pwned by my credit card company

[venkman]

Around Christmas I requested a card from a CC company so that I could transfer over a balance from an older card. The terms were 0% on BT for one year and a pretty hefty Balance Transfer fee. Come February I submit a payment online for that month?s bill. Fast forward a couple of weeks and I get another bill claiming I didn't pay and that my interest rate has jumped to 24%. At that rate, my monthly interest payments alone were $120 dollars!

I assumed this was just a little glitch and immediately called the CC company and they say they never received any payment from me. I check my online bank account and sure enough the payment I scheduled did not go through. I explained the situation to the CSR and told her I would immediately pay the total amount (plus interest) owed over the phone, which I did, but could they please reset my interest rate since this was nothing more than a glitch that delayed the payment. She said that would pass it on and they will take care of it. She said that since I paid as soon as I called, then they should re-set the rate.

Fast forward a month, I get my next bill. Guess what, 24% interest rate and another demand for $120 in finance charges. Nothing changed. So I call again and talk to another CSR who basically says all she can do is send a "request for lower rate" inquiry out to whoever handles those things and asks me to call back in 7-10 business days to see what is going on. That is where I am right now.

I know I was stupid for not checking my online bank account to make sure the payment was sent to the CC company on time. I know I shouldn?t trust any online payment system not to glitch out on me and cause me this headache.

My credit score is fine and I pay all of my bills on time. While this card is relatively new, I've had another credit card with the company and am never late on a payment. What are my chances of this request for lower rate thing going through? If it does not go through, what options do I have?

Thanks for any help guys

 

[jonks]

Happened to me as well, same thing, for some reason the payment I scheduled didn't go through. I called the CC, very polite but slightly indignant, and instructed them to remove the late charge and reset the rate or I'd transfer the balance out to another card. They complied and I think they said if it happened again there would be no reset, but whatever, it never happened again. If it does I'll just threaten to move accounts again and they'll cave in again. I was locked in at 4% so they were still getting some interest, and you were at 0%, but still, they should want your business. If they don't accede, follow through and transfer to another card. Screw them, there's a thousand cards out there.

 

[Kelemvor]

Find a new card to transfer it to.

 

[dullard]

Lesson #1: This is one more of dozens of reasons NOT to play the 0% credit card game.

Lesson #2: Always have automatic payments set up for the credit card minimums (to an account where you always have sufficient funds to pay any automatic payment that you forget).

 

[jonks]

Originally posted by: dullard
Lesson #1: This is one more of dozens of reasons NOT to play the 0% credit card game.

Lesson #2: Always have automatic payments set up for the credit card minimums (to an account where you always have sufficient funds to pay any automatic payment that you forget).

Agree with #2, but def disagree with #1. Having built up thousands in cc debt over my college/grad school years, family and pet emergencies, etc, I've foudn the low/0% apr cards a godsend in cleaning myself back up. I've been paying down the principles like clockwork in nice big chuncks, and have saved hundreds or thousands that would have gone to pure cc interest.

In a perfect world with perfect knowledge, no, you shouldn't ever get in the hole, but in reality millions of people are. I didn't go buying $2000 in clothes, but when your dog gets sick a few times and you the vet bills get up there or who knows what else causes you to spend some money you don't have, low APR helps you get back on the right track.

 

[beat mania]

Originally posted by: Kelemvor
Find a new card to transfer it to.

Unfortunately, since he missed a payment, few banks will give him low apr now.

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: beat mania

Originally posted by: Kelemvor
Find a new card to transfer it to.

Unfortunately, since he missed a payment, few banks will give him low apr now.

Unless he hit 30 days late AND it has already appeared on his credit report that is not necessarily true. But NOW is the time to find out, if you were over 30 days late and it has not yet appeared it could any day.

The big lesson to learn from this is to use pull payments when paying CC bills. Push payments are entirely too error prone. If you're worried about giving a CC company access to your bank account setup a secondary account just for that purpose.

The only reason to ever push a payment to a CC company is if for some purpose you want to end up with a credit on your statement. Most (all in my experience) CC companies won't let you pay in excess of your current balance.

Viper GTS

 

[kranky]

I think it works this way.

The bank offers you a 0% BT for a year, betting you'll screw up and they'll make a lot of money on the deal. You take the 0% BT, betting you won't screw up.

The bank won the bet, and you asked them for a do-over. They said "we'll think about it" and your next bill shows what their answer was.

I don't think they will give you your 0% rate back again. Banks offer these 0% BT deals because many, many people have "a little glitch".

Your option is to look for another BT deal with a rate that is lower than the 24% you have now. I don't know what else you can do.

 

[venkman]

It wasn't 30 days, not even close.

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: venkman
It wasn't 30 days, not even close.

Then nothing will ever show on your credit report.

Apply for another 0% offer, BT it all to the new card and sock-drawer this one until they decide to drop your rate down. The worst this will cost you is a month or two at 24% interest, it's hardly catastrophic.

Viper GTS