I've had Discover for about 10 years now and other than a couple late payments over that timeframe I've always been a good customer.  I just checked my latest credit card bill and my interest rate went from 14.99% fixed to 22.99% variable.  I checked and my last payment was made days before it was due and it was for more than the mininum balance.  So I called Discover to see what they were going to do about it.  Well they said they pulled my credit report recently to re-evaluate the account and decided that my balances were too high on my other accounts so they jacked up my rates.  Meaning, we understand you might be going through a rough financial time and using your credit cards more, so we are going to stab you in the back and make your financial life even harder.  So I told them if that is how they reward good customers with a 10 year track record they can close my account.

So now I'm down to one less credit card that I can use...which is really a good thing because I need to focus on paying off my debt anyway.  It just pisses me off that they would screw over someone who has followed all of the terms they set out.

Yeah, that's common, and yes, it sucks.  You need the lower rate (bad credit), you don't get it.  You don't need the lower rate (good credit) you 0% offers every week.  The more that this sort of information is shared between companies (insurance, financial, medical, legal), the worse this is going to get.

Nice avatar, btw.

I know what you mean. We had an outstanding balance with them for a while and were making about double the minimum payments to get the damn thing paid off. They jacked our interest rate WAY up, for just the reasons you mentioned. Then, I sold a few "toys" (sniff) to pay the damn thing off. We called Cust Service (what a joke!) and got the payoff. Everything was documented, who we talked to, what times and the balance. We sent in a check Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested, so we'd know exactly when the check was received by them, for the balance and thought everything was hunky-dory.

A month later, we got a bill from them for something like $50.00. I called to find out WTF was going on and had all my documentation with me. As it turns out, they received the check in plenty of time for the next billing cycle but didn't cash it till after the next billing cycle but before they sent the bill, which showed us as a late payment and the $50.00 was the interest on the bill. After much arguing, we were told to either pay the $50.00 or they'd ruin my credit. We paid it and sent the card back to them in little, little pieces. It sucked, but what are you gonna do? You can't screw around with your credit nowadays, and mine isn't the best to begin with!

Bub

Don't know if this is an option for you, but if you can get a unsecured loan from your bank, refinance a car, etc., it might be cheaper than the rates on your cards.  Good idea to pay those off if you can...

Join the crowd.


I've got three cards, two of which I never use, they're just around for emergencies.

The third card I use quite a bit, and due to the ban ending, I threw a few things on there.  So the rate on that card took a huge friggin jump (about like yours) because they said "you have a large amount of debt compared to your savings accounts"

My response:  Well no shit.  I just paid cash for a car.  That tends to wipe out the cash reserves pretty quickly.


the bad news is because my rates there took a jump, i'm expecting the other cards, which I don't use, to take a similar hike next cycle.  I'm thinking about just canceling all of the cards, paying the balence of the one off ASAP and just going cash-only from here on out.

Just get an American Express green card.  I have one and love it.  There isn't an interest rate since you have to pay it off at the end of each month.  Mine is the "Rewards" card and it's nice.  I use it for ALL purchases and at the end of each week go online and pay it off using my checking account.

Quoted: Yeah, that's common, and yes, it sucks.  You need the lower rate (bad credit), you don't get it.  You don't need the lower rate (good credit) you 0% offers every week.  The more that this sort of information is shared between companies (insurance, financial, medical, legal), the worse this is going to get.

No kidding.  A year ago I refianced my house, paid off one the cards totally and couldn't get a balance transfer offer to save my life.  Now I've foolishly used most of the credit on that card and I get two balance transfers a week from them.

It just reminds me that I need to control my spending and be debt free...then I won't have to worry about it.

