Chase Card Services “Rate Reduction for our most Valued Cardmembers.”
- Click for the complete offer, front and back.
“Hey, don’t worry, boss, we’ll sign a few hundred thousand up with this promo deal, they’ll throw away their copy of the whole ‘ting. Then, in a couple of years, we can really put the screws to ‘em – they’ll switch to a higher rate, I’d say double, to 7.99%. Life of the balance, over their dead bodies! We’ll whack ‘em all. We can make a killin’ off ‘em as soon as we got ‘em right where we want ‘em. Gee, I’m sure glad we got legal to make up a bunch ‘a new words we can throw out at ‘em, to make it all sound legit when we talk to the press.”
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on Feb 1st, 2009 at 2:33 am
Thanks for a great site, I will check in often. I too was sucked in almost 5 years ago by a similar offer from Chase and paid ON TIME religiously each and every single month. Now my minimum payment has almost tripled and I am being charged a $10 fee. When I called Chase I was told that they were helping me out by raising the minimum payment so I could pay off the balance sooner. And of course I could waive the fee if I agreed to double my interest rate! No thanks Chase. I am currently shopping for a different card company to transfer this balance to and will be closing this account. I appreciate you getting the word out about this!
on Feb 1st, 2009 at 2:47 am
Thanks for your post, Deb,
Regarding me “getting the word out,” please pass it on. This is such an important issue, and even if some card holders can pay off their balances (or transfer), it’s the precedent that is so worrisome. Best wishes.
on Feb 1st, 2009 at 5:11 pm
Perhaps this is the wakeup call our citizens need to understand that debt is unhealthy. Credit cards are a recent invention for our species, and so far it sees to benefit only merchants and banks. However did we get along without them before? Oh, that’s right. We had savings accounts.
Down with Chase!
on Feb 1st, 2009 at 5:42 pm
[...] Chase Card Services has done with hundreds of thousands of customers who were promised low “fixed APR Until the balance is paid in full loans“), does not seem like an idea that’s all that “swift,” ever, but [...]
on Feb 1st, 2009 at 10:43 pm
[...] were not paying more than they were required to pay, because they were promise that they had “fixed APR Until the balance is paid in full” (long-term, low rate), loans (that Chase simply did not want to honor anymore, for a lot of [...]
on Feb 2nd, 2009 at 11:54 am
Doubt you can prove that Chase contemplated or pre-mediated this change in terms when they posted the original balance transfer offer.
Not sure why everyone keeps forgetting that, regardless of what the cardmember agreement may say, it cannot legally force you to accept an arbitrary change in terms announced later that you do not agree with. In fact, one of the supporting arguments in the class action lawsuit touches on this concept precisely.
on Feb 2nd, 2009 at 4:25 pm
The point you make is understood, and I hope the class action suit prevails. Nevertheless, I am not a lawyer, so I’d have to say that the site policies prevail. My comments are opinions.
on Feb 2nd, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Got a notice today (Feb 2, 2009) from Chase –bumping my interest rate up from 7.99 to 13.99 due to “market conditions”. Never late, never missed a payment. Sure….well, but of course, I’ll close the account out. I will continue to harrass my elected members of Congress, including submitting letters to the editor, until they do something for us–for a change. This is what we get for not retiring every single congressman and senator who voted to bail these crooks out. I loved the reasoning…”they were too big to fail…” so we gave them billions to eat up other financial institutions making them evermore “too big to fail”. What will it take before we –really–decide to take our country back??
on Feb 19th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
I applaud Dr. Lahm for his work and diligence on this matter. It is oh so true what the credit card companys are doing to the cardmembers at this sad time in out economy. Once again, it is all out their profits. I, too, have been scammed by Chase. As one of the select 4.99% group that has been hit with the $10 per month added finance charge and the raised payments, I am only trying to hold on as I refuse to accept the 7.99% rate or the closing and paying in full in 30 days. I have spoken to three service reps and have also written to the cardmembers service center disputing the new terms that I did not agree to nor was I given the option to cancel my card and keep my original terms. I would like to say also, that I too paid way more than the minimum amount due each month and have all of my past statements to verify that. When Chase portrays us as people who weren’t paying quickly enough, I will give all my personal information to show that they are, indeed lying right through their teeth. I hope that everyone will get on board with this – Chase doesn’t have to win just because they are bigger. This is a matter of RIGHT and WRONG. Thanks, Dr. Lahm, on behalf of myself and many others in the same boat as you.
on Feb 19th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Obviously, my comment meant to say, “all about their profits” not “all out their profits.”
on Feb 19th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Hi Susan,
I have a post in “draft” mode at the moment, collecting other stories about people who paid more than the minimum. That’s all that account holders are required to pay, but Chase’s “excuse” needs to be called into question simply to demonstrated that it is very misleading.
on Feb 20th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
[...] it is insulting the intelligence and faithfulness of its very best account holders (i.e., “most Valued Cardmembers“), who were paying what they were required to pay, on time (by using a “these are [...]
on Feb 26th, 2009 at 8:43 am
it amazes me that chase card services executive offices
have no telephone number. with all the money they collect
from interest and annual fees i would think their customers would
have the right to this phone number.
i don’t know what the term is but i believe it is highway robbery
when they can raise your fee more than 10% even if you are late with your payment. their customer service people are rude
condescending and just plain mean.
on Mar 2nd, 2009 at 3:58 pm
[...] Chase has been, trashing relationships with its so-called very best account holders (i.e., “most Valued Cardmembers“). If judge King was paying the new minimum payment himself, then he’d probably be [...]
on Feb 6th, 2010 at 1:31 am
Saw your web comments and it made me look at my Chase credit card statement online just to check. Thankfully my Chase account was okay but the real shocker was my CitiCard account. I have my account autopayed each month well beyond the monthly minimum payment due and they still raised my largest promotional balance from 14.99% to 19.99% last month citing the same lame excuse for remaining market competitive. What does that mean anyway? Competitive for the highest APR’s? They surely don’t seem to be competing for the lowest ones! Whatever! So yes. I’m now shopping for a lower APR card but I probably won’t be seeking Chase or Citibank at this point.