Ok, so we all know about the change-in-terms that Chase unilaterally foisted on 400,000 of its most credit worthy customers last January.
And, by now, most of us have heard that some of these same customers had more than one Chase account – one of which was subjected to the egregious change-in-terms and one or more of which were not.
Last month my second Chase account (fixed 4.99% rate for the life of the loan, with an outstanding balance of about $6,000) statement afforded me the opportunity to “SKIP A MONTHLY PAYMENT”. I had earned that right due to my being such a good customer. I didn’t take Chase up on that ridiculous offer….
Apparently Chase is extremely miffed – very hurt at my rejection of their overtures.
This month’s statement came today and GUESS WHAT???? A new change-in-terms will automatically go into effect on August 1, 2009. No longer will the monthly payment requirement 2% of the outstanding balance….oh, no, now Chase is going to require 5% of the outstanding balance in payment each month.
So the $118.00 I owe this month will morph into $295.00 a month. Just as I was knocking down my large Chase account to just over $800/month, my obligation will once again balloon to over $1,100/month.
The same company that wanted me to skip a payment on this account last month has discovered they can’t survive without an increase of 250% in the amount of payment due next month on that very same account. Chase must be in worse shape than anyone could have imagined. Poor babies….
Chase reminds me of spoiled brats who are never satisfied.…the 25 Billion in TARP funds didn’t do enough; the savaging of 400,000 of their best customers wasn’t sufficient; treating their already defaulting customers with kid gloves didn’t suffice.
The prowling Chase executive decision makers look around for new prey. Finding none, the “never wrote an agreement they wouldn’t mind defaulting on crowd” return to their first “kill” to see if there are any survivors capable of giving up yet more funds on the alter of Chase greed. Voila – let’s do a second round of change-in-terms! That should do it.
I think we need to coin a new term for this phenomena….“Battered Customer Syndrome”.
But, don’t lose heart, my fellow consumers, Chase has learned something from the last episode of their special version of “The Twilight Zone”. This time there is an “opt-out” option and no $10/month additional finance charge.
Anyone want to guess what I plan to do with this Chase credit card account?
Dialing the phone….
I am greeted by a supervisor (Jim) who began our conversation with this icebreaker, “Thank you for calling Loyalty Services“. I nearly guffawed in his ear. I asked him “Did you say Loyalty Services”? Indeed he did. “How can I assist you today?”
He noted that I had been a customer since 1998 and have had a long and admirable history with Chase. I informed him that while I had treated Chase fine all these years, I had not been treated well by Chase these last 6 months. I briefly described my complaints. It was evident that Jim had heard it all before. No, he could not reverse the increase in payment of 5% of the outstanding balance. “Is there anything else I can do for you today?” “Yes, close the account and let me opt-out of the newest change-in-terms.”
After subtly “threatening” me that Chase would be notifying the credit reporting companies (oh, horror of horrors….) that I was closing my account, Jim agreed that the account would be closed and confirmed I would be allowed to pay off the account under the original terms. Hooray! Relief!
“Loyalty Services”…..twisted Chase Twilight Zone logic. Welcome to the Brave New World of Chase Card Speak. “Up is down. Day is night. Treating customers like dirt generates Loyalty to our company.”
Chase Decision Makers: Let us know how that works out for ya over the long haul.
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on Jun 22nd, 2009 at 4:29 pm
I *DID* take Chase up on their “skip a monthly payment” offer inadvertently (I won’t get into the details of that, though), and yet they are still going to raise my minimum payment from 2% to 5%.
I’m looking at the flyer that I just got in the mail today, and there is nothing about opting out of the changes.
on Jun 22nd, 2009 at 4:49 pm
Congratulations, Peggy.
I too have a second account with 4.99 % and I expect another change of terms.
I would like to repeat your steps, but I need some help.
Do I understand it correctly that closing of an account doesn’t mean that I have to pay now, immediately the entire balance, and that it actually means that the original terms are kept and that I must be allowed to pay off the
account in a “natural” way?
