Credit Card Co has me dumbfounded

This is the third company thats taken over since I have had this account.
I have not added to it and make the minimum payment each month, all I can afford.
They sent me a letter last month saying they were lowering my available balance due to what was on my credit report.
I checked my credit and it's fine, perfect in fact.
They have also been moving my due date after saying when they took over the other company nothing would change.
Yesterday I called to put my due date back where it was and while I was on the phone asked what they saw in my credit report to lower my available. (the previous co kept raising it)

He told me it was because- " I had paid two accounts as agreed" I had him repeat that three times, then repeated it back to him to be sure I was hearing right. I said, "that doesn't seem like a bad thing to me" he said, "it is here with us" :confused

The other thing was no surprise being I learned about it many years ago. Reason 2 was because I was NOT paying out on enough other accounts, even though my credit has been established for over forty some odd years.

I just can not get past the "you paid two other accounts as agreed" WTH???

I do know they are getting desperate being starting next year there is going to be a limit on charges, so to get around that maybe they going to put the screws to us now.
By the way, it's not like I was going to use any more money from them, it's the stupid excuse they used.
The finance charge is such that only about half goes to pay the principle amount as it is. The money on there thus far was unavoidable, a roof, so it's not like I run it up.

 

That is strange. If I were you, I would call around, and see if you can get a better deal with another company and transfer your balance. I prefer using a debit card, hard for me to buy stuff I can't afford. I am not good with credit cards myself. :-D

 

Darlene,
You are not alone in being treated this way. As just an example, my credit card co. charged me their annual"service fee" four months in advance of the next year! They lowered my limit though I buy little and pay more than the minimum, and have never been late. I went to the 'Office of the Comptroller of the Treasury", where you go if it is a complaint on a national, as opposed to a state, bank, and next thing I heard my limit had been raised back to where it was. I didn't hear back from the comptroller but I assume that is why they raised it back. They did this lowering of limits, ect to everyone for feeble reasons like the ones they gave you. I have found this sort of problem with all sorts of companies. The phone co. had a promotion of free long distance and I cancelled before it ended, but they still tried to bill me, so I had to cancel twice. Friends were billed hundreds on a department store bill that they had already paid, on and on it goes. I believe the big internationals, which are pretty much all we have left in this country, have gone from profiteering for the last two decades, to actually chiseling us out of our money in their greed to milk us of every last drop.
Sheena

 

Exactly, Tim.
Poor America, with all the regulations against greed.
Sheena

 

another company Dan and I have used for years all of a sudden raised his rate too.

 

Exactly, Tim. When the new reg. take effect, they won't have to do any of their 'deeds'.... I HAD one, and I never paid a penny interest.. IF I charged anything, I paid the balance in full when I got the bill.

They sent me a notice, informing me, that my credit had been sliced in half, and my Interest rate tripled... I called, and they told me, that they are in the business to make $$$$$$$. I told them what they could do with their card, and got a debit card from my local bank..

Now, from what I have heard from others, they are really getting the shaft, and they have balances, and yes, I think that is totally wrong too... :mad Darlene, they are all doing it.. I haven't heard of any that didn't. Next year, they can't, so they are scambling now to make everyone pay. :eek

If this is what they do to their paying customers, what in the world do they do to the ones who carry a balance? :mad

 

i don't follow this sort of news since it doesn't apply to me, but all of your reasons are precisely why i got rid of mine and why i REFUSE to have a credit card.

i don't need one for "credit" purposes
if i pay before interest accrues, what's the point
my vanity can handle the fact it says "debit" rather than "credit"
if i needed something that was over the nice established limit on my debit card, i could call my bank before i purchased and have it temporarily raised
my bank debit card seems to have the same purchasing power as a national credit card
i'm not a big "shopper," so i can always afford what i buy, anyway
i never liked paying full price (via accrued interest) for a "sale" item.

nope, can't think of a single reason why my decision to abandon credit cards, YEARS ago, wasn't a good one.

