Bank of America is full of sh**

[SHRED]

----

So my wife has had a "B of A" credit card for 9 years and excellent credit.

She just got a letter and they are raising her rate from 9% to 16%.
She called and gave them hell about them taking our bailout money and doing this.

She cancelled.

They are taking our tax dollars, raising interest rates on us, and yet we can't get shit on CD rates.

The rich are getting richer.



:mad: :mad:

[msongs]

1. change you can believe in - meet the "new democrats" nt

[SHRED]

3. When are they going to step up?

When are we going to get some reform of credit card interest rates?

Usury Laws?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usury

[Warpy]

2. I hate to tell ya, but 16% on an unsecured small loan

is a pretty good rate. When credit cards first came out, they were all 18 3/4% and people were glad to pay it for the convenience of getting small loans for appliances and vacations and being able to pay it off the rest of the year instead of doing without.

Still, it's good to get rid of the suckers if you aren't a frequent traveler who needs to use them on the road to keep track of expenses for reimbursement.

A lot of people have found themselves in a serious hole with rates jacked up as high as 39% because they've missed payments.

They all started paying them off every month, too.

[customerserviceguy]

11. That's only true for risky borrowers

Banks are borrowing money from the Fed for less than one percent interest, and they know the people who have excellent credit who are not risky. This is just greed, pure and simple.

I asked for a credit limit increase from Amex last week, they sent me a "fuggetabodit" letter. I paid off my card (sometimes I keep a balance, and sometimes I pay it off in full) and have no intention of using it again. Somebody else can get the 3-4% that they rake off of my ordinary credit card purchases that I pay off in a timely fashion.

[SOS]

13. Interestingly

16% is the limit in New York State.
16.1% is a criminal offense.

We now have a bill before the City Council calling for the city to divest itself from any national bank that charges residents a penny above 16%.

[bullimiami]

4. usury should be illegal.

[MannyGoldstein]

5. But Summers and Geithner are Democrats

So quit complaining - all is well.

[ixion]

6. yep, they did that to me, too... same thing

and I'll do the same thing you folks did. I'll close the account.

I would like nothing more than to see all these banks go bankrupt. They're criminal, as far as I'm concerned.

[beyurslf]

7. They raised my rate and said they had re-evaluated my file and I posed a higher

credit risk. My card has been paid off with a 0 balance for nearly a year. I think I used it once at Christmas but paid it to 0 again in January. I just laughed at them and said 19% interest on a 0 balance still gives you 0!

[amerikat]

8. I got the same letter. By "purchases" do they mean future purchases

or do they mean past and future purchases? I am unclear about this.
If I bought something on credit @7.99% how can they raise it to 13.99% after the fact.
I thought that rate was what we agreed on.

[SHRED]

9. call them

My wife did and they will raise it no matter what.

[Dr.Phool]

10. It's the balance on the purchases, and future purchases.

Until they raise the rate again.

They are the only industry in the world that can change the terms of a contract, unilaterally, after the fact.

[customerserviceguy]

12. Not true

Variable rate mortgages can do that. You need to think of a credit card balance owed as a variable rate personal loan.

That said, there are people who have proven they deserve the lowest rates, and when they get screwed, they need to take their business elsewhere.

[amerikat]

14. It's extorsion.........

I borrowed financed a purchase at 7.99%. Now I have to pay 13.99% or lose the card?
I can see them raising the rate on future purchases because I have the choice
to accept or not. But raising the rate on past purchases.
I guess I'll be on the phone to customer service tomorrow.
I hope it's not you. Cause I'll stay on so long and ask so many question
either their head will explode or they will pee themselves.
No mercy.

[customerserviceguy]

18. I work for a water company

and we don't charge interest. Unless we're administering accounts for a city that charges its citizens interest.

I was not defending the practice, only pointing out that raising the rates for an existing balance already has a parallel in the mortgage world. You're focusing on the original purchase, but any month that you do not pay the balance in full, you're asking to be able to borrow the remaining balance (after the principle part of your payment is applied) for another month.

Think of a string of credit card payments as being many separate transactions, all a month apart, and you'll see what I'm talking about. That's why it's a lousy idea to put purchases on credit cards that you have no intention of paying off in full, you subject yourself to the possibility of having the rate jacked up at any time, for no damn good reason.

[amerikat]

19. You make sense.......but i'm still not happy and it's bad for the economy

Thanks for the explanation...

[customerserviceguy]

23. You're welcome

and like I said below, try to get your credit card from a credit union. They usually don't resort to any sort of dirty tricks like the commercial banks do.

I just wish there were good strong credit unions in my area, I'm glad I still have my old membership back at a CU in Washington State, the ones I've worked with here are a bit rinky-dink in their ways of doing business. Lousy hours, inconvenient locations, poorly functioning websites, that sort of thing.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

16. Variable rate mortgages are based on an independent third party benchmark...

.....like prime rate. Not some super secret formula made up AFTER you borrow the money.

[customerserviceguy]

17. Good point

but in variable rate mortgages AND credit card contracts, you're agreeing to the terms up front. You just assume they're going to play nice and keep the interest rate low.

Best to get a credit card from a credit union, they usually do play nice. Commercial banks are just vultures.

[Sanity Claws]

31. Not really

A variable rate mortgage states the criteria for the change in the papers. For example, x points above prime as of the reset date. The credit card rate changes have no set criteria; you can't plan for the reset date in advance or figure out what the new rate is and thus can't plan for the change.

[customerserviceguy]

36. As I pointed out above

yes, mortgage rates vary according to a predetermined standard, and credit card rates vary on the whim of the issuer, but my point is the same: there are variable rate loans of various sorts. They're not all like your car loan where you borrow a set amount for a particular period of time, at a constant interest rate.

