Good for BoA. Everybody should call, ask about their rate, get the account closed, then switch to a less sucktaclular company.

But if they close the account, then they can’t charge exorbitant fees!

30k in balances? damn!

I think we're safe in blaming the consumer on this one... He clearly brought it on himself.

Huge favor. There are plenty of credit unions that will be more than happy to have your buisiness.

If I were BoA and a customer called with a 30k balance inquiring about their rate, I would be a little bit worried, too - perhaps even worried enough to close the account.

Wow. So what happens to the debt?

If BoA doen't want his or her interest anymore, I'm sure he or she would be glad not to pay it.

Maybe they figure anyone who knows enough about credit cards to bother inquiring about this bizarre 'rate' thing is a customer too educated to fleece effectively. Next thing you know, Todd will be asking for a copy of his "terms" and questioning fees on his bill (clearly any customer who looks at their bill before paying it is someone BoA could do without).

Good thing I refrained from calling to have them renegotiate my rates. At least they were decent before the intended rate-hike, which I dutifully declined.

I really hope BofA receives the "Worst Company of 2007" award.

@cmdrsass:

I'd hope not, since the customer has been around for ten years. This is beyond ridiculous...though I do use BofA for its ATMs (which, let's face it, are everywhere) and online account management, I would NEVER get involved with a credit card or loan with them. Speaking to its customer service is like having my teeth pulled, and the frontline people know close to nothing about actual finance.

Is this even legal? One would think that being quoted the current interest rate on the account would be required as part of FTC disclosure laws and the bank couldn't penalize you for it.

But more importantly, why would anyone wait 40 minutes on the phone to find out something one can easily get from your most recent statement or online?

Maybe someone decided that the only reason you would ask for a lower rate is because you are having problems paying? Sort of a preemptive universal default?

@cmdrsass: If the customer pays balance in full every month, then it doesn't make sense.

@FrankGrimesJr: The account remains in a "closed" status, but the OP is still liable to pay the balance. No charges can be added to the account, but it can be paid off within the same terms agreed upon before it was closed.

Wierd, I have a BoA card that I never used and can't for the life of me get through to anyone in customer service to cancel it. (And I've tried every few months for the last couple years.) Maybe this is their new strategy?

This has got to be illegal, right?

I see it like this - the consumer carries a $30k balance, always makes his minimum payment, even more. BofA is living high off his interest. The consumer didn't state that he paid his balance off in full each month.
Consumer calls BofA, inquires about his interest rate, they close his account. This means that he can't use the card any more, but he IS on the hook for the $30k balance, and needs to keep making his payments.
Why is BofA doing this?
I bet it's because most people, after hearing their rate, immediately start shopping around for a better balance transfer rate. They find one, pay off BofA in full, thereby taking away BofA's interest income.
If BofA closes his account, then he can't do the balance transfer and they keep their income while alienating and pissing off many many customers.

@cmdrsass: From the post we can't tell if he actually carries that balance forward or whether he churns that much through the account and pays it off every month. The latter is very possible, especially if you are running a small business and using the credit card as a cash management tool.

The only thing that bother me about this -- and it's a big thing -- is that the bank is in complete control of screwing up your credit score by simply closing your account. That's not right.

ALSO: I have three credit cards and ZERO balance. But one of the cards (Chase) has only lowered my APR from 29.99 percent to 28.99 percent and I haven't carried a balance with Chase since JANUARY.

That makes no sense. Four months without a balance (on any card) and Chase decides to "reward" me with a drop from 29.99 to 28.99?

THAT'S F**KING NUTS! F.U. CHASE! I will NEVER use this card, but I will make sure to keep the account open if I can, you bastards.

And I am afraid to call them and ask why, because I'm afraid they will close my account and screw up my credit score. NOT FAIR! NOT FAIR!

@William Mize: Your account being closed does not stop you from performing a balance transfer to somewhere else. Most credit card companies will gladly issue a BT check to pay off your old account.

Why does anyone bank with them...really.
I avoid them and ShitiBank like the plague. Somehow it seems whatever bank I am using gets bought out by one of these leeches and its time to shop around again. Their branches have the most undertrained staff in the industry. Their call centers are impossible to get through to. If they contact you for anything you get 'Steve' from Bangalapor. BofA just go out of business please and stop merging with the banks I like!!!

I had a craptastic 24% (rounded up) rate on my BOA credit card. About 6 months ago I asked them to lower it, after a few minutes they brought me down to 17%. I also have a chase card that has 0% for 2 years (back when you could get credit like that) and a 9.99% thereafter. 3 months ago I called BOA again and asked if they could lower my rate closer to the Chase card, or I was just going to move my balance over. I was polite, waited a few minutes and they took it down to 12%. I don't have big balances, but they did it for me, and I've had their card for 10 years or so now.

I'm not a big fan of BOA, I had BankBoston, which turned into Fleet Boston, which turned into BOA, and they screwed up all my checking and savings accounts (which I have since moved), but they haven't tortured me with the credit card... yet

Wow. Recently, my wife's Victoria's Secret card had her credit line lowered from $1,550 to $200 because of a late payment. Since we just got an insurance settlement and paying off (and closing) cards, they helped make the decision for us!

Boy if only this would happen to me! I closed my account but somehow keep getting mysterious statements from them.

boa = retarded

This was discussed back in a credit card secrets article. That if they aren't making money on you, they dont mind closing your account.

@FrankGrimesJr:

Oh, the debt is still there and still has to be paid off, with interest. But you can't charge anything else.