 

I/we use our debit cards for everything, we never charge.
This was right after we bought the house and the insurance co. told us we would be canceled because of the type of roof we had (wood shake). No other insurance co. would take us either. When your insurance is canceled they report it to your mortgage co. who is the main beneficiary and they can foreclose. So being between a rock and a hard spot I put the cost of a new roof on my credit card.

 

Did you receive a cancellation and denial letter? Or did you receive action from the carrier that you needed a different roof?

Many companies are raising minimum rates. They in turn are not charging late fees and some do not charge overlimit fees anymore. The least customer friendly took me from 9.9 to 21%. I complained and they froze the account allowing me to pay at the lower rate until the time I either miss a payment, or make a new charge.

 

I agree with you 400%. CASH is king. If I can't pay cash for it, I don't need it. Simple. Zero debt is nice. House, car, etc.

 

Unfortunately Darlene, you and millions of others are now pretty much at the mercy of these 'money mongers.' One of our card companies just raised our rate from 8.5% to 23% and also cut our available credit by almost half. When my wife called, their reasoning was so asinine as to be almost totally unbelievable. They told my wife that since we were paying more than the minimum payment, those adjustment were merited.:confused Well, we just paid it off this month and and told them, in no uncertain terms, what they could do with their card. We have 2 more cards and they have yet to act 'stupid,' but when they do, and I'm sure they will, they too will go the same way as CitiBank!!

 

I am also a great believer in cash.
I only have two cards and neither has been used for months.
I am paranoid about buying things online so maybe i pay a little more but i feel happier by not using the cards.

 

Since being "forced" to become "Semi retired", my whole household are cash users only. During last January, I still had cash whilst my "Card user friends" were broke following Xmas and New Year - Go figure!

 

Darlene, have you tried to get a loan at another financial institution on the outstanding balance of the card which carries the roof? Loans should cost %wise less than a credit card rate.

If/when you get the loan, you can then pay off that credit card with that loan and rip up that card.

Looks like the financial institutions have become legit loan sharks/mafia or whatever name would be more suitable for them.
:mad

Good luck Darlene.

 

I haven't, I figured they are all the same right now. I guess I should try though, huh?
This company is the third one to take over the loan since it was made. I hate that you get stuck with a company you don't like or would not normally do business with in the first place.
This loan is over 3 years old now.
Also it was bought during the time when mortgage companies were inflating the value of properties, which led to the mortgage here going to a bank I would never choose.
We're basically waiting for the market to get to where we can at least break even and get out of this town. (a whole other rant)

 

Wow, I personally have never known anyone who plunked down $300K for a house, certainly would e nice.

 

$300K? Seriously, that's too much to pay for a house. That's too much to pay for the ground under it for that matter.

 

Actually for California thats or was low at the time. People were coming here in droves from Los Angeles to the Bay Area where the average house was going for $600K and that is nothing fancy.
We didn't pay quiet that much but another house on the block at the time sold for around there.

 

I agree, I went to my bank and asked them if they could help (Seems like 100 years ago!). They did and I saved thousands of £s in interest charges. I don't use cards anymore - If I want to pay for something "Web-based" for instance, I tranx the money electronically via my machine (Once I have verified the destination of the payment).

 

£300k wouldn't even buy my garden in the UK - Think yourselves lucky!

I live in central London - £300k would buy a studio apartment.

 

Darlene i am so sorry you find yourself in this situation as do many others,It would appear the only people not feeling this recession are the Wan***s( oops Bankers)
The biggest problem is the negative equity (we have some friend in the same situation.

I really hope you find a way to get it sorted.

@ Triaxx
I am surprised that you find 300K too much for a house, I suppose it's what you are prepared to put up with,A tent, a one room apartment, if you want something nice you have to pay.

I live in an apartment and payed over 400K, so if you want to live in a hovel then OK.

 

I agree with Bill - £300k - I would snatch your arm off!

 

I watch HGTV a lot and have seen some mansions priced under $200K
Seems Ca, TX, NY are all sky high.

 

Darlene, I think this has got to have to do with where you live, because we have houses here that have wood shake roofs, and they are all insured. Even businesses... They are very common here in Michigan. Have you tried to get quotes from other ins. co.??? I know you have put the new roof on, so that is like closing the door after the horse got out, but check out your local bank, or credit union, and see if yo can get a better rate.

