alexgaddis Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 I am sure many of you have similar stories to this one...My wife and I have a credit card through Bank of America, although it could be any bank, they are all the same...we have a balance of about $3K on it and when I switched jobs money was awfully tight...I always pay the card online and went to do so when we had budgeted enough...it was a day before it was due but it was a Saturday afternoon...The payment would not post until Monday...it was the same if I did it over the phone, it would post on Monday...so figuring that I had no choice, I made the payment to post a day late... our Interest Rate went from 14% to 32%... We tried to get it lowered by explaining the situation to them and they told us we would have to pay on time for 6 months at 32% to get the rate back to normal... They can all go to hell as far as I am concerned...It amazes me that they can get away with this nonsense.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 (edited) Why do you hate America? In all seriousness though, if your credit rating is good enough I'm sure you have enough balance transfer options. After taking care of my credit obligations years ago, I've made a point of having a rainy day fund in the bank and refuse to pay interest Edited May 10, 2007 by bushwacked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purple Haze Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 Write them a bad check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 balance transfer There's the answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Holy Roller Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 I am sure many of you have similar stories to this one...My wife and I have a credit card through Bank of America, although it could be any bank, they are all the same...we have a balance of about $3K on it and when I switched jobs money was awfully tight...I always pay the card online and went to do so when we had budgeted enough...it was a day before it was due but it was a Saturday afternoon...The payment would not post until Monday...it was the same if I did it over the phone, it would post on Monday...so figuring that I had no choice, I made the payment to post a day late... our Interest Rate went from 14% to 32%... We tried to get it lowered by explaining the situation to them and they told us we would have to pay on time for 6 months at 32% to get the rate back to normal... They can all go to hell as far as I am concerned...It amazes me that they can get away with this nonsense.. They are thievin' bastages just like insurance companies and the oil industry. I'd close that account and use a balance transfer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dug Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 They are thievin' bastages just like insurance companies and the oil industry. I'd close that account and use a balance transfer. do a balance transfer, but do not close the account (unless you have a high fee to keep it open). we have been playing the transfer gave for a little while now and have found out that it is better for your credit rating to have multiple accounts open (that show you have a larger line of credit) than to pay off a card and close it. the credit rating companies see that as a lowering of available creidt, and thus see you as a higher risk and lower your rating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdrudge Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 do a balance transfer, but do not close the account (unless you have a high fee to keep it open). we have been playing the transfer gave for a little while now and have found out that it is better for your credit rating to have multiple accounts open (that show you have a larger line of credit) than to pay off a card and close it. the credit rating companies see that as a lowering of available creidt, and thus see you as a higher risk and lower your rating. To some degree you are correct. However too much available credit can also impact your score. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 do a balance transfer, but do not close the account (unless you have a high fee to keep it open). we have been playing the transfer gave for a little while now and have found out that it is better for your credit rating to have multiple accounts open (that show you have a larger line of credit) than to pay off a card and close it. the credit rating companies see that as a lowering of available creidt, and thus see you as a higher risk and lower your rating. To some degree you are correct. However too much available credit can also impact your score. You're both right. Having a dozen CCs increases the potential risk but keeping CC accounts open that you don't use shows length of credit and responsibility. I received my comprehensive credit report last week and all this was spelled out. Ideally, CCs of five years standing or more are preferred. Paying them helps too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sox Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 I had something similar happen to me.My CC went from a fixed 7.9% to 29.75%.I wasn't late on a payment or anything,they just decided to do it.My only option was to opt out and have the account closed at the old %. Grabbed a pile of credit card offers off the kitchen table,found one that had a 0% for balance transfers for a year,called em and applied and had the balance transfer done as soon as he ran it through.12 days later the balance transferred and I immediately closed out the old one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furd Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 Like others have said, transfer the balance to an account with a lower interest rate. Unless you have more than 3 or 4 other major credit cards, leave the old account open. And use the autopay option if you pay online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SayItAintSoJoe Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 (edited) our Interest Rate went from 14% to 32%... I'm curious, what did the minimum payment go up to now that the interest rate has more than doubled? In this day and age of electronic payments it is clear to see that the fact that the bank could not post the money to your account until the following Monday is just another banking scam to rip off its customers. Edited May 