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Easton21
May 21, 2009 5:04 PM
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I got a notice in the mail yesterday too, but the hike only applied to cash advances. Maybe I'm lucky. My normal interest rate is 11.99% and they made no mention of it going up, so it looks like different letters are being sent to different people.

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downwithmonstercable
May 21, 2009 7:13 PM
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@Easton21: I just got a notice, my 7.9% is jumping to 13.9%.


How is this fair?

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mac-phisto
May 21, 2009 5:15 PM
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@Easton21: c1 has a bunch of different programs that seem to act independently of each other, so it's entirely plausible that you'll get a letter eventually.

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SadSam
May 21, 2009 6:03 PM
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@mac-phisto:


I also received a letter regarding cash advances. I read the notification with interest but since we don't use credit (except when we are renting a car) the changes in the agreement don't impact us.

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iambeaker
May 21, 2009 5:04 PM
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I got the same thing with my card... My current APR is 8.9% and come next year, my APR balloons to 24.9%. Thanks Capital One!!!

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2 replies
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AngryK9
May 21, 2009 7:18 PM
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@iambeaker: I have two cards through C1. The V card has (and always has had) an APR of about 15%. About two or three months ago, C1 jacked the APR on my MC card up from 17% to 25%! I was not given any notice. Then not too long ago I got a letter stating that the balance transfer and cash advance APRs were jumping.

I am expecting the same treatment of my V card through them soon as well...farkers...

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Peter_Betts
May 21, 2009 5:10 PM
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@iambeaker:


I got this one too. 8.9% to 24.9% I had to opt out by April 20th or something and they would close my card. I opted to keep it open and just pay off the balance (unfortunately I carry a balance on this card as I am focused on paying off another card first - Snowball baby!)before the January 2010 rate increase.


I am fine with letting them keep the card open and pay for it to be so. That is, until they institute an annual fee, like I'm sure most places are going to do.

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3drage
May 21, 2009 5:05 PM
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I'm glad I'm almost done with credit card debt. I'll be a cold day in hell before I ever charge again.

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racordes
May 21, 2009 5:07 PM
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They did that to us too. So we put the cards away, made sure nothing automatic is coming out of that account, used up the points and we are making very large payments to pay it off. We have another card with a credit union that is 9.9% that we will use instead. In 6 months,the Capital One account will be at a zero balance. We may take a hit on our credit rating because I am sure they will lower our limit, but I am through with them. The credit union account was always a better deal anyway.

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sanjsrik
May 21, 2009 5:08 PM
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and this is EXACTLY what I said about the new credit card act, it said that if they put the ability to change terms at their whim in their contract, they can do whatever they want.

Which means they renew every single customer and rewrite their terms of their contracts to do what tehy were doing before.

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rpm773
May 21, 2009 5:08 PM
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\"With the new terms and conditions associated with your card, your customized image on your card will be replaced with your face cropped onto another image of someone accepting, against his will, an implement into his rear-end.\"

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starrion
May 21, 2009 5:09 PM
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They hiked mine, but I just use it for current charges and reoccurring bills. That was racking up the miles and I was just paying off the balance.


They wanted to take me from 7.9 to 17.9.


I sent the opt-out the same night.


Last week I got a \"We're so sorry, we didn't mean to include YOUR account, we're not changing the interest rate and NOT closing the account.


I've already transferred all the billing to another card, so I haven't used it for three months now.

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mac-phisto
May 21, 2009 5:14 PM
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@starrion: very interesting...congrats on calling their bluff!

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Anonymous
May 21, 2009 5:10 PM
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I was jacked from 6.17% to 15.9%. Low balance, always pay many times the minimum, credit scores around 800, never so much as a late payment. All they really succeeded in doing was losing what little they did make off me, since I transferred the balance to a card that offered 0% BT rate. Great business model!

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rellog321
May 21, 2009 5:11 PM
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So with all these new credit card rules, maybe Congress should have tackled credit scoring as well.... It is ridiculous that closing accounts can have such a profound effect on you credit score.

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Telekinesis123
May 22, 2009 4:50 AM
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@rellog321: @NeverLetMeDown:

I don't think you get it, the companies are holding us hostage when really they should be thankful to get our business, even if we do not accrue interest they make a percentage off all our purchases. I do not feel sorry for the credit companies, they provide convenience and they make money off of our purchases.

