Chase Raises Minimum Payments, Adds Service Fee
December 1st, 2008 by Kenneth Long
Chase has joined the growing list of credit card issuers struggling to find additional revenues in order to offset losses. These increases are expected to generate additional profits for the credit card issuer. The question is, will these changes actually increase losses by pushing more cardholders into default?
Interest Rate Increases
Chase is increasing the cash advance finance charge. The default rate has also been increased, which would only affect those cardholders that have been late on a payment, exceeded their credit limit, or otherwise given the cardholder reason to increase their rate to the default rate.
Minimum Payments Increasing
Some Chase cardholders will notice that their minimum payments will more than double. Instead of a minimum payment equal to 2% of their balance, it may increase to 5% of the balance.
These increases in the minimum payment will generally affect those cardholders that have been carrying large balances for at least 2 years. There is another potential cost also for these cardholders.
Monthly Service Fee
Some cardholders that have carried large balances for a couple of years or more will be charged a $10 service fee each month. While this may not sound like much for cardholders that carry high balances, an additional $120 a year in fees does add up. (Chase refunded these fees in March 2009 and has discontinued the practice.)
Addressing the Changes
If you are a Chase cardholder, understand that there is a lot you can do to avoid these increases. Paying off your balance in full each month will of course eliminate all interest on the account.
According to Chase spokesperson Stephanie Jacobson, most changes will be felt by cardholders that have taken advantage of promotional rates in order to carry large balances over the course of at least 2 years.
Chase has suggested that you can keep your monthly payments at their current level if you agree to the interest rate increase. For cardholders with promotional rates below 5% APR, this could be a substantial increase in monthly finance charges.
On the other hand, trying to opt out of the changes would require that you give up use of the card. This is an option that is normally available when credit card issuers make changes to account terms. However, many cardholders have reported there is no option to opt out of the changes. Instead, they are presented with an offer to either freeze the minimum payment but pay higher interest or to make a 5% minimum payment while paying an additional $10 monthly fee.
It is expected that credit card defaults will continue to rise as the economy deteriorates and credit markets freeze up. For those clients already teetering on the edge, this change could potentially push them toward insolvency.
Getting Relief
Chase clients may have additional options for getting relief from higher interest, fees and minimum payments. If you only have 1 or 2 credit cards total and have experienced a job loss, medical emergency or some other short-term financial emergency, then you might be able to negotiate a 6 month hardship. When you have several credit cards or have struggled to manage your debt on your own, then you may need to speak with a credit counselor. Find out how credit and debt counseling can help you repay your debt and avoid more challenging repayment terms.
Related Links
Chase Improves Credit Counseling Benefits [June 23, 2009]
Chase Hit With Class Action Lawsuit Over Monthly Service Fee [February 9, 2009]
Little Known Bankruptcy Score is Reason for Rate Increases [January 23, 2009]
CBS4 in Denver: Credit Companies Raise Rates on Cardholders [January 23, 2009]
This entry was posted on Monday, December 1st, 2008 at 4:10 pm and is filed under Credit Cards: Chase, Financial News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
December 11th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Chase just notified us that our 2.99% promotional rate (until the balance is paid off) is increasing to 8%, unless we pay 5% each month plus a $10/month fee. This equates to a minimum $1300 month payment. We have excellent credit and have never missed a payment. They are not honering their agreement they made with us (2.99% until the balance is paid off). This change seems criminal.
December 11th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
You may try protesting the changes in terms to your account. This could allow you to continue with the present terms but you would have to give up use of the card.
Chase does give you an option to continue with the existing terms, if you call and express your intentions to protest the changes. This is called “opting out of the changes.”
December 18th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
You can’t opt out. I was told that even if I closed my card, I would be obligated to pay under the new terms. I have a 3.99% for the life of the loan, they offered 7.99% for 2 years (then to market rate) and no acceleration of payback rate. So, either you get a 150% increase in your monthly payment (3.99% at 5% of outstanding balance a month) or a 100% increase (7.99% at 2% of outstanding balance). If you can swing it, you’re better off taking the fees then the bad 7.99% offer.
Luckily I had an option and paid off the card, and am canceling it. I’ve had the card since 1990.
Will probably close our 4 WAMU accounts also, 2 personal, 2 business. Looking for a local credit union.
December 21st, 2008 at 6:16 am
Me too! Caught up it this evil doing by chase.
First it bull that the people effected had “BIG” ballances. $7,400.00 in my case is chump change to Chase.
I hated to lose a $25,000 credit line but I paid off and close the account.
Chase lost my WaMu Savings and checking account.
No fault of the tellers, It was the chase management that chased me away.
Why should tey care about my business,Chase can tap into the TARP money and does not need customers.
Chase use to get interest (money) from me every month since 1995. Now they get nothing,Zero.
Who’s to say that the next person who gets this money will pay it month to month as well as I did. They can charge them 40% interest.
What count is getting paid back.
I stopped using my other credit cards too!
I am bitter how this industry treats it’s customers.
December 22nd, 2008 at 6:08 pm
I’ve always paid promptly. Now in Jan 09, My min mo pymt will go from 2% TO 5%!!!. PLUS $10.00 for good measure. I owe Chase $14k therefore my pymt goes from $280 to $710 monthly. THIS IS CRIMINAL. Is there a class action lawsuit being formed?
December 24th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Yup, Luckily I have good credit and quickly transfered my balance to another “life of loan” card (Charter One) at a lower fixed interest rate. Sure, I’ll eat a 3% transfer fee for moving the money, but I believe it is worth it.
The new $10 fee is a joke. I went PAPERLESS and check my balance online. Funny, I would have never KNOWN about the changes had I not pulled up the statement to find the mailing address and saw the changes in terms.
If I’m paperless, Why should they get a $10 fee from me? They don’t have to mail anything or do anything.
I left a $300 balance on the Chase card to continue the line of credit. I can pay that off slowly and the stupid $10 fee won’t kill me, just make me angry.
If you can afford to transfer or can find a better deal (even a 12 month transfer) you should dump Chase’s “life of loan” deal and kill them.
If you have another large line of open credit available to you that is not Chase, transfer it. Just make sure to keep the balance at HALF of the line of credit to keep your fico score up.
December 24th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Oh Yes, One more thing.
Credit Card companies are now slashing the Limit of credit on accounts to ruin your fico score so they can charge you a higher interest rate.
For example…If you have a line of credit for $7K and a balance of $2K, They’re lowering your line of credit to $3K. Now you’re on the brink of a MAXED out line of credit. That ruins your debt to credit ratio, lowers your fico score, so in turn, they raise your interest rates.
Do what you can to scratch and claw your way out of owing debt. Stay one step ahead of them at all times. They are sneaky little bast*rds.
December 24th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
I’m getting in touch with some friends at Hagens Berman LLP. Class action folks. I’m also getting in touch with a couple folks that I know pretty well in Congress. Frankly, the $10 bucks a month/5% is just a nuisance but I’ll go after them for the sheer sport of it for doing something so stupid.
December 26th, 2008 at 10:39 am
Some questionable credit card practices will be banned beginning in July 2010. This will eliminate the “any time for any reason” interest rate increases that several credit card issuers have utilized. See this article: Any Time for Any Reason Rate Increases Banned
This is separate from the “Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights” that stalled in Congress last year.
January 5th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Please let me know if a class action is started. I am fed up with the credit card practices and the bail-outs that are being offered by Congress to these companies. I have never been late. I have a low interest rate for the life of the loan. I was never offered an opt out for the change in monthly payments or for the new finance charge. I think for those that are less prepared than me that these changes will force them to default on their credit cards only making matters worse for our economy. If these changes are not criminal, they at the very least demonstrate that these companies do not care about the economy, their customers, or America. Companies like to hide behind the business facade pretending not to be individuals with no responsibility to what happens to their surroundings while all the time they are run by people just like you and me. Instead of rewarding those greedy, individuals responsible for destroying our economy by giving them loans, our government should be making them repay all the large bonuses, etc. to their companies. At some point, people who run the companies should be made responsible for making inappropriate and bad decisions in order to increase their bonuses and salaries, and not just with a slap on the hands.
January 5th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I’m in the same boat – took their offer, I pay more than the minimum on time every month on every card I have, and *WHAM*! Chase decides that I’m just not profitable enough for them. Too fu@#ing bad, Chase – you made an agreement, so ABIDE by it! What if I arbitrarily decided that I’d rather have a 0.00% rate than the 5.99% rate? Yeah, good luck to me.
I’m SO ready to join the class action too…if anyone has the contacts to get the ball rolling, please let me know and I’ll do whatever I can to help!
It’s time to take our country back, and cutting off Chase’s ability to screw customers and dishonor contracts is a big step in the right direction! How can they get away with this? What if they decided to impose a $100 monthly fee instead? What about $500? Where do their rights end? I’m in southern California if that makes a difference to anyone.
January 5th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
I also got a change in terms notice. Payments will now be 5% of balance and a monthly service charge of $10 added to my fixed finance charge. There is no opt out option other than to pay in full and close account.
How can this possibly be legal???
January 6th, 2009 at 7:21 am
I’m in the same boat. I noticed last week when I looked at my online statement and saw the $10 service charge. I had 3.99% until the balance was paid in full with a minimum payment of 2%. Now I get the $10 fee plus 5% minimum. I too am wondering how these changes can possibly be legal. I was on the phone with Chase for hours last week, but there is absolutely no opt out. Please keep us posted on any class action status.
January 6th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
I’ve got the same experience as everyone else who’s replied. Financially, I can afford to pay this if need be, and I can probably find a way to transfer my balance ($4500) to another bank, but here’s my question:
What are the legal repercussions of just refusing to pay? I understand that my good credit score will be hurt, badly. I’ve just purchased a house and don’t expect to have any additional major purchases any time soon. Can it be impacted? Can they go after my house? Or my paid off car? I have credit card debt with other companies, but it’s ALL under fixed rate balance transfers. I will likely contact an attorney to determine what my options are.
January 9th, 2009 at 6:28 am
Same as others here, I went paperless and check my account on-line. Couple of years ago I decied to consilidate my debt under one source, at the time they offered 3.9% for the life of the loan, I put all my debt under this and have made the payment plus extra every month. Now I get the notice they are going to charge me $10 every month and raise the repayment rate to %5!!
All without my approval and as I see it against the offer I was given in the start. They did offer the below as an option:
“An alternative is available, but it does mean giving up the current APR on your promotional rate balance(s) with no expiration date.
With this alternate offer your promotional balance(s) would be changed to a 7.99% Fixed APR. This new rate will remain in effect until the billing statement that includes January 1, 2011. After this date, the APR for any remaining portion of the balance will be the standard purchase APR associated with this account, which is a variable APR of 14.24%. If your standard APR is a variable APR, the rate mentioned above is the sum of the margin and the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Prime Rate.
Variable APRs may vary with changes in the WSJ Prime Rate.”
This is not what I was offered and accepted.
If this does go the way of a class action suit I would be interested in signing on.
January 9th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
I too have fallen victim to Chase’s scam in the same way that is described. I am not an attorney but have worked in the field. I am sure that Chase has followed advice from their many lawyers, and has attempted to make this money grab as legally viable as possible.
It is very clear that Chase entered into contracts with us, e.g., 3.99% fixed for the life of the balance, and now wants to breach those contracts because they do not like the terms that they agreed to. They came up with this creative way to effectively breach the contracts without actually technically raising the interest rate on the balances.
Chase may have followed the letter of the law, but they have not followed the spirit of the law. I can see Chase’s $10.00 fee being interpreted as the functional equivalent to changing the APR and its 3% increase of payment amount being interpreted as an unreasonable acceleration of the repayment schedule. Also, I can see Chase’s opt out offer interpreted as being unreasonable. And Chase did make a clear opt out provision on their notice, i.e., Payment in full and closure of the account within 30 days of the date of the service charge. The question is whether the opt out clause is reasonable in light of applicable laws and the contractual provisions of the terms of service.
The most disturbing thing is that we just gave Chase and other banks a whole sh**t load of free money in the bailout. If Chase is permitted to get away with this, what is to stop the banks that some of you transferred your balances to in order to avoid Chase’s scam from doing the same thing? What is to stop Chase from changing the terms of the 7.99% that some of you agreed to in order to get out of the $10.00 monthly fee and the accelerated repayment schedule? What is to stop Chase from increasing a 2% or 5% payment to 50%, 75% or 100%? What is to stop Chase from imposing a $100 or $1,000 monthly fee when they decide that they do not like the APR that they previously agreed to?
This BS has to stop, and it has to stop now! This is predatory lending pure and simple, and it will have the same effect on our economy as the last predatory lending scam did. Chase is creating a crisis so they can obtain another bailout from our tax dollars.
The only way to stop this is for all of us to follow-up with complaints with the comptroller of the currency, to our congressional representatives, and to our state and federal attorneys general. Tell your congressional representatives that they need to fix this if they want your vote. You can file these types of complaints even if you accepted one of Chase’s options. Fill out the complaint form for the Comptroller and send copies to attorneys general and congressional representatives. I would encourage those of you who cannot simply pay off your balances to take legal action. If anyone is able to file a class action, please post it here so that all of us can join or file our own.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency can be reached as follows:
Customer Assistance Specialists toll free number: 1-800-613-6743, Monday – Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Email: Customer.Assistance@occ.treas.gov.
Their websites are: http://www.occ.gov/index.htm and http://www.helpwithmybank.gov/index.html.
Your State’s Attorney General website can be found at: http://www.naag.org.
The United States Attorney General can be contacted at: http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/contact.html
Your State District’s Federal congressional representatives can be found at: http://www.house.gov/
I will be filing a complaint with the Comptroller of the Currency, both the federal and state attorneys general, and with my congressional representatives. I will also follow the opt out procedures by payment in full and closure of the account within 30 days, and I will never do business with Chase or any of its subsidiaries again. And I will tell everyone I know about this.
Oh, and one last thing, up yours Chase executives–I know you are reading this.
January 9th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Is is important to note that Chase does offer those who are experiencing financial difficulties two ways to reduce their monthly minimum payments.
First, if your hardship situation is considered temporary, then Chase may agree to grant you special terms under their hardship program. This is a short-term solution that you must reasonably be able to recover from in less than 6 months.
Second, Chase does offer very good benefits in accordance with debt management programs. In order to receive such consideration, you must complete a credit counseling session, fit the eligibility requirements and agree to put all of your credit cards into the plan.
January 9th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
They did the same shameful thing to me–I too would be very interested in a class action lawsuit.
January 9th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
To answer “Kenneth Long” reply.
I believe most of us here on this page have excellent credit–we don’t want or need mercy from Chase for a hardship, we just want them to abide by their agreement as originally made.
January 9th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Here is a link to the Comptroller of the Currency complaint form:
http://www.occ.gov/ConsumerComplaintform.pdf
January 9th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
Kenneth:
I do not see any posts on this page (or on any of the other several blogs on this subject) by individuals who would even qualify for credit counseling. If we were, Chase would not have offered us those interest rates. We were smart enough to use those offers as loans for cars, tuition, etc… and not make additional purchases with the cards and make sure we complied with our agreed responsibilities to repay on time etc… Chase does not want good creditworthy customers because they cannot trick us into making bad credit decisions. All we want is for Chase to honor the spirit of the contract that they entered into with us. We understand if Chase is having financial problems, but Chase does not understand or care if their actions cause us hardship. Chase should have only accelerated the payment schedule (2% to 4% payment) and offered an opt out that would allow us to close our accounts and repay the balance under the previously agreed terms. That would have been fair. But what they did is just unconscionable. So—Kenneth please pass this along to your superiors at JP Morgan Chase Co.
January 9th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
I also have a FICO score over 800, a low interest credit card balance transfer balance from Chase, and was one of the 740,000 or so Chase card holders who was honored to be offered the coercion of either a 250 percent increase in the minimum monthly payment (plus a new fee) or a 250 percent increase in interest rate (temporarily, to be increased to market rates in 2011).
Chase apparently did not meet the legal requirement of 15 days of advance notice to cardholders who are paperless. This may be pertinent.
Chase appears to have timed its “offer” of a new higher interest rate to maximize the obligation of cardholders to be forced to agree to it (250 percent increase in the minimum monthly payment happening just as the worst economic decline in 50 years gets going, right after the holiday season etc).
Also, it seems clear that Chase is in a practical if not necessarily in a legal sense, attempting to exthort low interest rate cardholders to assume higher interest rates, contrary to the fixed until fully retired interest rates we all thought we held (subject, of course, to Chase having the right to change this agreement however it likes regardless of the original allegedly permanent balance transfer agreement).
I see three options.
First, to ask your elected officials to support much more stringent regulation of the credit card industry–clearly, this industry (Chase in particular) are predatory. This example of even “A” list cardholders being exploited will raise a few eyebrows in the Legislature.
Second, that we do support a class action lawsuit against Chase.
Third, that we no longer do business with Chase and tell everyone we know of our experiences with this most irresponsible credit card issuer.