Sorry, I know that my questions look stupid, but I am not economist.
on Jun 22nd, 2009 at 7:15 pm
I also received a notice from Chase today about my 3.99% account, saying that my minimum payment would increase to 5%. However, the notice did not say anything about an opt-out. Do you know if all accounts are eligible for the opt-out?
on Jun 22nd, 2009 at 7:22 pm
I too was offered the “skip a payment” last month, but did not bite and made my payment as usual. Now today, I just got my Chase change of terms notice too with the same minimum payment increase from 2% to 5%. My notice has one glaring omission — there is no language offering an opt-out if I choose not to accept the new terms. They make it sound non-negotiable.
Question:
pdurant, are you saying even though the change of terms had no opt out language, the “Loyalty Services” dept still permitted you to opt-out when you called? This is really important to me… My entire balance ($11k+) is two balance transfers done in the past at 2.99% and 3.99% ….this min pymt increase is going to kill me if I can’t stop it.
on Jun 22nd, 2009 at 9:00 pm
Peggy,
Has anyone ever figured out what card members are targeted for the 5% minimum payment?? Other than the life of loan low rate. Did you get your change in terms in the mail or online.
Thanks
Marge11
on Jun 22nd, 2009 at 9:52 pm
I got the change of terms in the mail today also…totally freaked out, esp. since I’m already working 3 jobs to make ends meet. After reading this post, my questions were the same as Anna’s…they are not stupid questions…can someone please help us with the answers? Would contacting one of the “credit counseling” firms help? I’m so confused…and scared!
on Jun 22nd, 2009 at 10:06 pm
I got in contact with Chase today, in an attempt to opt out of the minimum payment increase.
No dice.
on Jun 23rd, 2009 at 1:16 am
NO OPT OUT ALLOWED.
That’s what the very somber and detached female voice on the line told me. I have 3 Chase accounts. 2 accounts with about a $6,000 balance each and a third with almost $17,000.
I was not targeted in the first “Change of terms” round but they came at me on all 3 accounts this time with the minimum payment changing from 2% to 5%.
I was so happy to read this post. I wouldn’t have to agree to a higher rate. I will just close my accounts and all will be back to normal. WRONG.
Not only would they not let me opt out, they are not even offering the alternative agreement with a higher interest rate.
I’m stuck with a combined monthly payment going from $525 to $1445.
I explained that this could possibly force me into default for which Chase would not receive any payment. Her response? “Chase obviously factored that possibility into the decision for changing these terms.”
I’m outraged but not really surprised. These kinds of low interest for life of loan deals really do fall under the saying about things that seem too good to be true even when you think you’ve got rock solid terms.
I will of course attempt to move as much of the balance to other cards and may possibly consider a home equity loan.
I will make every effort not only to save my credit but to make sure I pay Chase as little as possible in the process.
I’m curious if anyone else gets the OPT OUT deal.
Please help me spread the word to other Chase customers. If you haven’t been screwed yet, your time draws nigh.
on Jun 23rd, 2009 at 7:30 am
Anna – You are correct. If you opt-out of the new change-in-terms, your payment stays at 2% and the interest stays at the original level – in my case it was 4.99% – until the balance is paid in full. At the time you opt-out, the account is “closed” and you can no longer use it for purchases or cash advances. However, it remains open for purposes of you continuing to make the payments under the original terms of your agreement with Chase. Chase will report the closing of the account to the credit reporting agencies – Big deal! With so many people closing their credit card accounts, I can’t believe that closing a Chase card account will have a long-term impact on one’s credit rating.
As a landlord, I check credit reports all the time….at least on a micro-level, when I look over a credit report and see that a credit card was closed at the request of the card-holder it means nothing to me. I usually think “Good for you!”
Marge11 – I have not figured out why I was targeted twice now with the change-in-terms….other than the fixed low interest rate. The change-in-terms was in this month’s statement – so it was received in the mail. It may also be online but I haven’t checked that.
on Jun 23rd, 2009 at 7:46 am
We’ve been Chase customers for many, many years now, and have never missed a payment. We have three accounts that are all on a fixed 3.9 and 4.9 rate that are supposed to be good until the loan is paid off. We have been faithfully paying down the loan, but just received notice YESTERDAY, that all three accounts will now require a 5% minimum payment. The letter we received mentioned our interest rate as the reason why this had happened, so yes, I would say that the low, fixed interest rates are probably why we are being targeted. We are going to call to opt out as you have suggested. Is there any way we can make sure that the option to opt -out with the terms you have mentioned will be honored? I can just see us getting a statement next month saying that we have opted out under different terms……..
