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Post by psychecc on Jul 2, 2009 15:14:07 GMT -6
I also read recently that using cash advances can cause as much as a 10% jump in your credit card interest rate even if you are otherwise "in good standing." Apparently they interpret a cash advance as a sign of future problems. Citi Raises Rates on 15 Million Credit Cards: ReportReuters | 01 Jul 2009 | 05:18 AM ET Citigroup has increased interest rates on up to 15 million U.S. credit card accounts just months before curbs on such rises come into effect, the Financial Times reported citing people close to the situation.
Citigroup had upped rates on 13 million to 15 million credit cards it co-brands with retailers such as Sears, the paper said.
In a statement, Citigroup said "We have adjusted pricing and card terms for some customers as part of our regular account reviews.
This is an ongoing process to ensure we offer terms, interest rates, credit lines and products based on individual needs and risk profiles."
"These changes also reflect the dramatically higher cost of doing business in our industry as we work to preserve the broad availability of credit," Citigroup told the paper. ....URL: www.cnbc.com/id/31678063/site/14081545/
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Post by unlawflcombatnt on Jul 3, 2009 1:26:10 GMT -6
What a bunch of dirtballs!
And, wouldn't you know, I just opened a bank account with Citibank 2 weeks ago. And--surprise, surprise, surprise--they turned me down for a credit card.
I think Bank of the West will be getting a new customer.
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Post by unlawflcombatnt on Jul 3, 2009 16:01:37 GMT -6
from the Washington Post: Credit Card Issuers Raising Rates Ahead of New LawBy Nancy Trejos Thursday, July 2, 2009 " Credit card companies are raising interest rates and fees 7 months before new rules go into effect that will limit their ability to do so, much to the irritation of Congress and consumer advocates.
Chase, for instance, will raise the minimum payment required of some of its customers from 2% to 5% of the statement balance starting in August. Chase and Discover have increased the maximum fee charged for transferring a balance to the card to 5% of the amount, up from 3 and 4%, respectively. Bank of America last month raised the transaction fee for balance transfers and cash advances from 3 to 4%. Card issuers including Bank of America and Citi also continue to cut limits and hike up rates, which they have been doing with more frequency since January.
"This is a common practice and will continue to be common, because issuers can do these things for really no reason until February," said John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education for Credit.com, which tracks the industry. "It's what I call the Credit Card Trifecta -- lower limits, higher rates, higher minimum payments."
It's not just the top card issuers making changes. Atlanta-based InfiBank, for example, will raise the minimum annual percentage rate it charges nearly all of its customers in September "in order to more effectively manage the profitability of our credit card account portfolio in a very challenging economic environment," said spokesman Kevin C. Langin.
The flurry of activity, which the banks say is necessary to shore up their revenue losses, has irked members of Congress, who passed a new credit card law, which was signed by President Obama in May. The law, among other things, would prevent card companies from raising rates on existing balances unless the borrower was at least 60 days late and would require the original rate to be restored if payments are received on time for 6 months. The law would also require banks to get customers' permission before allowing them to go over their limits, for which they would have to pay a fee.
Yesterday, Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) once again requested that the Federal Reserve invoke its emergency powers to place a limit on interest rate hikes.
"This is what many of us feared about a law that didn't take effect right away," Schumer said."It was never going to take this long for the credit card companies to get ready for the new reforms. Instead, issuers are using the delay in the effective date to wring more dollars out of their customers. It is against the spirit of the law, and it is just plain wrong."
[ In fact, it takes no time at all to "get ready" for the new reforms. But it does take time to preemptively circumvent those reforms before they go into effect. And that's exactly why implementation was deliberately & asininely delayed for 7 months--so that Congress's and Obama's big money supporters would have time to preemptively gouge consumers before the rules went into effect. I'd like to see every consumer with a credit card immediately stop paying on all their credit cards and file for bankruptcy, even if all they bankrupt is their credit cards. Let the banks eat the losses.]
Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) said the recent rate and fee hikes were "unfair and deceptive and must be stopped."
"Capricious actions like these are why Congress overwhelmingly passed, and President Obama signed, my credit card reform bill: to level the playing field on behalf of consumers," she said. [ You should have had it go into effect immediately. Many other actions, especially the financial bailouts for rich banks and investors, have gone into effect immediately, or almost immediately. Why in the devil can't protections for non-affluent consumers go into effect immediately??]
Bank executives had warned that the new law would force them to increase rates and fees because it would keep them from properly managing borrowers' risk. The argument is that if banks can't raise rates on riskier customers, they will have to raise rates on all.
Scott Talbott, senior vice president of government affairs for the Financial Services Roundtable, an industry group, said there are 2 reasons for the rate increases. 1st, he said, consumer credit scores, which banks use to determine if they should lend and at what price, have decreased. Second, the cost of providing credit has increased. "Once the new law is in effect, we anticipate a further reduction in the availability of credit and additional increases in the cost of credit," he said...." www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/01/AR2009070103868.html
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Post by judes on Jul 3, 2009 17:59:54 GMT -6
I concur whole heartedly!
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Post by waltc on Jul 4, 2009 11:40:44 GMT -6
Citi is really obnoxious regardless of what sort of credit risk you are.
For example I have 2 Sears CC's(which were recently sold to Citi). As a result I not only get my monthly bill from Sears but a threatening letter every month from Citi that basically states PAY UP NOW!!.
I get it regardless of how early I make the payment. So I canceled both after having a Sears CC for over 20 years and never any problem with them until Citi bought them out.
f**k Citi.
Now if only I knew a way to sign up lots of illegals for a Citi card.
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