Chase’s behavior is particularly deplorable in light of the fact that many other financial institutions are attempting to work with their customers to make the current economic circumstances less damaging–and that Chase is a recent recipient of billions of federal (i.e., taxpayer) dollars.
January 10th, 2009 at 12:47 am
Posed by Kenneth in the opening article:
“The question is, will these changes actually increase losses by pushing more cardholders into default?”.
As we (and Chase) know, the customers who are affected by the “new terms” will respond in one of 3 ways:
1. Some will opt to pay their balances in full and most likely close their accounts at that time.
2. Some will opt to keep their existing fixed rates and pay the higher monthly minimums + the $10 “fee”.
3. Some will opt to accept the higher finance rate and continue paying their original % of balance minimums with no “fee”.
Now, if my assumption is correct that the “new terms” apply primarily (if not solely) to currently “good” customers, i.e., those who currently pay their bills on time each month, then I think Chase is banking on either (1)receiving a quick infusion of cash (from Group 1) despite the fact that they’ll likely lose this group of customers immediately and possibly forever, or (2) improving cash flow (Groups 2 & 3) until these customers have paid their balances in full – then they’ll likely jump ship also. The unknown factor, though, is how many of the currently good customers in groups 2 & 3 become marginal ones when their monthly minimums increase (especially those in group 2), and end up defaulting at some point.
So, back to Kenneth’s question: I think that Chase’s gambling on the default issue is not their only potential problem (and might not be their biggest one), because they surely must know that their actions are guaranteed to erode their (good) customer base by doing essentially what started the whole bail-out debacle in the first place – looking for the quick buck at the expense of the long-term health of their business – a very scary prospect indeed.
P.S. I’m signing up for Group 1, even if I have to sell some greatly depressed stock!
January 10th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
Same with us. 5% and $10 charge. We are looking into how to get rid of this account and have written to both of our senators and our congressman (not that our congressman will be of any help since he’s a total big money putz). We’ll be happy to join a class action suit. When will our “leaders” stand up for us and do something about these loan sharks!!
January 10th, 2009 at 10:30 pm
I also got hit with the 5% min and $10 month fee.
January 10th, 2009 at 11:51 pm
Chase left me a voicemail yesterday. I called them to day to hear my payment has increase (tripled) and the $10 fee. I understand that I had a good deal but do not believe they should not have to uphold the initial contract. I will NEVER deal with Chase again or any of it subsidiaries and will spread the word of their appalling way of doing business. And what really gripes me is its I am sure I have supported them with part of my tax dollars for the bail out. I have lost a great amount of my retirement due to the economy and now am straped with a higher payment. I am sure Chase is hoping I will miss a payment so they can raise my interest rate and get me again.
January 11th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
Thanks Brian, I have e-mail the people I can e-mail.
I have printed out the rest and will be mailing them tomorrow. This is a new low I am in total disbelief.
January 12th, 2009 at 11:29 am
In 2004, Chase gave me 0% until paid in full. 0%!!! Someone at Chase must have thought that was a good idea at the time – or were banking on me continuting to use the card or miss a payment. Well, I’ve done neither – and have only paid the minimum of this card every year for the past 5 years. Why would I ever ever ever pay a penny more? They offerred me free money! The $10 fee with no real opt-out option makes me angry beyond words. I could easily pay the balance from savings – but I DON’T WANT TO! They made me the offer, and I followed the rules! Its the principle of the thing…
January 12th, 2009 at 11:53 am
Our role is to help people preserve or rebuild their credit while attempting to repay debt as quickly as possible. Many of you who have posted here make a good point. You are able to pay the higher payments but are upset by what you perceive as a violation of the agreement you had with Chase.
I cannot comment on the legality of the changes in payment terms, but I can say that we are completely bewildered by the changes that Chase has implemented on these affected accounts. We always encourage legislation and oversight to ensure that credit card issuers operate in a fair manner.
I expect two results of this action:
1. Government intervention is likely to occur to modify these changes to the terms of repayment. How this will happen is unknown. Congressional subcommittee meetings held in 2006 pressured card issuers into abandoning certain practices, such as the “any time for any reason” rate increases and universal default increases that had previously occurred. By the way, these practices are returning.
2. Card issuers have been granted an extension until July 2010 before they must make changes to their current practices. It is likely that many card issuers will raise the interest rates of their cardholders on existing balances prior to July 2010. Many cardholders will likely see an increase, as card issuers will be able to lower rates for preferred cardholders but they will no longer be able to increase rates on existing balances after the deadline.
If you believe that any card issuer or other party is violating the agreement that you have with them, then you should contact them and request proper treatment. If your efforts are unsuccessful, then you might consider contacting regulators to gain support.
Again, we do not understand the reason behind the changes made by Chase, as they will likely alienate many of their cardholders. We do hope that many of the disputed changes will be altered to provide a more customer friendly approach. If you are able to make the higher payments, consider yourself fortunate. You may be unlucky with the increased payment and extra $10 monthly fee, but at least you have made enough sacrifices so that you are still able to afford the higher payments. Many families cannot afford this higher payment, so we will attempt to help them through this difficult time.
January 12th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Kenneth, it wasn’t a “difficult time” for any of us until Chase shoved their absolutely disgusting, unlafwul terms up our collective you-know-whats. Don’t patronize us with your “unlucky” crap…we’re NOT unlucky, we’re f%$#*^ ing hostages.
We’re “unlucky” that corpoations can get away with these unconscionable actions and that no one will do a damn thing about it. I’m beginning to understand why people “go postal,” and it’s because of nonsensical, falsely “sympathetic,” corporate B.S. like the drivel above.
It’s time to make Chase suffer the consequences of their actions, not to forcibly shove those of us who honor our agreements into what you so gently describe as a “difficult time.”
Get bent, credit counselor boy.
We need to keep calling Chase at 800-537-7783; waste as much of their time and money as you can until they stop stealing ours. Be sure to let the android-rep who answers your call know exactly how you feel, and it wouldn’t hurt to let them know that they’ll probably be out of work soon because Chase is going under…
Jamie Dimon, you greedy little SOB…you’ve got some ‘splaining to do…and this Kenneth Long guy isn’t helping you out one bit.
January 12th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Over the past few days I have read many, many blogs about this issue. It appears that Chase has done this too many, many people who have complained over that past few months to their congressional representatives and various government agencies. And it appears that no one in the government is willing to do anything about this. Many have suggested that we need to just refuse to do business with Chase. However, I think Chase has carefully calculated its dirty deeds. Chase does not need responsible borrowers; it needs irresponsible borrowers in order to get more government bailout money. Chase would not have breached their contractual responsibilities if government bailout money were not available. We cannot fix this one by just refusing to do business with Chase. We have to tell our governmental officials that we will throw them out of office if they don’t do something about this. I have never seen such a blatant abuse of customers by a bank. If this were in the 1800′s the bank officials would be lynched, i.e., abducted, beaten and hung.
January 12th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
If anyone has a savings account with Chase Bank, you should send Chase a notice stating that effective immediately a service charge of $50.00 per month will be assessed against Chase and added to your account in addition to the current interest, and that 15.99% interest will compound upon those service charges until such time as you close your account. This is what Chase did to us.
My balance transfer offer letter was signed by Carter Frankie, Chase’s chief marketing officer, who promised that the “2.99% fixed APR [would remain until] the balance is paid off.” Now, I just found Carter Frankie’s testimony before the U.S. Congress on January 25, 2007. What follows is an excerpt of that testimony:
“The importance of customer relationships is a key driver of many of our business decisions. *** For example, if a customer’s overall credit profile deteriorates significantly, and therefore exposes us to an increased risk that their balance will not be paid, we provide that customer with an “opt out” option. This means that the customer may reject any change in terms, close their account, and pay off the balance under their existing terms. We believe the vast majority of our customers feel they are being treated fairly.”
This is why no one will help us; those SOB’s go before Congress and blatantly lie to them! If Chase does not allow us to opt out and pay off our balances under the terms that Chase previously agreed to, I want Carter Frankie arrested and jailed for committing perjury before the United States Congress!
January 12th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
Chase sent me a letter saying my business account interest will go up from 7.99% fixed to 14.99% and it could go up again if they want it to. The letter says “in response to market conditions and to maintain profitability on your account”. What about my profitability? Wasn’t there just some bailout so banks could keep helping out small businesses? This really hurts and I think it is unfair.
I’m in if there is a class action lawsuit or a big bank credit revolution!!!
January 12th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
Did anyone notice that the $10.00 fee is being added as a purchase at a higher interest rate? And since they apply your payments to lower interest balances first, the balance of just the fees will just continue to add up and get charged at the higher rate. It’s like they are slowly replacing your lower interest balance with a higher interest $10 at a time. It doesn’t add up to much in the short term, but it’s just another example of how wrong they are treating their customers.
January 14th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Chase is suffering from “sour grapes.” They gave people lifetime balance transfer rates of under 5% and are now regretting it. Since they can’t change those terms, they are looking for other “legal” ways to raise the rates. The $10 monthly fee does just that. I have closed my credit card account and will never do business again with Chase.
January 14th, 2009 at 11:46 pm
I noticed this $10 charge on my account when I paid my balance earlier in the month; told myself I’d follow-up on it since I didn’t know what it was. Just called Chase to Follow-up. I too had one of those 3.99% for the life of the loan. I’ve been paying several times the minimum payment every month for years but last month decided to just pay it off in full which amounted to ~$1300; this seems fortuitous since I don’t recall ever getting a “change in terms” notice in the mail. I too didn’t use the card for anything except the original transferred balance. Appears that everyone in this string did the same thing — we didn’t fall into their trap of using the card and accruing a new balance at the higher, non-promotional interest rate (which we all know is the LAST balance to be paid AFTER the balance on the promotional rate is exhausted). I’d be happy to cancel the card since it now has a $13 balance on it ($10 fee plus $3 for the old finance charge) but canceling the card will seriously ding my credit score since my overall available credit will be cut by ~ 40%. I was not offered a higher interest rate for doing away with the $10 fee like someone else mentioned but will definitely see if that is an option. If I wanted a credit card with a Fee I’d get one that has benefits (miles, cash back, etc.); this card offers NOTHING for that $10/month ($120 annually) — The best cards with the most perks don’t carry a $120 annual fee. Absolutely ridiculous that this is legal. July 2010 won’t come soon enough. Are Citibank and discover the next to do this? They created this financial mess by giving credit to anyone with a pulse regardless of whether they are actually credit worthy. If I can’t get them to take this $10/month fee off my account by transferring to a higher rate Chase has lost my business forever. Did get a notice from Citi that my rate will go up (again, this is a card i pay off monthly now; you’d think that they’d want to award good customers — but, of course unless we are making them money we aren’t “good” customers and they obviously hate and want to punish responsible credit holders with higher fees and interest rates. And because our credit score is tied to our available credit they can do it. Criminal. Just watch, the next thing to go is the grace period — soon there will be NO grace period and interest will accrue by the second or minute.
January 15th, 2009 at 12:36 am
Update: Just called Chase to check about increasing my interest rate and doing away with the $10 fee. I agreed to have my interest rate “increased” to 7.99% from the 3.99% promotional rate and thus doing away with the $10 monthly fee. Turns out this decreased my monthly normal interest rate from ~ 10.5 to 7.99 — net positive! Was also told that as long as the legitimate finance charge is paid by the due date resulting in a “statement paid in full”, 0 balance, I will not be charged the$10 fee that already showed up on my account for January. We’ll see if this happens. This is obviously a positive outcome for my circumstances but I certainly agree that what they have done by increasing the promotional rates and charging monthly fees borders on criminal. Also, if you do happen to call Chase to discuss your circumstances, you may have to call back a few times to get to someone that is actually helpful. Although I must await the outcome of my most recent phone call with the second person I spoke with to see if what I was told will transpire, the person I initially spoke with gave me false information concerning ways to avoid the $10/month fee and did not offer the interest rate increase. Thank you to those who mentioned the interest rate increases as an option.
January 15th, 2009 at 11:39 am
Has anyone thought about contacting Visa and MasterCard? Both must have some minimum standards under which banks like Chase have to live within in order to use the Visa and MasterCard processing services. Chase’s behavior is enough to drive customers away from using any credit cards. I would think that Visa and MasterCard would be concerned about that. If Visa and MasterCard would revoke Chase’s ability to issue credit cards under the Visa or MasterCard name, Chase would find themselves in serious trouble. Chase could issue their own credit card, but who would want it? You couldn’t use it anywhere, and with Chases record of not keeping their promises…
January 15th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
It is unlikely that the Fed will limit the ability of credit card issuers to increase minimum payments. This would contradict what the Fed has been trying to coerce card issuers into doing since 2006. If a cap is eventually put in place, it would likely still allow minimum payments of up to 5% of the balance.
January 15th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
So did this charge hit your January bill or the first one received in 2009? Because my latest statement was at the end of December and doesn’t have this kaka. But wondering if the one I will get in a few weeks will.
So trying to see if I will be hit too.
January 16th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
My family has never missed a payment on anything and we always pay more than the minimum. A couple of years ago I did take advantage of the fixed payment of 3.99%.
Now because of the 250% increase plus $10 month. Our family has less money available to take the kids skiing or other activities.
If the United States Congress thinks giving these banks billions is a stimulus for the consumer and that the tax dollars are well spent on these banks they are asleep at the wheel.
Our household account has been with WAMU for 20 plus years and we have an investment account with them we will also be closing. I will never do business with either of them in the future or any business that does business with them.
I do not want more government but I also do not want any tax dollars to go to these banks. Only a small amount of my loss on investments can be taken off my taxes while they walk away with millions.
The president elect is talking about more money to give away and should be addressing the small amounts that business and government is extracting from families.
I have tried to reach as many as possible but it never comes up on the news or in congress.
WHY?
January 16th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Well what a rude awakening I had last night as I opened my 3.99% fixed rate Chase Master Card bill. Second only to that shock was the rudness of Chase employees who robotically read from their handout sheets letting me know Chase has “every right” to the new fees and minimium payments. Frankly, Chase has become the modern day loan shark. I would like to know if there is a class action suit in the works. This is absolutely unacceptable. Talk about false advertising. No where in my invitation to the “fixed for the life of your loan” did I see they would invent new ways to increase the fees I would pay – nor did it say Chase would find my balance a liability and therefore I would be forced into paying a triple minimium monthly payments. This feels like robbery and stinks to high heaven.
January 16th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
I am also a victim of the 5% minimum payment + $10/month finance charge “plan”. I consider myself fortunate that I am able to make the new minimum payment even though it is 250% more than the old one and has caused me to revamp my budget over the course of the next year and beyond.
I was concerned about paying interest on the $10 finance charge at 6.99% while the other lower interest loans were paid down. I just got off the phone with a chase representative who told me that the $10 will not accrue interest and that it is taken out of the payment you make. So while this whole thing really sucks, there is no interest on the $10 finance charge. Which is a damn good thing.
Citibank did something like this a few months ago, but they honored the original agreement. I have a 3.9% until it’s paid off. Thankfully it’s almost paid off. The choices were keep the account but for any new purchases I’m at 19.99% (jaw dropping – I’m not used to that) or close the account and pay off the balance by the card expiration date. I don’t use the card for new purchases, but they were honorable enough to keep the original low fixed rate agreement intact.
I will say this though, as hard as it is to refrain from yelling at the ‘phone jockeys’, I think it’s important. I got much more information and sympathy out of the people I talked to by not yelling. Granted, I did tell them I hoped they appreciated that I was not taking it out on them. (They all did.) I have a hunch that this is a top down decision and even their managers/supervisors don’t have the authority to renegotiate like they did in the past. Additionally, it sounds like they are very happy when people go for the 5% minimum payment. The enthusiasm that met my response (by all three reps I talked to) was almost unsettling. Which tells me they are looking for an infusion of cash – now.
I would be interested in a class action law suit. I don’t like the idea of suing but I do feel a wrong has been committed. I could see a minimum payment hike up to 3%, even 3.5% – or phasing it in, but this double and then half again as much increase all at once is more than unreasonable. Especially since their notice delivery seems to have been very haphazard. I never received one by mail, but did finally find it attached to the statement pdf file for November. Hard copies of it and my original agreements are on their way to me.
Right now I’m working with them and playing by their rules – well at least the set of their rules I’ve selected. On the upside, the debt will be paid quicker and the minimum payment will drop fairly dramatically within a few months, and even more so in a year.
But I still don’t like how they did it. I think it’s an unreasonable increase. I do not agree with their ‘strong arm tactics’ with the two selections given – double your interest or more than double your minimum payment. Lastly, the inclusion of the $10 finance charge I believe to be a breach of contract. When you have a low fixed interest rate, what enables them to create a fee to compensate for that rate?
I do realize times are tough and easy credit is a thing of the past for now. But the policy they are using directly targets those with good credit scores and standing. I worked very hard to build my credit and I will not let them or anyone else ruin it without a fight. We will get past this downturn.
