i extend a long finger
J P Morgan Chase can go fuck off right now. it seems that they, along with almost all large banking "entities", got themselves into financial trouble recently. but hey, it's not my fault they lost untold billions, right? i've been consistantly paying my debt with them at, or slightly above, the minimum payment... at a low interest rate that they once offered me. but it's obvious that wasn't enough for them. they are in a bind and they need money fast.
so, with only 30 days notice, they raised my minimum payments from 2% of the balance to 5%. this would be all good if i was in a position to afford such an overwhelmingly steep increase, which luckily, i was. so it's all good, since my debt with them will be paid off more quickly. but they never seemed to care if i could manage under those new terms. and that was not all...
they couldn't quite raise my interest rates because my accounts were in good standing. so instead, they decided to add on a mysterious "service charge" of $10 each month, even though there was no additional "service" they were providing me that they hadn't provided before, to the best of my knowledge. no, the fine print to this service charge read much like a king's decree:
Account Service Charge: Your account has a service charge, which
will be billed monthly (as stated in the Rates and Fees Table). This charge
is owed whether or not you use your account, and you agree to pay it
when billed. These charges are finance charges, and are added to the
balance for purchases on your account. The monthly service charge is
nonrefundable unless you notify us that you wish to close your account
within 30 days of the date we mail your billing statement on which the
service charge is imposed and at the same time, you pay your outstanding
balance in full. Your payment of the service charge does not affect our
right to close your account or limit your right to make transactions on your
account. If your account is closed by you or us, we will continue to charge
the service charge until you pay your outstanding balance in full and
terminate your account relationship.
so basically, J P Morgan Chase decided, out of the blue, that i needed to be charged $120 annually for the privilege of owing them money (actually, it's $240 since i have two accounts). i was never in default with them, never in arrears. i was a good, paying customer, and they are obviously taking advantage of me with these "GOTCHA!" tactics that worked so well for them these past 20+ years. these new terms they are enforcing are only to try to fuck me over so that they can blame me if i miss a payment or overdraught my chequing account, so that they can dance a jiggly dance later when they get the opportunity to take my accounts to the "default" interest rate, well above 20%. what's most horrible is that not everyone can afford these new terms, and THEY KNOW IT, but are fucking people over anyway - good people who never budgeted for a 150% increase in their minimum payment (if they budgeted at all), who might have to choose whether their next dinner will be fried chicken or Top Ramen. Chase is fucking them over anyway. AND FOR WHAT?! simply put, CHASE fucked up big-time and is looking to inflate their bottom line by ANY means necessary.
but this isn't just a story about Chase. this kind of bullshit is going on throughout the credit "market". word to the wise, my friends, look extra carefully at your bills and scour the fine-print of any "Notice of Changes to your Account". you may not be able to do anything about it, but at least there won't be an element of surprise when they anally rape you for all you're worth.
i realize that i am fortunate in that i am a special case. i still have a good-paying job and my credit worthiness is not yet in tatters, so i still hold some power in who manages (and profits from) my revolving debt. to me, the credit "market" is still a market - in that, as a consumer, i have a choice.
KUDOS go to the folks at Discover Card Financial Services who graciously offered and extended a substantial loan, at a fixed and simple 9.99% APR, to consolidate my debt. Anna, my loan officer, was friendly and courteous, helpful and knowledgable, yet was obviously meticulous in her research of my past credit (she asked about a car loan i had 15 years ago, when i needed a co-signor). the process took over an hour, but the time was definitely well spent.
so, i am finally able to say it to J P Morgan Chase (and Washington Mutual by default, who got bought out by JPMC recently). FUCK OFF! if you're in the business of making money, by all means do it - but do it with some fucking honour! don't swindle the most dependable and loyal to pay for a gamble that went horribly awry. and especially, don't rob the most vulnerable to pay for these fuck-ups... YOUR fuck-ups. so yeah, fuck off, you asswipes who pull the strings that further entangle the average American! (not you, Janice, who just answers the phones and i'm sure is a nice person)
so, with only 30 days notice, they raised my minimum payments from 2% of the balance to 5%. this would be all good if i was in a position to afford such an overwhelmingly steep increase, which luckily, i was. so it's all good, since my debt with them will be paid off more quickly. but they never seemed to care if i could manage under those new terms. and that was not all...
they couldn't quite raise my interest rates because my accounts were in good standing. so instead, they decided to add on a mysterious "service charge" of $10 each month, even though there was no additional "service" they were providing me that they hadn't provided before, to the best of my knowledge. no, the fine print to this service charge read much like a king's decree:
Account Service Charge: Your account has a service charge, which
will be billed monthly (as stated in the Rates and Fees Table). This charge
is owed whether or not you use your account, and you agree to pay it
when billed. These charges are finance charges, and are added to the
balance for purchases on your account. The monthly service charge is
nonrefundable unless you notify us that you wish to close your account
within 30 days of the date we mail your billing statement on which the
service charge is imposed and at the same time, you pay your outstanding
balance in full. Your payment of the service charge does not affect our
right to close your account or limit your right to make transactions on your
account. If your account is closed by you or us, we will continue to charge
the service charge until you pay your outstanding balance in full and
terminate your account relationship.
so basically, J P Morgan Chase decided, out of the blue, that i needed to be charged $120 annually for the privilege of owing them money (actually, it's $240 since i have two accounts). i was never in default with them, never in arrears. i was a good, paying customer, and they are obviously taking advantage of me with these "GOTCHA!" tactics that worked so well for them these past 20+ years. these new terms they are enforcing are only to try to fuck me over so that they can blame me if i miss a payment or overdraught my chequing account, so that they can dance a jiggly dance later when they get the opportunity to take my accounts to the "default" interest rate, well above 20%. what's most horrible is that not everyone can afford these new terms, and THEY KNOW IT, but are fucking people over anyway - good people who never budgeted for a 150% increase in their minimum payment (if they budgeted at all), who might have to choose whether their next dinner will be fried chicken or Top Ramen. Chase is fucking them over anyway. AND FOR WHAT?! simply put, CHASE fucked up big-time and is looking to inflate their bottom line by ANY means necessary.
but this isn't just a story about Chase. this kind of bullshit is going on throughout the credit "market". word to the wise, my friends, look extra carefully at your bills and scour the fine-print of any "Notice of Changes to your Account". you may not be able to do anything about it, but at least there won't be an element of surprise when they anally rape you for all you're worth.
i realize that i am fortunate in that i am a special case. i still have a good-paying job and my credit worthiness is not yet in tatters, so i still hold some power in who manages (and profits from) my revolving debt. to me, the credit "market" is still a market - in that, as a consumer, i have a choice.
KUDOS go to the folks at Discover Card Financial Services who graciously offered and extended a substantial loan, at a fixed and simple 9.99% APR, to consolidate my debt. Anna, my loan officer, was friendly and courteous, helpful and knowledgable, yet was obviously meticulous in her research of my past credit (she asked about a car loan i had 15 years ago, when i needed a co-signor). the process took over an hour, but the time was definitely well spent.
so, i am finally able to say it to J P Morgan Chase (and Washington Mutual by default, who got bought out by JPMC recently). FUCK OFF! if you're in the business of making money, by all means do it - but do it with some fucking honour! don't swindle the most dependable and loyal to pay for a gamble that went horribly awry. and especially, don't rob the most vulnerable to pay for these fuck-ups... YOUR fuck-ups. so yeah, fuck off, you asswipes who pull the strings that further entangle the average American! (not you, Janice, who just answers the phones and i'm sure is a nice person)