|
U.S. PIRG Consumer Blog
« Call To Action for real financial reform |
Main
| NCLC: High-cost private loans crippling students »
April 09, 2009
Bank of America raises rates for no reason
I got some calls yesterday from consumers in good standing with Bank of America but were having their credit card rates jacked for no reason. I told them what I told Jane Kim at the Wall Street Journal (pd. subs. may be req'd): The banks "want to mess with people before they can't, [...] Every day they can earn income at a higher interest rate is more profits for them." Banks of course, are free to mess with consumers for "any reason, including no reason" until July 2010, when Fed rules against unfair practices kick in. Prohibitions may take effect sooner, if Congress shows some backbone. Here's what one consumer told me: "Current interest rate is 9.99%. BoA is raising my interest rate as of 5/09 to 15.74% with no explanation to me as to why I’m being penalized. I am opting out of this increase, and will pay down my balance, and then put the card in a drawer and not use it again, until such time I can renegotiate a better rate with them." Bank of America, of course, purchased MBNA a while back. Never heard of MBNA? That's the bank that led the fight to enact the draconian 2005 bankruptcy amendments that have made it harder and more expensive to file for bankruptcy, leaving consumers in a credit card sweat box. It appears that MBNA's "scorched earth, full fees ahead" culture now dominates, not that Bank of America was ever a bank to write home about.
Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at April 9, 2009 10:22 AM
Post a comment
|