But, and this is a big but, when the loan is paid or I get an opportunity to move it then I am done with Chase. Forever.
January 16th, 2009 at 11:29 pm
Just to clear something up about accruing interest on the new $10/month fee……
I have been given three separate explanations by different Chase customer service reps on this.
1. One said that the fee is an actual “fee” that is deducted from the minimum monthly payment and it accrues no interest.
2. Another said that the fee accrues interest at the card’s market rate (NOT at the promotional balance transfer rate), and of course can’t be paid off until the lower interest accruing balances are paid off. (If this is true, then the so-called fee is in fact an interest rate increase, which may be a violation of the fixed interest charge until the balance is retired original agreement.)
3. A third said that the fee accrues interest at the promotional balance transfer rate. Which would still make it an interest rate increase rather than a fee. (These technical questions of whether the fee is a actually a fee or a stealth interest rate increase may have legal relevance.)
Regardless of these explanations, I personally was charged interest on the $10 fee imposed on my account for December, and the interest rate was the same as my promotional fixed for life balance transfer rate of 2.99 percent.
Chase has not only decided to abuse its most creditworthy and reliable cardmembers, it has also chosen, it would appear, to cut its expenses by not bothering to train its customer service staffs.
It also seems that those of us who have the paperless feature turned on on our Chase accounts were never formally notified that Chase was intending to introduce monthly fees and increase minimum payments. It’s hard not to think that this was a calculated decision, given all the emails and junk mail many of us receive from Chase about all sorts of less important details of our accounts.
Different Chase customer service reps gave me a total of five different dates when Chase allegedly sent a change in terms letter to me. One unusually honest Chase rep told me that Chase had no record of ever sending such a letter, even though the others pretended to look up the dates they gave me.
One customer rep had a really memorable response when I asked for proof that such a letter had been mailed. She said: “The law requires that we CLAIM that we mailed the notification of changes in terms, it does not require that we can prove that we actually mailed it.”
I’m providing these anecdotes just to make clear that having conversations with Chase customer service reps is, unfortunately, an utter waste of time. It makes more sense to file a complaint with the OCC (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which regulates national banks), to file a complaint with your state attorney general, and with your senators and reps. If these folks hear from enough of us, they’re more likely to act.
January 17th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Same story as everybody else. What is needed is an group effort to estabilsh a legal account. A few dollars a month from all of the thousands who have been ripped off by this scam should be able to hire the best legal minds available to right this wrong, and there will be a new sheriff in town next week.
January 17th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
The $10.00 fee was posted to my account as a “service charge *finance charge*” under the transactions section of the bill, and was placed in the purchase row in the finance section of the bill. It was then subjected to the purchase APR, which is 300% higher than my promotional APR that was promised to remain until the balance was paid in full. Those fees, along with their interest will just continue to build up and multiply because all payments are, of course, applied to the promotional balance first.
January 17th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
I too would be very interested in a class action. Chase’s actions are unconscionable. It is hard to believe that a company the size of Chase would commit suicide in this way for a short term infusion of cash. i would bet that this is how they are using the bailout money (anyone who defaults, they are covered). For the balance, they have gotten rid of all of their low interest customers prior to the july, 2010 deadline. After that date, you can bet they will be out with great new offers to suck up a whole new crowd.
A class action would be great, and i would sign up in a heartbeat.
January 18th, 2009 at 5:47 am
This is much bigger than just individual credit card accounts — it has HUGE implications for the credit card industry, and the economy as a whole. We too have fallen victim to this — in spite of receiving a letter from Chase (in response to the inquiry letter we sent trying to clarify what our “opt out” options were) that seemed to imply we had closed our account and opted out. Statement arrived today, w/the new 2.5x minimum and $10 random finance charge added.
The part I don’t get, is the unilateral change to a binding contract; it makes no sense to me, how this can be legal w/o the normal “pay under already agreed-upon terms” opt-out that has ALWAYS been on EVERY fine-print notice I’ve received in 20+ years of credit-card use.
IF they can legally do this, then what’s to prevent them (or some other credit card company) from bumping the minimum payment to 10% and adding a $100/mo charge as well?
(To boot, now that our account is closed, they can require payment in full at any time, on demand.. which is part of why the inquiry letter was written (and not ONE of it’s questions were answered, btw); of course, if you can change minimum payment requirements to ANYTHING YOU WANT, that’s effectively the same thing, as far as I can see).
SO, here we are w/considerable debt across multiple cards (long story of small business struggle years ago), and I’m asking myself; which random-terms-change might be coming that breaks the camel’s back? Could be any one of them (card issuers). Universal Default potentialities compound the dynamics of it exponentially.
I could easily qualify for bankruptcy still (and yes, I’ve researched the requirements), but instead have been working over these past 4-5 years to pay all the debts. We’re gaining ground, and have always paid the various loans on time (even in the worst of it).
But now this — unpredictable, unilateral, non-negotiable, no opt-out terms changes — could easily topple the whole thing. What are these people thinking? It’s just straight-up unconscionable, when you zoom out a bit to the processional effects on the economy as a whole. It’s almost like they are forcing my hand toward bankruptcy — I, a person who has tried very hard (now thinking “maybe too hard”) to avoid that, and who has regularly made my payments, as AGREED TO, for years now. Chase is deciding it want to change our agreement, just because it feels like it. Where I come from, that gets put out of business, and run out of town.
If there are many other like me, and suspect (w/individual story variances) there are, it could have even bigger implications than the gloomiest forecasts predict. These snakes could finish sinking the rest of the economy.
P.S. One “bonus question” I have, if anyone can help:
********** PLEASE READ THIS PART!: ) *********
Related to all of this above, any recommendations for the best route to getting one’s hands on the CURRENT, COMPLETE terms of any given credit card? We try to always read, and keep, the “fine print” amendments etc, but over the years they make for quite a cluttered contract. Our experience thus far has been a pretty strong unwillingness on the part of the credit card companies to send a copy of what they believe our “current terms” are. Any way to strong-arm them into complying w/that simple request?
*********************************************
January 18th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
If anyone is interested, there is a law office looking into the legalities of how Chase gave it to us.
http://www.gslawny.com/lawyer-attorney-1383679.html
January 18th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
48.ZDonovan:
It does appear as if Chase is trying to push us unto default and/or bankruptcy. That is the only thing that makes sense. Its actions certainly are not wise in the conventional business sense. In fact, they border on business suicide. However, when you consider this in light of free tax funded bailout money as a reward for making bad business decisions, it makes perfect sense what Chase is doing. Chase executives do not care about us or our economy. All they care about is their own greed. 150 years ago people like that were hung. Today they are rewarded with billions of dollars of our hard earned money that is forcibly taken from us by the people we have elected to run our government.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
We have two Chase credit cards that are now showing the $10 fee and minimum payment increased from 2% to 5%, which we cannot pay. Called Chase and a representative said she could change it back to 2% and she would send a confirmation letter. I asked her if I should close the account but she said not to, to wait for the letter. When it came, it showed the new deal, increased rate good for two years, then market rate. That would never work for us because we would still owe enough for it to break us. Then another letter arrived, setting the minimum pay back to 5% on one of the cards with no mention of the interest rate. I called Chase again and told them I did not accept the new deal, that I had not been told the terms, and the woman said their records showed that I had accepted it. They will listen to the tape and get back to me. It hardly matters though, neither way will work in the long run. We are looking unhappily at debt management, our only, horrible, option? We were doing all right before this happened.
January 23rd, 2009 at 3:40 pm
I too was hit by this increase on a 2.99% balance tranfer for life. Never had a late payment and sometimes pay more than the minimum. Although I am able to make the payment, I will be paying this account off and closing it and will never do business with Chase again.
January 23rd, 2009 at 6:25 pm
I noticed the $10.00 monthly charge and a double increase of my minimum payment. I called Chase and they said I had three options. Pay off the total owed, volunteer to let them increase my APR to 7.99% or continue with my 4.99% APR plus the ten dollar fee until the balance is paid off. I called my congressman who told me to call the attorney general. They told me that JP Morgan Chase, NA is a federal bank and governed by federal law. they gave me the phone number of the
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Customer Assistance Group
1301 McKinney St, Suite 3450
Houston, TX 77010-9050
tel # 800.613.6743
fax # 713.336.4301
website http://www.helpwithmybank.gov
Call them for a case number and file a complaint.
Chase is not honoring the agreement they made with me. They sent me an offer for 4.99% for a balance transfer for the life of the loan.
We, the american taxpayers, just gave Chase $25,000,000,000 in bail out money, and they turn around and do this to us?
One of their reps told me that they randomly chose 500,000 accounts to do this to, and unfortunately, mine was one of them.
I hope there is a class action suit.
January 25th, 2009 at 10:21 am
My suggestions after I re-post the complaint info:
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Customer Assistance Group
1301 McKinney St, Suite 3450
Houston, TX 77010-9050
tel # 800.613.6743
fax # 713.336.4301
website http://www.helpwithmybank.gov
You can complain, but you will never be told what (if anything) is done.
Chase increased my min. from 2% to 5% and added the $10 fee also. They are trying to remain profitable.
If this Chase bussiness model is successful, other banks will adopt it. Then, where will I move my debt?
Please plan ahead, if you think that you are facing bankruptcy in the near future.
If you absolutely, must move your balances around from credit card to credit card (because you fear that you will be driven into bankruptcy), consider moving all of your debt to Chase.
If all of your debt is at Chase and you go bankrupt, Chase will will be effected by the bankruptcy court decision.
You will not be declairing Bankruptcy if you can still pay your bills, however, Bankruptcy Courts will establish how you will repay and if Chase can collect ANY interest or ANY fees.
I have never been late and, before, I am late on any account, I will call Chase and ask them to transfer some money, (from my other Chase Cards) to my checking account. Then I will pay off my other (ie..Bank of AM, Citi, Discover, etc) accounts so they will not suffer, after I am pushed into bankruptcy, by Chase.
January 26th, 2009 at 10:50 am
Steve,
I’m sending a letter of complaint to the OCC. From your post it sounds like you did this but got no resolution? Is this correct? If so, please elaborate, I do not want to waste my time.
Thank you
January 28th, 2009 at 12:27 am
chase just lost a good customer. I have used this bank for 25 years or more. I have never been late on a payment. they more than doubled my payments and charged me a $10.00 per month fee on my account which was supose to be fixed for the life of the loan at 2.99 and now is 5. I am going to pay this off and they can go get f—–. I will never as long as I live deal with chase bank or anyone connected with them again. I can not believe that our goverement will let chase bank do this. If there is a suit filed against them let me know. I want to be included. Really a person should just not make any payments until they honor the contract they made with us. It is against the law for us to break a contract but it is ok for chase bank to do it. chase bank deserves to go down. What does this say for our goverment?
January 28th, 2009 at 11:11 am
When we accepted the 3.99 fixed rate until balance paid in full, I telephoned Customer Service to verify fixed until paid, monthly minimum payment, and fee requirements. I always do this without fail. I was told 2% of balance as minimum payment, no fees required, and confirmation of fixed rate until paid in full.
I today requested from Chase a transcript of that conversation with their customer service. Chase will provide it if legal representative issues a subpoena for same with account# and sends it to:
National Subpoena Processing
7610 West Washington Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46231
January 28th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
And people wonder why I paid off all my credit cards, closed the accounts and cut them up? “When you play with snakes, you’re bound to get bit”
January 28th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
I heard this about Chase raising their Minimum on Dave Ramsey. I had to recheck my January statement to make sure I paid enough to cover the minimum. Minimum still 2% and not $10 service charge.
I’ve been doing the Dave thing for the last 18 months – so I’ve been paying more than 5% per month on the card. I’ve just started paying the 2% to free up money to buy hard assets (Silver, guns, and bullets). I wonder it the will raise my minimum soon. Chase did close a second card that had a fixed rate of 7.99 a few months ago – due to inactivity.
January 29th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
I wanted to make sure you all knew that news was just announced (on my ChangeInTerms.com site). A helpful visitor sent me a link to the lawsuit that has been filed against Chase Card Services.
February 1st, 2009 at 2:28 pm
yes, I just got off the phone with chase. The 4% for the life of the loan – became – 5% of the balance for minimum payment + $10 PER MONTH FEE. In effect .. they raised the interest rate to whatever they liked, and screwed the customers who “pay on time.”
CHASE IS A LOUSY FINANCIAL INSTITUTION THAT CANNOT HONOR AN AGREEMENT.
Once I transfer / pay off the balance (which will be within a few days) I will NEVER ever deal with Chase. CHASE IS UNRELIABLE.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Does anyone know anything about the class action process? I’m very happy that there is a lawsuit, but can someone shed light on the next steps, as well as how long these things generally take? Also, do we have to do anything to join the class?
February 3rd, 2009 at 5:04 pm
You can certainly express your interest in being a part of the class here: http://www.gslawny.com/lawyer-attorney-1383679.html
However, if the the class action suit is accepted by the court you will already be a member of the class unless you exercise your right to specifically opt out of the class.
Like most of these suits you will likely see very little money in the end–but hopefully it will cost Chase a lot of money and hopefully bad PR. Want a horrific company.
February 4th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
I was interviewed By NBC 5 Chicago yesterday about this after e-mailing them with the details of the 5% – $10 scam Chase is doing. It airs on 2/12 @ 10pm for those in the Chicago area.
February 9th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
Never mind the OCC. Don’t waste your time or money. They will do nothing.
February 11th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
CHASE CLASS ACTION SUIT
google “chase +class action” or follow these links
1. http://www.bankrate.com/Rss_tr…..rodtype=cc
2. http://consumeraffairs.com/new…..ction.html
Chase DID NOT disclose that they can in effect raise the APR to whatever they’d like at any given time – by adding a monthly service fee – or by requiring their customers to pay a higher percent of their balance.
CHASE DOES NOT HONOR AGREEMENTS WITH THEIR CUSTOMERS.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:51 am
[...] balance transfer offers will be subject to similar monthly service fees, interest rate increases or 5% minimum payment requirements that caught other Chase account holders off [...]
March 13th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Here is more information on the class action lawsuit against Chase on this issue:
March 5th on CNBC:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/29532453/site/14081545
Class Action Attorney Website:
http://www.classcounsel.com/news/chasebank.html
March 20th, 2009 at 8:42 am
My mom is having the same issue….been a memeber of Chase since 1995. Her rate is 3.99% until BIF is paid. She never received the change in terms notice. Has never been late, makes more than the minimum payment but not enough for the new terms. She received notification of a late fee, because she didn’t make the minimum. She called customer “no service” to ask for a courtesy refund for the late fee and was denied. Then, LATE last night around 10pm, outside of FDCPA guidelines, a cs agent called her last night to discuss the account. I am about to step in and try to handle this for her. Possibly do a balance transfer to another creditor. Might be worth the transfer fee of 3%.
March 31st, 2009 at 4:36 am
Just got a letter from Chase dated Mar 19, 2009. They said it was all a mistake, and are reversing the $10 monthly fee and putting my payment rate back at 1 or 2%. Problem is, I couldn’t afford the 5% monthly payment, and felt their other option was unfair, so I transferred my entire balance out of Chase to other offers at the expense of 3% in Jan or Feb. If you are thinking about transferring your balance, I would hold off a bit to see what’s in store. The letter said “. . we discovered you were incorrectly sent a Change in Terms notice . . .”
March 31st, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Why did my post to this site get removed?? I just got a letter from Chase saying it was all a mistake. They are giving back my old terms (1 or 2% payment vs. 5%) and reversing the $10 monthly fee. Unfortunately, I transferred my entire balance to other offers, but for all of you out there that haven’t done this, maybe hold off as Chase may be correcting their “mistake”.
April 1st, 2009 at 5:51 am
Just noticed that I have a credit of $30 from the past 3 months to my account. Looks like they may have come to their senses. I didn’t see my minimum payment yet, but this looks like good news.
April 1st, 2009 at 1:21 pm
[...] of the profits lost through higher default rates of its cardholders. This was in addition to the change in account terms that required certain cardholders to either increase their monthly payment by 150% or to incur an [...]
April 22nd, 2009 at 5:53 pm
Have you seen the commercial spoof about the credit card minimum payment increase?
Check it out at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt-a_8LYzrw
June 22nd, 2009 at 6:46 pm
I just got a change in terms notice in the mail today and one on friday .They are raising the
min payment to 5% and said they can close or freeze my account at any time they want.I will probably move my balance to another card and close all accounts including checking and savings.
Probably go with my credit union. This looks to be a new round of accounts and goes into effect in august .Be on the lookout people if
you pay automatically.
June 22nd, 2009 at 8:15 pm
The Chase supervisor today blamed the President of the U. S. and the new impending banking policies for them (Chase) raising my minimum payment from 2% to 5% on a special 3.99% offer. Amazing! They are blaming the President of the U. S. for their greed. I have been a Chase customer for more than 30 years. I have my mortgage, and several other accounts with them. As soon as I pay off the $8,200 on the special 3.99% offer, I plan to cancel the credit card. I am also going to spend the money to refinance my mortgage (it was originally with Washington Mutual), with another source. I am really angry, and utterly surprised at the greed of this company!
