ChangeInTerms.com has published an issue backgrounder, entitled:
The purpose of the publication is to allow individuals who are new to the issue that arose when Chase Card Services decided that it did not want to honor a promotional offer as was indicated by a change in terms notice that it disseminated to customers late last year (i.e., beginning around November-December of 2008), to quickly get-up-to-speed and grasp the situation.
The publication is organized in sections, and beneath each section, the information is provided “in easily digested bulleted items,” said Dr. Robert Lahm, founder of the ChangeInTerms.com site. Dr. Lahm, who is also an entrepreneurship professor at Western Carolina University, explained that he created the site in protest and to fight abusive credit card company practices in general, “but it just so happens that Chase’s recent actions are viewed to be among the most deplorable and unethical moves that we know of, with implications that could indeed contribute to a ‘plastic meltdown,’ and horrifying consequences for consumers and small businesses — thus, our entire economic future may be at stake.”
The publication’s sections consist of an opening aimed at framing “The Issue,” followed by: “Chase Lies and Deflections (Refuted)”; links to present “Class Action Lawsuits” (and one under investigation); “Why It Matters”; “Resources”; and concludes with one entitled, “For Consumers: What You Can Do?”
Dr. Lahm said the present publication was developed primarily for three audiences: individuals who have recently experienced (or soon will experience) “Chase statement shock” when they discover a gargantuan (and coercive) increase in their monthly minimum payments, plus a new charge that “is a finance charge“; members of the viewing and reading public who are typically only getting a one-sided view of this issue since Chase spokespersons who are “spinning it their own way are often quoted verbatim, but journalists are not digging deep enough”; and, for other writers and bloggers. Citing an example of media spin, Chase spokespersons (and other correspondents in letters) keep calling a new $10 monthly charge a service charge; “therefore, we have responded with the whole truth”:
Chase spokespersons as well as correspondence from Chase (and reports from consumers attempting to negotiate by phone) are insistent on calling a new $10 monthly charge, a “service charge,” but according to the change in terms notice: “The charge is $10 per month ($120 total annually), and it is a finance charge.” Thus, the promotional rate has been violated. Note that the founder of the CHANGEINTERMS.COM site pointed out to the CEO of Chase Card Services that, apparently, Chase had for once, made a mistake with its own “fine print.”
Lahm added, “I think that one day this whole incident is going to become a classic textbook case study in failed leadership, ethics, and incompetency in management, and this present publication is useful to me as an outline as I work on this. I believe that there are a whole lot of great ‘teaching moments’ at hand in this matter with Chase. In my present line of work, this strikes me as something good — teaching future generations — coming from something very, very bad, with some horrible repercussions for a lot of innocent people who, by the way, have been meeting their payment obligations to Chase, and do not deserve this kind of treatment from a bank that’s also double-dipping and feasting on $25 billion of taxpayers’ bail out money.”
ABOUT CHANGEINTERMS.COM
CHANGEINTERMS.COM is a consumer protest site, created by Dr. Robert Lahm, Jr. (a university entrepreneurship professor), in response to credit card companies and their mistreatment of many account holders (including himself). Dr. Lahm’s research agenda includes entrepreneurial bootstrapping (which often involves the use of credit cards as a source of start-up capital), about which he has also addressed in previous testimony before Congress. The site provides vibrant discussion and analysis, links to government, regulatory, and advocacy organizations, and sometimes more than a little sarcasm – along with serious critique – about the activities of credit card companies both individually, and as an industry. While the site laments that it can’t actually change terms from a legal perspective, it submits terms and conditions can be changed with credit card companies from a consumer perspective. Even with little help from current laws or regulators, consumers can still fight back. The site declares in a message to credit card companies:
NOW WE’RE COMING AFTER YOU
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I am yet another roadkill of Chase bank. I had a VISA card with Chase with a zero balance. I bought a new car 2 1/2 years ago. I was shopping around for a car loan, which I would have had NO problems getting…when I happened to talk to a customer service rep from Chase. She talked me into using the credit card to finance the car as they were offering a low, fixed, 4.99% interest rate for the life of the loan, as long as you were not late with your payments. I was VERY leary about doing this, but I was assured that the terms of my loan would not change as long as I was not late.