It is unfair when a credit card company bullies someone who has done nothing wrong into accepting a rotten contract then if they just choose to go the other way their credit history is ruined because they would not succumb to the extortion tactics of these companies. This then lowered credit score can cost the consumer hundreds and thousands of dollars when that person chooses to make a contract or loan with a completely unrelated party because they refused to be extorted with their mafia like tactics.

Also, don't you think the more credit available you have the more you can go into debt? If you don't have credit cards with $20,000 limits and only one with say $5000 your actually at less of a risk for default.

I think you should read this article, having customers is a privilege, credit card companies in their arrogance have seemed to have forgotten that.

\"Dream On, Credit Card Companies!
Charging your best customers just won't work.\"
[www.msnbc.msn.com]

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SacraBos
May 21, 2009 8:48 PM
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@rellog321: That is why it's a \"I Love Debt Score\". Paying off and closing an unneeded account SHOULD be a sign of a good consumer.

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NeverLetMeDown
May 21, 2009 7:00 PM
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@rellog321:


Problem is, less available credit = greater risk. It's not an evil conspiracy, it's just statistics.

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Coyote
May 21, 2009 6:34 PM
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@rellog321: A very simple solution to this would be to say if the account is closed voluntarily with agrement from both sides then no change will occur. The loss of the credit limit tho is the real pain.

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HalOfBorg
May 21, 2009 5:11 PM
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We just got notice they gonna change ours to 17.9% in couple months unless we opt out and close account.

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Scrutinizer
May 21, 2009 5:13 PM
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When I was in college upper classman could get a $500 Citi Bank card that would report good credit as well as bad. Twenty years ago I dumped that for a credit union VISA card. No frills, no miles and no cash back but it is limited by Connecticut's usury rates.


If the big wild west banks want to play tough peole should look to see what alternatives there are.

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RChris173
May 21, 2009 5:14 PM
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o_0 I didn't get one...yet...But I pay it all off, don't see it much a problem.

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Skin Art Squared
May 21, 2009 5:14 PM
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Be careful with Capital One. They are one of the sneakiest card companies out there. I've had their card for over ten years, when all the sudden I got one of their love letters in the mail giving me the choice of having my APR jacked to 24% or opting out and closing the card. I chose to close the card.

A month later I noticed there was a fee added to my 'closed' account. So I called to ask wtf. I was told they have no way of knowing if my account is open or closed.

Think about that for a minute... this is a company whose business is the MANAGING OF ACCOUNTS. It's all they do. Yet, supposedly they have no way of knowing whether my account is open or closed. So rather than argue, I simply said, close the account now and then we'll both be sure it's closed. I was told, 'We cannot just close an account.'

So now, we don't know if it's open or closed, and it doesn't matter because they can't close an account anyway. Following this logic, the account is obviously still open, and why it was able to incur some random fee. Capital One really has the system beat.

Step 1. Never close an account.
Step 2. Add fees.
Step 3. Insure account stays open no matter what customer wishes.
Step 4. Profit.

Bank of America is running a close 2nd though. They called the other day and tried for 30 minutes to convince me that my 2nd mortgage is an unsecured loan. I'm still not sure why, or how this would benefit them, but they still insist it's unsecured even though my MORTGAGE DOCUMENTS state otherwise.

I think the banks are beginning to panic & the weirdness is rolling out.

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craptastico
May 21, 2009 5:18 PM
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if they're worried about their credit score they should just keep the account open, and not use the card. if they never use the card(or don't carry a balance) it doesnt matter what rate they're charging. the writer says he has other cards with rates below 9.9, just use those

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Coyote
May 21, 2009 6:37 PM
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@craptastico: I would hazard a guess that adding new annual fees, empty account fees, account information look up fees, statement mailing fees, and whatever other clever ways to screw their customers they can come up with you won't want to keep the card at all.

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Lameth
May 21, 2009 6:28 PM
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@craptastico: I am by no means a credit consultant, but I had heard that with the recent change to credit scoring, not having balance at all on a single card could negatively impact your credit. Anyone know about this?

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jc364
May 21, 2009 5:24 PM
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Of all credit card companies, I find Capital One to be especially crappy.

I too am one of the ones receiving a rate hike; good thing I don't carry a balance.

