So what was my “anniversary post” to be?  It’s not like I forgot the anniversary itself.  It was the day I opened my mail and read in sickening disbelief the change in terms notice that Chase sent to me.  On December 3, 2008 I responded.

I won’t forget.

No matter how much advertising Chase can buy, thereby suppressing the truth about its unethical actions in the mainstream media, I won’t let Chase forget, either.

I have plenty to do at work right now (it’s final exam week).  However, rest assured that I’ve been “making my list and checking it twice,” and I know all too well that banks and their lobbyists  have been very, very naughty, and not at all nice.  The popular uproar continues, while the the back-room negotiations with “our” elected officials continue to feed “fat cat” bankers at the expense of small businesses, taxpayers, the economy, you, my family, and me.  I’ll have more to say on all of these things.

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Louis Roth and Margaret Conley, our friends at Binary Star Productions, Inc., have brought us a new short film entitled, “Bank of Evil.”  The film’s teaser text poses the question, “Are major banks behaving like Super Villain organizations from all those spy movies?”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Please watch in full screen mode, and spread this video!

© Dr Robert Lahm for ChangeinTerms.com, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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Chase wants to give BIG rewards to holders of this card unlike their egregious loan-shark-like actions implemented against the peons who were upholding their side of the agreement by diligently paying off their credit cards. Playing reverse Robin Hood, no doubt….squeezing the the little guy to make credit card life better for the affluent.

Excerpt: Quote from Joan Bassett, marketing director for Chase Sapphire “We’re giving cardmembers more value and positioning Chase well for the long term,” said Ms. Bassett. “What we’re seeing in our data is consumers are looking to get more out of their reward programs, looking to redeem them and expected to be rewarded more for their loyalty.”

Change-in-terms for the Wealthy

Chase – Targets high-income consumers in multimedia effort

“NEW YORK JPMorgan Chase is kicking off a national ad campaign in support of its new credit card, Chase Sapphire, a service for upscale consumers that rewards users for spending.

In a bid to reach shoppers with deep pockets, Chase Card Services is investing an estimated $30 million in measured media to introduce Chase Sapphire, ….. Sapphire is being marketed to consumers in the upper 15 percent of all U.S. households, with incomes of $120,000 or more.”

This effort is a little different than the change in terms we all experienced with Chase. Since Chase continues to empty our pockets, it stands to reason as our pockets get emptier, Chase would go hunting for deeper pockets. Recently I’ve been reading complaints posted by people whose Chase Reward cards have also had a sudden change in terms – regular folks who will no longer receive the rewards they signed up for and have been enjoying for years. When asked for an explanation, Chase continues to recite the “it’s the economy, it’s market forces, it’s because we can” mantra they used with us…ad infinitum, ad nauseum…

Apparently the “economy, market, and because we can” are motivation for this new breathtakingly expensive marketing gambit. Amazing, isn’t it? The exact same market conditions which cause one group of long-term, reliable customers to be cruelly punished is the reason a huge carrot is to be offered to another group of customers that does not yet exist.

Chase Long Term Positioning Plan : A bird in the hand is worth nothing, while hypothetical birds in the bush are worth, well….a speculativeTHIRTY MILLION DOLLAR AD CAMPAIGN!!!

Watch for the $30,000,000 Sapphire ad campaign – coming to a television channel near you! There must be a untold thousands of affluent customers who have had their heads buried in the sand this past year and either don’t know and/or don’t care that Chase has been treating millions of their customers like dirt. Rich, deep pocketed consumers, who are just dying to hop on Chase’s Sapphire Band Wagon.

Chase will treat wealthy Sapphire card holders right and will never change the terms on them, right?

If you believe that, I have a bridge I want to sell you…..

A Chase Promise made is a Promise you can count on (Chase breaking).

© pdurant for ChangeinTerms.com, 2009. | Permalink | 18 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: change in terms, complaints, consumers, credit, credit cards, economy, interest, interest rate

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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.

© pdurant for ChangeinTerms.com, 2009. | Permalink | 73 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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In January, Chase, with no opt-out allowed, raised my (along with 400,000 other customers) payment from 2% ($416/month) to 5% ($1,025/month)….and has demanded payments at the same high 5% level ever since. This month the payment was $842….still more than twice as much as the payment required in December.

Last Friday, I received my Chase statement on another account (4.99% promotional rate “fixed for the life of the loan”" with an outstanding balance of $6,029.28) with $0 minimum payment due. Along with a note that says:

“You have the flexibility to skip a payment. You must pay past due and overlimit balances immediately. However, the remaining minimum payment for this month has been reduced to $0. Finance charges will continue to accrue. To reduce your balance, feel free to make a payment.”

Of course, I have no past due or overlimit balances but what this very telling statement means is that Chase is inviting customers who do have past due and overlimit balances….to skip the regular minimum monthly payment!