I have excellant credit and I hooked the credit card up with auto debit to my checking account, so I could not inadvertantly ever be late. I made some large payments on the loan initially to get it paid down some, and for quite a long while now have been making payments of $400
per month. Fortunately I have the loan at least 1/2 paid off. My minimum payments had been 2% of the outstanding balance, which at this time is about $241 per mo. I always continue to pay the $400 per month.
On Sep. 1st I received my statement. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I opened it to find the minimum payment had gone to almost $600 per month! I called Chase the next day thinking there must be some error. I was told the minimum payment had been raised from 2% to 5%. I asked to opt out of this change in terms and was told there was
no opt out and the new terms are non-negotiable. If I don’t make the minimum payments they will raise my interest rate to some usurious rate.
I am able to make the increase payments if I absolutely have to, but I had not budgeted for this, and I am FURIOUS about it. I’ve read of many people caught in the same scam who are unable to make the increased payments.
I’m just relieved that they didn’t pull this scam shortly after I’d bought the car, otherwise my payments would be close to $1000 per month, which would be difficult if not impossible for me to make.
I have sought out any option for taking this loan away from Chase, as I would LOVE to close this account. The options are not good. I would qualify for a car loan, which has good rate, except that I own the title of the car. Because of this they will not give me a car loan.
I could of course try to do a balance transfer to another credit card, but most of them charge a balance transfer fee, and even if I got a low teaser APR for the first 12 mos……I am afraid I might not be able to find another one after the 12 months were up. I don’t want to get stuck with an $8000 loan and a 29% interest rate! Lesson
learned, I will NEVER buy a car this way again…..and will be very leary of financing ANY large purchases…such
as appliances, (which I have purchased before with 12 mos no interest same as cash terms). I’m too afraid they may call their loans and demand ridiculous payments I couldn’t afford to make!
I am not an attorney, but it is my sincere hope that someone will read these comments and file a class action suit against Chase bank. I have closed my other Chase VISA card, and I will NEVER do business with them again for anything!!!!!!! I hope they go out of business.
Funny, the new Sapphire Visa card is marketed to people with incomes of $120K or higher. I just about qualify….
but guess what….they can go fish!!!!!!
As someone who has also been targeted by Chase precisely of his good payment history, I am hoping that our legal community will come forward with class action lawsuits that I can join to curb Chase’s unfair business practices
I was offered a 3.99 fixed for life. This was better than our bank rate so I used it to build a two car garage. Payments were around $450.00 at first ,since paying down my payments decreased to $380.00. I NEVER missed a payment . This month I was shocked when my min. payment was over $1000.00 . I called and they assured me it was increased to help me and that my 3.99 fixed rate would stay the same as long as I paid this outrageous increase. I went to a lawyer and he wants chase to send him copies of our terms and agreements , he said since you’ve never missed a payment they can’t do this, our hands are tied as lawyer said if we pay this we may be agreeing to new terms. If we don’t we will be in default . WHAT TO DO . Be better off to join all the others that were forced to do this.
I accepted a balance transfer offer at 3.99% for the life of the loan. I have been paying on this account each month on time and always more than the minimum. Last month I sent $150 though minimum was $111. To my astonishment my new statement requires me to pay a minimun of $272 with no prior warning. This will wreck havoc with my budget. I have no choice. If I don’t pay it, they will hit me with a default rate. How can this be allowed to happen?
