I have had numerous clients recently whose financial lives have been thrown into chaos because of "dirty tricks" by credit card companies. These bad acts by the card companies include lowering the credit limit of the card to right at or below the current balance of the card and/or significantly increasing the interest rate (sometimes more than doubling it) and thereby the minimum payment on the card. What is shocking is that this is often done without prior notice to the cardholder and without the cardholder being in default.
Often when one credit card company does lowers the credit limit or raises the interest rate, it causes a domino effect and the rest of the cardholders credit cards follow suit. I have had cardholders who have never missed a payment be forced into bankruptcy because they can no longer afford their monthly payment due to the interest rate increase or dealing with being over the limit on their credit cards. Smart Money has a recent article on this problem -- How to Blow Your Credit Limit -- Without Spending.
Unfortunately this nasty practice by the credit card companies is not currently illegal. If this has happened to you, please email me your story and I will forward it to our state Senators and Congressmen. Remember, many of these credit card companies that are squeezing their customers are the same companies that begged for and received the "bailout" money from the government that we the people will be paying back through our tax dollars. What a way to say thanks, huh?
If you can no longer pay your credit card debt, order my book and/or contact an experienced bankruptcy lawyer immediately.
Richard L. Collins - Attorney at Law practicing extensively in Bankruptcy Law in Alabama - 422 Third Ave SE, Cullman Alabama