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morganlh85
May 21, 2009 5:24 PM
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I got the same letter. Interest rate wasn't awesome to begin with (14.9% or something) but now it's ridiculous. I have three cards, one Chase, one Visa, one Discover, and have gotten letters from ALL OF THEM telling me my rates are going up! Now I have to close all the accounts and eff up my credit score even further.

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frank64
May 21, 2009 5:59 PM
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@morganlh85: Your score will not really go down if you don't have a balance. You will then have little debt and can get one from a small bank or CU.

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Coles_Law
May 21, 2009 6:32 PM
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@frank64: Actually, it will go down, since the amount of available credit is lowered.

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mobilehavoc
May 21, 2009 5:29 PM
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Hmmm, I currently have a capitalone visa that has a 90-day same as cash policy on all new purchases. i.e. If I buy something for $100 today as long as I pay it off in 90 days (3 billing cycles) the interest doesn't hit (although it's accrued).

I wonder if they'll kill this. It's a great way if you can keep up with the math using spreadsheets of basically having an interest free credit card

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Crystal Groves
May 21, 2009 5:32 PM
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I got the same notice, but my rate was 14%. Looks like they are raising -everyone- to 17.9%.

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Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
May 21, 2009 5:36 PM
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When I received a letter from my credit card company last week, I braced myself and figured \"They're going to up my fixed 10.9% to 29.9 most likely.\" I was shocked that instead they RAISED my credit limit by 2500,and didn't touch my interest rate. Have I somehow slipped into an alternate dimension? Or could it be that I'm Canadian?

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Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!)
May 21, 2009 6:28 PM
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@Whiskey Tango Foxtrot: I just had the limit on one of my cards increased quite a bit. For no apparent reason.

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2 replies
May 21, 2009 5:49 PM
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@Whiskey Tango Foxtrot:
My limit went up too.
I didn't notice any APR increase though...but then I didn't look closely either.

But it wouldn't bother me since I pay off both of my cards in full each month, and only use my Capital One when the place won't take Discover. I usually only have a $200 - $300 balance to pay off on my Cap1 card.

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absentmindedjwc
May 21, 2009 5:40 PM
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@Whiskey Tango Foxtrot: not Canadian, and they upped my limit by about $5,000 without touching my 8.5% rate. There seems to be no method to their madness.

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tripnman
May 21, 2009 5:55 PM
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Count me in too - we received this notification from Cap One in Tuesday's mail. They are raising the rate on my business account to 22.9% from 8.99%. Of course, to them I am not a good customer - we max out the card every month then pay it in full (for the points). As pointed out above, I may consider still using the card since we don't pay interest, but our BoA business account has a much higher limit, a significantly lower APR and better rewards. You can guess where the big dollars will go now. Bite me, Cap One. You're no longer in my wallet.

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RStui
May 21, 2009 5:56 PM
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I only have two general credit card accounts (the others are store cards), Citi and Chase. Citi I'm shutting down, and they've lowered my interest to 0% for a year to help me. All I did was call.


Chase I have yet to call, but I plan to next month. I'm not worried about the hit to my credit score. I really view that as just another measure the banks/cc use to curb unwanted consumer behavior (like closing accounts). So I don't let the Bank Man keep me down.


Some might say I'm ignoring reality, but honestly, so far it has no impacted my ability to get credit.

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Apeweek
May 21, 2009 5:57 PM
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Yep, me too - I've been a good Cap One cardholder for over 10 years - I thought it was a bluff, I cleared my balance, hooked up another sub-10% card for myself, and called them to close the account. They let me do it! Not a word to try to stop me. Weird.

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GavinEstecado
May 21, 2009 6:00 PM
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Same here. I opted for them to suck it. Come august I will have no valid credit card....

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redskull
May 21, 2009 6:01 PM
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Forgive my ignorance, but what exactly happens when a credit card company closes your account? Do they send you a bill for the entire balance? Or do you just keep paying on the balance, but can't ever use the card again?