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:02 pm
I just got a change in terms notice in the mail today, also. My minimum payment is going from 2%-5% August 1, 2009. I have been a Chase customer for years and we used the checks sent to us with the terms that were written for life of the loan. We have paid on time very month in good faith. The President of the USA will get a letter from me and our local news already has a form that I filled out and sent to them on their website tonight. Their Attorneys can handle this and put it out in a story to the public. Bail out should have gone to the citizens of the USA, or to pay off the debt of the citizens of our USA and those without debt would get checks. I guess that Chase did not get enough money in bailout. Well when we all leave their bank or declare bankruptcy and they get nothing, oh well. I will no longer vote for anyone in office unless they have done a good job. The rest can go. Too bad that the movement in CA is lets leave CA. This makes it worse for our economy. Did you hear that Max Factor is leaving the USA as of 2010. Did you know that the Dexcool coolant that GM put into its GM cars caused $1,000′s to consumers and a lawsuit settled last October for 100′s of millions of Dollars. You should be using green coolant. The crooks are out there and they will not stop. They do not care, so we have to stick together and fight hard.
June 23rd, 2009 at 11:53 am
[...] may opt to pay off the accounts quickly or transfer the balances to another lender to avoid the 5% minimum payment requirements. However, those with lower credit scores and those who are having trouble making all of their [...]
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:39 pm
Rec’d mine like the rest – 2% jump to 5% Aug 1. This is an almost $600/month increase in a payment that was already pretty high in my opinion…Went to see my banker today – he says sorry can’t do anything and to call Chase Bank’s Proactive Solutions 866-351-0182
which requires you to restructure the entire thing, interest rate, loan terms, etc. etc…This after being rudely handled by cardmember services yesterday from the number on the back of the card and told that I could pay $167 for Chase Payment Protector that would “graciously” give me deferment for up to 2 years but that I have to have that charge added to my card before I can receive the details and review the material…even then, the deferment period is questionable…so what happens after the deferment? Go to 5% anyway? What if it is only for 6 months? What opportunity would you really have for making a dent in the balance over such a short time if the balance is substantial?? I have spoken to a congressional staffer at my congressmen’s office in D.C. who is asking for an email for the congressman to forward over to the credit card company regulators at the Federal Reserve. In the meantime, I figure I just may continue to make the payment I have been making – which at this point is over the minimum – and am investigating seeking legal counsel to continue to pursue my options. If anyone has any class action already started, please let me know at reamsb803@gmail.com. We are also a small business and are not going to take this lying down.
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:47 pm
have a call in to Green Welling about the class action on this
Class Action Attorney Website:
http://www.classcounsel.com/news/chasebank.html
June 23rd, 2009 at 4:40 pm
My story is much like everyone else’s. I have been a Chase customer for probably 10 years or so, and have always paid my bills on time. I got the same 2% to 5% load of horse crap statement. My minimum payment will go from around $180 to around $450, very devastating for someone with one income, and making around 25K a year. These crooks ought to be tarred and feathered. I almost choked on my own vomit, when the telephone rep offered me the required “fraud protection” opportunity. I asked her how Chase planned to help protect me from themselves, being that they are the biggest frauds.
June 23rd, 2009 at 6:55 pm
I to have been fooled. What can I do? Please someone tell me if there is a class action suit. I want to stick it to these guys like they are trying to do to me and my husband and children, not to mention my grandchildren. This will hurt my family. I cannot pay the 5% they are telling me I must. What can I do.
June 23rd, 2009 at 6:59 pm
Same story as everyone else. This is just mind-boggling. Chase’s official comment that it only applies to some 1/2% of its customers (400,000 according to changeinterms.com) feels like a gang of thugs saying they only burglarized 500 homes in a (100,000 homes) city …
This has got to get out to prime time, CNN et al., Jamie Dimon in the news confronted, etc … I don’t know that I personally have the nerve or time to go the route of protesting right in front of a Chase office (http://www.examiner.com/x-1470-DC-Corporate-Ethics-Examiner~y2009m4d7-Exclusive-Lone-protester-takes-on-corporate-giant) but if enough of us raise our voice and get it out in the open we may be able to stop this.
In the meantime I am writting letters to any relevant agencies/government bodies I can find
June 23rd, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Same story, minimum increases from 2% to 5%. Bottom line folks is never forget about Chase’s dishonesty. Learn from this and avoid any future dealings with this organization
June 23rd, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Solution -
I spoke with Chase and let them know there’s no way I can make the new minimum payment. I also told them I was having hardship and they put me on a payment plan. This is important, you must tell them you have hardship or you will they will not offer you a payment plan! After you tell the phone rep this information you’ll be transferred to the special payments area. They’ll ask what type of hardship you’re having and this can be anything. In my case it was my mortgage rate going up that caused me hardship. They’ll also ask income and debt questions – they didn’t appear to do a credit check otherwise they would have asked if it was all right to do a credit check.
I currently owe $280/month at 7% APR and with the new payment plan I have a 6% APR for 60 months . After 60 months the card is paid off. You will need to close your account, but mine was already closed so it wasn’t a big deal. Good Luck!
June 23rd, 2009 at 8:14 pm
And to further clarify, my payments went down to $250/month. So I won’t have to deal with the 2% – 5% minimum increase in August 2009.
June 23rd, 2009 at 8:48 pm
My minimum payment went up from 2%-5%. I have two cards at chase and my minimum payment will be $500 on each, making a monthly payment of $1,000. On top of car, utilities, and mortgage payments this will not be possible. My family used to be middle class, but as inflation goes up and the credit card companies skrew the middle class we just get poorer.
June 23rd, 2009 at 9:42 pm
2% to 5% “in billing cycle that includes Aug 1″ – there is no mention of how this impacts those who have billing periods that cross this date, i.e. mine runs from the 14th to the 13th, with payment due on the following month’s 2nd.
I put my name in with the class action folks- they have been gunning for the $10 fee issue but they need to home in on this minimum payment issue. The purpose is to get you to miss the minimum payment so that they can jack you to the default rate, which will be really high. It’s their loophole way of getting those rates up high and its “your fault” because you didn’t pay the “minimum payment”, nevermind that the minimum payment increased 250%.
My notice had no info on opting out and closing, it was worded as this is your pineapple, you’ll bend over and you’ll like it, and we’ll keep sticking you every month in the hopes you’ll default. One phrase though is interesting…see if you have it and then maybe there is a loop hole for us. “Amendments to your agreement: these charges will be effective on or after the first day of your billing cycle that includes Aug 1, 2009.They will apply automatically to current and future balances on your account. ANY OTHER TERMS ON YOUR ACCOUNT NOT DESCRIBED IN THIS NOTICE CONTINUE TO APPLY.”
Mine had nothing about me opting out or closing, but it said they could close it. I am going to go over my TERMS so that I can see what was NOT described in the notice and see if there is anything that I can do, like close the account, pay it has I have been, and then never ever do anything through chase again. I have low % balance transfers, so 2% of my minimum was mostly paying off my balance owed; my effective rate was only 5%. Well, they made this bed, right? I’m paying it down. When they give me offer to have no payment for a month, I pay anyway. I pay a week early, every month.
I hope there is a class action suit just to bring their crap into the spotlight. No one should bank with chase.
June 23rd, 2009 at 10:41 pm
allan> Bottom line folks is never forget about Chase’s dishonesty. Learn from this and avoid any future dealings with this organization
I’d like to think you are right, but I am not sure others won’t follow in Chase’s footsteps The true lesson may very well be “Avoid *any* fixed rate offer on unsecured debt, by *any* bank … no matter the size, reputation, etc
June 23rd, 2009 at 10:53 pm
This is a two fold problem.
1) When congress and the President decided to increase regulation on credit card companies, we were warned that the “good” customers would be feeling the pinch. Not the customers that couldn’t pay (they weren’t paying anyway). Basically, we had low rates and good terms, and we were smart enough to take advantage of it.
2) The flip side is this. If the Credit Card companies could not honor their payment schedules, they should not have enticed us with them.
So, this is a vicious cycle of good intentioned regulation ruining a good thing, and large corporations buying business with cheap money. The same company took taxpayer money to cover their mistakes of giving loans to bad risks… Apparently for ½ of 1% of Chase’s credit card customers, the new game is not a fun game. My payment is going from 360 to over 900 a month. I am not in a pinch and am able to make the higher payment, but admittedly, I have had thoughts of just not making payment from here on out.
I guess we are to blame for getting used to taking money that isn’t ours. P.S. Any thoughts on brining back the CC interest deductions?
June 24th, 2009 at 8:32 am
I have excellent credit, never been late on a payment in my life. Took advantage of the 2.99% offer and consolidated all my outstanding bills with Chase. Now I get the payment increase notice.
I’m seriously considering just not paying them anything more, ever. I have a high income but no assets except my retirement account and they can’t seize my retirement account.
I’ve never paid a bill late in my life so I’m not sure what the consequences of doing this would be. I know it will wreck my credit rating, but it would also save me a bunch of money. Nasty phone calls? I can ignore that.
What are the other consequences of just deciding not to pay a credit card bill? What can “they” do to you?
Please advise.
June 24th, 2009 at 11:53 am
I also received the 2% to 5% increase, I wrote this email to CHASE Bank on their website:
To whom it may concern,
I just received a payment modification notice that you are raising the minimum payment amount from 2 percent to 5 percent. I have utilized a promotional rate that was solicited heavily by Chase Bank since 2004 and 2005. This is going to more than double my minimum payment. I find this action to be extremely disturbing and borderline criminal on the part of Chase Bank. I’m confident you targeted the accounts with low APR’s to raise money for Chase Bank’s previous mismanagement. I’m also confident that you hope I cannot make the new payment and I’ll go into default with your terms so you can charge exorbitant interest rates.
I spoke to one of your supervisors regarding my frustration. I inquired about the TARP funds and she said that you have paid them off. She also said that you incurred a lot of debt from Washington Mutual. Evidently, this is my problem now. With out the government eye, you can now proceed with this type of pawn-shark-like behavior.
Thanks from a customer who has been with you for over 20 years.
::::::::::::::::::::::
Funny thing is, Chase Bank is causing the debt hardship by previously offering the low APR terms and now changing the minimum payment. And it appears, by all accounts, effecting loyal Chase Bank customers who have been with them for the long periods of time and have maintained good standing.
Way to go CHASE – hopes this bites you in the A$$
June 24th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
I hope they get shot down in flames. I wish i just had the money to go ahead and make the huge payments. That would hurt them worse than anything, because they would have to honor the interest rates. I think the best thing overall would be to quit paying altogether, but that would just ruin our credit, and the feeling i am getting is that every one of us are high credit rating customers. It sounds as though we are the so called “risks” simple because we have low interest rates. That is so ridiculous. With 3-5% money, as most of have here, we are paying huge chunks of principal, even with minimum payments. These guys make me sick.
June 24th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
I ALSO 2% T0 5% EMAILED PRES.-CONGRESSMEN AND SENATORS, ALSO BILL OREILLY AS HE WARNED US A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGE WE WOULD PAY FOR THE ONES THAT DIDN’T. SO HOW DO WE STOP THIS?
June 24th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
how will a person know if a class action suit develops? w00189wr@gmail.com
June 24th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
Been a Chase customer over a decade- never paid late, usually more than the minimum. Until 3 years ago always in full each month. As a small business owner, I decided to take advantage of the enticing very low interest rates. Got my notice today that I go from 2% to %5.
Wondering what happens if I jsut say f–k it! I am getting fed up trying to make up the money for the people who just got in over their heads and never intended to pay.
I put almost 30% down on my house, pay my biulls on time every month. Am a small business owner just trying to not let anymore peole go.
I can make their new minimums, will probably fire another employee to do (hope they owe Chase money).
I opted not to give them any federal census information- think it’s all part of Hitlers (oops Obama’s plan). I think this is a grasp to redistribute wealth.
Feeling like if I lived in Chicago, in the projects, or maybe Obama’s neighborhood- I would be getting a check or a deal.
I just feel screwed….class action info appreciated.
June 24th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
can’t spell either when I am frustrated and type too quickly…sorry
June 24th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
Government will not go after Chase because they are all part of the problem- Chase has become legalized thugs!
June 25th, 2009 at 6:49 am
Posts 78, 79 and 80 have been removed.
June 25th, 2009 at 7:25 am
sorry, had to refresh page
June 26th, 2009 at 4:27 am
I’ll never do business with them ever again; it’s just that simple! ‘Hope they can afford to lose all of us and everybody we tell.
June 26th, 2009 at 7:08 am
Chase is forcing people and seniors on fixed income with excellent credit ratings to file bankrupty on their 5% monthly payments on the unpaid balance so they can break their agreement
3.9 interest rate till paid off.This will increase my $431 monthly payment to $1059 which is impossible to do on $1200 monthly Social Security check.Chase is not only hurting themselves but other credit card companies when people are force to file bankrupty.In my opinion , Chase is becoming a undesirable company to do business with in order to break their 3.9 interest rate till paid off.
June 26th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
http://www.classcounsel.com/news/chasebank.html
June 27th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Picketed my local Chase branch this morning on one of the busiest streets in Houston! Anyone out there from Houston who would have some time to join me? Looking to do it Early Mon and considering the 5 pm rush hour at the Chase at Westheimer and Beltway 8.
June 27th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Chase Handout given to interested passers-by while picketing:
CHASE
RAISES MINIMUM PAYMENT FROM 2% TO 5% ON LOW INTEREST CREDIT CARD DEBT.
What does this mean? If you owed 5000 on a credit card and your payment was 2% of the unpaid balance, your minimum payment would be $100.00. Increase that payment to 5% and your new minimum payment is $250.00.
If you are close to bankruptcy or if this payment will now put you there, please transfer all of your debt to Chase so when you fail, Chase suffers.
If you are not close to bankruptcy, STAY AS FAR AWAY FROM CHASE AS YOU CAN, as they will surely put you there.
This is the thanks for the bailout money (they want to repay quicker to get out from under the “thumb”) and good-payer customer loyalty.
June 27th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Bernadette,
This is from the website you posted in #103 above.
“The new monthly charges effectively increase the customers’ interest rates. Chase then told consumers that they must pay off their loans in full immediately or be subject to the new loan terms with higher interest rates. Green Welling believes this practice to be unfair and illegal.”
I too got the 5% monthly notice June 22 in SF California for 2 of the 3 cards I have with Chase. It is ‘funny’ that the balance on these cards is less than 8k. I have another 2.99% life of loan at 30k balance and Chase did NOT mail me a change of condition for that one. Very strange, we will see what the mail will bring.
Additionally the lawyers are WRONG with this statement.
“The new monthly charges effectively increase the customers’ interest rates.”
No. This is WRONG. They are accelrating the payback. This is not the same as raising interest rate. They are different. They are actually different and legally different. Hence these lawyers are morons. They do NOT understand basic concepts. They are clowns.
June 27th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
To Wayne and others who got the 5% notice,
Please call Chase first to see if they have a payment plan for you. I called and to my surprise they said we were eligible to go on a payment plan because we had a good credit history with them. Our payment at the 5% would have been $1123 and they got it down to $438 fixed payments at 6% over 5 yrs. It sounds good and we are thinking about it first but don’t really have a better alternative. She said it will not hurt our credit report to do so. The only thing is that you must voluntarily close your account which she said also will not hurt your credit report. Please call Chase first to see what options are available. Again they must find you eligible. If no options are available, contact the Consumer Credit Counseling Service and they might be able to help you with a similiar payment plan. They are recommended by Suze Orman the financial guru. Hope this helps some people.
June 28th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
I want to tell my story,I have called and talked to a CS rep on the phone and also sent a secured e-mail to them. Due to medical problems I have, right now I do not feel like sitting up and typing my situation. I am going to just copy and paste the e-mail & CS response. It has the details in it that shows how the increase from 2% to 5% minimum payment will affect my way of living. Please bear with me as this is a rather long message.
“I have been a long time customer of your company and if you check your records, I have never been late on any payments and I always pay more than Minimim amount due. I called and talked to one of your CS rep on Friday June 26, however I did ask to speak to a Supervisor but that did not happen, therefore, I explained to CS rep my situation.
If possible, and it should be possible to get to consult with a Supervisor or at least you take this information to your supervisor and explain my situation, after all they have a job to do too, not just hold the title. I need to speak with someone or have you to speak with someone who has the authority to help me with my situation.