Thanks for your help
on Jun 23rd, 2009 at 9:02 am
All,
Hate to tell you this but I opted out and had my Chase account closed a year ago. Two months ago, I noticed that my interest rate increased ON MY CLOSED ACCOUNT. I contacted Chase and they told me that they still had the right to make changes to my terms although I had opted out and agreed to make payments under the original terms of my agreement. Needless to say, I went ballistic. I wrote to them and told them that their predatory practices have hit an all-time low. After all was said and done, they reversed the terms but said:
“Chase retains the right to adjust rates to respond to
legal or regulatory requirements, conditions in the
financial markets or other economic indicators. These
changes can also include account that have been closed.
As noted in your Cardmember Agreement, we may change the
terms associated with your account and will notify you of
the change in writing in accordance with applicable law.”
So be aware of yet another way these losers are screwing their “customers”!
on Jun 23rd, 2009 at 11:18 am
Hi,
I have had the same minimum payment increase notice, but when I called (last night and today) and asked for Loyalty Services, I was told no such department exists. I asked to close my account and opt-out of change in terms, I was told it wasn’t possible. I spoke to a supervisor who also told me there was no opting-out, and was given an address for a Mr. Kelly Hanick of Chase Card Services to send my dispute to. Any advice? How did you get to the Loyalty Services Department?
Thanks,
Jennifer
on Jun 23rd, 2009 at 2:10 pm
Just learned that the minimum payment on one of my Chase accounts is increasing from 2% to 5%; I’ve been on the phone with Chase, and they tell me that I cannot “opt out” of this change in terms (apparently there are other things that one can “opt out” of, but not this one). (I read the blog and attempted to try the same thing)
It’s an account with a low interest rate (3 and 4%) and a high balance (27K); the change in minimum payment would be … well, you do the math.
So, I’m confused: in the blog the writer gets to close the account (”opt out”) and keep the 2% payment; I don’t seem to have that option. Can anyone clarify?
on Jun 23rd, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Oh, I forgot–I was also offered the “no payment” option last month: perhaps, in hindsight, that was calm before the storm.
on Jun 23rd, 2009 at 3:24 pm
I just received this change of terms notice in the mail today but I don’t see an ‘opt-out’ option listed. Everything on the internet I have found (except this post) says that you cannot opt-out of this change.
I’m just curious – did your notice have an opt-out section?
Just trying to prepare myself for battle.
on Jun 23rd, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Thank you, Peggy.
on Jun 23rd, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Anna–were you able to get you wanted from Chase? If so, please clarify.
on Jun 23rd, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Here’s the reply I got from Chase to my request to close the account and opt out of the pending change (from 2 to 5%):
“A Change in Terms notice was sent to you in June 2009,
which advised of a change to the required minimum payment
for your account, effective as of your August 2009 billing
statements. Please note that the Annual Percentage Rate
(APR) on your account is not changing and you may continue
to take advantage of the current APR on your promotional
rate balance(s) with no expiration date for the current
APR. This Change In Terms is not optional.”
Any comments? Unless I’m misreading this, they’re saying that I cannot opt out of the change from 2 to 5%, and that closing the account would have no effect.
on Jun 23rd, 2009 at 4:39 pm
Hello,
I just received my 3 notices today. My total minimum payments will be going from $400 to about $1000. This will seriously hurt my monthly financial situation. I just read your article dated June 22nd, and noticed you had an opt-out option. When I called, they said I had no opt-out, except to pay the bill off before August. My question is how did you get the opt-out option? Did you speak with a supervisor? How did you get the Loyalty department? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!
on Jun 23rd, 2009 at 5:03 pm
There was a post on Consumer Affairs for the same situation with his June statement, but they wouldn’t let him opt-out. Peggy, please keep us informed if you have the same issue arise.
on Jun 23rd, 2009 at 5:28 pm
Thanks for the post, Peggy.