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mac-phisto
May 21, 2009 7:38 PM
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@redskull: it's usually the 2nd one - i think they calculate your payments for a 5-yr payoff or something like that.

although, BE WARNED!! i closed an account with discover back ~2000 - what a nightmare:
-2 months after they closed my account, they stopped sending me bills.
-a month later, my account \"disappeared\". that is, when i sent a check, it was cashed, but when i called in to discuss the account (& the lack of a bill), no one could find my account.
-6 months later, the account \"reappeared\" at a collection agency - & the balance had more than doubled (from ~$1000 to $2800).

man, i wish consumerist was around back then. i paid off the collection agency, but knowing what i know today (thanks in a large part to this site), i would've done things A LOT differently.

my suggestion? pay off the account before you close it.

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buttons
May 21, 2009 6:11 PM
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Eh. I've carried a small balance on mine for over a decade, and they're pulling this shit on me too. No skin off my back, bozos; ther check's in the mail.

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bibliophibian
May 21, 2009 6:20 PM
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*sigh* I just got off the phone with my father, who's received a rate increase notice, \"because of that frikkin' Commie asshole Obama getting in the frikkin' White House and sending the whole world to frikkin' hell,\" and I quote. I know it's a waste of my time and energy, but can anyone suggest any good, non-partisan, time-line type links to help illustrate the point that this is not necessarily a direct result of any one person's action or inaction? (Translate: Pointing out Bush's \"contributions\" to the current state of the economy is not going to do a damn bit of good.)

Also: Why not just say \"fucking\"? Everyone knows that's what you mean...

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Coyote
May 21, 2009 7:47 PM
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@bibliophibian: The best place to start is looking into the creation of the Federal Reserve. Everything pretty much started when banks were allowed to print their own money*.

*figuratively speaking, the government still is the only one able to print. The value of the dollar is no longer gold backed, its value is decided by a group of governors and (surprise) bankers.

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Justin Harcrow
May 21, 2009 7:02 PM
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Same rate hike for me as well. I called 30 seconds later and declined the changes. I had that card for 6 years and usually carried a balance. I always made more than the minimum payments but basically gave them their finance charges every month. Apparently my money isn't good enough for them. I often wonder if credit unions have daily laughing breaks to let out their happiness with what banks are doing.

My fiance also has a CO card so I was curious if I called using her number if it would let me opt out and sure enough it did. Funny thing was she didn't even receive a notice yet.

As for a credit rating drop.... I say bring it on.

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Steve Rhode
May 21, 2009 7:09 PM
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You could always use the card but pay the balance off before the due date. That way the interest charged is 0%.

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redskull
May 21, 2009 7:19 PM
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@Steve Rhode: Not necessarily-- didn't the credit companies say that one of the things they were contemplating was \"instant interest?\" Charging interest from the moment of purchase?

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tripnman
May 21, 2009 7:38 PM
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@redskull: If they do this, I will bury them in transactions. I'll purchase something on one card, then make an online transfer that night to pay it off, rinse, repeat, daily. That sounds like fun.

No, not really, but I would think about it.

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Daniel Kipnis
May 21, 2009 7:12 PM
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Remember, more credit means more debt. Increasing your credit limit is not doing you any favors.

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AliyaBabasaur
May 21, 2009 8:39 PM
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@Daniel Kipnis: wrong. Increasing your credit reduces your debt-to-credit ratio, which IMPROVES your credit score. The only way this would hurt you was if you decided to keep your card maxed out or decided to keep a much larger balance on the card. But ceteris parabis, the increase in your credit limit is a good thing.

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NeverLetMeDown
May 21, 2009 8:36 PM
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@Daniel Kipnis:


That's just not true. That's sort of like saying \"if your new car has a top speed of 160, and your old one had a top speed of 130, you're going to speed more in your new car.\"


I have three cards with credit lines over $25k - I pay everything off monthly, and rarely have a bill over $4k.

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Saboth
May 21, 2009 7:21 PM
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Do they actually think they will make money by doing this? I'd just transfer my balance to another card and never use this card if they did that to me.

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foodporncess
May 21, 2009 7:21 PM
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I've only had my card for a year, and it was 0% for the first year and was to go to 9.99 after that (it's supposed to happen this month, but I'm paying it in full this Saturday). According to my notice, I will go to 17.99 in January 2010.

Of course, I'm never using it again so all of this is moot. I'm sure they'll slash my limit to like, $50, but who cares if I'm not using it? My utilization will still be 0.