I too was notified of the onerous increase in the minimum payment by Chase. For them to say it is ONLY to the folks with large outstanding balances over a long period of time is an outrage. I have had a Chase account for 10 plus years and had a small balance or none for most if this time. Six months ago, I accepted an offer for a balance transfer of 3.9% plus a 3% one time fee that was for the life of the loan. I utilized this to pay off another loan to reduce monthly expenses. Imagine my shock now that the payment went form $180 per month to $450 per month as of Sept. This will not break my budget, but will put a severe crimp in it. If knowing their plan’s a head of time, I would have made this transfer. looks like all they wanted was the 3% transfer fee for short term profit and hope folks could not pay the increase minimum payment so they could go to the default rate of near 30% instead of the 3.9%. I will pay off this Chase account and close it after applying for a new card after checking with bankrate.com.
Dr. Robert Lahm, Good Easter Morning to you.
Thank you for your leadership, I have found your website to be among the very best.
My travail with Chase began in November, 2008 when I received a letter from Chase Business Banking out Houston, Texas, signed by a certain Peter Nardo, Senior Vice-President ( PDF of letter available upon request ).
Chase invoked the acceleration clause of my business loan contract with Bank One, circa 1999, and revoked my line of credit for no apparent reason. No missed payments, no late payments, paydown every month.
I sent a certified response letter to Mr. Nardo, requesting the original loan documents, a certified copy of the merger agreement with Bank One, and the Federal document that approved the merger; that until such time that Chase proved it’s legal standing to me, I did not recognize the claim.
Moreover, I stated that until such time that Chase proved their legal standing to me, I would suspend payment on that loan, and two other Chase credit card accounts. ( PDF of response letter available on request ).
The total debt being approximately $30K, 25K on the business loan, and 5K on the credit cards.
Since then, they have been calling 7,8, 10 times per day, caller ID says ” out-of-area”, private party, things like that. Recently, they have been using their 800 number(s) that does ID them as Chase.
I have not responded to any of their calls, preferring to have any correspondence in a time-stamped, written format.
They even sent some disinterested third party up to my mountain property to deliver a letter. That party informed me that she was to take pictures of my house and vehicle, ask questions, get whatever information available as to my assets, etc.
Once that started, I told her to get the hell off my property and never come back again.
My original loan papers state that three documents are to be read as one instrument. The signed and dated Agreement, the Confirmed Loan Terms, and the Cover Letter stating the terms of contract, Prime plus 3 per cent, etc.
The problem with that Cover letter is that it was back dated to a day before the signed loan agreement, therefore depriving me of Rescission rights, a reasonable amount of time to research and receive documents referred to in the contract such as the Uniform Commercial Code, the American Arbitration Association, Colorado Revised Statutes, etc.
I believe this may have been a pattern of fraudulent policy in the 10 or States that Bank One did business in.
Once Chase files on me, my intention is to request an investigation of these potentially fraudulent activities for each of the State Attorneys General cited, and whatever federal entities will hear my complaint.
I will also demand a forensic audit of my account covering approximately 10 years. My credit is ruined, which is a good thing, I’m out of that paradigm, and am facing liquidation, a first position lien on my house, garnishment here in Colorado, very serious stuff, enough to ruin my life.
This is a very simplified synopsis of a complex legal situation, not the least of which is a corporate protective veil that induces confusion and ambiguity to the totality of the result.
I am going pro se, because there is no money for competent legal defense, and I trust no one these days.
The purpose of this memorandum is to make contact with you, get my story out there, and network to the highest degree possible, and that I am willing, ready and able to join this effort to hold predatory banks and companies accountable.
Thank you again for the information on this website, it is extremely valuable to a pro se litigant in my position.
Respectfully,
Rick Toth, Colorado Registered Professional Land Surveyor 33643
P.O. Box 138
179 Green Ridge Rd.
Drake, Colorado
Office 970-203-9653
Email Tierrasurv@aol.com
I think my earlier posts are now deeper into the site archives, but I did have some remarks to the effect that is was astounding to me that Gordon Smith was lecturing on leadership at the Thunderbird school while his helpers back at Chase headquarters were dropping this bomb on customers. Thanks for your comment (I agree, completely).
Maybe it takes a CEO who earns less than 27 million a year to understand the economic situation, the plight of the consumer, and the concepts of loyalty, truth and honor.
Guilty!
Give em the gas!