Ok, now I'm totally PISSED... I just got a notice in the mail regarding the Chase/Bank One merger. We currently have 2 chase cards (Chase Platinum at 7.24% and a Chase Freedom Mastercard at 18.99%). The Chase freedom card is closed out but still have a 3k balance on it which we have budgeted to be paid in full by May 2005. The Chase Platinum card has a 4500.00 balance and since the rate was 7.24% we haven't quite gotten to it yet but we pay about twice the minimum due each month. Well the insert with this letter states our NEW APR IS 23.99 + Prime which equates to 28.99%... So are they SERIOUSLY jacking us from 7.24 to 28.99%??!! That is totally ludicrus! We have been Chase customers since 1997 and have never missed a payment ever...we also have our 1st and 2nd mortgage with them also. My question is: What the heck would you do if you were jacked from 7.24 to 28.99%?!! Seriously we are so mad since we are loyal customers and pay on time every month. I could understand if we don't pay our bills but heck we pay them every single freakin month. Then I called them and they could care LESS about losing our business...I told the girl "well I'll just BT this balance to a lower card" and she could care less!!! So that is just what I'm going to do. BT the balances to my 9% card and go from there. And I'm closing the platinum out. I'm so mad at Chase I may just refinance my mortgage too! This sucks! Thanks for any advice.
Was this a purchase balance, or a balance transfer? My experience is you can't trust rates on purchase balances, even if you have good credit and payment records. CC companies have generally honored BT rates, thru the term of the offer (6 mo, till pd, or whatever). This is why you need 2 CCs used for purchases, and at least 2 CCs, one not used, if you are carrying a balance. Have they sent you an adverse action notice, or notified you in your bill why the increase? Ask them in writing, and they are required to tell you in writing what CR they pulled if that led to their decision. You can then get a free credit report, and see if there is negative info on your report, and not just increased debt to CL ratio.
the lady said that they pulled my credit report and it showed alot of revolving credit on it. The thing that sucks is this is my oldest account (7 yrs old) and closing it out will hurt my score. The only option I had was to close it out to keep the 8% rate til I pay it off. I am getting rid of my credit cards and paying them off so actually closing it out will help me reach my goal. I don't need credit right now anyways so if it hurts my score then so be it. It will rebound. BTW: The 28.49% is the purchase APR and also the default APR. Going from 8% to 28.49% is just ludicrus to me. They did send me a letter and the disclosure of the change in rate. That is what prompted me to call them. And they are mailing out a letter of which credit report they pulled so I can get a free one. And no I have no derogatory info on any 3 credit reports. I just had TOO much credit! My balances are high in proportion to my CL's and that is what hurt me. But I pay all my bills on time and have never missed any payments.
the lady said that they pulled my credit report and it showed alot of revolving credit on it. The thing that sucks is this is my oldest account (7 yrs old) and closing it out will hurt my score. The only option I had was to close it out to keep the 8% rate til I pay it off. I am getting rid of my credit cards and paying them off so actually closing it out will help me reach my goal. I don't need credit right now anyways so if it hurts my score then so be it. It will rebound. BTW: The 28.49% is the purchase APR and also the default APR. Going from 8% to 28.49% is just ludicrus to me. They did send me a letter and the disclosure of the change in rate. That is what prompted me to call them. And they are mailing out a letter of which credit report they pulled so I can get a free one. And no I have no derogatory info on any 3 credit reports. I just had TOO much credit! My balances are high in proportion to my CL's and that is what hurt me. But I pay all my bills on time and have never missed any payments.
If your problem is high balances compared to CL, paying off will help, but closing accounts will hurt. Better to pay off and leave it unused, even if you then look for a better deal. Your CR does not show the interest rate, only the balances, limit, minimum payment, and payment history. Just like you look for a better job while you still have one, not after you quit.
Try doing a PlanetFeedback letter and mention the mortgages and all the business you have with them. Maybe the executive office will take a better view. But Chase is notorious for rate jacking.
That's the same answer that Bank one gave me when they jacked us up to that level...except the guy did tell me that they were "worried" and "concerned" that we would have trouble paying our bills. EXCEPT that we had made every payment. He refused to say what that was based on since we had never missed one yet! Right after they did that and our minimum payment went to about $350 a month, we decided to file Chpt. 7 and my husband had the BEST time telling the idiot who called him at work to ask "WHERE OUR PAYMENT WAS and WHEN they could expect one???", that thanks to them jacking us up they had fulfilled their own prophacy(sp) and made us unable to pay....so they could stick their balance and choke on it!
Well, We are VERY far from bankruptcy. We make enough money together to pay ALL our debts plus save. It's not like we will have trouble if one of us loses our jobs cause we have emergency funds set aside. I did Planetfeedback them. Not that it will help since we already last night told CS to close out both credit cards but maybe if alot of people complain it will be looked into. I even noted that we have been loyal Chase customers since 1997 with NO late payments and they jacked us. Our credit reports (which I pulled both of ours in Sept thru My fico) have NO derogatory information. They do state our balances to CL are 66% so we need to get that down. They need to reevaluate customers with existing Chase accounts before just pulling a credit report and thinking we will not pay when we have paid for years and years faithfully. It's just not a good practice. But you know, they will get their money one way or another either thru us or thru someone else who doesn't care. I sorta care since they are holding our 1st and 2nd (HELOC) mortgage which we just refinanced last August. I could just refi the mortgages in a heartbeat too since we have alot of equity. Just doesn't make good business sense to not reward the loyal customers. There has got to be some type of internal review they have. They did that for my other Chase card...said it was being done manually when I applied and they approved me for 4500.00. Oh well...just take my business elsewhere. And BTW I could care less about my credit score right now cause I don't need anymore credit. I want to pay off these cards and have a plan set up to pay everything off including our house within the next 3 yrs! I figure then in 3 yrs my score will rebound and I'll be in better ratios. In fact, just this morning, I paid off THREE credit cards! And ever since we've had these 2 cards we have NEVER been rate jacked..never! So why all of a sudden do they rate jack us??? Must be cause of the merger with Bank One...they pulled everyone credit report and VIOLA rate jacked.