Just do like me after taking a good fucking, play the card game. I get offers in the mail all the time for 0 or low interest cards. Just transfer the balance for the 6 month period and then if it goes up too high just transfer it again. If you need one card that maintains a high balance shop around for 12.5% or lower. It can be done. I did it, so can anyone. else. On the post that was screwed out of the $50, fight back. You said you had all the paperwork so kick ass. My sister had it happen so here is what you do: Get a credit report from the three major credit reporting companies.TRW is one can't remember the other two. Go over it and find all the wrong shit or wherever you were screwed. This bis good for everybody to do once in a while because I founf where a card was issued for a Dillards account in my SS# but in someone elses name that was maxed ou then defaulted on. I never had a fucking account there. Next, send a proffessional looking letter to the agency by registered mail stating they have 30 days to remove the misstated,wrong, erroneous info or they will be sued. It only costs about $25 dollars to file papers yourself in court. Don't remember which court my sister filed in, but it wasn't small claims court. When the agency's got the court papers from the county they all three removed all wrong info after offering her $1,500 - $3000 each not to sue. I never heard of that shit being so easy. So I did it on the one with the Dillards card to remove it. You can fight back you just have to want it and know how to.

Same thing happened to me awhile back. I cancelled my account and went else where.

Doesn't surprise me you folks are having problems with Discover, that company pretty much rides rough-shod over most of their customers. For example, if you carry a balance they start collecting interest on something you charged immediately, and not starting on the next billing cycle. I've haven't used them for 10 years, yet they keep on sending a new card when my current expires. I don't know what's with these credit card companies, they keep on trying to entice you to use their card when you don't need it, and you do, the screw you.

I use no credit cards.  If you make enough money you don't need them.  try this in the future.  The only thing I owe on is my House.

Quoted: A month later, we got a bill from them for something like $50.00. I called to find out WTF was going on and had all my documentation with me. As it turns out, they received the check in plenty of time for the next billing cycle but didn't cash it till after the next billing cycle but before they sent the bill, which showed us as a late payment and the $50.00 was the interest on the bill. After much arguing, we were told to either pay the $50.00 or they'd ruin my credit. We paid it and sent the card back to them in little, little pieces. It sucked, but what are you gonna do? You can't screw around with your credit nowadays, and mine isn't the best to begin with!

I don't know if you have time to do so or not, but you should challenge them on this BS. I would take it to your state AG. The bill is considered paid when they recieve your payment, whether they cash the check or not is not your problem.

Your account is considered paid when they get your check, and you got the paper work to prove it.

I no longer have any credit cards. I paid them all off before building my house 4 years ago. I have yet to get another one. A debit card does everything that a credit card does without getting one deeper in debt.

I had a similar problem with Discover when I used them.  My rate bounced like yours.  When I called, they told me that if you make 2 late payments in a years time, then your rate will go up.  After confirming that I had only 1 late payment in a years time, I got my rate down to 8.99% and 0% on transfers for 12 months.  needless to say, I switched everything over to them, and paid it off in the 12 months.  of course now the two I transfered are working their way up both in balance and interest. But damn it, I got rid of discover.

Quoted: I use no credit cards.  If you make enough money you don't need them.  try this in the future.  The only thing I owe on is my House.

Unless, of course, you would like to
purchase things online. Or you
don't like to carry hundreds of dollars
around all the time. Or you'd like to
earn free money from the CC company
(I got $200 from AMEX last year).

As long as you pay the cards off each
month (don't carry a balance), CC are
a nice payment option.

I don't even look at my credit card rates.  They don't make anything on me, gets paid in full online every month.

Quoted: I use no credit cards.  If you make enough money you don't need them.  try this in the future.  The only thing I owe on is my House.

Fuckin A !!!!   Everything I have is paid for although that still ain't saying much. I got hurt at work and had five spinal surgery's on my back and neck having five vertabrae fused between the two with artificial disks, plates, back cages,screws, and a hip bone graft. I was off work so long my savings account was depleted and even had to use up all my 401k. What was the worst was getting the cards to charge groceries on, car battery, tires, just shit like that. It took so long fighting workers comp that I dug myself a big ass hole that I'm slowly getting back out of. So any of you young people reading this: get only one card, and put a $500 limit on it. Use it only for emergencies. Yea I know it feels good to go to Best Buy and get shit. Or buying a new gun at the store, or a set of new 38" Buckshot Mudders. Afterwards you will always say "That is something that I could live without". Especially if you don't pay it off at the first of the month. Believe me you appreciate it alot more if you save for it and make sacrifices to get what you want. I always had 4-5 cards and paid off what I charged as soon as the statement came. We were about to buy or build another house   when this happened. Now I must wait to pay these fuckers off. Treat the cards like an AIDS infected whore and stay away.