I am a bit confused … I too just received a notice via US mail of increased minimum payments from 2% to 5% (after receiving an offer to skip one payment last month which I catually took). The notice was one of these folded one page/enveloppe all in ones , and nowhere does it mention an option to opt out. It appears too elsewhere that talks to the company by some asking for an opt-out were not successful.
So my question is this: Did your notice specifially included wording that informed you of an opt-out option? Or is it the case that, regardless, Chase can still enforce the increase even if you close the account?
on Jun 23rd, 2009 at 6:53 pm
We recently got hit with this too. We thought we were safe, after escaping the first round of mailings last year, but then just received the change of terms notice. Balance is currently $17500, balance transfer for life of loan (at about 5%). We also received the option to skip a payment last month, and we took ‘em up on it. Apparently Chase doesn’t care whether you skipped or paid anyway, the change of terms seems to be targeted at anyone with a fixed rate balance transfer of <6%.
on Jun 23rd, 2009 at 7:00 pm
I just recieved the change of terms in the mail from Chase and tried to call to opt out. I was told that I was not able to opt out even if I were to close the account. I to have a fixed 4.9% rate.
on Jun 23rd, 2009 at 7:27 pm
Peggy,
I thought I better check my mail after reading this. GUESS WHAT!!! There it was!! I called, twice and couldn’t get an opt-out!! Did you speak to a supervisor??
on Jun 23rd, 2009 at 8:09 pm
The person who answered the phone said he was a supervisor. He was my first contact on this call. I thought it was weird because the only other times I have talked with a Chase supervisor was in January after days of asking to talk to one, being promised that someone would call me and then finally on the 4th or 5th try, I was put through to a supervisor.
There was wording on my change-in-terms pamphlet that allowed for an opt-out. It said something to the effect that “if you don’t agree to the terms you must call us and let us know by July 22, 2009. Otherwise, the terms will go into effect on August 1, 2009.”
Did your change-in-terms include that paragraph? It seems odd that Chase would include an opt-out on some accounts and not on others. But I wouldn’t put anything past them at this point. I also wonder if the reps are so used to telling people that they can’t opt-out that they aren’t aware that the option now exists? Please let me know if the opt-out wording is or is not included in the change-in-terms you received today.
Peggy
on Jun 23rd, 2009 at 8:34 pm
Peggy,
I do not have that paragraph in my notice. Now that really sucks!!!
on Jun 23rd, 2009 at 8:50 pm
I think Chase is crazy.
on Jun 23rd, 2009 at 9:17 pm
Well, my new plan is to pay the minimum ALWAYS!! In the past I have always paid $700 per month the min was 509 this month. I transfered most of the balance on this card not even a year ago!! If I only make the minimum
even though it is going to be much higher at first I am going to milk CHASE all the way. It will drag out much longer than if I would have stayed the course at $700.00 per month.
on Jun 23rd, 2009 at 9:21 pm
No such phrase in mine either: the mailing has the identifier “ADV5679″ on the lower left and the date “06/09″ on the lower right of each page. Sounds like a legal issue: Who decides if it’s an opt-out-able change? Can Chase be selective about who receives the opt-out option?
on Jun 23rd, 2009 at 9:46 pm
I also received a change in terms notice today with the increase of my minimum payment from 2% to 5% of the balance.
After reading the comments regarding the opt-out option, I called Chase this evening. The person I spoke to, Remi, told me that my change in terms did not have the option to opt-out. He told me that Chase sent out two different notices…one with the minimum balance increase and one with an interest rate increase. He said that the interest rate increase does have an opt-out option. I asked to speak to a supervisor but was told he could not transfer me and his word was final.
He also told me Chase paid back the $25 billion in TARP funds plus interest on June 17th. Not sure if anyone knows if this is true or not.
on Jun 23rd, 2009 at 9:52 pm
My change of terms notice did NOT include an ‘opt-out’ paragraph, however when we called them (tonight) we simply stated that we wanted to close the account and we were opting out of the change of terms. The rep said he understood and it would be no problem.
Whether or not that will actually be the case in August is yet to be seen.
on Jun 23rd, 2009 at 10:13 pm
Peggy> Did your change-in-terms include that paragraph?