So – Chase, a company which absolutely could not survive with a mere $25 BILLION in taxpayer bail-out funds; a company that had no choice but to put the screws to 400,000 of their very best customers to fill their cashless coffers; is now a company so flush with cash that they are allowing customers (at least one good customer [me ] and apparently some bad customers with past due and over limit amounts) to SKIP making their minimum monthly payments on accounts for which the payment requirement remains at 2%.

Then, presumably because Chase hopes I am feeling so good about not having to make a monthly payment this month, they offer this suggestion, “Save $100* r/t. Book a round-trip flight on British Airways worldwide…between March 23-Aug 31, 2009. Offer ends June 30, 2009.” *Terms and conditions apply.

Chase includes no mention of what the terms and conditions might be (though if they can entice me to charge my airfare on British Airways to this account, and pay for other travel expenses with it, the sky is the limit for interest on the new charges). But that’s OK. History with this company tells us that even when Chase provides specific enumeration of all their “terms and conditions”, the terms and conditions are subject to change – for any reason or for no reason. All part of the Chase adventure into The Twilight Zone!

© pdurant for ChangeinTerms.com, 2009. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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Thus, it was pure pleasure to read that Stephanie could not comment after a Federal Judge ruled against Chase today. The issue is not exactly on point with our issues but hey, any ruling against Chase is a step in the right direction. May the future hold many more headlines like the following….

JPMorgan loses court ruling over credit cards

Excerpt:

NEW YORK, May 19 (Reuters) – A federal appeals court reinstated a claim by a JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) credit card holder accusing the bank of failing to properly disclose risk factors that allow it to suddenly raise rates.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said the bank failed to make “clear and conspicuous disclosure” of the annual percentage rates it could impose, as required under the federal Truth in Lending Act, by burying the reason for an increase in the fine print of a cardholder agreement….

…He said this was “buried too deeply in the fine print” for a reasonable cardholder to realize the bank could raise the APR not just for events of default, but for “any reason at all.”….

…Chase spokeswoman Stephanie Jacobson said the New York-based bank does not comment on pending litigation.”…

May the lawsuits continue to multiply. May court rulings against Chase gain momentum. May Ms. Jacobson be unable to comment on many occasions as lawsuits against Chase wend their way through the court system.

I hope having to hold her tongue is driving Stephanie nuts. Being powerless to counter her many derogatory comments about me and my fellow account holders kind of drove me crazy. Ah….the sound of (Stephanie’s) silence. So sweet.

© pdurant for ChangeinTerms.com, 2009. | Permalink | 19 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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© pdurant for ChangeinTerms.com, 2009. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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“We need to change the rules of the game” to make the credit card business more transparent, fairer and simpler for consumers, Geithner told reporters after the meeting at the Treasury Department. “This administration and this Congress are committed to changing the system.”

Reuters also reporting good news:

President Barack Obama will sign wide-ranging, pro-consumer credit card reforms into law by late May, senior U.S. House Democrat Carolyn Maloney predicted on Wednesday.

© RegulateNow for ChangeinTerms.com, 2009. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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“Lawmakers say they’re under increasing pressure from constituents to respond to rising interest rates and abrupt changes to consumers’ accounts.  Senator Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, cited complaints to his office in an April 20 letter to the U.S. Treasury and urged the department to consider restrictions on any bank receiving government support under the Troubled Assets Relief Program.”

The credit card companies have had their way for too long.  Contact your Representative, or Senator.  Let them know that the Fed Rules that are going into effect next year are not enough.  Changes in terms for “any reason,” at the sole discretion of the credit card companies, leaves no choice for the consumer, and we must demand action.

The time to act is now.  Representative Steny Hoyer has stated that he believes a vote on the bill will come next week.  The Obama administration is set to meet with executives of the credit card industry tomorrow.  We can, and we must end these abusive practices.

© RegulateNow for ChangeinTerms.com, 2009. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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Anna Werner continues her investigation into credit card sleeze in this piece. Last week, CBS 5 invited affected credit card customers to their studio to follow up on her first two reports. Anna interviews this group of people who have all experienced shocking changes in terms from their credit card companies. Chase and Capital One are named numerous times throughout the broadcast. Take a look at comments on the response page which CBS 5 received after airing their report.

Kudos to Anna for staying on this story.  Anna has done impressive work in the past which resulted in national acclaim.  Let’s hope this story receives the same attention.

Excerpt from Anna’s bio:  ” Anna Werner, one of the nation’s top investigative reporters, is the chief of CBS 5’s investigative unit. 

In 2008, Anna Werner was named “Reporter of the Year” by the Associated Press Television and Radio Association and was honored to also receive an Emmy as “Reporter of the Year” in Northern California.  These honors are among many Anna has received since joining CBS 5 in late 2004.”

© pdurant for ChangeinTerms.com, 2009. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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