Seems pretty fair to me...

Why not . The rising APR can go in sync with many of their rising prices .

This is not shocking. I believe Home Depot credit cards are handled by Citibank who has been raising rates, cutting credit lines on their own branded cards for a while now. Heck, they just stripped the "Thank You" rewards program making it even less attractive then competitors.

Notice how quiet Citi is being about all of this hoping sites like Consumerist won't catch on!

u1itn0w2day, there is not a space before periods and other punctuation. O_o

nakedscience , tha intranet is srz businesz .

The card also comes with a No Payments, No Interest for 6 Months offer on items over $299 - which may lead you to believe that the interest rate on the card really isn't important. The fact is, these promotions can backfire - leading to staggering interest payments.

If, for example, you were to fail to pay off the entire balance before the 6-month promotion ended or if you made a late payment - all of the interest that had been accruing would come due.

Wow... now there's a shocker... if you don't pay your bills they charge you more. Home Depot / Citibank is not your mom or your brother Billy... if you miss your payment deadline you are screwing them, and so they screw you.

Any consumer can look at the interest rate and make the decision whether or not to apply for and/or use there HD credit card. This really isn't a news worthy post. Retail cards have always had high interest rates.

When I need to make a home improvement purchase I go to Lowes and use a "project card" I opened up with them. No payments or interest for 6-months (doesn't even accrue if you don't pay it off after 6 months) then after that period the interest rate is fixed at 8.5%.

Playing devil's advocate here...if you're planning a home improvement project, but can't pay for the total cost of materials up front, do you have the right to be upset when you find that Home Depot (or whatever card entity) has increased your rate when you yourself did not intend to pay for the entire cost of the materials up front?

I do understand, though. Home Depot is sucky for imposing the 25+% APR. And when your washer/dryer dies suddenly, what else are you going to do if you can't fix it and you don't have the $800 to pony up for it right then and there?

This isn't really anything new, that's been the interest rate on those cards for a long time, it's his own fault for not reading the brochure they have detailing the rates on the card before he applied.

Back in the 90's their interest rate was horrible too. Did take out a credit card to get 25% off of a Weber grill and have 6 months to pay with no interest. Paid it off in 4 months and never used the card again.

"Home Depot: Let's Dig a Hole Together."

They did the same thing to me. They lowered my credit limit and upped my interest rate simultaneously. I called them and politely did the whole "let me talk to a supervisor" routine to get a lower rate, but they wouldn't budge. I closed the account and my FICO took the hit. I'll survive though.
... and never shop at Home Depot again. A new Lowes and Ace Hardware are within a half mile of the old HD store.
So yeah, I'll never again shop at HD because of a Citibank policy.

@emis: This isn't about "not paying bills," it's about intentionally deceptive contracts.

When they shout "NO INTEREST FOR 6 MONTHS" and then charge you interest for those 6 months when you don't miss a payment, that's deceptive.

The interest kicks in if you make your payments on time, but don't pay the item off IN FULL.

So, buy a $3000 TV on that plan, pay $400/month for 6 months, and at the end of 6 months you won't have $600 due, but $800, even though it was the "no interest" period.

@pecan 3.14 There is always the option of hand-washing your clothes and hanging them to dry (like they did in the 'olden days') if you don't want to suffer with a 25% APR. This way, you have the option of saving your pennies until you have enough to purchase it with cash. Just a thought.

I'm glad that Consumerist posted the "Rates as low as" clause. I wouldn't have noticed that. The CSR told me that they were not offering anything below 22.9 when I called to gripe about getting bumped up to 25.9. Now I have amo to go talk to them some more about this.

I only use my HD card for the 299+ 0% promo. Its always 6 months, occasionally I get the 12 month card in the mail.

Combined with good clearance sales on tools, etc. I pay all the stuff off a month early just to be sure, but its nice to not have to outlay the full amount at once (and yes, I have the $$$ to do so but I guess I have enough self-control to make sure I make the payments on-time so I never get charged extra).

