Here is what I see:

I have written to Senators, the OCC, the FTC, and other regulatory authorities regarding Chase and its larcenous minimum monthly payment increase. Of course, I have also sent a certified letter to Gordon Smith, the CEO of Chase Card Services.

Unfortunately, the American consumer has not been represented on this matter by members of their government, and it does not appear that the situation will improve unless we work together, and fight. Government is not the answer (it’s the problem — many of our so-called representatives have been “bought and paid-for” by the credit card companies and their lobbyists). Advocacy organizations are on our side (but that’s not enough).

We must use the media, and viral marketing (things like eBooks, and YouTube videos that spread and take on a life of their own). This is grassroots work I’m talking about here; the financial services industry is among the largest in terms of advertising expenditures and major national media has been soft on this issue of credit card company abuse, for years).

We cannot fight credit card companies on their own ground — the turf where lawyers and lobbyists rule. We must fight by denying them our business, contacting their affinity “partners,” and otherwise doing all we can to “out them” as unscrupulous organizations publicly (especially their sleazy executives – this isn’t “just business”; if you’ve got a family to feed, “it’s personal”). These credit card company executives are evil-doers, and I hope to provide them with the embarrassment that they deserve (I’d like to see them convicted of perjury). We need thousands of “letters to the editor.” While you are writing, ask why your elected representatives are allowing FILL IN THE NAME OF YOUR STATE citizens to suffer these abuses.

I received a form letter from the OCC today. I do not expect anything to come of correspondence from an regulatory authority, other than the standard line: Chase can do as it pleases. I will be surprised to see a positive result in favor of consumers.

That being said, I am absolutely sure that responding to complaints is costly and time consuming for Chase, and I intend to see to it that the additional $10 “finance charge” becomes a net loss, many times over. From a consumer perspective, we can do as we please, too, and continue to fight back on all fronts. Hope you like the eBook I just posted, “How Chase Card Services Stole Christmas“! Share it with your friends, and their friends, and so on — spreading the word, far and wide, about Chase and it’s despicable business practices is the ultimately going to be our “salvation.” This needs to blow up in their faces and be a marketing textbook case study in what not to do, a few years from now.

Thanks for persisting on the posting issues with regard to this site (and the blog software — as I mentioned in corresponding with you earlier, I am still trying to learn how to use WordPress). I think I have that resolved now, in terms of being able to receive comments (and approve them, as I have now just done for yours — I’ll take anything legitimate, I just don’t want a bunch of SPAM cluttering up the site, since we are talking about some really serious issues here). Best wishes to you, Marv.

By the way, I finally got a call-back from the OCC.

Voicemail message with a contact number of an eager public servant ready to rescue me from the rightful pennance I must pay for being a as agreed cardholder to Chase.

With baited breath, I await salvation.

I am paying them off (and everyone else too) with a REFI of my home.

One of my state senators responded that he would have an aid look into it. None of my other congressmen even responded. I contacted 4 talk shows and all my local papers. No response at all.

My State Attorney General told me that it was an OCC issue and that I should not contact his office again about this matter.

The OCC never responded to my letter.

I posted on several sites. I saw your post on one of them and looked at your site.

I have done all that I can think to do and as I said have a plan to extract myself from this extortive construct but know that many will not have the options that I have and see this as something which government should prosecute.

I have contacted you because hope that somewhere this opposition will coalesce and sufficient mass will build that it will no longer be ignored. When that happens, I want to be there.

My story is a little different in the respect that I was stupid enough to let them screw me twice. I paid them off once because they started raising my rates (APR) every month when Chase bought/merged with Bank one. No problems with my paying or credit, they just wanted more money. They referred me to the language of the cardholder’s agreement, which allowed it. I realized I was vulnerable and paid them off with a second mortgage.

I wrote a nasty letter to the corporate office telling them that I had been a good customer for 15 plus years and would never be again because of this instance.

4 months later I received a personal call from Chase. This person identified himself as an account retention manager and said that he had been told to apologize and see if he could set it right. He thanked me for my letter and told me that my experience had all been a mistake and the people who had caused it had all been dealt with appropriately.

He asked me to come back. 3.99% for life. He assured me that the transferred balance would not be subject to the cardholder agreement and that the terms would never change unless I did not pay on time. I agreed and transferred over 30K back. This person promised to document all of this in a letter and send it. I never received it. I never received a new cardholder agreement either, or new cards and everything was hunky dory for over two years so I thought it was on the up and up.

Let me know if you see a crack in their armor.