Mine did not. I have not called them yet given my current mood (…) but I doubt it will make a difference anyways …
on Jun 24th, 2009 at 12:00 am
I am going to ask for arbitration.
http://www.daily-protest.com
on Jun 24th, 2009 at 1:10 am
I had no opt-out paragraph on any of the 3 notices I received. These bastards are just spewing out different terms for different folks, it seems.
on Jun 24th, 2009 at 5:17 am
I did not receive a skip a payment on my last bill. Maybe those who could skip can also opt out, and those who did not receive a skip cannot opt out.
Marge did you get a “skip a payment” last month?
on Jun 24th, 2009 at 5:29 am
I got a skip payment option (which I did not do) on all 3 cards, and I have no opt-out options.
on Jun 24th, 2009 at 6:27 am
Cathy: I got a “skip payment” but did not get an “opt out”; it looks to me like they’ve eliminated the “opt out” option from the change-in-terms notice.
on Jun 24th, 2009 at 6:51 am
Thank you so much for this site. I am a single mom of two, working hard to maintain an excellent credit rating while working over 55 hours per week and trying to get a college education.
I will opt-out this morning and make sure that they cannot increase my minimum payment or my fixed interest rates. I was so shocked that I started having an asthma attack. I couldn’t sleep. My payments were going to go from $400 per month to $1000 per month. This would have killed me financially and then these low fixed interest rates of less than 5% would have gone up significantly if I could not have paid the $1000 per month minimum fees. This is such an outrage. I cannot believe that a credit card company can do this after promising a low interest rate for the life of a loan. I always pay my bills on time and have not done anything wrong. I was only taking them up on their offer of a lower interest rate for the life of a loan to save me interest. That was supposedly their “line” to get me to switch to their company. This is outrageous. I always pay it the day that I receive the bill and am hyper alert to the fact that they could have changed the terms had I ever been late. I figured I was safe. I never dreamed that they could increase the minimum payment at their discretion. What if they decided to change to minimum payment to 10-20-30-50% of your balance? I suppose they could since they have increased it to 5% and no one is stopping them.
This is so incredibly outrageous. I agree with what others have written here in this blog and I understand. I am totally outraged at this. I am a tax payer with excellent credit. I am furious that this happened at such a horrible time in our failing economic times.
Karen
on Jun 24th, 2009 at 6:59 am
Please help.
I just called to try this op-out option and I was told that the only way that I can do this is that I must pay off this balance within 30 days in order to close it and freeze it at the original agreement terms.
Please help me if anyone else knows what I can do next???
Thank you
Karen
on Jun 24th, 2009 at 7:31 am
Cathy,
Yes I got the skip a payment, but I did not use it.
on Jun 24th, 2009 at 9:42 am
I submitted a comment last night but apparently it didn’t approved by the moderator. Could you tell me why not?
on Jun 24th, 2009 at 10:59 am
I just got my notice yesterday. Called this morning and was told I have no opt-out…
I have two small balance transfers at 2.99%. I was offered a “skip a payment” option last month, and gave em the old “thanks, but no thanks pal”. I always pay more than the minimum but less then 5%. I pay online and usually within 3 to 5 business days of the new statement date.
I’ve already emailed the AG of New York as well as Senators Dodd and Shelby informing them of Chase’s rush to circumvent the changes coming in Oct.
My next step is to send a notarized letter via certified mail that I am opt-ing out of their BS and plan on paying it under the existing terms. Any modification to the terms of the account by Chase shall be constitute a material breach of contract on Chase’s part of the agreement between card holder (myself) and Chase.