I live on a fixed income of $1047 a month, I stay on a strict budget and do not go out and purchase items that I know I cannot pay for, a majority of my balance has been used to pay for Doctor, hospital and ER and ambulance visits. I have 2 accounts with you (one acount has a zero balance). On the account mentioned above I owe a balance of around $8690. Althought my monthly income is low, I knew when I made transfers to your company when I did that I would be able to make monthly payment according to terms of agreement . My minimum payment has been 2% of total balance due. Starting in August, your company is going to raise the minimum payment to 5% of total balance which means that my payments will increase from $177 a month to $435 a month. I understand the situation regarding the economical problems in our country. But to a disabled person who is trying to do the right thing and do what is fair, your company has put me in a situation where in order to make a payment of $435 a month instead of the ususal $195 I have been making is going to take what I allow for groceries, cleaning supplies and personal items shampoo, toothpaste, soap , razors, etc and still come up $8 short. All I am asking you to do is to meet me somewhere in the middle. If you would let me pay 4% a month, I will actually have around $81 a month to live on instead of giving up every single penny I use just to be able to meet the minimum payment on the 5% increase. This is not much, but I would at least know that I would have $20.25 a week to buy something to eat and help pay for other necessities. Is that asking too much? Could you live on $20 a week and I am serious about this, I have tried cutting my budget in different areas and I have made changes but if I have to make a $435 payment to Chase every month, I will have no money to buy any food. That puts me between a rock and a hard place, Right now as I stated I want to be fair and do the right thing, I borrowed money from you and I owe you the money and I have faithfully been paying you back every month. Is it not possible for you to increase my minimum payment to 4% of balance due instead of 5%? Is that other 1% from me going to keep your company from going bankrupt? I seriously doubt it. But for a fact that 1% is going to allow me to be able to eat and have a few of the necessary items a person needs for proper hygiene and items to have a clean apartment to live in.
I am asking you to please consider all of the information that is stated in this letter and to please work with me on this, I am trying to do what is right and fair and I would like to think that your company can do the same. I am not asking for my account to stay as it is, all I am asking is try and understand the hardship I will soon be facing and instead of increasing my payments to 5% please allow me to agree to pay a 4% increase.
Please reply to this letter. I am making my self sick by worring about this and it has not happened yet. I need to know if a Supervisor of your company can take into consideration the facts of my situation and make a decent, fair decision to honor a request from a customer who has never paid late and always paid more than what was due.”
REPLY FROM CUSTOMER SERVICE
I appreciate the opportunity to respond to your e-mail
regarding the change in terms notification you received.
I understand that the changes to your minimum payment that
are effective as of 08/01/2009, may cause you some
financial difficulty in meeting the minimum payment due
each month. We value our relationship and it is
important to us that we address your needs as a customer.
The change in terms notification informing you of the
increase to your minimum payment amount does not include
an option to stop this change from occurring. The stated
changes will take effect on the date listed in the notice.
Your new minimum payment will pay down your balance faster
than the previously required minimum payment amount.
Although the increase may seem difficult at first, the
change will increase the amount of money that pays down
your principal balance, resulting in less interest charges
paid in the long term.
If there is a class action law suit I would definitely want to be a part of it. I will try and keep check on this site and see if anyone post any information IF a class action suit becomes available.
All I ask of Chase was to lower the increase from 5% to 4% so that I will have $20.25 a week to live on. I have always had good credit, never late with payments and always paid more than minimum. This “change in terms notification” has got me so upset that I have even thought about filing bankruptcy on this one credit card only and I have never in my life thought about not paying for something that I owed. I am just afraid if I do that my other credit cards I have will increase the APR to the default APR even though I have never been late on any payments and always pay more than minimum balance on these cards. These cards do not carry a large balance, but if I file bankrupcy with Chase only, and they increase the current APR to default APR that is going to cause financial burden. Why is banks like Chase so greedy. I have been paying them and everyone else I owe without any late payment and alway pay extra and been able to live a rather decent life on a fixed income. Chase is basically making it to where I have no money to even buy food to live on and if I file bankruptcy with Chase only I risk messing up my entire life of having good credit come to an end and in the end have to file for complete bankruptcy on everything I owe. It is just not fair when a disabled person is trying to be fair and do what is right and Chase is trying to ruin my life.
June 28th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
Does anyone know if there will be a class action suit against Chase due to the 150% increase on minimum payments (from 2% to 5%)? If so any website to go to in order to sign up ? I put my story on here earlier but it has been deleted, reasons unknown. I am on disability and get $1047 a month. My payments were $177 and have been increased to $435. That leaves me -$8 to live on. I will have to take the $250 a month I use for food, gas, etc.. and still need to come up with $8 in order to endure the increase of $258 a month to add to my present $177 a month I have been paying.
June 28th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
Seems when I submitted this reply, my reply from around noon reappeared?? Anyway Chase has ruined me. I feel like I lose either way if they are not willing to lower minimum to at least 4%.
June 29th, 2009 at 6:34 am
Mateo fron #106:
Most of us can’t afford jumps in the payment like they are asking us to make which, again for most of us, would cause a restructing of the loan – see Debbie’s story of #107 – which will result in a higher interest rate. I believe Green Welling is arguing that it could be construed as “In effect” a higher interest rate – semantics – but I understand your point. At this time, an email from Green Welling to me and this is what they say:
“Thank you for contacting Green Welling P.C. regarding the Chase credit card litigation. We are actively pursuing the case, and if we are successful in certifying a class you may receive a notice describing your rights relating to this matter.
We will add your information to our contact database…”
June 29th, 2009 at 7:03 am
Same issue here. My minimum payment will increase from $800 to $2,000! This needs to be stopped!
June 29th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
I would like to know from the posts related too the first round in Jan when they changed the min payments if anyone had thier account closed and a request for payment in full by Chase. Also has anyone had thier Credit line decreased that tripped an over the limit fee from the finace charges. All these things worry me given the threatning new change in terms that I received online in regards to closing the account or decreasing the limit for ANY reason.
June 29th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
We got a letter the end of last week notifying us that our minuimum payment on our chase card would increase 2.5 times what it was. We consolidated some other bills 4 years ago with a 4% interest rate. We had 3 years left to pay it off. We called Chase to try to work it out but met a brick wall. The manager that we spoke with said that even the ceo of chase would have to make 5% minimum payments per month. (like he would need a credit card) They said they were doing this in an effort to increase their profitability.
Needless to say we will be switching to another bank for our credit card and mortgage needs. I surely hope that Chase goes out of business and that the individuals involved with the descision to screw their long time customers lose their jobs as well. This practice of torqing people for extra monthly payments and changing agreements mid stream is right up there with loan sharking. I can’t say enough about how dispicable this action is.
June 29th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Same thing, increase from 2%-5% minimum payment on cards with low balance transfer rates, 4%-5% rates currently.
It is clear that this is a deceptive practice, and is likely illegal. In addition, it appears to have malicious intent, in that the intent is to cause defaults and thereby deceptively raise rates. Possibly, the value of the notes in the secondary market will be higher with higher rates, especially if they can be sold before the account holders’ credit rating drops. At least, it seems likely that a suit would prevail, or be settled.
I would like some advice on if this is actionable in small claims court. What action would be wise pending successful suits or government action, in order to preserve credit ratings. There is less than 30 days before this goes into effect.
June 30th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Here’s what Chase says in email response:
We understand that you are dissatisfied with the recent
Change in Terms notification you received. We certainly
appreciate your position and the feedback you have
provided regarding this change.
As a credit card issuer, it may at times be necessary for
us to make changes that a Customer may find unfavorable;
however, these changes allow us to remain competitive in
the industry while offering the best value to our
Cardmembers.
Please know that as a banking institution, various
regulators routinely scrutinize Chase’s credit card
activities. Accordingly, we are confident that we have
operated your account in compliance with all applicable
laws and we regret that we are not able honor your request
to keep the original terms.
If you have any questions regarding the information above,
of if you have new concerns regarding your account, please
contact Cardmember Services at the number printed on the
back of your credit card. We?re here 24 hours a day to
serve your credit card needs.
June 30th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Guys,
Chase NEVER said to us they would ask for a 2% monthly to repay. Chase never said to us in writing that they would not adjust this to whatever they wanted. In fact they did state they can change this at any time. So they could ask for 100% monthly minimum and it would still be something we ALL agreed to.
None of has anything in writing or verbally from them to the contrary. Is it immoral? YES. Does it cause hardship on us? YES.
However why would we think that Chase committed to 2% monthly for duration of loan when they never said such?
We had a free ride at below market rates for a moderate amount of time. Now they are just calling the loans back faster. The trap of default rates if one is just 1 dollar short is really horrible.
Guys if you know you cant last long making the 5% payments then just STOP all payments because you are screwed anyway. Your credit will be devastated but they will then have to settle with you for 50 cents on the dollar in a few months. Plan ahead and best of luck to those that are really hurt by this.
June 30th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
I also got the notification from Chase regarding the change in minimum payment from 2% to 5% of the balance. I too had taken advantage of a 2.9% APR to purchase a natural gas heating system for my home. Since I have a good credit rating, I am shopping for a balance transfer offer so I can tell Chase to stick their terms where the sun doesn’t shine and I will never do business with these thieves again.
June 30th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Okay…. here is my story.. Single parent, daughter had to move backhome- paying her health insurance, lucky to have a job, other daughter lost her job, Nothing extra- all my money goes out to expenses for my home and keeping the cars running… nothing fancy. this will take me over the top into bankruptcy. I sent them a letter… but from what I gather no one has had success from reading all these e-mails.
Never late on a payment, lock-in on the low interest transfer, haven’t used the card in 2 years and probably never will…. I feel discrimination ( they told me it was because I had high debts and they also decrease my limit) I beg to differ- sounds like many of you people out there are not on the edge like me. I have never defaulted on any of my debts either. So lets see 5% in August- how about 10% in NOvember- maybe 15% in December… who care’s who give’a a sh…t! My other card and mortgage with Chase hasn’t changed…. but is making wonder what they will pull next.
Something has to be done!!!! If everything keeps increasing… including GAS again!! we are all going to fail.
June 30th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
We received notice of the increase of 2% to 5% minimum payment on almost 15K on Saturday. The sad part is I have a card with them, $1400, and our Mortgage was bought by them a few years ago, at 900 per month. So they will be getting about 50% of our monthly income when this change takes effect. Since we are only 4 years into our mortgage, I will be paying as much as I can in extra principle so as to eliminate about $500.00 in interest per extra Principal payment. I will use my amoritization chart and keep track of all they will nmot get from me!!!! Meanwhile, we intend to look around to see if we can refinance with someone other than Chase. They have become very greedy, and the Bible says the LOVE of money is the root of all evil. This will hurt them in the end!!!!
July 1st, 2009 at 12:40 am
It makes no difference whether you have a mortgage with them. Many of us signed loan docs with other banks and then Chase took over the servicing of the loan.
If you can do balance transfer with someone else then do it before you default on Chase. If you KNOW you can not pay them at 5% month after month then you are screwed. Your credit will be screwed so take that into consideration. Then stop all payments to Chase credit card. Put the money that you would have sent to them into a savings account. They will call you and of course send you bills. Do not respond. Your credit is screwed but they are screwed too. No point in making partial payments. Then refuse to send them any money when they call. ZERO. After a few months they will take 30 cents on the dollar. So pull the money that you saved in the account and get rid of them. Your credit is still screwed for a few years. But you will be debt free.
July 1st, 2009 at 12:42 am
BofA to Boost Rates on Cards With Balances
Bank’s Move Follows Rivals, Affecting Millions Who Don’t Pay Bill in Full Every Month
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By JANE J. KIM
Bank of America Corp. is raising interest rates on as many as four million U.S. credit-card customers who carry a balance, becoming the latest bank to crack down on people who don’t pay off their bill every month.
Starting with June account statements, any credit-card customer who carries a balance and has an interest rate below 10% will see his or her rate jump into double-digit territory. A company spokeswoman declined to provide an exact number, saying the changes would affect less than 10% of the bank’s card customers in the U.S. The bank has 70 million card customers world-wide, but doesn’t break out the number of customers who are in the U.S. “It impacts a small portion of our cardholders,” said Betty Reiss, the spokeswoman.
The bank’s move follows similar rate increases that other banks, including Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., and American Express Co. have implemented in recent months. The banks, facing rising delinquencies, blame the economic turmoil. Many have been tightening the screws on people with less-than-perfect credit, but now they’re pinching a broader range of customers who have good credit records, but carry a balance.
The Rising Price Of Credit
As banks face higher costs, they’re repricing more customers’ accounts. Here’s what to consider:
* Higher rates typically affect customers who carry a balance.
* Customers should be able to reject the higher rates — although they may have to close the account or stop using the card.
* New federal rules will limit rate increases — but only starting in July 2010.
On Tuesday, Tamara Smith of Burlington, Vt., got a notice from Bank of America that her 7.9% rate will increase to nearly 13%. She immediately called the bank and opted out of the change. That means she keeps the 7.9% rate on her roughly $2,000 balance, but can’t use the card for new purchases without having the higher rate apply to her entire balance.
So Ms. Smith is shopping around for another card. And while she has found a 0% promotional rate from Citi, she’s planning to open a credit card with her local credit union instead. “I just don’t have any assurance that Citibank won’t pull the same thing,” said the 51-year-old co-owner of a computer-software company.
The rate increases come as many Americans are losing their jobs and losing easy access to other forms of credit, like home-equity loans. That makes millions of cardholders even more dependent on their credit cards to get by.
The Federal Reserve and other bank regulators passed rules in December that would limit banks’ ability to raise credit-card interest rates. But that doesn’t start until July 2010.
Now, Congress is considering separate bills that would impose stronger restrictions on banks much sooner. Last week, the Senate Banking Committee approved its version of the legislation, which is waiting for a full Senate vote. A House subcommittee passed similar legislation last week.
The banking industry has said that the new federal rules and the proposed legislation will restrict its ability to manage risk and will force issuers to be stingier with credit and promotional offers. In a presentation to investors in February, Chase executives laid out various strategies they were exploring to deal with the new regulatory environment, including implementing annual service fees, shortening the duration of introductory interest rates and offering higher interest rates for new customers.
Bank of America said it started notifying customers of the rate increases last week. “The increase on these accounts reflects the current economic conditions where our cost of providing credit has significantly increased,” Ms. Reiss said. The average annual percentage rate on the affected accounts is 8.5%.
Consumer advocates see another motive. The banks “want to mess with people before they can’t,” said Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a consumer advocacy group in Washington, D.C. “Every day they can earn income at a higher interest rate is more profits for them.”
Credit.com, an educational credit Web site, started hearing from customers complaining about Bank of America’s rate change on Saturday, said spokeswoman Emily Peters. She advises customers to pay off their balances, if possible, but keep the card open since closing the accounts could hurt their credit scores. “The best possible option would be to leave the card dormant and use it every six months” to prevent the issuer from closing down the account, she said.
In January, Chase Card Services changed the terms for thousands of customers who had low interest rates but were carrying a balance. In Chase’s case, customers had to agree to pay at least 5% of their balances every month instead of the previous 2%. If they couldn’t meet the higher minimum payment requirement, they would have to give up their promotional rate and accept a higher one instead.
Chase’s change sparked a number of class-action lawsuits from angry consumers who had taken advantage of the bank’s promotional offers. Separately, Citi and American Express raised the regular interest rates by two to three percentage points across many of their cardholders last fall.
In some cases, banks are offering carrots to get customers to pay down their balances. In February, for example, American Express offered select customers a $300 AmEx prepaid gift card if they pay off their balances and close their accounts.
Sandra Frye of Phillips, Wis., said the recent tightening by banks has prompted her to pay off her balances more quickly. “I won’t be adding to the economy because I’m going to pay these guys off and get them out of my hair forever,” said the 66-year-old. Ms. Frye, an adult home-care provider, said Bank of America notified her that it was going to raise her variable rate to 13.74% from 9.74%. She is in the process of transferring her $1,700 balance on the card to a credit card with Wells Fargo & Co. offering her a promotional rate of 0%.
July 1st, 2009 at 12:44 am
BofA to Boost Rates on Cards With Balances
Bank’s Move Follows Rivals, Affecting Millions Who Don’t Pay Bill in Full Every Month
Bank of America Corp. is raising interest rates on as many as four million U.S. credit-card customers who carry a balance, becoming the latest bank to crack down on people who don’t pay off their bill every month.
Starting with June account statements, any credit-card customer who carries a balance and has an interest rate below 10% will see his or her rate jump into double-digit territory. A company spokeswoman declined to provide an exact number, saying the changes would affect less than 10% of the bank’s card customers in the U.S. The bank has 70 million card customers world-wide, but doesn’t break out the number of customers who are in the U.S. “It impacts a small portion of our cardholders,” said Betty Reiss, the spokeswoman.
The bank’s move follows similar rate increases that other banks, including Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., and American Express Co. have implemented in recent months. The banks, facing rising delinquencies, blame the economic turmoil. Many have been tightening the screws on people with less-than-perfect credit, but now they’re pinching a broader range of customers who have good credit records, but carry a balance.
The Rising Price Of Credit
As banks face higher costs, they’re repricing more customers’ accounts. Here’s what to consider:
* Higher rates typically affect customers who carry a balance.
