OutHouse
Lifer
holy crap!
http://www.9news.com/news/arti...id=108801&provider=top
CENTENNIAL - Helen Orr and her husband say they would take back all the upgrades they did to their home to avoid the bind they are in now.
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"If I could go back and undo everything I did, I would do it in a heartbeat," Orr said.
The couple took advantage of a Home Depot credit card offer: six months with no payments and no interest. So they used the card to pay for some of the work.
"Once the kitchen looked better, we wanted other things to look better. We were real handy, do-it-yourselfers and did all the work ourselves," Orr said.
After paying the first promotional balance, they bought more. But when the second promotional offer ended on their new shingles, they didn't have the money to pay for the entire balance and they were late on their payment.
"I was shocked. I didn't think it could go that high," said Orr.
In small print on their January bill, the interest rate read 69.33 percent.
"[If it was] 35 percent I would have, you know, just maybe shed a tear and paid as much as I could. But 69 percent is unreal," Orr said.
"The credit card company has the right to do that and it's in the contract," said George Shoemaker with Consumer Credit Counseling Services.
He says while he's never seen an interest rate that high, defaulting on a promotional deal can result in higher rates.
"The moment that error or miscue happens, one huge interest rate comes about," Shoemaker said.
Home Depot says if a cardholder isn't able to pay the promotional balance in time, then the accumulated interest can make the interest rate look extremely high. However, the cardholder's rate never changes from what it is in their agreement.
The bottom line, says Shoemaker, if you plan on taking advantage of a credit card promotion, make sure you can pay it off in the time allotted.
In Orr's case, Shoemaker advises paying off the card as soon as possible to avoid paying more interest over time.
http://www.9news.com/news/arti...id=108801&provider=top
CENTENNIAL - Helen Orr and her husband say they would take back all the upgrades they did to their home to avoid the bind they are in now.
Advertisement
"If I could go back and undo everything I did, I would do it in a heartbeat," Orr said.
The couple took advantage of a Home Depot credit card offer: six months with no payments and no interest. So they used the card to pay for some of the work.
"Once the kitchen looked better, we wanted other things to look better. We were real handy, do-it-yourselfers and did all the work ourselves," Orr said.
After paying the first promotional balance, they bought more. But when the second promotional offer ended on their new shingles, they didn't have the money to pay for the entire balance and they were late on their payment.
"I was shocked. I didn't think it could go that high," said Orr.
In small print on their January bill, the interest rate read 69.33 percent.
"[If it was] 35 percent I would have, you know, just maybe shed a tear and paid as much as I could. But 69 percent is unreal," Orr said.
"The credit card company has the right to do that and it's in the contract," said George Shoemaker with Consumer Credit Counseling Services.
He says while he's never seen an interest rate that high, defaulting on a promotional deal can result in higher rates.
"The moment that error or miscue happens, one huge interest rate comes about," Shoemaker said.
Home Depot says if a cardholder isn't able to pay the promotional balance in time, then the accumulated interest can make the interest rate look extremely high. However, the cardholder's rate never changes from what it is in their agreement.
The bottom line, says Shoemaker, if you plan on taking advantage of a credit card promotion, make sure you can pay it off in the time allotted.
In Orr's case, Shoemaker advises paying off the card as soon as possible to avoid paying more interest over time.