 

Oh I'm sure it does TeeCee. The wood shakes were outlawed in Ca I believe in the 1980's, maybe due to the fact we burn every year.
But there are still plenty of houses in this neighborhood with that type of roof. Maybe they get ya when it sells, like the taxes going up. Who knows.:confused

I'm looking now to transfer my loan so far it doesn't look good, finance charges are high all over looks like.

 

My Wife found out that a VERY well known bank was charging me over £1000 per year just to (Privately) handle my account. She "Marched" me to the bank in London's "Square mile" and stared at to my 2 dealers (Merchants) and demanded that this practice "Stops" - They agreed - Go figure!

 

Unbelievable, no weapons involved huh? :-D If I tried that they would undoubtedly fall down laughing.

 

I work for a big name company and their credit services are canceling accounts that have not been used in the past few months but are in good standing. Without notifying the customer! Even if their account has been open for 40-50 years!

Sad times were living in. :cry

 

The government doled out money in order for these companies to LOAN IT OUT,
WTH, keeping it for themselves, more huge Christmas bonuses?
Thumbing their nose at us.

I applied at my bank for the money to pay off this other company, I'm pretty sure my bank will turn me down also. I've heard of things they have done thats questionable.

"We The People" have lost all control.

 

Hey Darlene, no Christmas bonuses here.. Just be darn glad to have a roof over my head, and food on the table.. That is it for us.. No, no Christmas shopping either.. There is nothing left in the budget for that.. Gotta pay the electric bill, and keep heat in the house...

The ONLY ones I know of that are getting the Christmas bonuses, are the big fat cats on Wall Street.. Not us little guys..... rolleyes

The government didn't send us squat.....

 

The Chase bank did that to me. Closed my credit card account, but did send a letter stating that the reason was either:

Late payments on the card (Not true)
To high balance (Again, not true)

and I can't quite remember the 3rd reason, but they were all bogus. I think Chase was just mad that I would use it and pay it off before they could collect on that big interest rate.

 

Well as long as we're naming names, thats who I'm talking about. Chase took over Washington Mutual saying nothing would change, that lasted about a month.

 

You hit the nail on the head there, Tux. I closed mine too. Mine was Cap. One.. Still, the same, and I had no balance, and when ever I used it, I paid it off when the bill came, and never carried a balance. They told me straight out, THEY were in the business to MAKE money, and they weren't making any off of me.. Good, I just told them what they could do with their card... :-D

 

And that's the other one, Capitol One suddenly doubled Dan interest rate then started sending him checks to use against that account. Yeah like thats going to happen, :wave
I don't know how they are managing to get away with this.

 

Darlene, the CAN, because they can... Next year, they won't be able too, with the new laws going into effect, but they willl sock-it-too-you NOW while they can....

 

By next year it will be too late, the regulations will be useless

 

Yup, exactly why they are doing what they are doing now..

 

See what the GOP did: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/18/gop-blocks-freeze-on-cred_n_362787.html
Excerpt:

Yeah, but the banks could sure get their act together in upping the rates quickly eh? rolleyes

Darlene, I so much hope that you can get a loan at a cheaper rate than the interest charges on the credit card. Shop around if you get a no at a bank. Credit unions are usually somewhat cheaper with their rates. I know these are tough times because banks don't want to loan money to small business or others who would have qualified before. The bailout was created to enable the banks to loan money out as usual. Seems the bankers are thinking otherwise. Good luck once again Darlene.

 

Sure, because they're the recipients of the profits. Insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies they (the GOP along with Bluedog Democrats) either benefit directly from stock holdings or are backed politically by these companies.

 

Thanks Bill,
It isn't that I need or was planning to use that available amount they took away, it's more the fact they did it for no good reason.
Maybe with that company my interest rate is capped, I don't know, it's like reading an insurance policy for me, need a law degree to understand it.

