Imagine being on a flight on your favorite airline, if there is one you don’t despise, and somewhere around 32,000 feet the flight attendant stops by and demands another $100 for your trip. You might be resistant to paying the surcharge.
While this may seem outrageous, it is exactly what banks do on credit card balances. Even with timely payments from the customer who lives by all their rules, they feel authorized to raise interest rates on existing balances at a time when their cost of money is going down, not up. This happened to my wife.
If we ever wondered about the humanity of the bank bosses, we need wonder no longer. Make a contract with a bank, and only their interests are protected. They are surely tone deaf to public sentiment.
President Obama and our national legislature are moving toward demanding some fair play. The banks have pushed back, of course. The Washington Post reports today:
The House Financial Services Committee yesterday approved a Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights that would prevent such practices as arbitrarily raising interest rates on existing balances, assessing late fees if not enough time was given to pay, and charging interest on debts already paid.
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), the committee chairman, said he expects the measure to reach the House floor next week. A similar measure is being considered in the Senate.
Bank representatives pushed back against the effort, warning that lawmakers should not seek these changes in the middle of a national credit crunch.
It takes some huevos to abuse the American people in the midst of a bailout by taxpayers. It strengthens my resolve that we should have let them sink and used the bailout money to start some honest banks.
We have spectacular credit and pay off our balances every month, yet I was recently turned down for a request to increase a credit card limit that is frozen at $2500. I’ve had to put this card in time-out because if we go over this measly limit, they charge us a $39 fee. Another of our card limits has been decreased, through no fault of ours. Time to go back to a cash economy.
~Michelle
I totally agree with you…..I am so upset with the big banks; B of A, Citibank, Chase, etc. for their actions. Soon, my credit cards will be paid in full and I will never do business with the big banks again. I, too, wish they would have just failed because they are definitely failing me and the American public. We give them BILLIONS and they kick us while we are down.
I hate to admit, but I do mortgages for Bank of America, and I hear from all the customers, “Why did you raise my interest rate!!?” Then we even lower their limits, so then reducing their credit scores. And I reply, “well, now I can not do a better loan for you since your scores are 679 and not 680…”