I plan on dropping my monthly payment to the minimum rounded to the next highest $5. (they will soon be required by law to apply the “extra” to the tiny “purchase balance” (around $20)
on Jun 24th, 2009 at 11:07 am
We tried to call and opt out today, and the said that we are positively not allowed to do so. We were told our only options are to transfer the balance or accept the terms……
on Jun 24th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
i received a notice on the 23rd of june and was hoping that since you were able to “opt out” i would too. so i called chase and they denied my request. i looked at my notice again and there is no mention of the opt out. however, there is also no 10.00 per month charge. it seems like they are mixing it up so that if any one asks “Are you offering an opt out?” they can reply “Yes we are.” they just aren’t offering it to everyone.
on a side note, when i called to opt out i told them i was recording the call. they stated i can’t do that. this was just after i heard their message about them recording the call. go figure. since i live in Arkansas and it is a single party permission state, i just hung up and called back and did not tell them this time. it worked fine until i got to the supervisor who, based on the previous supervisors call notes, asked me if i was recording this call. i replied honestly that i was and had to stop recording before they would proceed. TALK ABOUT A DOUBLE STANDARD!!!!!!
on Jun 24th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
I just received Chase’s notice yesterday notifying me of the change from 2 to 5 percent. I live in Michigan. The notice did not contain any opt-out message. I did receive the offer to skip a payment last month, but chose to send payment anyway. My rate is also 4.9 for life. I am going to send a certified letter stating that I do not accept the terms and see what happens.
on Jun 24th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Peggy,
I went online to email my displeasure about the change in terms with no opt-out. I of course got a canned reply about the APR’s being low I was also reminded about the change in terms on closing the account. Which really states that they can close it at anytime for any reason. Was this included in your notice. Since they brought it up again, I am really uneasy about what their next move is. I almost feel like I should just close it on my own, which will be less of a hit than giving them the opportunity to close it just because they can, and isn’t that what they are really trying to get us to do? What is everyones thought on this. Do you think they will start closing accounts just to mess with us??
on Jun 24th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Peggy:
I’m wondering which toll free number you called? I’m one of the ones with a 4.99% balance transfer that suddenly requires a 5% minimum payment. I called and pleaded for an opt-out that would close the account and keep the existing terms. I was told it was simply not an option.
But I’d first called the 800 number on my statement, which was answered by someone in India evidently, and two transfers later I was offered a “deal” of a higher interest rate. But an opt-out to keep the existing terms was dismissed as not being possible.
Mike L.
on Jun 24th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Peggy:
Please disregard my question above as to where you called. I see now you actually had an opt-out notice included in your change in terms. Mine did not include this.
Mike L.
on Jun 24th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Marge11 & Peggy, I have just discovered this website because I was searching for help because I too received the exact same notice you describe. I have 4 Chase accounts, all at 4.99% or below that I have been paying on for a couple of years now with never a late pmt. 2 of the cards I have had over 15 years but just took advantage of their low interest rate offer a couple of years ago because they made it sound so good and a way to save money. I have auto pmts. set up. I have been knocking down my balance too. I never use these cards. They are put up. I just used the debt consolidation at the cheap interest rate. The wording on my Change In Terms is the same as yours with no “opt out feature”. I just received mine yesterday on 3 of the 4 cards. I will call them, but I have a feeling it won’t do any good. Do you or Peggy or anyone have any advice? This will increase my monthly pmts over $800/mo. I can’t handle that. I just want to cry.
on Jun 24th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
marge11:
I got the closing account amendment too, saying they can close the account at any time (and not be liable blah blah …)
But what would happen then? Old monthly payment terms? New ones?
Ask for the entire balance at anytime? (that last possibility seems out of this world to me, but then again, I am starting to think we are dealing with hardened criminals here …
on Jul 22nd, 2009 at 4:59 am
Hey Peggy
Thanks for the information
Btw, I really like your blog so I submitted it to Viralogy.com. That
will help more people discover it! If you want you can claim your
blog at http://www.viralogy.com/blogs/my/13795 which will also help
your ranking. Hope you get more traffic through that!
Anyway, I hope you have a great week and that you will be successful
in
every activity you engage in!
on Jul 23rd, 2009 at 10:11 am
Margell, I received the “skip payment”offer but did not use it. I did not have any opt-out language in my change-in-terms notice which came separate from my statement in the mail. I have soken twice with a CSR and twice with a Supevisor and all state there is NO opt-out…NONE.
Are you still planning to keep your account open and pay the 5% monthly?
on Jul 23rd, 2009 at 10:22 am
Peggy,
Will you please update us on current class-action lawsuits regarding this 2% to 5% monthly payment increase on Chase card accounts which have low interest for the life of the loan?
on Jul 23rd, 2009 at 6:57 pm
Is it just me, or did a lot of stuff disappear from the site??? This is the most recent post I can find now.
on Jul 23rd, 2009 at 7:31 pm
Hi Barbara,
You’re not crazy- all kinds of interesting posts disappeared. I asked Peggy about it and here is her reply.