 

I just got this e-mail from 'Consumer Reports' yesterday and it pretty much sums it up, "Dear Terri,

It was unbelievable the first time the credit card companies jacked up our interest rates, doubled minimum payments and tacked on huge fees to try and beat a new February law that will end many of their abusive ways.

Now, they're at it again, and getting even more creative — but with your help, we can stop them cold!

Thanks to a huge outcry from American cardholders, the House just passed a bill to freeze interest rate hikes on your card balances, and give you new protections starting Dec. 1 — just in time for the holiday season. Now, we need the Senate to do the same!

E-mail your Senators right now to stop the rate increases — we can't afford to wait!

This continued attack on your wallet is no accident. A major credit card reform law goes into effect in February. The card companies begged Congress to delay its implementation so that they could "update their systems" to comply with the new law.

But instead, they've spent the time hitting you with new tricks — like a fee for paying off card balances each month. Or variable rate cards that only "vary" if interest rates increase, but don't give you the full break if interest rates drop in your favor.

If the companies can retool their computers to accommodate these tricks, there's no reason they can't abide by the new rules right now. After the recent bipartisan House vote, we have real momentum to stop these abuses. Now the Senate must hear that we can't afford the credit card company tactics, especially with the holidays approaching.

Tell your Senators to stop the rate increases and implement reforms NOW!

After you e-mail the Senate, please forward this to anyone you know who is fed up with these tactics. We have immense power when we band together — let's put the pressure on now!"

Sincerely,
Jim Guest
President, Consumers Union

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We have two senators in California, both female both Democrats so they're already on board.

Some of the others that make up the Senate are NOT. (that was the least offensive thing I could come up with)

 

Sorry for beating a dead horse here but had to complain to someone :cry
I called the credit card company to reset my payments back to the date they were scheduled before the takeover. While I had someone on the line I decided to let them know how displeased I was with them changing things after claiming they would not in the beginning. I also mentioned turning them in to whoever was in charge of regulating. Big mistake
Received my bill via email and the SOB's raised my payment $60 a month.
I'm curious as to what else they can do if I call again. :confused

 

Good Grief, Darlene!! No problem, just let it out.. I think that is OUTRAGEOUS!:mad you mean, they are now e-mailing your bill to you?:confused Have you tried to transfer to another bank, or card? I have complained over the years, but never had that happen to me.. Honestly, I don't know what else to suggest, just to check around, and see if you can get a better rate someplace else... (No finance companies, tho, they are worse!)

I sure do hope something turns out for you tho... It sounds as if they are taunting you, you know?

 

I pay my bills online, paperless, so thats why the email, get all my bills that way, wasn't expecting the increase in payment amount though. Plus went into my records and just noticed my APR went from 17 to 22.
You know I have always been reliable and did without to make my obligations, but I will not be able to keep up like this.
I also applied with my bank for a loan and they didn't even bother to send a decline if that's what it was. I have a feeling they are all going to try to get what they can before next year.

So if anyone is dissatisfied, tread lightly

 

Ohhh, Darlene, that does sound bad.. I didn't think that they could actually go that far, and believe me, that is going over the top.. Hang in there, I guess no news is good news... Even raising your APR???? That is just un-real.... I really do hope you can get some relief .... That sounds like they don't really want anyone to pay their bills off, just keep them buried in Interest.... The PITS!

Also, you should be able to have YOUR SAY as to whether or not you approve or disapprove of any service, or bill... :mad

 

You know that's what I thought. That you had to agree or sign any changes in the original contract. I imagine they wouldn't be doing it if they thought they couldn't get away with it. I'm sure they have people.
I can't even find who to report them to. Should not have let my mouth overload my, well you know.:-o

The only site I found was for Senator Dodd who wrote the bill, and that it goes into affect April of 2010.

 

Wow, they can really do some damage in that amount of time..:eek What about the Attorney General? Don't they have some say so in how the consumer is treated by these places? It wouldn't hurt to give it a try, they ahve always been nice to talk too, even check with their website, and maybe even fill out a complaint. I highly doubt if you are the only one. Best of Luck to ya

 

If I got the right site our Attorney General in California is Jerry Brown, and thats good. Thank you TeeCee I'll contact him/his office and let you know.