@truthie:

But more importantly, why would anyone wait 40 minutes on the phone to find out something one can easily get from your most recent statement or online?

The question wasn't "what is the rate" but rather "why did you raise my rate". Good luck finding that -- at all -- never mind on your statement or on line.

@ionerox:

Wierd, I have a BoA card that I never used and can't for the life of me get through to anyone in customer service to cancel it. (And I've tried every few months for the last couple years.) Maybe this is their new strategy?

Right! So now, all you need to do is call them and ask them to explain why your rate is too high, and voilà! Your card is finally cancelled!

@William Mize:

If BofA closes his account, then he can't do the balance transfer

Why not?

I'm extremely glad I dont havae a credit card with these guys, although it does make me want to close my checking account with them.

There's a lot of "Adverse Action" being taken by Credit Card companies to reduce their credit exposure. FatWallet has been talking about it a lot on their forums.

Basically, if they think they've given you too much credit, based on your credit score, income, etc. they'll either greatly reduce your credit line, or close your account.

@Bladefist: " That if they aren't making money on you, they dont mind closing your account."

Everyone always assumes that if you don't carry a balance, the CC doesn't make them any money.

That's completely bogus. The CC makes money even if you pay your card off in full each month. They get 5 cents per transaction and .02 percent of the total.
So for a guy making 30K worth of transactions a month, the CC makes a several hundred bucks without haveing to do anything! It's free money to them.

So yeah, it is retarded to kick him out over this.
I'd be curious to see if anyone else can get this result? If I had a BoA card, I'd call them up this second to try it out.

@kc2idf: You can. He's simply wrong on that point.

I called BofA asking about rates on all of my cards, to make sure the rates haven't gone up (I don't alway read the notices they send me) roughly two months ago when I read a horror story on here about someones rates getting jacked up, and guess what...
None of them went up! I had a 7.9, 8.9, and a 12.9. Believe it or not, I actually got my 12.9 dropped to 8.9. I've never had a late payment with them though.

@AaronZ:

That's completely bogus. The CC makes money even if you pay your card off in full each month. They get 5 cents per transaction and .02 percent of the total.
S

There is plenty of profit made from transaction charges, like you said.

I don't know about BoA, but WaMu doesn't put your interest rate info anywhere on your account webpages. If you do all electronic bill paying and don't get paper bills, I don't see how you would ever know unless you called and asked.

File a complaint with the OCC: www.occ.treas.gov

They regulate the large national banks, and are one of the few groups that a bank will fear (I work for a different large bank).

I just had to close my Citibank account due to fraudulent activity. I doubt I'll get a new card from them for this reason. No loss however, since I missed one payment by one day a few months back and they jacked my interest rates up from 12% to 29%. Add to that the fact that they cut the dividends they paid on purchases down to next to nothing and there's little reason to stay with the...

Oh, well, it's worth it for all the rest of us other Americans, in spite of some "Other people" having problems with the credit cards, right? We need to have the "Safety Net" of credit... and the convenience of plastic... Not to mention those awesome Bonus Miles/Points/Bucks we get, right? WE aren't dumb enough to EVER get behind, and we ALWAYS pay it off every month! And don't forget-- the Holy FICO Score must be maintained at all costs! Sure, the CCC's are evil, but they're a Necessary Evil, right? So we can maintain this convenient lifestyle!

Fist-O(tm)

Use credit cards wisely. Not to often. Don't carry a balance.

@kc2idf:

"The question wasn't "what is the rate" but rather "why did you raise my rate". Good luck finding that -- at all -- never mind on your statement or on line. "

Actually, he stated in his letter:

"I called today, asked if I could know my current interest rate"

so I don't understand either why he would wait on the phone for an hour for that information.

It's still ridiculous that BOA would do this.

How funny. I had about a $5000 balance on my BoA card (moving on very short notice, paid it all off within two months, have like a $20,000 limit, been with them 6 years).

I've never been late on a payment -- in fact, never been late on any credit card or loan payment, not in maybe ten years.

Checking my bill, I noticed my APR had gone up to 20.99%. I rang them up to ask about lowering it. The woman checked and politely said she couldn't, and that I would need to speak to a specialist about the matter. Unfortunately, all the specialists were gone for the day, so I would need to call back.

I think it was the next day I saw the first Consumerist article on this! "It's a trap," I thought, and haven't phoned them since. It's tempting to just call and get myself canceled, but I'd prefer it be on my terms.

They asked him if he had a job among other questions he didn't reveal. He doesn't say what the reply was. I'm assuming he is gainfully employed but if not or if he refused to answer...adverse action? They called him a "percieved risk". Sucky and wrong but...something happened in that conversation that made the button mashing moron at BoA close his acct.

To be fair, if you wanted to act like BofA does, you'd think a customer who wanted to know what's going on is a risky customer to have.

@MissTic: I picked up on that too - it's possible that he either refused to answer, or didn't reveal his answers to us - either way, something flipped the "cancel/close" switch.

I wish that someone had shook some sense into me when I was in college and had taken away my credit cards. BoA still has its talons in me for $10,000 divided between two cards (one used to be MBNA). I can't wait to pay it off.

(Nervously looking around to make sure They aren't listening and secretly closing my accounts because they don't like my attitude)

@egoebelbecker: He didn't ask for a lower interest rate, but just what his current rate way. I guess customers that are interested in their interest rate are too intelligent to risk having as customers.

Hah! Second time this week I've been grateful for living in a small town...no big chains around us, and our local bank treats us very well!