How is your credit card company responding to the current market? Have they changed your terms?

We have a creditor who pulled a very slick routine with us this week.





They offered us a balance transfer with 5.99% APR for the life of the loan that had to be transferred by November 27th. We took advantage of the offer, and then found out TODAY (Dec 1) that they have already changed the terms. We either have to accept





a. A monthly service fee AND an increased minimum payment from 2% to 5% of the balance (which more than doubles our payment each month), OR





b. go to 7.99% APR for two years only, and keep it at 2% minimum payment and no service charge (but a higher interest rate and a shorter term than we agreed to just five days ago), OR





c. pay the balance of the loan in full.





Yeah, like most people, we are in such a position to either double up on our payments or pay the balance in full......leaving us essentially no other option than to go with a higher APR than what they conned us into.





This is a MAJOR credit card company, and no fly by night as we would have defined it before today. When I asked them how they could legally penalize us this way and change the terms so capriciously, their reply was they had every legal right to make the change, and this was their response to the fluctuations in the market.





I would have thought the Fair Credit Reporting Act would have protected consumers better than this, but apparently not. It would seem that creditors can change terms at will, even as early as one week after the transfer has been made.





And we were told there were no %26quot;opt-outs%26quot; except the options presented.





My question is have you experienced any changes in the terms of agreement with your creditor(s) since the recent downfall in the economy, and how did you respond to it if you did?














|||If I had to guess I would say your bank is CHASE, because what you have written is exactly what Chase has done to me.





Yes I got one of those change in terms papers with my statement, and I have never been late with a payment or missed a payment in my life with them or anyone else, the only difference between us is my rate was 4.99% APR fixed for the life of the loan, and I have had it more than a week.





I have been on the phone for two days.





Call your bank, and if they don%26#039;t do anything for you, call the Comptroller of the Currency (202) 874-4700 they are the ones that told the banks that they could do this to us. You need to file a complaint.





If you want to email them instead


http://www.occ.treas.gov/mail1.htm





Also call your Senators, Congressmen, and the Attorney General.





We must all be vocal and let them all know that we are not going to be treated unjustly.|||I haven%26#039;t yet had my credit card terms change (in this economy), but several years ago I did receive notices to change in terms. My debt to income ratio had gotten large and 2 cards were going to up my APR. I wasn%26#039;t able to talk them out of it, so I cancelled the cards. I had the well hidden option of canceling the card before the new terms automatically took effect, so I was grandfathered to the previous terms I had when I accepted the credit in the first place.





If you have free legal care through your work perhaps you can talk to them. I%26#039;m not a financial expert, but I thought with lines of credit they couldn%26#039;t immediately change your terms. It%26#039;s not uncommon that companies sneakily put a tiny piece of paper with microscopic jargon stating your rates will be going up in 30 to 90 days, but immediate?|||Yeah, when they passed the Check 21 law there were a lot of hidden loopholes for credit card companies to change the terms of their lines by merely including disclosures or offering other means of %26quot;refinancing%26quot; with balance transfer checks. I have had nearly every card offer me credit limit increases, but pay off my balances monthly so I haven%26#039;t experienced any of their new tricky little bait and switch schemes. I understand by watching the financial pundits on CNN and CNBC that there is going to be a lot more credit card companies taking advantage of these loopholes as they protect themselves from what they see as the next credit crisis which they assume is credit card default as the unemployment numbers continue to increase.|||No, mine hasn%26#039;t changed yet but I am looking for it to. The fine print says they can change the percentage anytime. I have been trying to pay the interest of the account AND the minimum payment so far. It is getting ridiculous to have to keep up with this since I am on a lower income than I was when I first got the card.