I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

Deborah

http://termlifeinsurance2.com

Chase just raised our min. pmt. from $90 to $217 + a $10 a month maint. fee.

I appealed to not do this and their replies in part were:

When making a decision like this we look at the account, this may include usage on the account, payment patterns, balances and the APRs available on the account. These patterns associated with an account help us determine what changes to make."

And

"There is no opt out option. Below is a recap of the options:

Option 1: Keep Current APR (4.82%)
* $10 Monthly Fee
* 5% Minimum Payment (up from 2%)

Option 2: Alternate Offer
* Move to 7.99% APR till 01/01/2011
* No Minimum Pay Change(2%)
* No Maintenance Charge($10)

Option 3: Close Account
* Pay in full with in 30 days
* Closing account only, will not prevent monthly charges.

Please let us know which option you've selected.

Keep in mind my pmt. history has been:

Our min due was $90.00, we sent $150.00 every pmt. never late. They now want min. $217.00 and included a MONTHLY maint. fee of $10.00. I repeat, we were never late and gave Chase absolutely no reason to assess us a maint. fee of any kind or change the pmt. due amount. This is clear abuse in my opinion.

It is my suspicion that Chase is willing to force as many accounts as possible to go into default as a means to justify (more) money from the "Bailout". I would like to see Washington conduct some sort of investigation into this possible abuse of federal funds and banking practices.

This "Bailout" was a VERY bad idea. How is this helping the consumer or the economy?

I wouldn't pay them if they raised my rates I had to stop paying some of my cards because of loss of income. I am in the process of working out settlements with them myself without a settlement company. Don't stand up for them raising your fees and monthly payments.

I believe that the credit reporting bureaus need oversight. They are supposed to be consumer advocates and they are anything but that. Beside charging for credit scores here's an example of the problem I see.

My two daughter's moved to Colorado and Bank of America started sending my statements to Colorado. By the time I realized what was happening and called to correct the error B/A had charged late fees and sent my account to the bureaus. I brought the balance up to current and within two months B/A did it again. I paid the account balance in full and got two band statements two months in row indicating a zero balance on the account. The third month I got a bill for $17.00. When I inquired about the charge B/A said that I had missed my payoff date by one day. I later found out that B/A switches their due date monthly. They finally forgave the $17.00 but in the mean time I was told by B/A credit department that the reporting to the credit bureaus was correct. When I disputed this with the credit bureaus nothing was changed.

There is no legality in credit scoring. The economy fluctuates fast and there is a very restriction in credits. On the other hand, most payday loan lenders, other companies require a credit check and most creditors report all open accounts, balances, late payments and so forth to the three main national credit bureaus. Based on their own mathematical algorithm, these credit bureaus will determine a credit score for each consumer. Most people don’t even realize just how important it is to have a good credit history, until it’s too late. Almost everything in life requires a credit check and you have to have at least a decent credit score. Without it, you will have a very difficult time obtaining things, from car insurance to personal employment. Read more on how to build good credit and reach financial success on the payday loan money blog at PersonalMoneyStore.com.