Credit Cards
Capital One raises my interest rate…what a hassle!
Last night I collected the mail and got this ‘lovely’ little surprise from Capital One. They said that because interest rates have been rising over the years but I have a had a low rate all this time (8.9%) there is going to be a ‘small’ increase in my rate.
Small? They are raising my rate to 13.9% effective April 2007. What a great notification. They tell me about this just one month before it takes effect. Sweet.
Now let’s get to the REALLY good part. This new interest rate will apply to the total balance that I have as of April 1st. What?
I just got an offer to transfer balances over the card a few months ago at lower rates so I went ahead and did all these transfers. The payments go to the lowest aprs first so then whatever balance I have will be at the higher rate.
Not good. That is not a small increase, it is a big one. To go from 8.9% to 13.9% is quite a lot to me.
Is this my week for customer service issues? I am dealing with T Mobile now (see previous post) and now this.
Save Money » Blog Archive » Capital One Card…updateMarch 3, 2007 at 6:36 pm
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JasonMarch 17, 2007 at 2:37 am
You’re not alone. I had the cap 1 platinum visa for over 8 years now and had them down to 7.9% interest. I got the same letter as u- up 5% to 12.99%. That’s a 63% increase. I am still debating whether or not to keep it but as of today it looks like I will be keeping it and trying to pay off my balance much sooner, but at the higher rate.
DanMarch 18, 2007 at 1:49 pm
You can opt out of the change in terms, which means you can pay off your outstanding balance at your existing interest rate. See the back side of the notification they sent in your billing.
lulugalMarch 18, 2007 at 7:28 pmAuthor
I chose to opt out and now I am just paying off the card. I am sad now at closing the card but I really cannot deal with the higher interest rate. Thanks for the comment.
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