Credit card stupidity October 14, 2009
Posted by Alien Drums in Finances.Tags: banks, Chase, credit cards, greed, personal finances
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Credit card dept is stupid, and I have way too much of it. I can defend myself by saying very little of it went for consumer purchases; there were medical bills, house repairs, a child’s college education. Also, I have great interest rates that are locked in because I transferred balances back when credit card companies were clamoring for our money. Also, I always pay my monthly payment on time and am bringing down the balances. But, still, it’s stupid of me to have so much.
Big banks who back these credit cards can also be stupid. Take Chase Bank for example. I have three Chase cards, and if they dug into their detailed numbers they would say this Drums guy is a great customer. He always pays on time, so while we’re not making the big bucks off of him, he’s still making us a fair return on investment.
But Chase is looking at a much bigger picture than Mr. Drums’ accounts, and they must need money badly or just don’t like making little bucks off of me. They couldn’t raise the interest rate, so they decided I would have to pay 5 percent of the balance each month, thus more than doubling my payment amounts.
My wife called; they didn’t care. I paid the greater amount a couple of months, but then our property tax bill came and I realized I couldn’t keep up with all of it.
So, goodbye, Chase Bank. I have moved my money elsewhere. You would never get the big bucks from me, and now you will not get the little ones either. And, unless I get really desperate, I don’t plan on you ever getting any of my money again.
You think these guys who are getting paid so much would have more sense. It’s just greed. I can understand that, but I will not reward it.
Alien Drums 
Alien – You are one of over a 1.2 million Chase customers who have had the same experience with Chase. Me included – my payment went from $416 in Dec of 2008 to $1,025 in Jan of 2009….and even with the rapid paying down of the balance, my October payment was $666 – still much higher than it should be.
I have chosen to continue trying to pay the 5% but it is not easy. There is a huge class action lawsuit against Chase about this very issue. It was recently approved for consolidation from 14 separate class action law suits filed since Chase first issued this change in terms with no opt out in January of 2009 to the first 400,000 customers; then to an additional 850,000 customers were blindsided by the same scheme in July of 2009.
Chase accepted bail-out funds, lowered interest and debt for their non-paying and delinquent customers and put the squeeze on all their reliable, always paying, always on time customers like you and me and 1.2 million others!
Chase must think we are all idiots….that we will take this treatment and remain customers and continue to pour $$ into their coffers and Chairman Jamie Dimon’s pockets. I will flush Chase down the toilet and out of my family’s life completely as soon as my balance is paid in full. I have been a customer for over 10 years but once this is paid, I will never give Chase another penny. I’d go out and beg in the streets before they get one red cent from me or my family again.
We used the funds we borrowed from Chase for medical bills when my husband had cancer and my son had an aggressive ameloblastoma tumor. Nothing frivolous….just medical bills and businrdd expenses to keep our businesses afloat while my husband was out of commission. I can’t wait to be rid of Chase and in the meantime, I’m spreading the word as best I can to warn others about what can happen if they believe the lies that Chase is peddling. Chase also lies about us and has the MSM believing we are deadbeats who were making very little progress on the loans they begged us to take.
Lies, lies and more lies. I don’t know how the executives can sleep at night. They are lower than pond scum in my estimation.
I noticed that Chase is now aggressively marketing a new credit card to small businesses now that some new, not nearly enough, consumer protections will be put into place in February, 2010. Congress didn’t include small business in their protections, so the wolf (Chase) is on the prowl again for more sheep to fleece. The same company that needed nearly a year to adhere to new consumer protections seems to be able to turn on a dime to find new ways to suck money out of everyone in their path.
If you are interested, there is an entire website devoted to this issue that has tons of resources and posts, testimonials, links, etc….
http://www.changeinterms.com
Peggy, thank you so much for your response. I knew there had to be others, but I didn’t expect to hear of the magnitude of this. I’m so thankful for the Internet so we can try to spread the word about such unsavory practices. I’m glad you’ve been able to make the payments and wish you the best in your Chase-less future. I’m with you.