omg...citibank customers, a question for you

[mtemm]

I rarely if ever carry a balance on my credit card. I think the last time I did was over a year ago, I have excellent credit, owe on a mortgage but nothing else, pay things on time. I just got a notice from citibank that they are raising my interest rate to 29.9%. I am flabbergasted. absolutely floored. shocked.

the one thing I can say that changed is we had some unexpected expenses that I put on my amex, the card I typically use because I pay off at the end of each month and I get rewards. well, we got tight last month and I took advantage of a balance transfer deal that my citibank had that is good for the next year. I'll have it paid off in january, but it was the right thing to do for us. so now I have a small balance, but nothing major, and I certainly haven't been late and don't have a history of poor behavior at all.

29.99%.

I still can't get over that number. and yes I know if I don't carry a balance, I don't have to pay it, but if we have an emergency or the like and I do have to use it, omg.

has anybody else had this happen recently? i called immediately (still shaking I was so stunned) and talked to 3 different people who said citibank is doing it across the board due to the current economy.

anyone?????

 

[princess momma]

Got the same letter on Saturday. I have good credit and don't normally carry a balance either.

Citibank can kiss my butt, I will not be using that card again ever.

I feel so badly for people that have balances with that kind of interest rate. They'll probably have to opt out, which will hurt their credit.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

Yep-I got a letter in yesterday's mail telling me that my interest rate will be going up on Dec. 31st. Merry Christmas to me......

 

[Shutterbug]

Yes they did this to everyone even good customers that had spotless records.
Mine was raised to 14.99 from 7.99

 

[LoraJ]

I'm done with Citibank.

 

[mtemm]

this is insane! so they didn't raise you as much, shutterbug? I wonder if its because my original interest rate was higher. it was 16.99%. I know I could have lowered it years ago but never made the call since I didn't carry a balance I just didn't bother. so now I wonder if that is why mine is so much higher.

 

[apirateslifeforme]

I got that notice several months ago...right after I transferred a balance to take advantage of a 0% interest until April 2010 offer. Needless to say, that balance will be paid by January or February and then that card is being put away. I don't want to close it, because it's my oldest card and my highest limit, but I don't plan on using it again, except for maybe a $20 charge every month or two to keep it alive!

ETA - my original rate was 9.99%, and I have NEVER made a late payment on ANY of my cards, loans, etc. EVER. My credit report is spotless and my score is very high.

 

[claudia]

that's citibanks special thank you for bailing their sorry butts out.....

 

[momrek06]

No, just checked my CITI acount. I copied & pasted from my online statement.

"Standard Purchase APR 5.240% "


Ok, I will say this was on the front page of my statement. I am reading over at creditboards.com that this WARNING is freaking allot of people out...but it is just a warning.

Late Payment Warning
If we do not receive your minimum payment by Nov. 5, 2009, you may have to pay a $39.00 late fee, and your APRs may be increased up to the Penalty APR of 28.99%.

 

[maelstrom]

They're doing this to everyone.

 

[mtemm]

why would opting out hurt my credit? I have till november 29th to agree to this or opt out. now, I did speak to 3 different people and eventually got them to lower it to 19.9%. which is still absurd, in my book!

I get offers often from other credit card companies but I have never even looked at them. have been with citibank for 20 years and just was fine with them I guess. now, not so much.

ya know, it just all seems to pile on at times, doesn't it? dh and I are feeling this economy just like so many people out there. it just doesn't seem to let up at all for us. we are blessed in many ways, but have lost a lot and are dealing with a lot and now this. I feel like screaming!

 

[NonScents]

that's citibanks special thank you for bailing their sorry butts out.....

Claudia, sorry to be very OT here, but had to tell you, the squirrel massage in your signature made me laugh out loud.

 

[LoraJ]

No, just checked my CITI acount. I copied & pasted from my online statement.

"Standard Purchase APR 5.240% "


Ok, I will say this was on the front page of my statement. I am reading over at creditboards.com that this WARNING is freaking allot of people out...but it is just a warning.

Late Payment Warning
If we do not receive your minimum payment by Nov. 5, 2009, you may have to pay a $39.00 late fee, and your APRs may be increased up to the Penalty APR of 28.99%.

That's what happened to me. My bill never showed up, not sure why. By the time I realized it, it was too late. I was a week or so late and after 19 years of always being on time they jacked my rate up from 3.99% to 26.99%

They said that if I paid on time for 12 months straight, they would lower it again. I won't have anything on that account to pay off, so I guess it will never go down.

 

[ChrizJen]

Unfortunately, all of the credit card companies are doing this in some form or another. It's the economy and the fact that they can. The new laws passed did not go far enough to protect consumers. It's a business, and as such, they will do everything they can within the limits of the law to make money.

