Today I received a letter from Chase bank, claiming to be a change to the privacy policy regarding my credit card. On most days, I would have tossed it in the trash without a second glance. But something possessed me to read through it, and buried in the fine print of this "privacy policy", I got a shock - Chase was raising my rates, from 9.25%, to 19.99%. Surely, this was a mistake. I had been a customer for years, never made a late payment, my account was in good standing. A call to Chase confirmed all that. The reason they were more than doubling my rates? Because they can.
Earlier this year, Congress overwhelmingly passed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act of 2009. The Senate passed it 90-5, the House 357-70. The most significant provision? A ban on rate increases, unless the account is delinquent. So, how did the credit card companies respond? Gouging their customers while they can, as the law doesn't take effect until July of 2010.
When I called, they didn't even pretend to have a good reason. The poor guy at the call center in India who took quite a bit of my abuse explained that I was a good customer, my account was in good standing, but that, the economy being what it is, they were raising rates, and there was nothing anyone can do.
So, my question to you Kossacks is, is there nothing we can do? I'm trying to open a new account with someone else - at this point, the mafia seems like a less unscrupulous option. I emailed my Congressman, both Senators, and the state Attorney General (all Democrats; I live in New Jersey). But I have a sinking suspicion that all I'll get from that are a steady stream of campaign emails.
What can we do? Are we at the mercy of these bloodsuckers? Or can some Kos-style direct action protect people like me, all over the country, who are being ripped off by these predators?
I urge anyone reading this to:
- Contact your Congressman, Senators, Governor, etc.
- If at all possible, stop doing business with Chase. I realize it's difficult, if you're in debt, to close a credit card account - I'm furious with Chase, and will probably be stuck paying their usurious rates for months to come.
- Spread the word. Maybe if enough of us are pissed off about this, the credit card companies will have to back down a little.