Watch your credit card statements very carefully.
A couple of years ago, my DH and I ha an issue with one of our credit cards. I don’t even mind telling you that it was Chase. We hadn’t missed a payment in several years and always paid more than the minimum balance. Then we bought a new house and moved. We chose to use the credit card for some moving expenses and were working on paying the charges off relatively quickly.
Let me give you some relative background. We had gotten the rate dropped years ago to a fixed 9.9% and were reassured that even if we were late on a payment, the rate would not go up for the life of the card. Then right before we moved, I saw that the rate had increased to something like 12.9%. Well, we sold our house 2 months before our next one was ready to be occupied so we had to move in with some great friends ( who still talk to us today) for 2 ½ months until our new house was ready. We were preoccupied so I didn’t have a chance to talk to the credit card company. Then when we moved in to our new house, the rate jumped to 24.9%.
This rate jump was ridiculous. I called Chase and they said that our debt to income ratio had gone up and we were now a risk. I confirmed that we hadn’t missed a payment and that we were paying more than the minimum payment each month. The person on the phone asked if there was any way we could pay off the card and some other ridiculous questions. By the time I got off the phone, I was livid. Needless to say, we cancelled the card and paid it off immediately.
Why do I tell you all of this? You have to watch your credit card statements very carefully. Make sure you aren’t getting any charges that aren’t yours and that there are no fees that you do not agree with. If there are, call and fight for your money because that is just what you would be giving them. It is YOUR money. Don’t just hand it over.
Tags: credit-cards, interest-ratesRelated Stories
POSTED IN: budget, frugal living
0 opinions for Watch your credit card statements very carefully.
No one has left a comment yet. You know what this means, right? You could be first!
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: