I've been an mbna customer for over 7 years and have been very happy with them. They've been especially generous with cl increases on both accts and maintained the same interest rates. In my statement today I noticed that they are raising my interest rate by 2% citing a recent equifax report. My equifax report score has remained fairly constant so I can;t really understand why they are raising my rates. Has anyone else had an unexpected rate increase with them recently and do you think the rate increase with stop them from more cl increased in the future?
lux Did they tell you the REASON - what did they find on your report that made them increase the apr?
No, I can request a definite reason and they will send it within 30 days. The only reason I can think of is I have taken on a bit more debt within the last 6 months and thus have used more of my credit lines, but my scores have remained fairly constant.
ahhh, the "Reprice". Sadly, MBNA isn't telling you the truth - they dug very deep into your report and found something they can use to justify raising your rates by 2%. Credit card companies raise rates simply for the extra earnings. Since you've been a customer for a while I would ask for a supervisor when you call (Don't waste your time with the rep), when he answers, be nice and ask to keep your rates the same. If your payment history is good they'll usually comply...
You may be right. They have been doing account reviews on Equifax approximately once a month. That does seem sort of often unless they are either worried about something I'm doing or they are looking hard to find some justification to raise my rates.
You Have answered your own question..It is probaly due to the amount of Credit that you are using on your available credit lines... It is not due to your score.. Credit Card Debt is unsecured, When a lot of new Revolving debt is seen on your periodic reviews, Your Interest rate may be increased due to the risk of Balances Becoming Delinquent or Charging off.. You should receive an Adverse action letter in the Mail, and there should be a Toll Free Number to you to call.. If you can give valid reasons for the increased usage, ect.. there is a possibility that your interest rate can be brought back down to where it was.. Good Luck..
Just because debt ratios are high; even without the slightest delinquency on ANY account? What if it's an ordinary BT, do I have to call THEM whenever SOMEONE ELSE offers me a BT & get MBNA's prior consent? That is a lame business practice, fortunately not employed by any other top lender. Will the extra 2% jack-up help MBNA finance Congressional campaigns for candidates who are favored by the banking lobby? Saar
Saar- that's why, when they cut out limit, I cut them and closed. Lots of other companies want our business - with better rates and terms! -mj
Nah, they think you have no place to go. The old "gotcha" game. They all do it. Always leave yourself a way out. Always.
Yes, the statement insert was a notice of adverse action. It is pre-printed form so they must send out a lot of people. I think that in some ways it does make sense. They are after all taking on a higher risk. As they didnt raise it the interest by many points, 2 points may be fair for the increased amount of debt I have taken on. I would still rather they keep the very high credit lines and raise the interest rate a little than lower the interest rate and give smaller credit lines. I'm afraid that if I make too big deal about the rate increase that they may lower it, but lower my credit lines or never give icnreases again--Like George has with his quantum.
This is for Rubyjean, Dosn't MBNA also raises a persons interest rate if their total credit obligations including mortgage totals more then 35% of their monthly income?I do know as far with credit usage that they are known to raise interest rates due to a person taking on more debt, but do they raise it faster not only when a person takes on more debt but also they are just paying the minimum due only on the accounts that are showing new debt?Also i wanted to know what would justify MBNA to cut a persons credit limit?What are the main resons for this to happen?I never had my lines of credit cut by any creditor including MBNA but i was just curious.Thank you for your response to these questions. Ble103
Maybe it's just me ... but are there are a LOT of "MBNA Jacked My Rate" or "MBNA Cut My Limit" messages on here lately? I've personally decided to never do business with them ... their regular rates are kind of sucky, but the hard inquiry - then - limit decrease was just downright nasty. I'm in the middle of a refinance, and had to explain that no, we didn't apply for an MBNA card, they just pulled an inquiry and we closed the account because of it (luckily, the account showed as closed, so the underwriter was OK with that). Like I said earlier - lots of other companies want my business -- and offer better terms. No 0% for 9 months deal is worth the headache I have had with MBNA. Citi and Chase are both offering 12 month 0% deals anyway. -mj
It would be nice if this statement were true. I have had many lenders up my rate just because they didn't like my usage on other cards - BofA, Discover, etc.
CC Co's do look at debt ratios to decide whether to raise your rate. Carrying more debt makes you a "risk", so they price that into your interest rate. I don't know how specific they'll be when they give you a reason, but when my rates got jacked for high debt ratios, the reason I got was was that they were rasing interest rates for "all customers with similar credit profiles". After you get their reason letter, I'd try calling their retention department and seeing what you can do. Paying off the card, if you can, is the best response. Them: "We're rasing your interest rate to X percent" You: "X percent of 0 is 0, my friend." -ingenue P.S. Also what breeze said. If they think you don't have room on your other cards to transfer the balance to, they'll milk ya.
They "JACKED" me, I "JACKED" them back (FIRST USA) closed 3 accounts totaling >$72,000!!! 22.49% WAS OUT OF LINE...NEVER LATE...NEVER OVER-LIMIT ON ANY CARD EVER!!!
Notice I said "top lenders". I haven't found neither of the above to be "top" (although Discover seems to be doing unusual efforts lately to get there). Saar