“The hosting company for the website moved everything to a new server and
somehow lost (we hope temporarily) the last month’s worth of postings
and comments. Dr. Lahm is working on getting things straightened out
and as of this evening said he thought he was going to be able to
restore the “lost” items. I’m keeping my fingers crossed because there
was a lot of material – especially the last post about the mom who got
involved in the battle – that would be good to have back online.”
on Jul 24th, 2009 at 4:44 am
Thanks, Gayle! I hope they find it!
on Jul 26th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
I am in the same situation as described by many. I too had an option for skipping a payment, didn’t take it, then got the increase in minimun payment notice. I joined a class action suit, I wrote letters to Chase (2), the President, Senator Chris Dodd, and JON STEWART. I got a “canned” letter from some Financial officer at Chase, then I got a call from Gordon Smith’s office (CEO OF CHASE). I am now waiting for her offer. In the meantime I have transferred part of the monies elsewhere with lower rate but shorter term, and will pay the minimum due to Chase for as long as it takes just like Marge11 plans to do.
Chase has not played fair and when they are finally paid I will close this account and never look back.
on Jul 27th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/business/homepage/20090726_Yet_another_credit-card__gotcha_.html
on Jul 30th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
hi everyone – I’ve got a CC and mortage with Chase, I’m an excellent customer and really pissed off about the shift from 2% to 5%. However, I was told I had no option to opt-out of the increase, including closing the account — I’m intrigued about anyone who was able to do this.
I thought of little things to annoy Chase, like going back to paper statements (so they incur postage) and filling the envelopes with pebbles; writing my payments in red ink (I have this thought in my head they can’t be scanned and have to be done manually – I”m probably dreaming this up).
I would just raid my savings to pay it off but it feels like a bad time to do that. I’m just furious. I hate them. I will take time out of my day to hate them. I have not seen a $10 per month charge on my promo rate yet – dont know if that went away.
Would love a link to write congress, etc if anyone has one.
on Aug 1st, 2009 at 8:07 am
Hi.
Does anyone have any update on the Class Action lawsuits filed against Chase? I heard they’ve been consolidated into 1 and that a court had been chosen. Any other updates or is just going to move at a snail’s pace from here on?
Thanks
Benjamin
on Aug 4th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
There have been no new posts or articles added to this site since July 24, 2009!
Where did everybody go?
Come back Change in Terms! I miss you.
on Aug 6th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
I complained to the OCC and received a call from Chase’s executive office offering me the 2% APR and 5 year plan. Has anyone here taken this deal? I am concerned, but 2% instead of 4.99% would make for an intelligent move. I figured that they would close all of our accounts anyway, so that does not bother me. I would have been more than happy to close my account with an OPT OUT.
on Aug 6th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/business/homepage/20090726_Yet_another_credit-card__gotcha_.html
I wish I had been offered that deal
on Aug 7th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
Marge11,
I did opt to take the 2% APR year plan as my monthly payment would have been a bit tough to deal with since my truck is in very bad need of replacement. I only used this card for a 2.9% for life loan to put an addition on my house. I borrowed 30K from them and have it paid down to under 9K in under 3 years. I was approved about 3 weeks ago. All they did was close my account, which I never used anyway. I received my confirmation letter in the mail today. So far it looks like this has not had any effect on my current credit rating what so ever. In fact I was just approved for a new car loan from Ford at 2.9% without any trouble at all.
on Aug 10th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
I too had the option to skip a payment,& this month the increase of my minimum payment(I just happened to see the increase online, no letter to explain or message on the site).I called asked for a supervisor,they passed me around for about an hour before I was connected to a department that offered me the 2%-5 year plan with a fixed payment of $70, no extra fees no changes to the plan…the acct will show that I closed it.I will get a copy of the “offer” once the first payment is made. I took the offer, hopefully not a mistake. I do have another account with them that I pay off every month,don’t know if they are going to close that too?? Guess ill find out….I plan to send an email to my local politicians.
