MBNA raises rate, no reason

[singinjeannie]

I have a large amount on one Credit Card, all due to an offer of a 4.7% rate "until paid off". Well, I transferred several other accounts over to this rate thinking -- great, I'll have this good rate and save a bunch of money.

Well, after having this account for several years, they just decided to bump my rate up to 17.9% -- and i have no idea why.

I've called every number I can find for them, and all of them take you to the same automated system that tells you nothing (account balance, address to send payment, etc. No number to push to speak to a real person).

Anyway, two things, anyone have any idea how I can find a number where I can talk to a real person to find out why the heck they raised my rate and to demand it get lowered back down?

BTW, I'm never late on any payment and have always paid at least the minimum amount due, and usually some amount higher.

This stinks and they'll lose my business RIGHT NOW.

-Jean

[34saving]

1) Often if you push nothing on the automated lines they'll eventually send you to a real person or give you the option to get to a real person.

2) If that doesn't work try an option that might not be appropriate, but seems to be the kind of thing that would require a real person. (For example, I bet the computer doesn't hand out credit line increases.)

3) If that doesn't work you can call their "My card has been stolen" phone number on the back of the card. Tell them that's the only number you could get through on and that you need a real person in customer service. They'll probably be irritated, but I bet they'll get you transferred.

Good luck!!

[esmeralda]

I've had simialar experiences with MBNA. I currently have one card with them. I just closed the other account last week!!! The remaining card is at the top of the avalanche and I hope to pay it off by November.

However, I had accounts with them in the mid 90's and the jump in interest rate happened to me then too. Now that we are discussing it, I think that's why I stopped doing business with them in the first place.

Sorry, dont have any advice on numbers to call.

[singinjeannie]

I have to tell you, my "minimum monthly payment" went from $90 to $264. I can't afford that. It just blows my mind.

They are penny wise, pound foolish. I have great credit and will switch this amount over to other credit cards, tell everyone I know about that they are scum bags, and they'll never see another dime from me. They would have made quite a bit on me over the next few years while I paid this balance off, now, they'll get their one or two months worth of high-interest, and never see me again.

This isn't the way you treat your "good" customers. What a bunch of idiots. Hope people wise up to these CC companies and what scum they are.

Good-bye, MBNA, for good.

-Jean

[jmjj215]

Hope people wise up to these CC companies and what scum they are.

Amen!

Now transfer/channel your disgust for MBNA and other CC companies into a positive energy that will get you just hammering away at that CC debt with intensity!

[singinjeannie]

Okay, I finally got in touch with a "real" person. Thanks for the info, I just held the line and let all the "press 4 if you'd like, this and press 5 if you'd like this."

After a whole bunch of these, I heard a long period of silence and then finally, "If you'd like to speak with a service representative...!" FINALLY!

Anyway, they told me that my 4.7% was only an Introductory rate, which I really doubt because I remember reading the info on those checks very closely and then only using them when I thought they were until "Paid In Full."

They have graciously (NOT) allowed me to lower my rate to 13.8% -- their "premier" rate. OH - GIVE ME A BREAK!

WOW! 13.8% How wonderful!!! (read sarcasm, here.)

I will very quickly be moving this debt to much lower interest rates and they won't get one dime more from me.

I hate being in debt. How I wish I could find a way to get out of this mess.

Thanks for letting me vent.

SIGH.
Jean

[34saving]

Standard disclosure: I know nothing about anything. Now, I saw this in the paper and remembered you.

Citi is offering 0% APR on balance transfers until 6/1/06 and supposedly no balance transfer fee. I know it's not for the life of the transfer, but at least it could buy you a year . . .

www.rebate.citicards.com
1-800-368-1259

[Tree0164]

I have had MBNA for years. I have never seen them offer a special until it was paid off. I used them to play the CC game. They are sneaky.

I would contact some of the those credit card companies where you transfered the balance from to see if they have a nice rate where you can transfer back to. I did this many times with 3 cards once the introductionary rates were over.

[singinjeannie]

Well, I've been known to be wrong before, but just don't know why I would've transferred all that debt over to MBNA if it was an intro rate, since I knew I couldn't get it paid off in a year (without winning the lottery).

I don't know why I wouldn't have used one of those "0% for a year" offers instead.

On another note, Chase just raised my rate from 4.9% to 17.9% also. I don't know what the heck is going on. I KNOW their rate was a 4.9% until paid in full as I get those offers from them every week. New checks from Chase come in the mail every week for 4.9% until paid in full. Geeze. These people stink and I'm getting very depressed. At these high rates, these cards will never be paid off. Do they just want people to file bankrupcy!????

(No, I'm not considering it.)

-Jean

[34saving]

Two cards doing that to you at the same time seems kind of weird. Have you checked your credit report lately? (Just to make sure something weird didn't show up there?)

[singinjeannie]

All I can figure is that I applied to re-mortgage my house this month.

I just read that CC Companies will raise your rate simply because you apply for additional credit. Now, I'm not applying for any increase in credit line or more credit, just taking my mortgage and my LOC and putting them together into one loan.

This will free up money for me to pay down other outstanding debt (my plan) and get me debt free in less than 3 years. This will be wonderful!!! But, if they keep raising my rates, I'll never be able to pay them off.

My credit rating is 705 right now, according to the info I got from my mortgage company.

Pretty much they've written their fine print so they can raise your rate for any reason at all and you can't say anything about it. You can just ditch them and get someone else until that new company tries to screw you over. Unbelievable!


CAN'T WAIT TO BE DEBT FREE! CAN'T WAIT TO BE DEBT FREE! CAN'T WAIT TO BE DEBT FREE!