* Customers should be able to reject the higher rates — although they may have to close the account or stop using the card.
* New federal rules will limit rate increases — but only starting in July 2010.
On Tuesday, Tamara Smith of Burlington, Vt., got a notice from Bank of America that her 7.9% rate will increase to nearly 13%. She immediately called the bank and opted out of the change. That means she keeps the 7.9% rate on her roughly $2,000 balance, but can’t use the card for new purchases without having the higher rate apply to her entire balance.
So Ms. Smith is shopping around for another card. And while she has found a 0% promotional rate from Citi, she’s planning to open a credit card with her local credit union instead. “I just don’t have any assurance that Citibank won’t pull the same thing,” said the 51-year-old co-owner of a computer-software company.
The rate increases come as many Americans are losing their jobs and losing easy access to other forms of credit, like home-equity loans. That makes millions of cardholders even more dependent on their credit cards to get by.
The Federal Reserve and other bank regulators passed rules in December that would limit banks’ ability to raise credit-card interest rates. But that doesn’t start until July 2010.
Now, Congress is considering separate bills that would impose stronger restrictions on banks much sooner. Last week, the Senate Banking Committee approved its version of the legislation, which is waiting for a full Senate vote. A House subcommittee passed similar legislation last week.
The banking industry has said that the new federal rules and the proposed legislation will restrict its ability to manage risk and will force issuers to be stingier with credit and promotional offers. In a presentation to investors in February, Chase executives laid out various strategies they were exploring to deal with the new regulatory environment, including implementing annual service fees, shortening the duration of introductory interest rates and offering higher interest rates for new customers.
Bank of America said it started notifying customers of the rate increases last week. “The increase on these accounts reflects the current economic conditions where our cost of providing credit has significantly increased,” Ms. Reiss said. The average annual percentage rate on the affected accounts is 8.5%.
Consumer advocates see another motive. The banks “want to mess with people before they can’t,” said Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a consumer advocacy group in Washington, D.C. “Every day they can earn income at a higher interest rate is more profits for them.”
Credit.com, an educational credit Web site, started hearing from customers complaining about Bank of America’s rate change on Saturday, said spokeswoman Emily Peters. She advises customers to pay off their balances, if possible, but keep the card open since closing the accounts could hurt their credit scores. “The best possible option would be to leave the card dormant and use it every six months” to prevent the issuer from closing down the account, she said.
In January, Chase Card Services changed the terms for thousands of customers who had low interest rates but were carrying a balance. In Chase’s case, customers had to agree to pay at least 5% of their balances every month instead of the previous 2%. If they couldn’t meet the higher minimum payment requirement, they would have to give up their promotional rate and accept a higher one instead.
Chase’s change sparked a number of class-action lawsuits from angry consumers who had taken advantage of the bank’s promotional offers. Separately, Citi and American Express raised the regular interest rates by two to three percentage points across many of their cardholders last fall.
In some cases, banks are offering carrots to get customers to pay down their balances. In February, for example, American Express offered select customers a $300 AmEx prepaid gift card if they pay off their balances and close their accounts.
Sandra Frye of Phillips, Wis., said the recent tightening by banks has prompted her to pay off her balances more quickly. “I won’t be adding to the economy because I’m going to pay these guys off and get them out of my hair forever,” said the 66-year-old. Ms. Frye, an adult home-care provider, said Bank of America notified her that it was going to raise her variable rate to 13.74% from 9.74%. She is in the process of transferring her $1,700 balance on the card to a credit card with Wells Fargo & Co. offering her a promotional rate of 0%.
July 1st, 2009 at 8:31 am
LA Times Article on Chase
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus1-2009jul01,0,1992478.column
July 1st, 2009 at 9:21 am
I paid off my chase card with a home equity loan at $5.25 percent. I will never have to worry about this nonsense from chase again!
July 3rd, 2009 at 8:39 pm
I work for Chase Card Services in all aspects as a cst service rep, a supervisor, and a hardship dept specialist. I am saddened by the 5% hike as I see it affected 850,000 card holders. When the rate was raised Chase technically never agreed to a fixed mmp they offered a fixed apr. they still our honoring the BT offers and conv check offers they just changed the mmp required. I can see why certain customers claim incomes of 100k plus a year and expenses per mnth are approx 5k or 6k but yet they made a BT of 15k or 20k a mortgage loan and taking 30yrs to pay. Also prime rates are up now 3.25% as of today so if they are paying the reserve 3.25 on your 1.99% bt trust me they will adjust to make you pay faster. Also if you call in and let them know you won’t be able to pay there is a pst team able to do restructions to the loans we can do approx 60mnths at 6% at same mmp. We are regular people as well trust me my card was affected as well. As for settling accounts trust me we won’t settle for less than 45% we will get roughly that from a 3rd party. Because a bankruptcy doesn’t do anything to the bank we get that back from the gov as a writeoff. I know people think demanding will get you somewhere but it won’t Chase will always win they paid the TARP back with interest and never needed it. What I learned is the bank always wins from the minute you swiped that card the bank has already made a profit…..a 101 in banking for everyone.
July 3rd, 2009 at 11:51 pm
Many customers, including myself, have been told by JP Morgan Chase that they can be spared from the extremely high 5% of the balance payment, and have their monthly payment returned to their current level, IF they agree to give up their low fixed interest rate for a higher rate.
It is this posters opinion that JP Morgan Chase has tried to create an unreasonable payback structure in order to make customers fearful of the consequences of defaulting – and to try to coerce them to relinquish their low fixed rate of interest.
It is this posters opinion, that with Malice aforethought, the board of directors of JP Morgan Chase, have conspired to extort money from hardworking citizens by forcing them into a situation of fearfulness that their credit rating, availability to credit, financial stability and reputation in their community will be harmed if they do not bend to the will of the credit card company.
JP Morgan Chase argues that it retains the “right” to raise the minimum payment under the service agreement of the loan.
I believe that “right,” if it does exist, has been illegally used as a smoke screen to extort money from nearly one million American families by trying to skirt the Truth in Lending laws.
This posters opinion is that JP Morgan Chase, with malice aforethought, used the threat of unreasonable monthly payments, the fear of default, damage to the customer’s credit rating and reputation, as a scheme for raising the interest rate on loans that have a fixed rate of interest and are protected by the Truth and Lending laws.
It is my opinion that JP Morgan Chase and Co. is currently using tactics to extort money from approximately 850,000 families who have loans with low, fixed interest rates and have never been late with a payment.
It is time the authorities see this unscrupulous tactic for what it is – EXTORTIONARY LENDING.
Please print this post and take it to your local district attorney or contact the FBI in your area.
And by all means send this post to your representative in Washington.
July 4th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
David,
There are several card holders that are paying more than the prime rate and they are still affected. The terms were spelled out. Life of the Loan @ 2% min payment. If we can’t trust that agreement why on earth would we trust a hardship agreement. There are complaints out there that Chase changed the terms on those also. I do pay more than the minimum and always have. 90% of my payment goes to principal. There are also several reports out there that they were not offered 6% but 12% all the way to 21%.
If the tables were turned would they be offering to lower our APR’s???? I agree with Steve Jones….It is EXTORTIONARY LENDING….
I will make my higher minimum payments, but as the old saying goes “What goes around comes around” When consumers are treated unfairly they tell everyone….These are card holders that have paid as agreed and will have more clout in the long run…All they want is an OPT-OUT OPTION, like the one that Carter Franke testified before the sub committee about.
July 4th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Chase Bank does not believe that there are enough americans to hit the streets and really protest against them.
There is definitely a growing movement of anger out there. My http://www.bloggersagainstchasebank.com was mentioned in an NBC article by Lynda Baquero and that resulted in a lot of hits and raised awareness.
It will take us doing more than blogging. At some point, if everybody was willing to post a sign somewhere around where they live, we might be surprised to find just how much “hidden” anger is out there.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/credit_cards/chase_credit_cards.html
http://www.bloggersagainstchasebank.com
http://www.daily-protest.com
http://www.changeinterms.com
http://dailypuma.blogspot.com/2009/04/breaking-news-amex-and-citibank-have.html
July 4th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
I apologize for the length of this comment, but I have a lot of things I want to say that I haven’t read on here yet…
Have you noticed how none of the news outlets have run with this awful story? They’ve run small pieces of it but haven’t really exploded it like it needs to be exploded – this is a huge story that affects the financial lives of one million people who have never even thought about filing for bankruptcy. Is this complacency due to Chase contributing advertising dollars to these businesses?
I’ve also written the BBB, the OCC, the FTC, the President, my Congressman, my Senators, Congresswoman Maloney, and Senator Schumer.
I do not want to settle with the devil yet – I still want to fight, even though there is no way I can survive more than a month or two of payments.
Carter Franke FIRST testified he had a great relationship with ALL his customers and that he would allow a customer to opt out if they would prefer to keep their original terms in tact. He gave this testimony in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs on January 25, 2007.
Less than 14 months later, Franke testified in front of the House Committee on Financial Services regarding the credit card reform bill (HR 5244). Franke said, “The bill requires a bank to follow payment terms which cost a great deal to implement – costs that will be passed on to consumers – and will virtually end competitive efforts to win business through low or zero interest offers. At Chase, our experience is that consumers appreciate these offers and take advantage of them. Many have become our long-term, valued customers…We believe that especially in times of economic uncertainty, our customers appreciate knowing that whatever financial strain they might face, we won’t add to it, as long as they remain in good standing with us.”
Here is the threat from Carter Franke:
“We also very strongly believe the context in which HR 5244 is being put forward argues for considerable restraint on this legislation. In this uncertain economy, with credit markets already much tighter than they have been in many years, prudence would seem to dictate extreme caution with legislation that has the potential to further restrict consumers’ access to credit…THERE IS CLEAR INDICATION THAT RESTRICTING CREDIT CARDS [with this legislation] WOULD LIKELY HAVE PAINFUL CONSEQUENCES FOR CONSUMERS AND SMALL BUSINESSES – AND EVENTUALLY FOR THE U.S. ECONOMY.”
July 4th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
My mother and I have several credit card accounts with Chase and received notice that the minimum payment on these account are going to be increase from 2% to 5%. We share a house hold together and there is no way either of us can afford the increases on our payments.
My mom lives on social security benefits and a small pension and I myself work for a company that has been hit hard by the economic and has forced us to take pay cuts.
I am very upset as this change in your policy which may lead us to file for bankruptcy. This is just killing my mother who has been distraught since we receive these account change notices from Chase.
I have tried to call and speak to customer service representative, but have not been able to resolve this issue.
July 4th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
I am also one of the unfortunate million that has got the shaft. What is funny is the day before I got the 5% letter, I received a chase letter raising my credit limit and more “special offer” checks at low interest rates. I’m pretty fortunate in that I have been relatively spared during this economic time. I will have my minimum payment raised from about $160 to $375 on about $7500. I had also just had my new car loan financed with Chase.
I guess I don’t have a huge problem with raising minimum payments. However, raising them from 2% to 5% with a 30 day warning is completely unacceptable and unethical. I will simply suck it up and make the new payments (even extra payments when possible). I am immediately moving my car loan to another bank, even if I slightly increase my payment. Chase will never make another dime off me and my family.
What really makes me mad is I paid a 3% fee for the opportunity to receive the special offer. I feel I should be credited this fee back since Chase has changed the terms. I know it will never happen, but if a class-action lawsuit would ever have a fighting chance, I believe it would be this consideration a judge and jury would most fault Chase.
Chase has lost a customer for life and will also have somebody badmouthing them for the next 50+ years (hopefully). Best of luck to everyone.
July 4th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
This doesn’t make any sense to me in the long run. Especially since Chase is more than a credit card company. I mean they’re a bank, and I’m assuming many of the 850,000 people affected have accounts there, and many will close those accounts now. Furthermore, I have had two car loans through chase, but you can bet that next time I go buy a car I’m gonna tell them not to use Chase as the lender. So that’s gonna cost them at least $5000. So I’m only 29, I woulda probably had at least 2 more car loans minimum through them over my life. So now they’re losing 10s of thousands of dollars just from me. And I’m assuming from many more people. But maybe I guess losing millions doesn’t matter when you’re chase and you’re making billions?
July 4th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
David:
Chase has already lost. They g have lost 850,000 future customers, their friends,families and coworkers. As acustomer,theyhavelost not only one card, but six, not to mention future loans,student loans,mortgages,etc. It will gravely affect their future business and viability.I
July 4th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
I have received one of those 2% to 5% letters in the mail. My payment will go from $100 to about $240. I can not afford this as I have had my income cut in 1/2.
What have I done, make a picket sign that states “Chase Customer Service Sucks.” Stand in front of their banks. Some one will come out in two minutes and ask if they could help, but they can not because they do not deal with credit cards.
Chase just moved into California, my goal, try to get them to leave. Hopefully, one customer at a time.
July 4th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
This makes me furious. Chase was a recipient and benefited from the bailout with our tax dollars and now they turn around and gouge us some more!!!! I don’t believe that they aren’t making a profit. There’s a Chase bank on every corner in my town.
July 5th, 2009 at 7:52 pm
Don’t forget the original 400,000 affected by this late 2008/2009. They had a 2% to 5% raise of minimum payments also. That makes 1.2 million affected by this.
July 6th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
I had sent a message through my online account with Chase commenting on my displeasure with the Change in Terms…They emailed back a canned letter but also reminded me in a VERY threathning way that they can now Close My Account for ANY REASON…Today I get this in my email
Dear
You recently received an e-mail response in reference to a question or concern regarding your Chase credit card. We need your opinion on how effectively we handled your contact in order to provide the best service to our customers.
Please take a few moments and complete the brief questionnaire, which asks about this particular experience with Chase.
Your participation now will help us provide you with the best possible products and service in the future.
Note: For your security, Chase will not ask you to provide any personal information while taking this survey.
Sincerely,
Chip Hill
Senior Vice President, Customer Experience
I really don’t think CHASE is going to want me to fill this out!!!!!
July 6th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
My family has also been affected by Chase’s outrageous amendment to terms. This is/will be devastating to so many people, but we cannot stop fighting! Contact the FTC, OCC, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, your representatives, etc. I recently have been communicating with Girard Gibbs http://www.girardgibbs.com/chase.asp They are interested in collecting more information on this topic. I was able to speak to someone immediately.
On a side note, I want to thank everyone for taking the time to share their stories. In a situation/time like this, it is nice to know that I am not alone. Chase is kicking people when they are down – shame on you Chase, SHAME ON YOU!!!
July 6th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
Just wanted to add my name to the chorus. Chase made a big mistake in the gung-ho credit days of a few years ago with the life of the loan low rate offers. Their management is scared. Scared of sitting on billions of dollars of credit below market rates. I think their fear of that has lead to another big mistake. The 2%-5% people aren’t going to take this lightly. They marketed to the “super-prime” crowd. Most have plenty of resources to pay the higher minimums or payoff the card. Chase knows this, it explains their actions, but their missing something. The super-prime people are so because they believe “a deal’s a deal”. They meet their committments and expects businesses and others to as well. I’m ready for a fight. Where do we sign-up for the class-action?
July 6th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Over a years time they are only going to get $3000.00 more than I would have paid anyway and I won’t default!!! For $3000.00 they will loose me for LIFE along with everyone I know and much more than the 1.2 million they have put in harms way!! I will transfer the balance but NOT until after Feb of 2010, and only with a great rate offer. We are the super-prime class and after all the damage that Credit Card Company’s are causing and the LARGE default rates that they will see along with VERY unhappy investors I think we will have a lot of choices, but I don’t trust anyone quite yet!!!
July 6th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
Same story, 3.99% promised cash advance until paid in full at a 2% minimum balance, which worked out to be 5 years. Much better than a traditional bank loan or home equity LOC. But as in all offers, had fine print and you knew you had to follow the rules precisely. Looks like over a million of us have done exactly that and took Chase up on their offer for a great promotional rate and terms. They hoped we would fall behind in payments to trigger late fees and exhorbitant default interest rates, however, we DID NOT and as a result, Chase needed to find another way to create more profit, certainly not from folks that were careful with their monthly budgets! This is fraud, bait and switch in it’s purest form all supported by our ding bat governmnent folks who try to step in and help, but only create more opportunities for these crooks to find loop holes, as they say to change the terms “legally” I do not think it is legal, otherwise as some folks have pointed out, changing from 2% minimum payment to 5% could be 75% or payment in full during your next billing cycle, OR oh yeah, default interest rates they hoped for in the first place!
July 6th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
Check Out the article on the following site, he did a great job!
http://www.investingblog.org/archives/509/beware-of-3q-and-4q-banking-and-credit-card-earnings-%E2%80%93-manipulation-of-earnings-with-minimum-payment-scam/
July 7th, 2009 at 1:11 am
I ask again.
Did anyone get anything in writing from Chase at the time we accepted the offer what the minimum payment would be? and /or that the would not change it?
Unethical, yes. Illegal, no.