MarleneMops: I'm pretty sure I'd get fined or get a notice if I hung laundry on my patio. But I see what you're saying.

But my point was, emergencies happen, so I understand if the OP or anyone else were in such a situation in which they had to spend money, and had to carry a balance. I understand.

@ckaught78:

That Lowes project card is a decent though, I looked at it on their site and it requires an initial $1K outlay and the APR is listed as "for the first project window" which makes it sound like it can go up to whatever after your first "project".

@chrisexv6: thought

Another trick some stores use is requiring minimum monthly payment on their zero interest deals. If you skip a payment, they tack the back interest onto your balance right away. You've got to read the fine print carefully when you take one of these deals.

I avoid both trapdoors by setting up an automatic payment in BillPay with the amount adjusted so that the balance is paid off one month before the promotion ends. That way I never forget to pay it off and I'm never late.

@kc2idf: I just got it knocked down further with a phone call. 21.0 now.

I had a similar problem with my Lowes charge. When we bought the house in December, the bedrooms desperately needed to be re carpeted. Lowes had the best prices and install deal so we went with them and put it on a "no interest, no payments for 6 months plan." Our plan all along was to pay it back in full with our tax return, which we've since done.

When filling out the credit app, I asked if I should use my current renting address or my soon to be new home address, I was told my new address to make sure I received the first statement. I asked the two carpet sales guys and the CS clerk who processed my credit app to confirm that it was indeed 6 months no interest/no payments card and was told overwhelmingly that yes it is.

I moved and had started to notice that I hadn't received a statement then out of the blue I started getting collection calls from GE Money (the Lowes card holder) asking me to make my payment over the phone to avoid further late charges/interest. I asked where the bill was since to my impression from the people was that it was sent to my new address and sure enough that was wrong, they had somehow used my old address. The two people I talked to on the phone only listened to my concerns, they were not able to answer any questions like why I owed anything to begin with when I was told the 6 months deal, they only had one mission and it was to be very pushy for a payment right now.

I called Lowes and found out that my card was not added to the system correctly and that they would change it to the promotional one with no interest and reverse the interest charges and late fee from the error. I got my tax return a week later and paid the carpet balance off in full and then proceeded to shred the card. Never paid a dime of interest because Lowes was good at honoring their end of the deal.

Lowes handled themselves well but only because I pushed them to, it seemed odd causing a mix up and had I not been paying good attention to the problem, all while moving, it could have easily caused me to get backed up on payments.

@pecan 3.14159265: If your washer or dryer dies suddenly and you don't have $800 to get a new one, you go to the used appliance store or look on Craigslist and get one that you can afford.

This isn't shocking, most store-branded cards are bad deals and they hide behind 0% interest for x months promotions. This is exactly why I won't let the wife get a Kohl's or Target card because they're just not worth it in the long run and the same deals she would get by using the store cards are the ones they email her when she signs up for "special promotions".

That being said, if it's 0% interest for a year I'll sign up and take advantage, but I'll also pay payment amounts that guarantee a 10 or 11 month payoff and then I'll just cancel the card.

My wife purchased some blinds at Lowe's and signed up for their credit card to get a hefty discount. They hosed the promotional rate and my wife didn't look at the statement for a few months when we paid it off in full.

My wife called, they were very apologetic, and quickly fixed it on the spot. This was a rare experience for us because we don't do store credit cards and this was an exception.

Last week my mother-in-law told us that she barely missed her 6 month promo payment by a few days, called Lowe's, and they agreed to remove the interest.

I don't care for credit cards, but if you are going to get one for a home improvement store... I'd stick with Lowe's.

@pb5000: I've had bills go missing in the past because of an address change. The USPS mail forwarding service is a godsend.

slightly off topic, for a while I was getting all kinds of card offers then once the "bad times" came they suddenly stopped. Now they're ramping up again with 0% for 6 months or triple miles, etc but they all give a VARIABLE rate. Gone are the days of fixed I suppose.