-Jean

[jmjj215]

Be viscious with your debt Jean. Get crazy about generating more cash to pay off the debt - not JUST - shopping for lower interest rates! You can do it!

[singinjeannie]

Believe me. I want to be viscious. I went back to work (which has been disasterous on my family) so we could make ends meet. Now that ends are meeting, we're trying to find some way to get the debt snowball going. It seems every month something comes up to take away any "extra" we plan to put toward the debt.

We've been trying to do the Dave Ramsey debt reduction plan and just coming up with baby-step one has proved impossible. We got $700 in the bank a few months back and then had $700 worth of disasters.

Living itself is just so much more expensive now. Seems the only thing that hasn't gone up is our income!!! My DH works about 60 hours a week, and as soon as he comes home, I leave to start my evening job. There really isn't any time left to earn extra money. I've sold a bunch of stuff on ebay, but the fees eat up much of what we make there, so this hasn't profited us very much. Seems you sell one thing and it looks like you'll make a nice profit on it, then three other things don't sell and you just pay listing fees on them for no income at all, making things not work out so well, income wise.

We have 4 children, two of them small (19 mos, 4 years, 10 yrs and 13 yrs.) and the younger ones make it hard to have time to make extra cash, as you always have to pay a babysitter to go and work. I'd earn nothing if I tried to work extra hours during the day. (I've done the math, and at my current salary, after taxes and daycare, I'd basically be a volunteer!)

I'm still hopeful, though, and I'm am very, very focused on trying to find a way to make this happen. We'll have no financial future if we don't.

-Jean

[Tree0164]

Jean,
It may have been the mortgage refinance that caused them to up the rates.

You will do this. I know you have been working really hard in trying to get this to work. I think Dave Ramsey's plan is fanstastic.

Keep plugging along.

[singinjeannie]

One more point to mention. My MBNA account was pretty close to the limit. Within $300. Because I paid just a bit over the minimum each month (as it was sort of low on my snowball list) I wasn't making much progress on it.

When they upped my rate, the new interest charged took me to within $50 of my limit, so unless I send them a bunch of money, I will be going over my credit limit and be charged a fee simply because of the higher interest rate.

Ohhhhhh. These people have really ticked me off.

-Jean, again.

[esmeralda]

I have another rant about MBNA. When I mail in my payments, sometimes it takes them nearly two weeks to post them to my account. I sent in one on the 29th and it still is not posted.

This has happened before and when I called, a customer service rep repeatedly, repeatedly assured me that the check must have been shredded because payments are opened bya machine. And then the envelopes are shredded. There is a person checking to make sure nothing important gets lost (riiiiight.) In this case, I sent in a second payment to avoid incurring a late fee, only to see the first one post a day or two later. Since I am paying as much as I can, this second check would have bounced like rubber had it cleared in a timely fashion.

Fortunately, they were so slow to post the second one that in the meantime I was paid and everything went off without a hitch.

My account with MBNA is the one at the top of my avalanche. All I know is that in the past two months since I have been trying to pay it off, things keep happening to impede this goal. And I am not the bottleneck in the process.

I could pay on-line, which I probably will start doing. But I also dont like their interface and get very flustered everytime I use it. I am rebelling by mailing in my payments, but see that with the extended lag (where they are earning more interest) I am hurting myself.

Six months, if not sooner and I hope to be done with them.

[singinjeannie]

Wow! That's something I never noticed about them. I just never checked when the checks actually posted. How amazing and crooked.

[esmeralda]

Okay, now they are really on my s-list.

The payment mailed on the 29th finally was posted to my account last night. The posting date is 5/10 but the transaction date is 5/06. Why the four day difference?

Complaint #2 - this is where it gets good. This morning at 9:00 I needed to buy some bread for my lunch, so I stopped at the local Alberstons. The charge is already listed on my account. No lie!!! I just checked it on-line. Could not believe it.

Interest is incurred immediately while my payments take TWO weeks to be credited to my account. They are getting their (my) money coming and going. Tonight I am looking for a new account so I can transfer my balance. This is ridiculous.

[jmjj215]

Jean,
It sounds like you're really busting it big time! You can do this. Is your DH totally on board?

[singinjeannie]

I don't know if we're succeeding, but we sure are trying. My DH is only somewhat on board. He won't read the Financial Peace book and he won't take a FPU, insisting that we won't do what's necessary (i.e., meet regularly on the budget) so he doesn't want to waste the money and time to go to a FPU. I think it would be tremendously valuable for us to attend one and get completely on the same page.

I don't think he gets the idea of never, ever using credit for anything ever again. That was very foreign to me until I read the book and then started listening to DR on the radio. Now I understand that it can be done. My DH doesn't exactly get this.

Now, the part I struggle with is living within our means. (Doesn't everyone?). I've been trying to develop a workable budget for months now, and haven't been successful. We always seem to end up broke or in the hole at the end of the month. It's also been impossible to find "extra" money to put toward the debt to get the debt snowball moving, which is why we've gone to re-finance the house once again. I'm not rolling any additional debt into the house, just trying to lower the monthly minimum payment so I can use some of the money that would've gone toware the house and use it to pay off the other smaller debts. Once I have those paid off, I can concentrate on getting the house taken care of.

Until MBNA changed my rate and, once again, threw my budget into a tailspin and total confusion, I had it all figured out. Now I have to start over again, trying to find other creditors to surf this debt over to so I'm not paying these rediculous rates. Once I have that debt re-surfed, I can re-do the budget once again, and re-figure the debt snowball.

This is so hard. I never thought it would take as much time as it does.
-Jean