July 7th, 2009 at 3:18 am
marge11,
If you and I and a million other people pay $3000 more in a year than we otherwise would have, that’s $3 billion dollars of underwater credit for Chase retired. If they scare a few hundred thousand people into a higher interest rate at lower minmum payment, that’s the motive. It’s just ethically unacceptable. I don’t know what kind of default rates Chase is expecting, but I’m sure they’ve calculated and they’re likely insured. They are willing to act in very bad faith and screw-up the lives of a few hundred thousand people who planned their lives around an aggressively marketed deal from Chase, and can’t pay the new minimums. Chase is doing this to close a rate gap they’ve created for themselves. There needs to be a pound of flesh for this unethical action beyond just losing good customers. I don’t like class-action lawyers, but this is why the system needs them.
July 7th, 2009 at 3:47 am
mateo,
The card member agreement clearly states on the 1st page minimum payment expectations. 2% of the outstanding balance is in bold font then it explains scenarios where the minimum will be different in case of low balance, etc. On page 6 (six) is the “Change of Terms” paragraph that basically says “never mind the last 6 pages, Chase can do anything anytime”. The average Joe (if he bothers to read it) knows there’s laws against predatory lending so that paragraph is OK, right?
Unethical? Abolutely. Illegal? A mean-spirited bunch of attorneys that know the Truth in Lending Laws is having a look. The question is still out.
July 7th, 2009 at 11:07 am
It looks like more people will be on the Chaise Credit Card Diet soon.
See it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt-a_8LYzrw
Unfortunately, this is more reality than spoof for a lot of people.
July 7th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
Doug,
You are so right!! Did you read the article at the site I posted on #143? It really hits home on the other part of Chase’s SCAM!!
I am really concerned for all of those that have posted about the deals they have made for a 2% 5 year repayment plan….I hope it was not a leap out of the frying pan into the FIRE!!!
July 7th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Guys,
Some of us will be able to pay the new higher minimum and grumble about it but it is not going to push over the financial edge. There are those that are living with no ability to pay the minimum. This message is for you.
1) Once you determine you can not make the continued long term payments of 5% minimum your credit report, FICO score etc will be destroyed by Chase as they impose default rates and penalties on you. You are toast.
You need to understand this NOW. If this is the case….
2) Call Chase and ask for a credit line increase. Then withdraw the limit to the max. You can go to Las Vegas and cash in chips, you can buy gold coins, you can pay all your utility bills, medical bills in advance, you can pay housing costs to you your landlord or bank.
3) It makes no difference to Chase whether you owe 5,000 or 50,0000 they will destroy your credit so you should take them down with you. They will start the default rate notices and nasty letters etc. Just ignore them, you are already screwed. However after a few months they will pass on to an agency and you will be able to negociate a settlement of a fraction of what you owe them. They are f***ing you, you are f***ing them.
4) From a rational ecomonics viewpoint you are behaving rationally and maximizing your wealth. You can have you credit destroyed or you can have you credit destroyed and 5,000 or 10,000 or 15,000 of Chase’s money under your mattress
July 7th, 2009 at 8:10 pm
good luck waiting for your 32$ refund in 2016 if the lawsuit gets settled.
July 8th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Has anyone else considered the possibility that even if you do take their “deal” and agree to the higher rate in exchange for keepin your 2% minimum payment, they could just turn around 6 months from now and hike your minimum back up to5% , except now with a new higher rate? Sounds ludicrous, but I wouldn’t put anyting past them now.
July 8th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
I just called Chase and asked a supervisor how this was legal. Their reply was that according to the cardmember agreement, they could change the terms at any time, and that if they wanted to, they could demand 100% of the balance in any given month. Nice.
July 9th, 2009 at 2:59 am
Hi all. I too will be greatly affected by this new minimum payment increase. I have 3 cards with Chase with very high balances and low fixed interest rates.
I also have several other cards because I was forced to live off of them for a while. Although I have never been late and I recently took a job in the Middle East just to pay my debt, I may still be forced into bankruptcy. This really does suck.
Ok, so my question for the group is this: If I close my other cc accounts, can they change terms after the account has been closed? If not, I think that may be the safest way to go before other cc companies follow suit. Thanks in advance.
July 9th, 2009 at 8:25 am
Barb,
Unlike Chase, most cc’s will allow an opt-out if they raise your rates. At that point you can close your card and continue with the same APR…
Even if you close your card now they can change your rate so you would need to continue to watch for the change in terms notices, which you will have to respond too. IMHO I would not close your accounts unless you get a change in notice that you want to opt-out of. You will take a hit on your credit score… Chase is only playing NASTY because they can change our rate because it is FIXED!! Changing the minimum payment is they’re only option and thus will not allow us the opt-out option…..
July 9th, 2009 at 8:28 am
WATCH your statements!!! Chase just changed my DUE DATE AGAIN!!! 2 years ago this resulted in 2 due dates in the same month!!!
July 9th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
This comment was posted at banktime.com and sent me into a tizzy!!!!
I let’em have it!!!
“The cardholders affected by the new minimums will be those considered “high risk,” who have been less than diligent about paying their account scrupulously in the past…”
July 11th, 2009 at 6:58 am
CHASE TRIES TO STEAL WEBSITE: Please read The article @ http://www.free-press-release.com/news/200901/1231777439.html#comments
July 11th, 2009 at 10:58 am
Chase told me that even if I closed the account, the new minimum would still go in effect on 8-1-09.
July 11th, 2009 at 11:01 am
They just changed my due date, too.
July 12th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Here is a description for a Proactive Solutions position at CHASE…
As a Proactive Solutions Adviser, you will be responsible for receiving inbound and outbound calls from customers who are identified as a potential risk based on several criteria, including: Economically devastated geographic areas (high unemployment, high foreclosure rates, Customers near credit-limit…
I would say that CHASE created a Economically devastated geographic area EVERYWHERE!!
July 13th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
I have a HUGE balance. I can’t make the new minimum in my current monthly budget but I came up with a plan. It flies in the face of all the money advice out there but since I am facing default and ruin, I am going to use part of my IRA to supplement my monthly payment for just over a year. I’ll have sufficient education expenses during that time so I can get out of the 10% penalty so I just have to pay the income tax. This sucks but it will get me out of debt. In 14 months my new minimum payement will be back to where it is now. I will have the card paid off in just over 2 years. It will mess up my retirement a bit but I probably would have had a heart attack before I retired because of my debt so maybe this has a silver lining. I was already having nightmares about missing a payment and getting my rate jacked up. I’ve been having a sinking feeling lately I’d get screwed eventually so while this particular event is something I did not anticipate, paying the piper one way or another has always been the way I knew this would end up.
July 13th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
I just received this in my email today…
Dear
We’re writing to let you know a change in terms notice included with your June 2009 statement for your credit card account ending in 0000 is available online. The changes will be effective on the dates listed in the notice, except we will delay until your October 2009 statement the effective date for the changes listed in the notice that you have a choice whether or not to accept. We will extend the date for you to notify us if you choose not to accept those changes until August 15, 2009.
To see your statement and notice or download them as a PDF, log on to http://www.Chase.com and go the screen with your June 2009 statement.
Note: The account above is enrolled in Paperless Statements, so you won’t receive a paper statement or notices in the mail. You can update your statement delivery preferences anytime to begin receiving paper statements again.
Please don’t reply directly to this automatically-generated e-mail message. If you have questions, please contact our Customer Support team at the phone number on the back of your card.
Sincerely,
CardMember Services
Did anyone else get this??
July 14th, 2009 at 12:21 am
Marge they are giving you 2 more months which is news. Could you cut and paste whatever is printed from the new change in terms notice is here. thanks. PS changing due dates is really dirty of them because almost nobody catches this.
July 14th, 2009 at 5:15 am
I’ve just read through so many of these postings and everyone has the same issues:
Good credit
Never been late
Getting screwed by Chase and other cards
What about just sticking it to them and taking the credit hit and settling with someone reasonable that this will get turned over to.
It goes against everything we’ve believed in as we’ve worked so hard for these great credit scores only to be screwed by Chase and others.
We have zero leverage and nobody to really complain to that can immediately make a difference?
When do we all band together and take a credit hit that we can recover from, and take these credit card companies down?
So we don’t have credit for awhile. So what, the credit card companies already slash your limit down every time you make a payment taking away the available credit we worked so hard for over the years.
Can you imagine if the 1 million good customers that they’re screwing with just all decided to stop paying completely in a coordinated effort?
I see a lot of problems here but very few solutions. Forget the class action suits that will get you 20 bucks in 5 years, does anybody really have a plan that can make a difference? It’s going to take something radical which is usually not a part of our normal thought process. But these are not normal times. Other solutions that might actually yield results in our lifetime? It’s amazing what people can do that band together.
July 14th, 2009 at 6:44 am
mateo,
It’s not an opt-out for the 5% min payment….
The following changes will apply unless you choose not to accept them, and are effective the first day of your billing cycle that includes August 1, 2009:
(G) BALANCE TRANSFER CHECKS ASSESSED CASH ADVANCE
RATES AND FEES. The portion of the Using Your Account section of your Agreement that describes checks that access your account is amended. We are adding a new sentence at the end, and this sentence is the only change you may choose
to accept or not within this section. The revised section will read as follows:
• Checks: We may in our sole discretion provide you with cash advance checks or balance transfer checks as a way to use your account. We also refer to them in this agreement as a check or checks. You may use a check to pay for goods or services, to transfer balances to your account, or
for other uses we allow. But you may not use these checks
to transfer balances to this account from other accounts or loans with us or any of our related companies. Only the person whose name is printed on the check may sign the check. Cash advance checks are treated as cash advances and balance transfer checks are treated as balance transfers
except as noted in this agreement or any offer we make to you. Any balance transfer checks made payable to cash, to you, or to certain persons or businesses as we will disclose to you, may, in our sole discretion, be assessed cash advance interest rates and fees.
This was also changed, but no opt-out….
(D) CLOSING AND SUSPENSION. The “Closing Your Account” section is renamed and amended to clarify our rights to suspend credit privileges or features on your account and the reasons we
may close your account.
CLOSING/SUSPENDING YOUR ACCOUNT. You may close
your account at any time. If you call us to close your account, we may require that you confirm your request in writing. Except as required by applicable law, and without prior notice, we may close your account or suspend your credit privileges or any feature on your account at any time for any reason, including account inactivity. If we close your account or suspend your credit privileges or any feature, we will not
be liable to you for any consequences resulting from any such action. If you or we close your account, you and any authorized users must immediately stop using your account and destroy all cards, checks or other means to access your
account or return them to us upon request. You will continue to be responsible for charges to your account, even if they are made or processed after your account is closed and you will be required to pay the outstanding balance on your
account according to the terms of this agreement. In addition,to the extent allowed by law, we may require you to pay the outstanding balance immediately or at any time after your account is closed.
After I emailed them online to complain, back in June, about the 5% minimum payment, they emailed back and reminded me in a threatening way of the above ACCOUNT CLOSING CHANGES…… ARE they threatening to close the account and call the entire amount do?????
July 14th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
Here is a quote from another site after they made a DEAL with Chase’s Proactive Solutions dept….
“as soon as my next payment processed I will get a confirmation in writing. She also stated that it may take 2-3 payment periods for the actual amount and payment plan to kick in and my monthly statements may be higher, but so as long as I paid the amount agreed to in our discussion today, I would be OK. This makes me nervous, but she said that the letter that processes as soon as I make my next payment will state this.”
I WOULD BE NERVOUS TOOOOO!!!!!
July 15th, 2009 at 9:15 am
I liked this quote from another site…
CHASE = Cheating Honest Americans Sounds Easy by Jamie Dimon
July 16th, 2009 at 8:40 am
[...] such activity before, they certainly have put the brakes on this marketing strategy. In fact, the higher minimum payment requirements that they have placed on many of their account holders was expanded to an even larger percentage of [...]
July 16th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Chase now has a new television commercial where they will text you your current bank balance….followed by a mom and her children racing to the mall. Chase’s commercial is an advertisement for irresponsible spending..they are advocating the kind of financial behavior I preached against to my children. Your current bank balance is not an indication of how much money is available to spend. This bank is disgusting. They now target customers who are financially irresponsible and punish those who are. What kind of a message is that? I will pay the 5% increased min and keep my low interest rate until the balance is paid in full. However, I will never do business with Chase again, credit or banking.
Someone should do a follow up commercial that shows the same family’s dissappointment when their bank balance reflects Chase’s 150% increase in the min. monthly payment due on thier credit card.
July 16th, 2009 at 11:49 am
In the Wall Street Journal, July 14th 2009 they have a video clip about banks ending fixed rate credit cards in lieu of variable.
You might need high speed internet to see this.
http://www.visioncredit.org/chase-raises-minimum-payments-adds-service-fee/
I have trouble trying to view this.
July 16th, 2009 at 11:52 am
Marge,
I believe if they close your account they are not allowed to call the loan. That they must continue with the terms and conditions in effect at the time the account is closed. As they have suspended your mimimum 5% and if they were to close you might lock yourself into the terms we had at 1.5% minimum.
Please do not take my word on this. I am not qualified to state this as fact. I am just postulating. Perhaps someone that knows more than I do can comment?
July 16th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Marge
“In addition,to the extent allowed by law, we may require you to pay the outstanding balance immediately or at any time after your account is closed.”
I think they are prohibbited by law from this- hence the strange wording.
July 16th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Mateo,
I hope your right….I worry about the million of cardholders that continue to make the 5% min payment without defaulting, which is my intent, and we all know that Chase is hoping we will default and what will they do when we don’t…..
I called today to verify what the language in the balance transfer checks changes meant. I had read some blogs on other sites and there was concerns that they could perhaps asses new rates on previous checks written and void our low rates…..The CSR was confused be said that many of the notices were wrong and that we were suppose to be able to opt-out of everything except the 5% min payment that was mailed by it’s self. I questioned her on being able to change the rate on the current balance, which is all BT checks….She said, no, that will only be for check written after October 1st….I then asked her to have a corrected change in terms emailed to me….If they sent out wrong notices, WHY ARE THEY NOT CORRECTING THIS???? I really don’t know if this CSR knew what she was talking about…I’m not opting out anyway unless they give me a chance to opt-out of the 5%…..
July 17th, 2009 at 11:15 am
Beginning July 1, 2010 when the new rules take effect, payments above the minimum must be applied to the highest interest rate balances. Chase raised the interest rate on my card to effectively increase overall finance charges because I did use the card once without the promotional checks. I will make a payment above the minimum in July 2010 to eliminate this balance then continue to make minimum payments only. Until July Chase…enjoy the extra revenue you squeezed out of me.
July 17th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Did anyone receive a recent letter from Chase or any other creditor regarding a change to payment deadlines? I received notice of 5 extra days to make a payment. I was curious if anyone else received a letter.
July 17th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Kenneth,
Don’t be fooled, this is no act of kindness…..
Starting Aug 20th they are required to provide you with a statement 21 days before your due date. They either needed to change the date of your statement drop or your due date….
July 19th, 2009 at 1:17 am
Kenneth,
Yes. They told me to skip the complete payment for July with no fee, no charge, no penalty in writing on the statement and showed min. payment of 0$. I paid anyway. I did not ask for this nor understand why they did this.
July 19th, 2009 at 1:26 am
Marge,
I think Chase is not trying to push people into default. They carefully studied what min payment they could increase and perhaps retain 95+% of payments or whatever criteria 99%. They are doing this to recover much needed cash. If they wanted to hurt the average client they could have set it anything like 20% per month. They did not. They could have set it to 10%. They could have set it to 7.5%. They did not. Yes there are going to be hundreds of people that can not cover the increase. Maybe thousands od us. They may be a drop in the overall bucket. Chase does not care. They do not care about individuals. This was a macro decision.
They know each of our debt and credit scores and payment histories. They ran computer simulations of the population of clients. They applied ONE solution to all of us. Rich or poor. Able to pay or not. They decided 5% is the number for everybody. Was it worth pissing off a lot of customers? The fixed income people are screwed. hey it is a good business decision to collect cash rapidly. I guess.
July 19th, 2009 at 6:49 am
Mateo,
I would have to disagree with you on this. They may need cash, but since they only targeted low fixed rate accounts and offered to let cardholders keep they’re 2% minimum payment in exchange for a higher APR one would have to wonder what the real intentions are here? Why not do it across the board?