But when rates start rising again (and they surely will) I would NOT be surprised to see variable rate car loans. The index used may be a standard rate that the lender has no control over, or it may be arbitrary, but I do expect them to be offered, with "teaser" rates. If people will go for that BS with a house, why wouldn't they do it for a car?

[amerikat]

15. Seems to me that raising the rates on past purchases

will raise the default rates, and in return they will raise rates again.
Seems to me the banks are committing economic suicide and taking us with them

[K Gardner]

30. They mean FUTURE purchases. If you call the number provided, select REJECT RATE INCREASE, and then

never use your card again, you won't be charged the higher rate. That's what I did.

Wonder how many hundreds of thousands of card users they've lost over this.

[Mr. Hyde]

20. The CD rate thing is particularly insidious.

They're inflating the dollar and making it impossible for conservative investors to stay ahead of inflation, soooo people are basically being forced back into the market where they can take their chances. That's why people are looking at gold, guns, ammo, and other tangible assets that reflect inflation, so they don't have to get back into the market to stay ahead of the inevitable inflation. As far as the credit card goes, they did you a favor actually, they made you cancel a credit card. Good for you.

[jasmeel]

21. I had to cancel my B of A working assets card because of their

BS. They don't take payments after 5PM online so they can charge people late fees more often. Fuckin scam.

[inna]

22. rec #11, and.... i'm not sure if i got this right.... they are raising the interest

on PAST purchases??

[customerserviceguy]

24. It's a past purchase

but every month, you are borrowing the same (minus your principle payment) money again. The purchase, and the monthly borrowings are all separate transactions. When you accept a loan from a bank offering a credit card, you're agreeing to those terms.

There was a time where they didn't raise the rates on people who were regular payers, but now, they're in deep financial doo-doo, and the only place they can make it up is to screw the existing good customers. Those customers may not have the option of refinancing an outstanding balance with a new credit card issuing bank, so they're stuck and vulnerable right now.

This is why people are trying as hard as they can to avoid further spending which might stimulate the economy, and are diverting as much money as possible to paying down bills. If they can afford to do that!

[KathieG]

25. I can beat that...

Two months ago our Citibank card went from 9.9% to 16.9%...we have great credit, and never a day late on a payment. Unfortunately, we carry a large balance and we aren't in the position to move the balance or pay it off. :mad:

If that wasn't bad enough, we received a letter yesterday from our other credit card (local bank)...they are raising our rate from 6.9% to almost 21.0%! Again...perfect payment history. We opted out. The customer service rep said that all of their customers received the same letter.

This is just insane! They have us by the balls and they know it.:mad: You can bust your ass paying your bills on time, work to maintain good credit, and they still screw you over with rates that were previously reserved for those with a poor payment history, or crappy credit. :mad:

[strategery blunder]

26. They jacked me up too

from 15% fixed to 25% variable.

I have a $7000 balance on the card and a $9000 student loan check coming by the end of the month. Tuition is already paid.

Guess what I'm doing with that student loan check. They can have their 25% interest, but it will be on a zero balance. :grr:

I don't care if that means I eat ramen for the next five months.

After that point I will charge the thing and pay it back every month, for the cash back. They could've kept making profit off of me at 15% but the fuckers got greedy.

[amerikat]

27. Ok. I think I understand what is going on here.

Say for example I buy a new hard drive on-line using a credit card.
The credit card company pays the vendor for the purchase. The vendor ships
me the hard drive. So Far so good.

The credit card company hasn't paid the bill from it's cash flow or cash
reserves but instead pays for it with it's own credit card.

Then the credit card company goes to the casino and racks up
a huge loss and can't pay it's bill. So they ask all the taxpayers for a
bailout. Why do I feel like I just bough a million new hard drives?
We give them the money they need to stay in business.

At this point they ask us to pay for the hard drive again through higher
monthly payments, and we give them more money at 1% interest(Fed Reserve Window).

Somehow I missed the part of the story where they said pull down
your pants and bend over, I got your hard drive right here.

Sound about right to you?

:crazy: :wtf: :nuke:

[democracy1st]

28. thats BS I got rid of their butt about a month ago

[yy4me]

29. This is just what I am afraid of. I just paid off my late husbands

Chase card so that would be out of my mind. If B of A raises my rate, I will go to my bank and get a short term loan and get rid of them for good. That will leave me with NO credit card. What should I do "just in case" I am on Social Security and am at the end of my unemployment benefits. I don't know yet if I can extend it. No-one seems to know what the criteria are for extension. The phones are too busy and you cannot get through to the office of Unemployment insurance. I guess I'll have to go and wait in line to ask a simple question. On the web site it says to refer to the letter sent Feb 9th. about extensions. Guess what, I never got that letter.

First we bail them out after paying interest on our accounts for years, then they send the screws into us with even higher rates. Somehow this raise seems like loansharking to me.

I have a credit rating in the very high 700's and have never been late with a payment in my life on anything. So much for that effort.

[byronius]

32. The new ATM's suck. Customer-hostile, unusable, but good for them.

They make me feed each check into the ATM separately now. What used to take three minutes now takes twenty.

Customer service admitted that it was better security for the bank, but more difficult for the customer.

Plus, the machines are made by Diebold.

[xchrom]

33. recommend

[Hepburn]

34. And it took you HOW LONG to figure out BofA is a POS?

I could have told you that 10 years ago!

[sarcasmo]

35. You hit them where it counts. We canceled our BOA accounts and moved them awhile back.