Mr. Brook is correct that consumers don’t read the fine print. However,it certainly doesn’t make it any easier to pay off the debt when the issuers increase the interest rate. In fact this sudden increase only makes it harder to pay off the loan and forces some into bankruptcy. There should be some rules to stop the increases on older charges.
We all know paying off balances prevents being over charged on fees. Obama wants banks to make money and lend it to the economy. When they do make a lot of money, now they get reprimanded. No one is required to abuse plastic.
Raising the rate on old debt is like raising the price on an item ordered on line before it was shipped.
I maintain several times the credit line that I actually use. When a bank starts being a pain in the neck, I switch cards, tear up the old one, and get a new one. by having several cards I don’t use, I keep my options open.
I have had 3 different credit cards from one bank over the last 20 years. Every few years they start trying to charge fees, so I drop them. A year or two later they send me mail, I get a card without fees, and it starts again. Another bank failed to back me when a local merchant used my card in a way I thought was fraudulent. So I canceled them and got a card from someone else. Another bank started charging me fees about 15 years ago. I dropped them and signed up a year later without fees. I still have them.
We collectively pay the bank employees salaries. Don’t put up with disrespectful treatment.
Mr. Brook is correct that consumers don’t read the fine print. However,it certainly doesn’t make it any easier to pay off the debt when the issuers increase the interest rate. In fact this sudden increase only makes it harder to pay off the loan and forces some into bankruptcy. There should be some rules to stop the increases on older charges.
We all know paying off balances prevents being over charged on fees. Obama wants banks to make money and lend it to the economy. When they do make a lot of money, now they get reprimanded. No one is required to abuse plastic.
Raising the rate on old debt is like raising the price on an item ordered on line before it was shipped.
I maintain several times the credit line that I actually use. When a bank starts being a pain in the neck, I switch cards, tear up the old one, and get a new one. by having several cards I don’t use, I keep my options open.
I have had 3 different credit cards from one bank over the last 20 years. Every few years they start trying to charge fees, so I drop them. A year or two later they send me mail, I get a card without fees, and it starts again. Another bank failed to back me when a local merchant used my card in a way I thought was fraudulent. So I canceled them and got a card from someone else. Another bank started charging me fees about 15 years ago. I dropped them and signed up a year later without fees. I still have them.
We collectively pay the bank employees salaries. Don’t put up with disrespectful treatment.