I got my statement and saw that my interest rates had skyrocketed to 33.34% from 2.9% for BT and 11.9% for purchases. I called and no one seems to know why! I have IMPROVED my credit since I got the card. No new collections. Not that many new accounts. Balances decent. Few inquiries in that time. Also, I never had that card above $350/500 and would always pay it almost or completely off before statement closing!!
Did you recently use the card for a convenience check? Sometimes the fee associated, can drive the interest rate to these levels, but it is usually just a computational thing, your rate is probably not higher than 19.99%. www.creditsense.com
author_22, What kind of account that you have with MBNA? As far as I knew MBNA pulled soft inquiries every 2 or 3 months either from Equifax or TransUnion for account review. I think you had better to check your credit report and it may have errors on your report..They lowered my Quantum Card from 13.99% to 11.99%, Barnes & Nobles Card from 13.99 to 10.99% and Apple Instant Loan LOC from 14.99% to 12.99%. Ron.
Are you looking at the APR or nominal APR, like for a cash advance? If so, the %age would be outrageous.
This is your overall APR which is actually a ratio. You have either taken a cash advance, gone over the limit and had a fee assessed, gone past due and had a past due fee assessed, taken a cash advance, or had an annual fee assessed.
yeah since a Cash advance FEE is considered against your APR, and if your balances are very low, it will skyrocket your Effective APR for that month.
That's right. DMB (Direct Merchants Bank) used to indicate your nominal APR as well as your regular APR. They no longer do that, but I have a feeling if all credit cards posted the nominal APR, which shows the true cost of your debt, people would be a lot more cautious using credit.
First off, I said specifically that I have NOT gone over the limit or even close. Second, I have never been late on this or any account since starting my journey in July. I did not use convenience checks either.
On this specific account, it is my Barnes and Noble preferred MC (student.) I have an Apple LOC at 19.9% but that hasn't arrived yet.
I also check all three of my reports at least once a week and have been steadily having derogs removed and of course no new ones. It is puzzling.
Nope. I have never done cash advances on any of my cards because it supposedly reduces internal scores.
This same thing happened to me in December. Providian and Nextcard sent me a change in terms, included within my monthly bill. Both companies raised my APR's sky high, for no good reason. I called both companies and got nowhere. The customer service rep.s could not tell me why. I checked my credit reports to see if anything was amiss, but my scores were much better and my reports almost 100% clean. I did see where both companies had inquiries on my reports for the month of Ocotber. I had never been late, no over the limits, NOTHING! Needless to say, I closed out both accounts. To this day, I am still puzzeled and angry over the whole ordeal. It makes no sense at all and it caused me to have to go searching for new cards to build up my credit all over again. Calmest_LA
It could be the deal I mentioned once where I was sure a creditor got hold of a TU report with that judgment that was vacated. You know, this could be coming from innovis, if they are doing what they say (I mean who really knows....) if they are the repository for deleted info, they would have them all. The other possibility is that they need the money. I know Citigroup is taking a hit with Enron now, on top of WTC. When they want money, they raise rates. If you don't have other options, then they get the money from you.
This is one of my biggest reasons to promote building credit. You need lots of credit to deal from strength, when they have done that to me in the past, I just BT from a lower rate card and let them sit idle, within 2 months they come begging back for me to borrow and usually at a much lower rate. Exercise your credit, build it to where you have some muscle to flex against the Goliaths. www.creditsense.com