July 19th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Okay, I am going to lay this out out in the line!!! I am so tired of the greater than thou, I would never use my card to run up things that are beyond my means spending that you deserve what you are getting idealistic assumptions…. My son, whom is bipolar, choose to try and commit suicide at the age of 18 by drinking acid. After 2 years in the hospitals with the total removal of his stomach and esophagus, and limited insurance, we were looking at over $400,000 in medical expenses…..YES, I could have just let my son die and not incurred these expenses!!!! He did NOT choose Bipolar, it chose him!!!!! After all was said an done, We still had over $30,000 dollars in expenses that we needed to deal with…..Those expenses were done with a BT to CHASE!!! I trusted them in my most troubled time of need!!!!! This is how they repay my trust……
July 22nd, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Story… Chase reaches agreement and LOWERS interest rate.
http://blog.oregonlive.com/finance/2009/07/fight_for_your_credit_card_dea.html
August 4th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
marge it is august 2009. I have 3 Chase accounts. They raised the minimum of 2 accounts with smaller balances (to 5%) and did NOT raise the minimum to 5% on the third account with a balance about 4 times the size the of combination of the other 2 accounts with Chase. Small name on all accounts, same billing address. Does this make sense to anybody?
August 7th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
mateo,
I don’t think they are done yet…The first round was in Nov, some cards were not affected only to be included in the next round (June)… Watch your mail again in November….They still have plenty of time before Feb rolls around.
August 13th, 2009 at 12:10 am
my monthly min went from 2% to 5%- sucks. Hard to make that large of a payment. At least I still have the 3.99 interest. I have not heard about the $10 monthly fee.
Soon as this card is paid off I am canceling it! those dogs.
August 14th, 2009 at 11:13 am
Call chase on 877-890-2941, Portray your financial situation as currently making ends meet (monthly mortgage, rent, car payment, other credit cards against take home pay) before they raised your minimum payment increase to 5%. Request a fixed monthly payment for 5 years while agreeing to close the account (this will only slightly reduce your credit score as it closes one of your lines of open credit, but will be listed as “customer closed account” on your credit report.) I read this on another site and did today. Took me 5 minutes. This basically took my monthly payment back down to where it was, while reducing my interest rate by 1%. THIS ROCKS.
August 16th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
YouTube satire of Chase Bank’s arrogance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AISu9ho1FfA&feature=related
August 18th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
Join a class action lawsuit against Chase
http://www.girardgibbs.com/chase.asp
It’s a California firm. Please, please do this! If enough people join this lawsuit, the feds will have to take notice and change the laws in the favor of the people. Think of it as the French Revolution! Off with their (Chase) money-grubbing, sneaky and underhanded heads!
August 19th, 2009 at 12:53 am
Don’t you wish you had been warned about Chase?
Here’s your opportunity to warn others that Chase cannot be trusted (one-page flyer in PDF form that you can print out and hand to people or send as an e-mail attachment):
http://changeinterms.com/pdfs/Chase-BEWARE-Squeezing-Existing-Customers-HARD_ElectronicVer.pdf
August 20th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Chase just called and offered to review my account. Here are the terms:
With approval, I close the account and the min payment will be 2% or lower with possibly a lower APR than I even have now – 2.99 on part of it and 3.99 on the rest – with a payoff over 5 years. This makes no sense as, if I continued to make the same payment as I have been, it would have been paid off in 4 but, hey, of course I said yes (will still try to pay off sooner) and will see what the actual terms and offer are. HAPPY to close this account and will not forget. Hang in, the rest of you, and good luck to all!
August 21st, 2009 at 8:51 am
Bernadette,
Did you complain to the OCC? I got the same call from Chase with this offer, it was prompted by my complaint to the OCC and they have to send confirmation to them on what I decide to do.
August 21st, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Chase called back and offered fixed APR of 2% with a payoff over 60 months which they will be sending in writing over the next few days. This, course, is less than I had as an APR and the time frame drops even the old payment by about 50/month. Makes you wonder about how many they actually got to pay off their balances immediately based upon the threat of the increase. I am actually depressed at the lengths they will go when, even if the amount borrowed was more than some should have, they were as much if not more complicit in offering to take on the debt and lend the money. Imagine the “American public” not knowing a good deal when they see one! Will still never do business again with such an organization and can only hope many, many others follow suit.
August 21st, 2009 at 1:40 pm
I did not complain to the OCC although I did send a letter to my congressman and got a reply that it was forwarded to the credit card co. regulators at the Federal Reserve. I was actually in agreement with Mateo’s comments that if you cannot pay it, don’t pay another cent…I admit, I was nervous about what havoc that could create for me from anything to renting another apartment eventually to any other credit issues that may come up but felt I was going to have to bite the bullet and see what could be done…Bottom line for me was evaluating if I could take the hit for the 7 years that crap like that would be on my record – something all the people who have commented here have obviously tried always to avoid by paying promptly if not early. The better parts have won out for now for me but not by much…scary.
August 22nd, 2009 at 7:15 pm
Well I am one of those that just got nailed by Chase and I had no idea that Chase planned on or could have even done this so abruptly. My $173.00 monthly min. payment that I have always PAID ON TIME and always MORE than the min. payment required, went up to $430.00 because it was a balance transfer offer for a fixed rate of 3.99 on a 8,600.00 balance that they would like to get rid of so they can lend that money out at a higher interest to others. I will struggle to make it but I really feel for others who might have to suffer a default interest rate of 30% because they ended up missing a payment due to the fact that they can’t afford the difference in payment so abruptly. Wamu was always good it seemed, but since Chase took over, it turned into as much of a Loan Shark as any Banking Institution can get. But I am not taking this lightly. Next week I will take out all the money in my 2 Chase checking accounts leaving only $12 in each and open new accounts at another bank. I will then write myself a monthly check to my new Banks for $1.00 out of the Chase accounts as a constant reminder to Chase that I am using a different bank for my business now and still keep Chase’s administrative staff busy with my FREE checking accounts. All three of my Sons will do the same with their accounts at Chase. Then I will balance transfer my other 3 Chase credit card accounts that are lower balances with higher interests to another bank. I read where banks said they are doing this so people can get out from under their debt. BS…. My other 3 Chase card accounts with a higher interest, their minimum payments didn’t change. If anyone has any other suggestions on ways to protest these disgusting tactics of Chase to fatten their bonuses when people are desperately struggling to just survive in this economy, Please share!!!
August 22nd, 2009 at 7:19 pm
When you close an account it lowers your credit score. Keep that in mind if your credit score is important.
August 24th, 2009 at 9:34 am
Re: closing an account
Over the years, I have closed and opened MANY accounts – it is notated on my credit report as ‘account closed by customer’ – with no adverse effect to my credit rating (still close to 800). I have read that having too much available credit in the form of many open accounts (even with no balances) can be just as much detrimental (don’t really know but, hey…)when people are evaluating you but, personally, I just try to remove the temptation.
September 3rd, 2009 at 3:04 pm
My minimum payment of approx $700 went up to $1700. I called Chase at 877-890-2941 last Thursday and got a 2% apr for 5 years today. My payment is now a little over $600.
September 3rd, 2009 at 4:28 pm
I think the intent IS to get cash. Tricking peopple into raising their interest rate. They do not want you to default. That’s a lose/lose situation b/c your credit is messed up, and they lose the business.
I think what they really want is for us to transfer the balance to another bank all together. In a sense getting rid of the “toxic” debt, and it gives them instant cash.
September 4th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
I know it’s personal, but does anyone who got a 5-year deal and retained the 2% minimum payment by closing their accounts want to share the numbers they discussed with the hardship rep?
I saw that several got 2% APR and I got 6%, so I’m thinking that those that it was considered to be more of a “hardship” for got a lower APR. I told my rep that we made $3000/month and she figured after our expenses (mortgage, car payment, other credit cards), we had $1500/month left over (of course, she didn’t factor in food, health insurance, gas, utilities, etc., ’cause we have NO money left over after that).
So, does anyone wish to share their income to debt ratio, so I can better understand why I got a higher APR than others? If so, thanks in advance.
September 8th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
after 3 phone calls to chase about 4 hours worth of talking my interest rate changed to 7.99 to keep the same payment on my balance transfer of 7,200 at 3.99 for life of loan. my payment went from 232.00 to 556.00. its now the same. for 2 years then it goes up to a normal purchace rate
they told me in this economic times chase needed to recoupe as many manoeys as soon as possible plus help the customer pay the dept off quicker.
nothing they did other than wanting to raise my payment is going to help. Its a bullshit scam to get more money out of those who pay on time. They also told me 95% of customers where happy with ths change. Sure they are, why wouldnt they just pay more to get it down quicker then anyways. im so discusted with the whole thing i dont even want to type or read more about it.
September 10th, 2009 at 11:46 pm
Just a note, I called and went through the whole ordeal of my personal finacial situation, then was offered to keep the 2% min payment if I would raise my interest rate to 6%. I took the offer to be able to make the min payments.
I didn’t stop there though… I contacted my states attorney general, as we as other consumer protection outlets, and was contacted by Chase a few weeks later stating that they had received a complaint on my behalf from the AG, and they wanted to make the situation right, and THEY actually OFFERED to lower my interest rate to 2%. So don’t stop with the higher interest rate, get your AG involved and see if that doesn’t help.
So Chase ended up losing money by jerking me around, on two cards with high balances, they lowered both from 3.99% and 4.99% to 2%. What a smart move from them.
September 11th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
Jimmy C–Wow, so complaining finally got someone somewhere?! That’s good to know, ’cause I got the same 6% APR that you did, so I’m NOT going to stop there. I AM going to contact my AG. Thank you so much for your post!
September 11th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Looks like I can’t get any help from the Nevada Attorney General…
“The Nevada Consumer Affairs Division and its administrative duties have been temporarily eliminated by Assembly Bill 561 implementing the Governor’s recommendation to the 2009 Nevada State Legislature.
The Nevada Consumer Affairs Division was the sole agency that could pursue deceptive trade via administrative enforcement seeking a resolution between the business and consumers, often pursuing mediation for consumer restitution. With its temporary elimination, the Consumer Affairs Division is no longer able to accept or process individual complaints.
While we would like to act on every piece of correspondence we receive, limitations of law, time and staff require us to focus our legal efforts on those cases that indicate a pattern of fraudulent activity that substantially affects the public interest. This means we cannot give legal advice, opinions or interpret Nevada law for individuals. Further, our capacity to address violations of the Nevada Deceptive Trade Practices Act (NRS, Chapter 598) is limited to substantial negative affects to the public interest. You may have the option of pursuing a private right of action through small claims or other court of proper jurisdiction.”
So, I can’t file an individual complaint in my state, but I’m not stopping there. Going to see what else I can do…
September 12th, 2009 at 12:40 am
Brian, thanks for all of the contact info. I filed a complaint with the FTC and OCC. Couldn’t file one with my state’s Attorney General, since there’s no individual complaint department anymore in Nevada. I also emailed my state’s House reps. If there’s anyone else I can complain to, please let me know. I’m on a roll.
September 12th, 2009 at 12:44 am
Oh, also complained to the U.S. Attorney General, so let’s see if it does any good…
September 17th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
I got a letter from my state’s house rep yesterday, less than a week after I emailed him…so pretty good. He said he’s aware of the current credit card practices and expressed his concern over the situation. He mentioned that they’re reforming their practices because of the regulators and new laws were going into effect next year, blah, blah, blah…everything we already know.
I think I’ll write him again to tell him that they’re not addressing the ridiculous minimum payment increase…how they can just raise it to whatever they want, whenever they want. And how they’re forcing people into bankruptcy or to close their accounts and then, for many, into the “hardship” program. Bottom line…they found a loophole in the new laws so that they could strip us of the low, fixed rates we had, because they screwed up.
September 18th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
File a Complaint Against Your Credit Card Company
Report the credit card issuer to the Comptroller of the Currency. Phone number is 202-874-4700.
Report the company to your state’s attorney general’s office. You can find links to your state’s AG website at naag.org. Your state might allow you to file a complaint online. This is probably the most effective complaint to make as it is the attorney general’s who have filed most of the lawsuits against credit card companies. For example, it was the California AG who sued Providian and forced them to pay the largest judgment against a credit card company ever.
Report the company to banking regulators. Their mailing address is Division of Credit Practices, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, D.C. 20580 or file a complaint online at http://www.ftc.gov.
September 21st, 2009 at 7:38 pm
There are several options for the almost 1 million customers that Chase has screwed. First, contact Chase just so you can hear the “that’s too bad” speech. Then file a complaint here
http://www.helpwithmybank.gov/…..index.html
It will get Chase attention! Also file a complaint with your states Attorneys General and Federal Attorneys General. Also, more than two dozen federal class action lawsuits were filed against Chase in courts throughout the country, and recently, they were all consolidated and transferred to Judge Chesney of the Northern District of California. We should know by Dec if its going to trial.
Chase is doing this to get rid of customers that carry a low interest balance or a large balance. They can get away with it as long as people are sheep.
This is what you get with a government controlled by corporate money. Like FDR said, a government by organized money is just as dangerous as a government by organized mob.
September 23rd, 2009 at 11:59 am
Here’s the scoop: JPMChase’s stock price has skyrocketed recently, mainly on the backs of the consumers they screwed, like us, and it makes me absolutely sick. They should be going bankrupt and begging for mercy, not reporting record profits after the BS they’ve been pulling. It’s just plain wrong, and we need to collectively rectify that.
I think it’s time to spread rumors about Chase going belly up…let’s see if we can drive their stock down to zero and kick those SOBs to the curb. I want to see Jamie Dimon crying to the media to squelch rumors of their demise…
Oh, and did you know that via the Chase corporate website, you can request vast amounts of printed material (annual reports and the like) to be sent to, well, anyone – including ALL of Chase’s execs – just type in their name, a disparaging title, and their corp office address, and they’ll spend oodles of money printing and mailing crap to themselves! Can you say “corporate waste?”
Here’s where you order it:
http://investor.shareholder.com/jpmorganchase/investorkit.cfm
Here’s where to send it:
(Executive Name Here)
Chief Theft Officer (or similar fun title)
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
270 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017-2070
212-270-7325
Oh, how I loathe those bastards…
September 26th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
See the new Chase protest video at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaCpi0m1wew&feature=channel_page
October 3rd, 2009 at 11:49 am
[...] recently updated their card user agreements to address new or upcoming government regulations being imposed upon the banking/credit card [...]
October 8th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
I called Chase AGAIN last week to tell them that my expenses have gone up and my income down, to see if I could get a lower APR through my BLP (I got 6%). I got a very nice lady but she was locked out of that part of the system, and was only able to help me with changing our due dates. I asked if there was anyone else who could help me and she said no.
Also, almost a month ago, I complained to everyone I could (FTC, OCC, AG, House Reps, etc.). Well, yesterday I got a voicemail from someone at Chase’s executive office, saying that they received a complaint from me through the OCC. I called her back and left her a voicemail, because she had already left for the day. I called again this morning and spoke to her. She was very nice and expressed concern over the situation, but really just called to acknowledge that they received my complaint, which must just be something that they legally have to do. The only alternative she gave me was that 7.99% APR offer for 2 years, to which I said, that was UNACCEPTABLE. I mentioned that I had never defaulted and now my APRs have been doubled. Not until I mentioned that our expenses had increased and our income decreased since enrolling in the BLP did she offer any assistance. She said she would contact the hardship departmant and see what she could do, and get back to me on Mon/Tues (10/12 or 10/13). She didn’t ask me for any new figures, so I don’t know what’s gonna happen at this point. Maybe she’ll have a hardship rep on the line when she calls back.
So, that’s what’s going on right now with me. Believe me, I’m not taking any of this lying down.
October 15th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
Well…guess what? The Chase exec did call me back on Tuesday. She talked to the Hardship Department and they were willing to lower my payments on both my Chase accounts. My $355 one will now be $305 and my $228 one will be $195, so a total savings of $83/month (from $583/month to $500), which is SORELY needed right now. Plus, and here’s the kicker, they’re lowering my APR from 6% to 0%!!! I was hoping for 2%, like some of you here got, but I was really just grasping at straws to see if I could get anything lower. So, yeah, I’m pretty excited about it!
Seems too good to be true, so we’ll see what the paperwork says when I get it in the mail, but I’m pretty pleased that all my hard work (i.e., “complaining”) actually got us somewhere. I had just about given up when I got that call from the Chase exec saying that they got my complaint from the OCC. So, DON’T GIVE UP! Even if you’re already enrolled in the Balance Liquidation Program, like me, keep trying if you don’t think your new APR is fair/ higher than you were paying before.
So, in 59 months (since I already made one payment on the program), I won’t owe Chase anything…paying only principal and NO interest!
I’ll post again after I receive the new paperwork…
October 16th, 2009 at 7:09 am
Oh, for Pete’s sake, now they want to canonize Jamie
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnews/themanwhocouldsalvagewallstreet
October 28th, 2009 at 11:05 pm
Got a letter from a woman at the Chase executive office stating my new payment amounts and 0% interest for 60 months through the BLP. So far so good…
November 2nd, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Are major banks behaving like Super Villain organizations from all those spy movies?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpHN45Hvpr0
December 4th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
Continuing to make payments through the BLP for 0% APR. Thought I had to do automatic payments, but I’ve been paying online when I choose to during the month. So, everything’s going as I was told it would.
January 15th, 2010 at 11:40 am
Chase is now changing terms on the BLP takers, they converted their CC debt to secured debt and now they are screwwwwed!