From the New York Times:

Citigroup cardholders will then have until the end of January to turn down the higher interest rates. If they decline the rate increase, they will pay down the balances on their accounts under the old pricing terms and will be able to continue to make charges until their credit cards expire.

After that, however, customers will have to reapply for a card or find a different lender.

If you receive your statement online, a separate rate increase letter will be mailed to you. LowCards.com points out that you should pay close attention to your mail because such notices are easy to overlook:

They often come in nondescript white envelopes that are easy to miss and toss before reading. However, if you don't respond, you are stuck with the rate increase.

If you decline the offer, send a letter to your issuer by certified mail.
Keep a copy of the letter for your records.

"Despite Pledge, Citigroup to Raise Credit Card Rates, Blaming ‘Difficult’ Environment" [New York Times]
(Photo: Spencer E Holtaway)

As the New York Times puts it, "Citigroup’s deal is only a deal until it isn’t."

Citigroup continues to suffer mortgage industry-related losses—$40 billion in write-offs over the last year—but there are two other reasons they're considering reinstating universal default. First, the government has proposed new rules that would limit how Citigroup can raise rates for its risker customers, which may drive the bank to try to increase rates before they're restricted any further:

The proposed rules would limit rate increases to customers late by 30 or more days, and the new rates would apply prospectively to newly accumulated debts.

The second reason is the "deal is a deal" didn't work from a marketing perspective:

In any case, the “Deal Is a Deal” policy did not give Citigroup the edge it hoped for. Most customers did not recognize the benefit, in part because of the difficulty deciphering the fine print among offers from different banks.

“We hoped and expected that these two points of differentiation would lead customers to vote with their feet,” John P. Carey, the chief administrative officer for Citigroup’s credit card unit, told a Congressional panel in April. “We have been disappointed with the results we have seen so far.”

Considering one of your own marketing people told our editor that promoting the end of universal default is like "telling people you stopped beating your wife," we wonder if the bank really promoted their "deal is a deal" pledge aggressively enough. Maybe they just knew all along that it was a temporary promise that would go away after last year's Senate hearings on abusive credit card practices.

"Citigroup Considers Repealing a Pledge, and the Slogan With It" [New York Times]
(Photo: Getty)

Greg wants to know why AT&T doesn't feel the need to honor its quote for a Dish Network package. He notes, "I were to claim I made a mistake in agreeing to a two year commitment, I hesitate to think you would let me claim that I should not be held accountable for that." But it's not that AT&T "mistakenly" quoted him a price. An AT&T rep gave him one price, and another rep agreed to honor it and to make a note on his account. Now there's no record he ever spoke to anyone, and the rep who originally helped him won't return his calls.

Here's a copy of the letter Greg sent to AT&T's execs:

Dear Mr. Stephenson and Mr. Pund,
 
I apologize for raising my concern to your level, however after 7 months of inability to get my problem consistently resolved through the customer service centers, I felt stronger action was necessary.
 
I have been a customer of AT&T/Dish Network since July of last year.  When I agreed to leave Comcast for your company it appears (we would find out retroactively) that your sales customer service representative erroneously priced the bundled satellite, internet, and phone package.  I entered into the verbal agreement based on the price that was given to me by the representative, whether she made the mistake or not.  Over the last 7 months I have been told that while this person made a mistake, I would in the end have to pay for it.  This person was a representative of your company and if I were to claim I made a mistake in agreeing to a two year commitment, I hesitate to think you would let me claim that I should not be held accountable for that.
 
Upon finally working with a manager at your Arlington Heights, IL customer service location I was able to get the situation resolved, or so I thought.  A manager named Lenell had agreed to go into the system monthly, with a reminder on his calendar, to adjust my bill to the agreed upon amount.  This was $89.98 due to the fact that we had added services such as HBO and DVR.  Since this agreement, the bill has consistently not been corrected and I am having to spend multiple hours every month to get it adjusted.  I have left multiple messages with Lenell's desk, only to have them go unanswered.
 
