So Sept 09, my credit card company put me on a payment program which decreased my apr from 20% to 8%. Now, it has been a year and they increased back to 20% without warning me. Anyways, I called them today and asked if i could get it lowered again(get back on a payment program), but they said that they're not allowed to put me back on a payment program b/c the new credit card act law doesn't allow them to. They said that b/c of the new credit card act law, i would have to wait for 12 months before i can get on another payment program. They said there's no way they can decrease my apr. I can't afford the new hike in interest and I honestly don't know what to do. First of all, are they telling me the truth when they say the new law disallows them from putting me on a payment program without waiting 12 months? What are my options? How can i get my apr reduced? Thank you so much
I'm not aware of anything in the CARD Act off the top of my head that would prevent your credit issuer from allowing you to be on a payment program again. Now, the CARD Act does require them to give you 45 days' advance notice of an increase in your interest rate, which it doesn't sound like they did. Was it stated up front that the payment program would only be for 1 year and then your rate would be adjusted back to normal? If you've never missed payments and your credit is still good, why not just move the existing balance to a new 0% interest credit card and pay it off over the next 12-121 months? You'll have to pay a balance transfer fee up front, but it will probably be worth it in the long run.