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Coyote
May 21, 2009 8:56 PM
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@foodporncess: There is bound to be something illegal going on if they can change an introductory rate even before it takes effect. I would consider any contract null and void if one side says you'll get this in 1 year, then even before the year is up they decide they need more.

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H3ion
May 21, 2009 8:16 PM
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They can raise their rate to whatever they want as long as they stop sending me junk mail. I get at least 2-3 per week, every week.

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NotYou007
May 21, 2009 9:45 PM
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Just checked my mail and my rate is going to 22.9% as of Jan 2011 but I don't carry a balance. I do use the card but I pay it off well before they can charge me any sort of intrest. I only accepted the card because it was intrest free for six months and I let them have one month of intrest. I felt I should give them a few dollars for the fun of it but paid it off the next month. I have a balance of just under 1000 dollars on the card at the moment but payment is not due to middle of June and I will pay it off before this month ends.


Raise my rate. I don't care. I will keep the card as it has a high limit, for now at least.

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skitzogreg
May 21, 2009 10:33 PM
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Like the rest of you, I recieved the letter yesterday as well. I never keep a balance on the card, so I'm not going to cancel, but rest assured I am not happy. Just the other month, American Express flat out cancelled my card for no reason. I have a good credit rating and I cannot figure out what's going on.

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Anonymous
May 21, 2009 10:40 PM
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I say, \"Let them try and screw the customer over.\" They think they're facing a \"tough economy\" now, just wait until people aren't using their accounts, only closing them if the card companies reinstate annual fees. All those dormant accounts, with customers using cash, check, or debit card, will cost those companies plenty in maintenance costs. If consumers revolt, companies would be begging to get cardholders back under the old \"economically challenging\" terms.

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lalaland13
May 21, 2009 10:43 PM
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Well, CapOne has already raised my rate to something like 24 percent, so what's next for them? Mother of pearl, what fuckery is this? When they pulled the first stunt, I paid it down to less than $100, and am maintaining that. My Chase one has a higher limit anyway. Blurgh.

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adrew
May 21, 2009 11:58 PM
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I've had a Capital One card since 2004 when I succumbed to their offer of a fixed 4.9% APR forever, which I actually got to keep until last year when they did the last round of across-the-board rate increases. That bumped it to 9.9% but I was able to get it lowered to 8.9% with a promotion for good customers.

I have excellent credit, have never had a late payment and always pay substantially more than the minimum -- and they're more than doubling my APR to 17.9%!

I carry a balance but it will be paid off over the next few months and then that's it for them. It really pisses me off that they are ramming these rate increases in before the new credit card laws go into effect.

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wishlish
May 22, 2009 4:01 AM
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I got the same notice- they wanted to raise my rate from 13.9 to 23% in three months. If I opted out, my account would close, but my 13.9 rate would be safe for the remaining balance (which will take me a few months to pay off). I opted out. It's a shame- Cap 1 was the first bank to lend to me as I rebuilt my credit. I would have loved to stay with them, but I know when I'm not wanted.

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Anonymous
May 25, 2009 7:09 PM
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I have had a Cap One card for about 2 years. I got a notice saying that my rate was going from 10% to 24.9% and as an added bonus I get to pay a $50 per year carrying charge. Time to pay off and dump them.

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nmjohn
May 25, 2009 7:21 PM
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Got one in the mail too. My interest rate is over double to 17.9%. I only received a notice on my card with the larger credit limit though, the one with $1,000 limit has received no notice of a hike. I guess this is a good time to cash in my rewards and switch to Chase Mastercard.

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Anonymous
June 1, 2009 3:26 AM
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Yeah, this is actually Capital One change part 2. The first one was sent out in February and went into effect in May.

I was an Account Manager with Capital One, and I can tell you this is pretty much non-negotiable. I've had people try to weasel out of this in every way you can name and three you can't, so lets just skip that and get to the point.

There are two options, accept, or decline. If you accept, it changes, if you decline, it doesn't but your account closes. That's it. sometimes there are offers for extending your current rate for a while (remember to ask, they wont always offer unless you threaten to close the account) sometime there aren't.

No, I can't just fix it in the computer, I don't want to get fired.

These decisions were made way above the heads of the people you talk to on the phone, they can't give you any new options.

Also, if you opt out, it's going to hit your credit for closed via consumer req.

Well, any questions?

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