Credit Card Companies are Killing Me!?

Question

I used two credit cards which have now decided because I was late on one, that they both would increase my rate to 30%. My balances are extremely high, and I do not know what to do. I have only charged a total of maybe $15,000 but because of the interest I now owe over $30,000 in only two years!!! I dont know what to do because I work on commission and I can only pay the minimums. If I got another job, I would not make enough to pay the minimums plus rent, bills etc. Does anyone know any ideas on how to get a loan to pay off the cards. I wouldnt even mind a loan for 15% if it got me out of the credit card mess. I feel like suing the card companies, I dont think they should be allowed to charge you more then I charged on the card. At this rate, I will be in debt $40,000 by April. What can I do? I dont want to do a Debt Reduction company, because I dont want to hurt my credit score. Even though I made on time payments, my finance charges are higher and go over the limit!

Answer 1

Dig a deep hole and jump in.

Your not getting a loan with that knid of debt!

Answer 2

You have made a real mess of this situation. I work in collections for a credit card company and have seen people ruin their whole credit standing. Their scores have plummeted, not only by credit cards, but other financing they have been delinquent on. Serious stuff - lousy credit. Not to sound preachy, but credit really should be earned and not abused. I know, I wouldn't have my job, if not for overdue accounts.

As for your situation, 30% interest is very high but so are your balances. I would suggest credit counselling. Another step is loan consolidation, this is a loan which is much lower than the credit card and all debts are consolidated into one monthly payment. I really would refrain from all thinking about personal bankruptcy. Seven years is a long time to have this on your credit record - try and buy a car or house - forget it.

Unfortunately, you did sign the cardholder agreement and they have the option to increase interest rates on overdue accounts, especially accounts that are over the credit limit amount.

Answer 3

You cannot sue them because the credit agreement you signed spells out that you would be chrged this high interest rate if you were to default. So, stop being upset with them because that is of no benefit to you. Contact a debt counselling service. Your credit score is taking a hit now because you have used most, if not all, of your available credit, you have at least 1 late payment, and your debt/income ratio stinks. Get yourself into credit counselling--they will get the credit card companies to reduce or eliminate the interest rate, and you can possibly pay off the debt in full within a few years. Try your local Credit Counseling Service--you can find them in the blue pages where you live--they are a non profit and very kind to deal with.

Answer 4

First, a loan is not the answer. Dig deeper into the problem my friend. You'll discover that the problem is you. You need to change your spending habits. That's the cause of your debt.

Second, stop using the credit cards you have. Put them in the shredder or at least get them out of your wallet.

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More and more credit card companies are doing this now. It's called under what is called Universal Default. They have the ability to increase your interest rate and fees just because you were late on another payment to another company.

THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULD STOP USING CREDIT CARDS!

Switch to using cash for things that you tend to overspend (food, dining out, clothes, etc.). Cash never charges interest.

Visit my blog site which helps people eliminate debt and take control of their money.

Scott....

Answer 5

Take the min amount you pay divide it by 4 pay this amount every week. The interest will then begin to drop rapidly, add a little more if possible. (example: 100 bill instead of paying once a month pay 25 every week if possible 30 to 40) This doesn't allow the interest to catch up to you. Also you wont be late anymore by paying this way. Call them tell them your situation this will be a major pain but you can hopefully get a nice person on the phone and they will reduce the rate for you. I have done the credit repair people thing and they are worse and 99 percent of them are not non profit companies they claim to be, if you decide to go this route research them fully or you may end up worse than you are now.

Answer 6

The credit card companies are not killing you, you got into this yourself by overspending. Immediately stop using your credit cards! Call up the companies and ask them (nicely) if they can do anything to decrease the interest rate. If not, and if your credit is still good, then transfer the balances to a card with a 0% or a low interest rate. You then have to pay this bill on time each month, or they can increase the rate to 30%.

Answer 7

Your credit is already hurt. You should go to credit counseling for sure. If you just stop paying anything they will settle with you for a much smaller amount in about a year or so. At that time you can settle and request they clean your credit report, being apart of the settlement. In the future do not get credit cards. Save your money each month so you can pay when the settlement time comes. They can do this if they want to, but be sure they put it in writing to remove it from your credit report. I think credit card companies except this the way they scam everyone.

Answer 8

Use "Peter" to pay "Paul".

Try to get the one with highest finance charge paid off and then cancel it.

I think the only way to stop credit card companies is by getting rid of the accounts. Hurting their bottom line is the only way to make a statement.

If there is ever a survey of why you cancelled card ABC, you can say card DEF stole the money you would've paid to keep the ABC account open. In effect, ABC stole DEF's money and vice versa

Maybe if enough people do something like that, they will learn to keep the charge low enough so you keep the account.

Answer 9

You can call them and ask them to reduce the rate. If you have any assets (car/house) you could sell them or take a loan against them. You could get a second job. You can try to transfer the balances to a 3rd card with a lower rate.

But do not blame the credit card company, it is your mess. And what would you sue them for anyway?

Answer 10

The one to get mad at here is the man in the mirror. You can't be late...EVEN if you have to move heaven & earth NEVER be late...you got Rate Jacked because you failed to live up to what you said and promised to do..PAY your bill before the due date.
The 2nd mistake you have made is charging 15k on credit cards..my God that's nuts!!!!
Then you complain about your income...dude you need a reality check!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 11

Your best choice is to go to a debt reduction company. They can lower your payments and reduce your interest rate. Your credit will take a hit but it is better than the alternative.