on Aug 11th, 2009 at 9:13 am
My post of August 10 describes the problem (the site went down due to a hosting issue; possibly a hacker’s malicious file, but I also suspect server issues based upon log/error files). The site is up, but I am far from comfortable regarding whether or not I could have future issues. I hope that one or more individuals who have the IT skills to assist me with the site would contact me.
on Aug 11th, 2009 at 9:57 am
Dear Jill,
The site experienced a “major crash” (see my detailed post of August 10, 2009). I have approved every legitimate comment since the site has been established as a blog (December 2008). I said, “legitimate,” because the site is regularly inundated by spam (most of which is caught by filters), and hackers attack any and every site around. There have been two submissions that I have censored during this entire time. One of them came in about the time the site went down.
I will be creating a post about my moderation, i.e., “censorship,” in the future. However, generally, these two submitters were very disrespectful of me/the site/the site’s typical visitors, and since I am paying for the site and the hosting (and I have put myself and my family on the line in public view and at risk in order to fight abusive credit card companies), my sentiment is that these individuals can get their own sites if they want to be so mean-spirited and ignorant. The typical visitors here have done nothing wrong and faithfully fulfilled their obligations.
on Aug 11th, 2009 at 10:06 am
Dear Karen,
As an educator, and an adult learner who finally earned my first degree at the age of 28 (struggling to put myself through school, at every level — my own debts even now are primarily associated with later deciding to return to graduate school with a desire to teach and help others), your story breaks my heart. I will keep fighting for you. Chase will live to regret destroying the dreams of students.
on Aug 12th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
I received my confirmation letter today for the 2% 5 year plan. I have until Aug 20th to make the agreed payment to enter the plan, even though my statement shows the 5% of balance payment due. Since it was a rep from the executive office that called me and I have her direct number I have called back several times with many questions…I am so concerned that it is just another ploy that I have not made up my mind. She did state that I would not receive any change in terms in this program and that it was now a fixed loan. I will pay close attention to when the statement drops, which was always on the 8th, in reference to the new due date of the 20th, which was the 2nd of the following month. Under the new regulations, starting Aug 20th, 2009 ALL open end revolving loans MUST receive a statement 21 days prior to due date. It does not include closed end loans. So I am now assuming this BLP program is a true closed end loan. That does give me peace of mind, as you can not change the terms of a closed end loan unless the consumer is in default.
on Aug 20th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Dr Lahm,
Having post censored by you personally, I must say that I disagree with your characterization. I was not disrespectful of you or this site in my opinion in any of my posts.
I do agree that it is your site and that you have every right to control content here. I told you this at the time as I recall. I feel the same today.
My posts which were disallowed were political in nature and were not as you have stated “disrespectful” in any sense which honors the traditional belief in the American right to expression.
on Aug 29th, 2009 at 12:00 am
It has become increasingly difficult for me to continually injectt Hanlon’s Razor into my analytical thought process. To wit…
“Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.”
on Sep 8th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Vito,
I think your much ballhooed spellchecker may be off
Just a heads up there bud, I know how important it is to you.
Marv
on Nov 12th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
I was one of the lucky ones to be blessed with the $10/month charge and a minimum payment raise to 5% OR an increase in my rate from 4.9 to 7.99% way back in November of 2008. I called trying to figure out a way to get around it. There was no opt out. They insisted I would have to choose. I chose to take the 7.99% and my payment would remain unchanged.
I have to say, I am also one of the customers who did not respond to an offer in the mail. I had called Chase about another issue and when the customer service rep finished answering my question asked me if I would like to transfer balances from another card at the low rate of 3.9% interest. I must have asked her 3 times “How long will it stay at that rate?”, the response and I can remember her voice “until it’s paid off in full”. I transfered EVERYTHING that day.
It is now one year later and today I recieved a letter from Chase. They have changed the terms in my account. They will restore the original percentage rate and will refund my account for the difference that I have paid in the past year. My “satisfaction is important” to them!
I don’t want to get your hopes up, but maybe this is just a beginning.
Believe me, though, I don’t trust them. When this balance is paid off, it will be just another one of those credit cards I own that never has balance.