I would tell them there are plenty of other banks that will be glad to have your business, and then I would mention the HELOC, and tell them that you you are refinancing that too, since if they don't want you, you don't want them!!!
I agree. And mortgage rates are down again, so refinancing shouldn't be a problem. But you know FirstUSA/Bank One actually closed GEORGE's accounts, and he had years and years of good history. Maybe you keep things paid off and they don't make enough, who knows?
Doesn't the insert also have langauge to the effect that the rate increase takes effect at the close of the current billing cycle and that if you elect not to accept the rate increase then this is what you need to do? Sounds to me like Chase is using a much tighter scoring model to help upgrade its credit portfolio by eliminating customers the model identifies as long term risks! So whats the rub - this insert is an amendment to the terms of your contract with Chase and as such in most states the terms of the amendment have to accepted by you. Unfortunately if you opt not to accept the terms and do notify Chase in writing of your intention not to accept, then Chase closes your account. So sounds to me like Chase does not want to continue doing business with you and it is time for your to write them a letter outlining your intention not to accept the proprosed amendments to your card holder agreement. Chase will has no choice but to accept this and so long as you don't charge on the card again, will close the account. The alternative is to either pay off the balance quickly or find another card with better rates to BT. **A word of caution, from what I am reading here and other credit boards, I think you will find many of the larger credit banks doing the same thing to established customers. The reason appears to be an attempt to shore up revenue streams and streamline risk!
The attempt to shore up revenues goes along with my theory that if you don't pay them enough in interest, you're gone. Some banks will allow you to not accept the terms, but if your account is closed it goes to the default rate anyway.
This just makes me sick, particularly since we have a Chase acct and Chase mortgage- I'll be reading the statements carefully! In addition to PFB you may want to also complain to the BBB in yours and Chase's states and write a letter to your Congressmen and Senators detailing the kind of hurtles that ordinary citizens in their jursidictions are up against.
Yep, I had several cards that were jacked up to those rates when I was laid off and only made minimum payments. I was never late, but I guess they did not like the minimum payments and jacked up the rates.....which then made me go delinquent because of the higher monthly payments. I called and tried to work something out with them and they all had deaf ears....but lips that basically said "Tough Luck". So, I filed Bankruptcy and my lips said "Tough Luck". If they would have worked with me, they would have still been getting their payments.....instead of ZERO.
Yep, I had several cards that were jacked up to those rates when I was laid off and only made minimum payments. I was never late, but I guess they did not like the minimum payments and jacked up the rates.....which then made me go delinquent because of the higher monthly payments. I called and tried to work something out with them and they all had deaf ears....but lips that basically said "Tough Luck". So, I filed Bankruptcy and my lips said "Tough Luck". If they would have worked with me, they would have still been getting their payments.....instead of ZERO.
Re: Re: Chase Jacked me from 8 to 28.99%!!! I disagree. PIF (not paying enough in interest) does not make you a goner. Certainly, you are a convenience user and the banks may hate you, but if that customer spends alot on the card, they make money and would not dare lose this customer. Cost per account (new accounts) is over 100 bucks and once they approve you, they don't want to waste the money it took to acquire you. Now, having said that, are banks going to check up on your credit reports to see if they can justify a rate increase or a CLD? Sure, it is well known that banks are making more money in non-interest fees than ever before and makes them even more profitable. All it means is that the customer has to be ever vigilent about debt, inquiries, and new accounts. Sucks it has to be this way (never used to be) but nonetheless, these practices are here to stay.
Re: Re: Chase Jacked me from 8 to 28.99%!!! What was your debt to credit limit ratio before they jacked you? If you shortly after declared bankruptcy, the rato was probably high, and based on subsequent events the risk indicated by that was real. Although I can understand the consumer's position that if rates were not raised, they could have eventually paid everything off, I can also under the bank's position that if the consumer's position is deteriorating, I would rather be paid first than get stuck.
Re: Re: Chase Jacked me from 8 to 28.99%!!! Brad, GEORGE, who used to post here regularly, had his accounts closed by First USA when he had NEVER had a late payment, overlimit, etc. But he did PIF every month. They'd rather not keep that kind of business in many cases. Some banks tried to charge a fee if you never paid interest, but that didn't get very far. The situations are changing, and it's all about the bottom line. If you don't make them money, they don't want you. I think you'll see more of this.
Re: Re: Chase Jacked me from 8 to 28.99%!!! If they don't make (or save) you money you don't want them either.
Re: Re: Chase Jacked me from 8 to 28.99%!!! Chase jacked us also, along with Citibank. I guess what makes me sick this is the equivalent of Credit Profiling. You look like you may not pay us so we will make it so you cannot pay us. I am expecting a settlement after the first of the year and we are paying off these two cards and sock drawer them. What we could do as a "coalition of the willing" is sock drawer cards that do this to consumers. Develop a list of cards that jack people and as a group stop using the cards. Now they will not make any money.