10, 2007 by SayItAintSoJoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicCEO Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 Balance transfer immediately. The only reason these companies do it is because lazy card owners let them. You probably also talked to some lower tier of customer service. I'm sure if you tell them you're transfering your balance and want to close the card, they will accomodate you. This move is just a test to see if they can get away with it. They would rather get some of your interest than none of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikesVikes Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 (edited) That is pretty steep and it should be an illegal interest rate, imo. Here is a what the credit card office looks like when you go over your limit or receive a late fee. Edited May 10, 2007 by MikesVikes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiegie Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 To some degree you are correct. However too much available credit can also impact your score. Are you sure about this? (I don't think it is true.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SayItAintSoJoe Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 That is pretty steep and it should be an illegal interest rate, imo. This brings up a good point. Are there any laws regarding interest rates? I thought there were supposed to be usury laws on the books to keep banks from ripping us off. The other day I saw a commercial on TV offering a $2000 unsecured loan. When they flashed the fine print I paused the screen to read it. The terms of the loan were $214 a month for 42 months to pay the loan back. That’s’ almost $9K. That's loan sharking isn't it? Have we gotten to the point where banks have enough lobbying clout in congress where usury laws are now a thing of the past and they can do whatever they want? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexgaddis Posted May 10, 2007 Author Share Posted May 10, 2007 Are you sure about this? (I don't think it is true.) Too many revolving accounts with balances is what negatively impacts the score Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukon Cornelius Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 i have one.. pay it off every month and get free hunting stuff to boot.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azazello1313 Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 Are you sure about this? (I don't think it is true.) we had a pretty drawn out and intricate discussion on this a while back, and i think the boiled-down consensus was: - yes, having too much available credit can be a bad thing, but only if it's really a lot, like more than you make in a year - credit-to-debt ratio is big positive to your credit score. which means that having available credit (as long as it's not an exorbitant amount) is good. - accounts you've had open for a long time with a lengthy payment history also reflect positively on your score. so, i think for the most part it's a good thing to keep accounts open (as long as they aren't a temptation to you), but there IS such a thing as having too much credit, even if it doesn't come into play for most people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexgaddis Posted May 10, 2007 Author Share Posted May 10, 2007 we had a pretty drawn out and intricate discussion on this a while back, and i think the boiled-down consensus was: - yes, having too much available credit can be a bad thing, but only if it's really a lot, like more than you make in a year - credit-to-debt ratio is big positive to your credit score. which means that having available credit (as long as it's not an exorbitant amount) is good. - accounts you've had open for a long time with a lengthy payment history also reflect positively on your score. so, i think for the most part it's a good thing to keep accounts open (as long as they aren't a temptation to you), but there IS such a thing as having too much credit, even if it doesn't come into play for most people. Credit ratings do not have anything to do with income... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh-mongus Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 i have one.. pay it off every month and get free hunting stuff to boot.... Cabela's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukon Cornelius Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 Cabela's? yah baby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azazello1313 Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 Credit ratings do not have anything to do with income... income has no bearing on your FICO score, correct, i should have clarified. but it is my understanding that credit-to-income, debt-to-income, and just income in general are pretty closely looked at by actual lenders. so it doesn't directly affect your FICO score but it affects your overall credit "worthiness". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexgaddis Posted May 10, 2007 Author Share Posted May 10, 2007 income has no bearing on your FICO score, correct, i should have clarified. but it is my understanding that credit-to-income, debt-to-income, and just income in general are pretty closely looked at by actual lenders. so it doesn't directly affect your FICO score but it affects your overall credit "worthiness". yes...it will affect you when applying for a loan... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Swerski Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 Balance transfer immediately. The only reason these companies do it is because lazy card owners let them. Yep. I have a card through MBNA (which I guess is Bank of America now) that had no balance on it last year because they jacked up my interest to 21%. I called and told them to cut it in half or I'd take a pair of scissors to it. They did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 income has no bearing on your FICO score, correct, i should have clarified. but it is my understanding that credit-to-income, debt-to-income, and just income in general are pretty closely looked at by actual lenders. so it doesn't directly affect your FICO score but it affects your overall credit "worthiness". Naturally the lenders look at the size of the requested credit / loan and your income (ability to pay it back). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.