Interest hike w/opt out clause - no formal letter received

[Lauranda]

Maryland

* Interest hike w/opt out clause - no formal letter received. *

I have my account set up to receive online statements only for this credit card in addition to all my other accounts with this bank.

The bank sent me a letter in the mail, said customer service, stating their intention to raise my interest rate. The letter had an opt out clause I could have taken advantage of if I had received their letter and responded in 15 days.

As a result of not receiving the letter and responding, the bank doubled the interest rate, leaving me in a particularly painful position. Not to mention feeling violated as a customer with no history of late payments!

Aside from balance transfers (my alt card is paid off but the bank won't let me transfer)...

What recourse do I have to get my rate back?

[cosine]

You may be able to get your rate back through negotiation. Some banks have done that. Some have agreed to something in between. And some have refused to do so at all.

Banks are acting paranoid right now and trying to reduce their credit exposure. This has been coming in various forms, depending on the bank, such as account closure, reduced credit limits, and/or rate hikes. If you cannot convince the bank you are sufficiently worth having as a customer to lower your interest rate back down, then consider closing it. If you would close the account in this case, maybe you can use that as leverage in the negotiation. Or maybe not (maybe they want to get you to close it).

If you always pay the amount off each month, then the interest rate should only affect cash withdrawals, and not purchases. If you have not always paid off in the past, consider doing it in the future (they made money from you via interest and you can deny them one revenue stream this way).

[ecmst12]

If you selected to have all documents sent to you electronically, and they sent you the letter in the manner that you requested, but you failed to read or respond to it in a timely manner, why would you think that was anyone's fault but your own?

[Lauranda]

Originally Posted by ecmst12

If you selected to have all documents sent to you electronically, and they sent you the letter in the manner that you requested, but you failed to read or respond to it in a timely manner, why would you think that was anyone's fault but your own?

No, the letter was delivered in the mail not electronically as requested!

[ecmst12]

Even better. You got a letter in the mail and failed to read and pay attention to it. Still no one's fault but yours. Pay attention to mail from companies you do business with.

[Lauranda]

ecmst12 - Did you even read my post? Obviously not because my posting clearly states I never received any notification in the mail. But feel free to respond back with another meaningless comment!

[Antigone*of*Greece]

Originally Posted by Lauranda

ecmst12 - Did you even read my post? Obviously not because my posting clearly states I never received any notification in the mail. But feel free to respond back with another meaningless comment!

There are some notices that may not be sent via electronic email. You may have mistaken the letter for junk mail and not paid any attention to it. You "clearly" state that you didn't receive the letter, but you also "clearly" state that the bank informed you they sent it.

Another poster mentioned negotiation that is one viable option;you do not however, have any legal recourse against the credit card issuer.

[ecmst12]

Originally Posted by Lauranda

No, the letter was delivered in the mail not electronically as requested!

You said it.

[efflandt]

One thing to be aware of that can trigger an interest rate increase is habitually making minimum payments. That makes it appear that you are using more credit than you can afford (or are clueless) and they think (possibly correctly) that they have you over a barrel.

Note that you typically cannot balance transfer to another card with the same bank, and whether that makes sense for another bank depends whether you have a balance transfer teaser from them (not a cash advance at outragious rates).

They are more likely to play ball if they know you have other options. The only credit card I have with a balance has not raised my normal interest rate (yet) because they know I could put it on my 3.75% HELOC.