Absolutely furious!!!

How is it fradulent when it is in the contract? Shouldn't you read the contract before you sign up for anything?

That's the problem with America today. Too much "gimme now" and not enough saving.

with the exception of your last statement you are guest.however that doesn't mean what the cc companies are doing is right either.in these times instead of going for the throat they should try to help the consumer.not make things harder.

I am not sure I understand your first statement paulmergel.

When a consumer agrees to the terms provided by the creditor then the consumer ceases to be anything but a dollar sign; they have no reason to continue to intice you- you are hooked. A creditor does not have feelings, only the consumer does. When Americans wake up and realize that most creditors do not give a flying fig what personal problems the consumer has the better off I believe Americans will be. We will begin to take care of our money like our grandparents did and their parents before them.

Quote:

I am going through a divorce so natch my income in not what it once was ESPECIALLY due to this failing economy, SO i had the AUDACITY to use MY CARDS (which were at 0 at the time by the way) to set myself up in new living arrangements; spent my WHOLE 7000 403B refund check on paying down those cards and they CUT ME OFF at what i owed and i had a high credit limit. Am helping out fiance with cancer due to losing his med insurance and working temp jobs till i find something permanent. I had just signed on with a debt mgt service but now i can't even afford that! Thanks MasterCARD...PRICELESS!!! Good luck with what you are going through, remember, we are just a number to them.....

What makes you think I haven't walked in "their" shoes? Or that I am not in "their" shoes right now? Just because I realize that creditors don't want you to cry on their shoulder when you can't give them their money when they want it doesn't make me any different. When we affix our signature to the application we cease to be anyhting other than numbers on a ledger to them.

Quote:

My mothers parents passed on with no debt left to the family and 1 acer left to each child. I spent many summers there and they lived very modestly. As far as I can remeber they had 3 credit cards, Montgomery Ward, Sears and Texaco. Each card was paid off each month.

My fathers parents, one passed and one living, live slightly better off that my mothers parents had. Their home is paid and so is the one vehicle. Last time I helped my grandfather with his bills after my grandmother passed away they did not exceed his monthly income to a degree that would hinder a comfortable living.

Each set of grandparents have and have had health issues that required emergency medical attention from time to time that caused an unexpected bills. It is my opinion that because they learned to be modest in their living they were/are able to live satisfactory lives.

My husbands grandparents, on his fathers side, are fortunate enough to have a lot of financial savy and live extremely well off. Everything they own is paid off, there is no debt. We taught them how they can get a free credit report from the three major agencies last year so I can say with complete actuality that there is no credit card debt.

The grandparents on his mothers side live differently. They are still paying down two mortages on their home and have credit card debt up to their ears.

Just useing these four examples I would say that the elderly have a more clear grasp on how to manage their money and not to exceed too much into the "I want now" as do many Americans, such as myself, live today.

Basically, we need to stop living beyond our means! I agree!

I just got off the phone with HSBC and they screwed me too. I did not get the last statement for January and because I "didn't pay it" they raised my interest to 32.2%.....!!!!!!!!!!!
I had to fight and argue with them to waive the late fee and phone fee, but they would not budge on the interest. They stated there was nothing they could do, even though it wasn't my fault... Bull..... there is something they can do, but they are choosing not to! HSBC was the best credit company I had ever with such low interest... 8.9%, but they just lost a customer...

I do agree that we do need to stop living beyond our means; however when it comes to our grandparents' generation, bear in mind that homes were priced waaay more cheaply back then. Think about it, for $20,000, you could get a very decent house. Those $20,000 homes of yesterday are worth five times that today, right? And that means that Grandma and Grandpa have tons of equity. That's really something to think about.

max out the cards and file BK 7 .SCREEEEEEEW THEM

the above stupidity..er commentary is MFRKIN'S alone.nobody else has that point of view...i hope.

I feel your pain. My credit record is excellent. My payments are on time. Nevertheless, my interest rate was raised from 9.99% to 17.9%. Luckily, I don't carry a balance. Their explanation: financial crisis, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla. I don't buy it. My advice: take a stand! Get a different credit card, if possible. Don't support companies who will bleed you dry. I did. My new one has an introductory APR of 3.9%, thereafter 6.9%.

BoC has just done the same to me. Never late on anything and i was raised from 7% to 18%. They mentioned the same "opt out" letter...which I never received as well. They are being really stupid by taking from their good customers to balance out the bad. What they will end up with in the long run is a bunch of bad customers. I have paid my balance off and canceled the account.

I have heard the companies are doing this to EVERYONE to get in under the new laws that are going into effect preventing such a move. When the govt reformed cc law this past spring they did not take into account that this could happen. Cards are gouging for all they can get as a "last hurrah".