@sean98125: One can also go to the laundromat

Is this really a bad thing? Credit cards have been treated as "free money". It is time people start paying attention to things and if you can't afford it, don't buy it. I don't even pay attention to credit card rates..I just pick the one with the best rewards and pay it off on time.

@PLATTWORX:

They just upped my credit US$4K last week! I rarely use the card, and only if I can get something on the "deals" they have setup.

Probably hoping to get me to buy too much ;)

@PLATTWORX: You're right, the cards are managed by Citibank. We just installed a buttload of Pergo and used the same-as-cash option to pay for it. (We got a year rather than six months. Thanks, flooring guy!) You'd better bet I have an alert set up in my calendar for when I need to cut that check. We could have paid for it outright, but why use my money when I can earn interest and use theirs for free for awhile?

IIRC the interest rate is horrific, though. This 25.99% sounds about right. Good thing they'll never earn a dime in interest off of me.

@sean98125: I'm merely saying that some people aren't as savvy.

Some good Lowe's stories here. Seems like they are more consumer friendly than Home Depot.

@ckaught78: Or you can go to the river and beat the clothes against a rock.

Damn people and their entitlements!

Watch out if you have multiple deals (buy 2 299 items on two different occasions) because my Best Buy card has a minimum amount go to each financing item. So when i paid off my 90 day same as cash balance, i actually paid about $13 under, violating the terms of the plan, and allowing them to hit me with the full 24.99% (or whatever it is, i never use it anymore) interest. Also, if you make a regular purchase, you can't pay that off until you pay the 0% item. All in all, it can be a good deal, but you have to be smart about it.

Oh I'm so glad this was here. I just got a boatload of stuff at Home Depot, and I need to make sure I make my payment on time!

I work at Lowe's and I *think* the Project Card windows actually get smaller APR's with each subsequent one. I'm a cashier, so I don't get a ton of exposure to these cards. But, from what I have seen, it's one of the better options out there for big projects.

I've used my HD card during their "No interest / payments for 1 year periods" (usually 3x a year) and purchase a gift card for a set amount (usually $1000). I pay off the card over a few months, and have the card for projects as they come up.

Same thing happened to me! 24.99% AND, AND they charged me interest on a positive balance- they owed ME money and they charged ME interest.

I sent them a polite letter asking to close the account. They sent BACK a letter asking that we call them and clarify my obtuse, cryptic message:

"Please cancel my account and send me a check for the balance. I'm sorry, but I cannot accept this interest rate and being charged interest when I have a positive balance."

This is why I prefer Lowe's...

We canceled our card a few months ago when we got this notice in the mail. We have really good credit, and have never missed a payment. So we just let the card go(canceled), just wasn't worth the possible hassle, after the 6mths same as cash deal was over.

On your HD statement under "promotions" they break out the individual promos you have done; i.e, $600 on one date, $450 on another, and even give you the expiration date for each promo. I do a quick check each month by dividing my remaining bal on each one by the number of months til the expiration to make sure I stay on track. Never have paid HD any interest, as I pay off the smaller purchases in full, knowing that the rate is 24.99%.

I always hit Home Depot up for the 6 or 12 month zero interest promotion. I sometimes get a 10% coupon to go with it. It's just like any other crappy department store card though - be disciplined enough to pay it off and you come out ahead, otherwise you will get rocked.

No cash, no buy.

OP says "Pay off Card"

There be the problem. Carrying a balance.

Look for walmarts new credit card that they are pushing to do similar things.

I now have No Interest in shopping at Home Depot.

Even less in taking one of their credit cards.

@Bradford Loewy: ...until you ask them to honor the "lifetime guarantee" on one of their Kobalt tools. Suddenly, that guarantee is as useless as the opened packaging they printed it upon.

Maybe they upped your rate after re-assessing your credit worthiness and your credit score may have gone down.

Common knowledge credit score strategy: "Do not close your credit cards with a balance still on it".

It raises your credit utilization rate.

So next time you decide to make a stand against a company, make sure you don't hurt yourself in the process.

@Dustin White: Can no one here find the reply button? Seriously?