Be Prepared to Call and Negotiate with the Credit Card Issuer

Be ready to talk to your credit card issuer to discuss the interest rate increase. You will want to remind them how long you’ve been a valued customer, you’ve always made your payments on time, and if they won’t consider lowering your interest rate, you will be moving your account to someone who will.

 

Once you’ve called your credit card issuer, be prepared to switch. There is a lot of competition in the credit card industry so you shouldn’t have to pay higher interest if another issuer will give you a better credit card interest rate. Of course, you will want to make sure that the transfer fees don’t disrupt the savings of the lower rate.

 

Once the Credit Card Bill of Rights is enacted in 2010, credit card companies will have to follow a set of rules designed to protect the customer. These include not raising the interest rate within the first year after the card has been issued, promotional rates must apply for at least 6 months, and any credit card interest rate increase will not apply to balances on the account, just new purchases.

 

Interest on credit cards usually ends up doubling or tripling the cost of the items placed on the card. When credit card companies can raise your interest rates without much warning, not much recourse is left for the consumer. The Credit Card Bill of Rights tries to help remedy some of that; however, your best bet is to try to avoid getting into a position of having the interest rate increased in the first place.

 

Should you require assistance with knowing your rights when it comes to financial law, consider contacting an experienced credit card rate hike lawyer. whocanisue.com can help you find an experienced financial attorney in your area to assist you with the complicated nuances of financial law.