Re: OT: keep track of your financial stuff

On Dec 13, 2:30 pm, Nate Nagel <njna...@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Just a friendly reminder...  check ALL of your credit accounts online,
several times a month.  Put reminders on your calendar or something.

I just checked my Chase HELOC online and found that while we should have
a significant amount of available credit, we are showing zero available.
  I fear that because of the current economic situation that Chase is
arbitrarily lowering customers' credit lines.  I've inquired but have
not received a response yet.

While searching online for any possible information about this
happening, I came across MANY reports of Chase changing credit card
holders' due dates, lowering the credit limits on high limit cards with
balances and then charging OTL fees, arbitrarily closing high limit
cards with no notice due to "inactivity" (sometimes while the cardholder
is traveling and counting on having the card available for purchases)
tacking on new "monthly service charges" and raising minimum monthly
payments on people who have taken advantage of 0% or low APR balance
transfer offers and then renegotiating the balanves at 8-9% APR to get
rid of the fees (basically thinly legal bait and switch) etc.

For the first time in a long while, I'm honestly SCARED about my
finances, when I ought to be in excellent shape (money in the bank, good
credit, etc.) if one of my credit cards (which I do not use except for
monthly purchases, and pay off in full every month) gets cancelled
arbitrarily that will lower my credit rating, making it even harder to
get credit, etc...

I hope that I am all worried about nothing, but the whole reason that I
got a Chase credit card (yes, I have one, and it has been inactive with
zero balance for almost a year) is because this all sounds scarily
similar to an issue I had with MBNA years ago where they started rolling
my payment date back until I started making my payments late.  I learned
from this experience and ALWAYS check online at least once a week but it
seems that a lot of people are used to always paying their bills on the
1st or 15th etc. and they are getting caught (I used to do this, this is
how I got caught.  Had to get a loan from credit union to get out from
under a balance at 20+% APR due to their deceptive practices.)

it sounds like Chase and possibly other banks are learning the shady
practices of the old MBNA.  Please be careful...

I am glad that I saw this as I was actually seriously considering taking
a 0% balance transfer to buy some stock to take advantage of the
depressed market but it seems that right now a good old fashioned
FDIC-insured savings account is the best place for what little money I
have.  I've successfully used 0% balance transfers in the past to take
advantage of opportunities and/or just give me a little more financial
breathing room, but based on what I'm reading it seems like the banks
are trying as hard as they can to take advantage of even people who do
play by the rules.

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.http://members.cox.net/njnagel

yep, get your pitchforks ready, sheeple - time of payoff is coming !
.

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