurrence is what sort of woke me up and caused me to stop paying. My minimum payments jumped from around $1250 a month to over 4k per month.

It was an eye-opener, for sure.

They shot themselves in the foot, as I was one of those people who would have plodded along, oblivious my entire life, never knowing that I was little more than an indentured servant.

[Amy26]

If these guys were smart they would actually offer interest rate forgiveness... I bet you they would see a rise in payments and profit to them if they would just simply lower everyone's interest rate to like the federal standard rate or something. Most of us, at least me, want to pay their bills. I didn't want to have to do this and I feel terrible about it.

They are actually causing part of the economic crisis because if people are forced into bankruptcy because of these outragous interest rates then the banks suffer, then lending suffers...its a trickle down effect.

Makes you wonder about the level of intelligence behind the CEO's of these banks.

[LuciluS]

Yep, terrible.

I was late on one card, by one day.

The next month ALL of my cards were at 30%.

In fact, this occurrence is what sort of woke me up and caused me to stop paying. My minimum payments jumped from around $1250 a month to over 4k per month.

It was an eye-opener, for sure.

They shot themselves in the foot, as I was one of those people who would have plodded along, oblivious my entire life, never knowing that I was little more than an indentured servant.

That's my story Too! IF, I hadn't been disabled due to a car wreck on 3/05, I would still be an Accountant and we would only have our House payment and DH's truck payment. But, hindsight is 20/20 and I just keep 'plugging along' Slowly But Surely

Luci

[MrSmithster]

me too. my payments on 3 cc's went from $650 a month to $1100, while my income fell 30%. but the new law only protects past purchases, they can still raise your rate all they want, no cap, they just have to give 45 days notice.

[shabam]

If these guys were smart they would actually offer interest rate forgiveness... I bet you they would see a rise in payments and profit to them if they would just simply lower everyone's interest rate to like the federal standard rate or something. Most of us, at least me, want to pay their bills. I didn't want to have to do this and I feel terrible about it.

They are actually causing part of the economic crisis because if people are forced into bankruptcy because of these outragous interest rates then the banks suffer, then lending suffers...its a trickle down effect.

Makes you wonder about the level of intelligence behind the CEO's of these banks.

They're greedy bastards. Nothing else to it. It's almost like they assume people have money and are hiding it from them or something.

Like people said, if someone cannot afford to make a $80 payment, how are they going to pay $400 a month. When I was overseas my roommate was late and experiencing trouble with payments. So the bank offered to suspend interest and payments for 6 months.

Now if I was in charge of the credit division of a bank, I would ask the credit card holder to fill out a form online about their current circumstances. I would give the card holder a few options.

1. Make no payments for a few months and we would lower the interest while the account sits there; of course they would not be able to use it anymore.

2. Pay a fixed lower amount and we would totally deffer the interest for six months or a year and still allow you to use the card.

Never ever would I think to increase the interest rate, add more charges and even ask for 5 times the previous minimums.

[liz417]

In the same boat...I was NEVER late on any of my credit card payments, most of the time paying MORE than the minimum payments, but Amex was the 1st to reduce my limit from 30k to about $200 below my new limit everytime I made a payment, then all my other cc's decide to increase my interest rates because I was "maxed out" on my Amex (debt to income ratio!). I couldn't believe this, I went from interest rates 3.99 & 9.99% to 28-30% interest rates on all my cards in matter of months and I was NEVER late in my life!!! Absolutely crazy!!

[Rick9972]

In the same boat...I was NEVER late on any of my credit card payments, most of the time paying MORE than the minimum payments, but Amex was the 1st to reduce my limit from 30k to about $200 below my new limit everytime I made a payment, then all my other cc's decide to increase my interest rates because I was "maxed out" on my Amex (debt to income ratio!). I couldn't believe this, I went from interest rates 3.99 & 9.99% to 28-30% interest rates on all my cards in matter of months and I was NEVER late in my life!!! Absolutely crazy!!

Exactly what happened to us also. Though that was only one factor.

[whipster1]

I too got rate-jacked, first by my good friend Mr. Chase then the rest followed.