When speaking with a customer service representative last night I was told that the case notes do not have any notation about Lenell crediting me this amount every month and that he gave a "good faith" credit to adjust it.  I was also told that it was outside of policy to change a bill to the price Lenell agreed to so they could only give a ~$35 credit which would put my bill at $130 versus the $89.98 that was agreed upon.  Again, as a representative of your company, Lenell agreed to adjust my bill and has failed to live up to that expectation whether it is in your policy or not, and I am now being told by your customer service team that I am incorrect that this agreement was ever made.  For this reason I am attaching the detailed notes that I have kept since October 2007.  I think you will find that these notes match precisely with the calls I have made to your Customer Service Centers and are very detailed about the exact conversations that were held.  I have also requested that every recording of every conversation I have had with your customer service team be pulled in order to verify my claim.  I do not appreciate being called a liar in a round about way since notes were not kept properly by the agents at your sites.
 
Again, I apologize for having to raise this to your level, but feel that when a company agrees to service a customer at a certain level, for a certain price, they have an obligation to live up to that.  I would not have left Comcast had I not been given such a good price quote.
 
I would also like to notify you that I will be running a comprehensive credit report and if I find any negative reports from AT&T associated with this issue, I will be filing a claim with the FCC and pursuing legal action.
 
This was an opportunity for your customer service team to make a great impression on how issues can be handled and resolved, and I believe that the entire team has failed.
 
At this point, I would like to pay my service current at the agreed upon rate and terminate my service.  I would prefer to pay more at Comcast than to have these struggles ongoing.  I am looking forward to your response.

(Photo: mrbill)

I keep trying not to think about my father in the lobby waiting for a shuttle that never came, or what might have happened to friends and family who decided to drive after drinking because there was no shuttle to the hotel. These thoughts are overshadowing my memories of our otherwise perfect wedding, and I'm furious!"

Congratulations on your wedding, Natalie! Marriott's executive officers should hear your story. Ole J.W. is pushing 75, so you may want to direct your complaint to his direct subordinate, Marriott President William Shaw. Call (301) 380-3000 and ask for his office. Tell your story to whoever picks up, though don't be surprised if they're less than willing to offer free lifetime stays.

(Photo: egvvnd)

I purchased two Acer 19 inch monitors today at Best Buy in Valley Stream, NY at the really great price of $129 each out the door, no coupons, rebates or other price modifiers. Being one who loves a truly great bargain, I walked out of Best Buy and directly across the street to Circuit City where they had the exact same monitors (model numbers and all) in stock at $219 each. I was looking to utilize their 110% price guarantee, which states they will match 110% of the price difference of a local competitor within 30 days. I would then return my purchase at Best Buy, keeping the now lower priced Circuit City monitors. I spoke with Michelle in Customer Service and presented my Best Buy purchase and receipt as proof of price and availability. Because the difference was beyond Michelle's authorization, she had to confer with the store operations manager Les S. Michelle disappeared for 20 minutes, then came out with Les. Les told me that he would not price match this item because the cost was too low. I asked him where in the policy (which was on a large sign behind him I could find out more information about this aspect of the price policy. I just repeated that he could not match a price that low and walked away. Les would not give me his last name, which I can understand. Les would not write down his first name at my request either..just kept repeating it as he walked away. Strictly on principal, I do not accept this. What is the best method of filing a complaint with officials? Bringing public attention to this specific event, informing corporate of this event?

Circuit City is proud to offer the best prices on consumer electronics. Period. Buy a product from us and if, within 30 days of your purchase, you find a local competitor offering a lower advertised price for the same in-stock item, we'll refund 110% of the difference. If you haven't yet purchased the product, we'll beat the competitor's price by 10% of the difference between our price and theirs. Either way, you win.

(Photo: alaspoorwho)