Personal Finance and Investing

Everyone is struggling to survive this incredibly difficult economic time, and credit card companies are no exception.

Desperate to recover some of the losses experienced over the last year or two because of the meltdown of the credit sector and the subsequent fall of the housing market, many creditors began to employ less-than-upfront tactics to saddle consumers with more debt. As a result, the government enacted the new credit card legislation, which simply led to more underhanded credit card tactics before the law could be enacted.

You may have very well found yourself in the crosshairs of this credit card mess. If you received a statement or letter from your credit card company with news of an increasing interest rate, decreased credit limit or other changes to your card’s terms and conditions, you may be wondering what your options are, if any.

In particular, many credit card customers with great credit histories and strong credit scores have had their credit limits slashed or their interest rates increased. The question is: is there anything you can do to combat these new credit card tactics?

If you have consistently paid your bills on time and stayed within your credit limit then it is possible to convince your creditor to revert the changes to your account.

How to Achieve Success with your Credit Card Company Following a Hike in Interest Charges and Fees:

1. Contact your credit card company upon receiving news of your credit card’s terms and conditions and let them know that you are a valuable customer and that you want your card’s terms and conditions reverted back to their original status.
2. If the credit card company is not receptive to this request, let them know that you may be forced to cancel the card and instead accept a better offer from another credit card company.
3. If you don’t have any luck with a customer service representative, ask to speak to a supervisor.
4. If you don’t get anywhere with a supervisor, cancel the credit card. The creditor must then allow you to pay off the balance of the card at the original interest rate. However, it is best to secure another card before canceling your current one.

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• Why the New Credit Card Legislation may not be all it’s Cracked up to be
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