They can keep pushing for now, because they know that they have consumers where they want them. Many people use credit cards as a way to help them get by in a tough economy. But eventually the credit card companies are going to push too far, and many consumers are going to start pushing back. They'll only get away with for as long as we sit by and let them. Cancel the cards that hike up your rates for no apparent reason. Or keep the account open, but don't use it. Don't give them your business.

Oh, and they don't give a hoot how long you've been their customer. If you've always paid off your balance every month and kept your account in "good standing", they've never made money off of you. They're just looking for dollar signs...
Unfortunately sometimes it doesn't pay to do things the right way.

 

[momrek06]

That's what happened to me. My bill never showed up, not sure why. By the time I realized it, it was too late. I was a week or so late and after 19 years of always being on time they jacked my rate up from 3.99% to 26.99%

They said that if I paid on time for 12 months straight, they would lower it again. I won't have anything on that account to pay off, so I guess it will never go down.

Oh my...what a pain.

I will say I do not get any paper statements...I opted out of them. I do everything online. So, Lora, I have reminders all set up on BOTH the credit card site ...(CITI will alert me 5 days before payment is due and you can select to be reminded 10 days before as well) and as well, the calendar section of my email acct.
So when I turn the computer on and check my email, I will get a reminder what is due and how much. This way I never miss setting up the payment that is due.
I only have 3 cc's...CITI, LLBEAN (love their free shipping and easy returns) and AMEX and they all will ALERT you to when a payment is due.

 

[Straitlover]

My Sears Mastercard is through Citibank. I got a letter a couple of weeks ago saying they were raising my rate to 24.99% plus prime AND charging a $45 annual fee. I, too, have excellent credit (score of 840 last time I checked), carry no balances, no late payments, only thing I currently owe on is my mortgage.

Needless to say, I will be opting out and going back to a regular Sears store card. The interest rate doesn't bother me so much since I don't carry a balance, but no way am I paying an annual fee. I hate to close the account because I've had it since 1992, and my VISA through the credit union has only been open about a year and a half. Also, Sam's Club only takes VISA as a debit, and I like to buy big stuff (electronics, tires, etc) on a CC in case there's a problem and I have to do a chargeback.

 

[LoraJ]

Oh my...what a pain.

I will say I do not get any paper statements...I opted out of them. I do everything online. So, Lora, I have reminders all set up on BOTH the credit card site ...(CITI will alert me 5 days before payment is due and you can select to be reminded 10 days before as well) and as well, the calendar section of my email acct.
So when I turn the computer on and check my email, I will get a reminder what is due and how much. This way I never miss setting up the payment that is due.
I only have 3 cc's...CITI, LLBEAN (love their free shipping and easy returns) and AMEX and they all will ALERT you to when a payment is due.

I had no paper statements on aanother card that I never used. So when I got charged for the annual fee my emails went to spam and I had no clue until I got a yellow notice in the mail. At that point I had racked up all sorts of late fees. It was sucha major pain. I got rid of that card.

I get so much junk e-mail on a daily basis, that ebills just do not work for me.

 

[NMAmy]

That's what happened to me. My bill never showed up, not sure why. By the time I realized it, it was too late. I was a week or so late and after 19 years of always being on time they jacked my rate up from 3.99% to 26.99%

They said that if I paid on time for 12 months straight, they would lower it again. I won't have anything on that account to pay off, so I guess it will never go down.

That happened to me with Discover! Unfortunately, it was in August which is a horrendous month for me at work plus a close friend died. I paid all the other bills but never got a Discover card bill and when I finally realized that it hadn't arrived, I was overdue. And, of course, they jacked the rate up.

I just sent in the entire balance this week. Like others, I'll use it occasionally to keep it open but there's no way I'm paying their interest rate. I usually pay it all off each month but we'd had several unexpected expenses over the summer and I was paying it off gradually. The new interest rate arrived right at the time I'd accumulated enough money to pay the whole thing off.

 

[Shutterbug]

this is insane! so they didn't raise you as much, shutterbug? I wonder if its because my original interest rate was higher. it was 16.99%. I know I could have lowered it years ago but never made the call since I didn't carry a balance I just didn't bother. so now I wonder if that is why mine is so much higher.

Yeah I had been around 13.99 a couple years back and called them and they lowered it to 7.99. Then at the beginning of this year I got that letter they were raising to 13.99. So mine was raised in February I think.

 

[princess momma]

why would opting out hurt my credit? I have till november 29th to agree to this or opt out. now, I did speak to 3 different people and eventually got them to lower it to 19.9%. which is still absurd, in my book!

I get offers often from other credit card companies but I have never even looked at them. have been with citibank for 20 years and just was fine with them I guess. now, not so much.

ya know, it just all seems to pile on at times, doesn't it? dh and I are feeling this economy just like so many people out there. it just doesn't seem to let up at all for us. we are blessed in many ways, but have lost a lot and are dealing with a lot and now this. I feel like screaming!

Opting out may hurt your FICO score. You're removing available credit when you opt out and then you have a higher ratio of debt to available credit.