Credit Card Abuse: "I'm going to Fight till the End"

Newton, MSConnie Pruitt has had her fair share of credit card abuse, particularly increased rate hikes. "I'm willing to pay whatever I bought and their original interest rate," says Pruitt. "But I was lied to. Once I was given the bait and hook, it was a whole other story."

Capitol One offered Pruitt a credit card at their introductory rate: one year at about nine percent. But even before a year was up, her interest jumped to 21 percent—for no apparent reason. "I paid my bills on time and I never went over my limit," she says. "One lie they told me was that I was notified by mail of an increase but I never saw that."

Pruitt contacted Capitol One and she was told that they would "investigate my account and get back to me." In the meantime, Pruitt continues to pay these exorbitant interest rates. "A customer service rep at Capitol One told me that I was given the option to close my account before my rates were increased. Again, I never got that notice. As well, I do my banking online and they didn't send anything electronically either."

Unfortunately, Pruitt is in a predicament. She doesn't want this account to wind up at a collection agency because she is trying to buy a house. This would negatively affect her credit rating and she might not get a mortgage.

This isn't the first time Pruitt has dealt with increased credit card rates. "I had a MasterCard account at Providian National bank, which is now Washington Mutual Bank," says Pruitt. "They sold my account to some credit card company in New York without my knowledge and increased my rate. I refused to pay them anything—I disputed the rate for over a year and they sent it to a collection agency. Now they have finally come back to me offering a settlement." Pruitt's balance was over $1,000; the fees and interest alone was about half of that. The company offered $500 to settle and she agreed on that amount. "It took a lot of work for me to get to this point--and a lot of headaches."

Pruitt's daughter, a college student, has also been a victim of increased rate hikes. "She was sent a pre-approved credit card with a low interest rate of two percent for a year but she was never sent a bill," says Pruitt. "Two months later, her interest rate was increased to 25 percent because of non-payment. As well, they charged her two late fees of $39 each. She had only charged about $150 in gas to that credit card!

"They are crooks. It is ridiculous what they do to poor people out here trying to make ends meet. I am going to fight these credit card companies and pursue this to the end. I was able to get my interest rates lowered with MasterCard but it took a big fight; this time I plan to get legal help."