Not to be a dick, but I am a 20 something year old with cc's and one is at 6.9% and has been some years.
Your getting fucked.

pay it off using my checking account.

Just be careful when you pay!  We have eleven AmEx cards here, and we pay most of them straight (over the phone, no mailed check) from our checking account on the 27th of each month along with the other bills.  A few of the cards have a closing date of the 28th, and we have to remember to wait a few days before paying them.  If we don't, AmEx doesn't credit the current charges.  This also happens when you pay early after you've hit your credit limit to get your card working again.  Our limit is only $1,100 for each card, so that happens often.  One month later you get huge fees for "not" paying your bill.  They've probably done that to us 25+ times this year.  I have two of them that happened this week.  I wasted almost two hours on the phone today.  Their Ft Lauderdale office handles the corrections, and has been extremely hard to get hold of the past few weeks because of the hurricanes.  The owner of the company loves the end of year reports, so we're stuck with this huge hassle.

Again, make sure you wait until after the closing date to pay the bill even when they call to demand you pay early.z

I have a Discover card, and I don't even know what my interest rate is. I pay off my balance every month, and I don't buy anything I can't afford to pay cash for. I plan to keep it that way.

Quoted: A debit card does everything that a credit card does without getting one deeper in debt.

I like to use somebody elses money for 20+ days, though.  

Mine's safe in the bank or in my investments.

yup. I get paid to use my credit cards. either discover with the cash back or my amazon.com visa that gives me gift certificates, with a higher percentage back than discover

Quoted: Or you'd like to earn free money from the CC company (I got $200 from AMEX last year). As long as you pay the cards off each month (don't carry a balance), CC are a nice payment option.

Quoted: Quoted: I use no credit cards.  If you make enough money you don't need them.  try this in the future.  The only thing I owe on is my House. Fuckin A !!!!   Everything I have is paid for although that still ain't saying much. I got hurt at work and had five spinal surgery's on my back and neck having five vertabrae fused between the two with artificial disks, plates, back cages,screws, and a hip bone graft. I was off work so long my savings account was depleted and even had to use up all my 401k. What was the worst was getting the cards to charge groceries on, car battery, tires, just shit like that. It took so long fighting workers comp that I dug myself a big ass hole that I'm slowly getting back out of. So any of you young people reading this: get only one card, and put a $500 limit on it. Use it only for emergencies. Yea I know it feels good to go to Best Buy and get shit. Or buying a new gun at the store, or a set of new 38" Buckshot Mudders. Afterwards you will always say "That is something that I could live without". Especially if you don't pay it off at the first of the month. Believe me you appreciate it alot more if you save for it and make sacrifices to get what you want. I always had 4-5 cards and paid off what I charged as soon as the statement came. We were about to buy or build another house   when this happened. Now I must wait to pay these fuckers off. Treat the cards like an AIDS infected whore and stay away.

Hope you get better soon.

People should heed your advice, but unfortunately we will travel down this road in the future because it is so easy to buy something and just sign your name to it.

I am so sick of the reindeer games that CC companies play...I'm getting a home equity loan and paying all the fuckers off and cutting them all up except one...FUCK THEM...they can go pound sand!!!

MBNA done that dumb shit to me also. I was never late and they said I had to much debt, I had surgery and wasn't working for awhile so I cut back to a little above minimum payments (normaly I always paid double). I called them up and would not let them off the phone, I was so friggin pissed. It's a very fucked up deal that they can double your interest rate just because they THINK you have to much debt. I told the woman in the phone that this has to be the most unbelievable fucked up skewed thinking!

"We don't think you can afford all these payments so were are gonna double your interest rate which will raise your minimum payment significantly" WTF

Credit card companies pull this shit and then wonder why there are so many bankruptcys? I told her I would go bankrupt before I ever paid them a fucking cent over my original FIXED interest rate. She said that I was supposed to write them and disagree to changes added a few months earlier. I said "Who in their right mind would ever agree to 22% interest?" $220.00 for every $1000.00 that is fucked up!
She finally said if I closed the account they would drop it back to the original rate. I said that would be perfect because I'd never spend another penny on their card and will tell everyone I know of their ripoff scam.

So I won I guess. I wonder how much money they have made by slamming people who didn't fight back? DONT MESS WITH MBNA!

Don't try to rent a car without a credit card.
Check cards aren't accepted by all companies (about half)
And Pre-Paid cards aren't accepted at all.

Just a heads up, if you need to travel, unexpectedly, having a credit card available will be invaluable.

Quoted: Not to be a dick, but I am a 20 something year old with cc's and one is at 6.9% and has been some years. Your getting fucked.

When I was 20 I was getting great deals like that too.  That's how the credit cards sucker you in.  Pretty soon they will be bumping up your credit card limit over and over again.  Then instead of paying it off every month you'll start carrying a balance.  Then as the card gets near it's limit they will jack the rate up on you and you will be get screwed.  I'm living proof of that.

Quoted: pay it off using my checking account. Just be careful when you pay!  We have eleven AmEx cards here, and we pay most of them straight (over the phone, no mailed check) from our checking account on the 27th of each month along with the other bills.  A few of the cards have a closing date of the 28th, and we have to remember to wait a few days before paying them.  If we don't, AmEx doesn't credit the current charges.  This also happens when you pay early after you've hit your credit limit to get your card working again.  Our limit is only $1,100 for each card, so that happens often.  One month later you get huge fees for "not" paying your bill.  They've probably done that to us 25+ times this year.  I have two of them that happened this week.  I wasted almost two hours on the phone today.  Their Ft Lauderdale office handles the corrections, and has been extremely hard to get hold of the past few weeks because of the hurricanes.  The owner of the company loves the end of year reports, so we're stuck with this huge hassle. Again, make sure you wait until after the closing date to pay the bill even when they call to demand you pay early.z

You must have the blue AmEx card(s).  I have the grren rewards card and it doesn't have a limit, but the balance must be paid off within 30 days.

Does anyony have any information on our right to restrict Everyones ability to look at your credit report? I understand that you can put a pin or security code on it that only lets those you authorize even see it, and is supposed to be one of the few things that stop identity theft cold. Also, the credit burueas don't want you to know about it because they can't make money selling your information.

You must have the blue AmEx card(s).

It's the regular AmEx gold card that you have to pay off every month.  We pay $825 a year in yearly fees plus huge "late" payment fees to have them abuse us like that.

I have the grren rewards card and it doesn't have a limit,

Of course there's a limit!  Go out and try to buy a car on your AmEx card, and you'll see what I'm talking about.  They do limit you.  They just won't tell you what the limit is until you hit it.  That's why I prefer a normal credit card from someone that will tell you what your limit is.  That way, you can plan ahead.z

Well I feel for you.  I just sent Bank 1 and Chase very unhappy letters.  I've been at fixed 7.99 and 5.99 respecively for the past 3 years.  This month, 25.99 and 24.99!  No late payments, ever, on any account I have.  Only thing that's changed is I bought my 04 Corvette.  WTF??!!  Time to make a savings withdrawl and pay them off!

Discover = Sears, and Sears sucks. Not only does their cusotmer service suck, but remember the American Flag incident after 9/11? My only credit card is an NRA VISA.

Malpaso: Discover is no longer part of Sears & Sawbuck, Sears spun them off into a seperate company a few year back, can remember how many though.