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MBNA - Interest Rate Hikes

MBNA America • Interest rate increases • Payoff agreements • Sales Practices • Credit protection plan • Credit line • Luring students • Pay-by-phone --- News • Bank of America Completes MBNA Buyout • Small Wonder MBNA Found Itself the Prey • Bank of America Buys MBNA • MBNA Profits Plunge • MBNA Turns Up the Heat • Supreme Court OKs MBNA's Charging Interest on Fees

Denise of Madison, WI May 24, 2006

I use "bill pay" through my bank and have my account set up to pay my MBNA credit card on the due date. I opened my statement and saw an increase from a fixed 10.00% to a 20.49% rate.

I called to get my rate switched back and find out why it had increased. I was transfered to a supervisor who told me that I was considered a high risk consumer because I had to much credit.

I had never been late and always paid more than the minimum due on my credit card account with MBNA. I think this type of activity is criminal.

Emory of Austell, GA April 21, 2006

I have been an MBNA customer for many years. I opened my recent statement and found my account had changed from 9.5% to 20.95% and my payment doubled. When I inquired I was told that I was considered a risk because of my revolving dept load.

Now I have to make a payment double what I was paying, but not for long. I got an account with a credit union at a lower rate and I have closed this account.  I'll pay my balance off and I will never have another account associated with MBNA.

Linda of Ashtabula, OH April 6, 2006

First they raised my interest rate without notification and when I called stated it was due to my credit report. Then they would only let me sign up to pay directly out of my checking account for one year and you had to remember a year later to sign up again. I had automatic payment and they did not send me a notice that I needed to sign up again the year had ran out. Charged me a late fee and when I called them instead of waving it and seeing I paid all the time they stuck to it. Which shows on my credit report I am a late payer. Upset over this.

John of Newport News, VA March 31, 2006

I have a Master Card credit card thru SunTrust, this account has been active since 1988. On 30 March 2006 I received my monthly credit card statement and noticed that the interest rate had almost doubled, from a 12.97% APR to the present 25.49% APR. This was not the first rate increases, the first time was when they defaulted on a 6 month introductory rate by one month, at the time I made the payment regardless of the error, thinking that it would be more trouble to resolve, than to just pay it, the later APR increases seemed to be due to honest market fluctuations, until now.

Thinking that this was an egregious mistake, I contacted Bankcard Services at the toll free number 1-800-223-7046, I first talked to a account representative (Jeannette), and I informed her of the problem, she pulled up my account information on her monitor and promptly informed me without further queries that she would transfer me to the Account VP. Gloria, an account VP answered the phone and asked for my account information, and asked if she could be of any assistance. I informed her that my credit card APR had doubled and wondered why this would happen since no payments had been late or missed since 1988.

She asked me if I had made a late payment or missed any payments to any other companies, I quickly responded by saying NO. She then proceeded to ask me what my annual income was, and how much I was paying in rent or house payment. I informed her of my financial condition at the present. She said that my total debt to income ratio was too high, and said that I did not make enough money, and that the bank would incur a bigger risk that I could not make the payments.

Therefore they would raise my payments from the previous month 246.00 at an APR of 12.97% equaling to a 124.02 monthly finance charge to this month’s statement of 389.00 at a 25.49% APR bringing up the finance charge up to 268.23. It’s obvious to me that this is a well crafted profit scheme; since the finance charges increased by 120.40 per month by only raised the principal payment by 1.21.

My reward for making all my payments on time and in full has come to this; I think this is an extremely unjust business practice and should be made illegal. Now that the corporations have literally put the screws to me, all I have to do now is wait a very short while for my myopic government to slam the hammer on the head by increasing the principal payments. Thank you Congress! My payments will probably increase to 700 to 800 a month on this credit card alone. Talk about adding insult to injury! Let’s not forget that this honest, well intending conglomerate was a major leader in the Bankruptcy Reform laws and a major contributor to the Bush campaign. Money does talk! And citizens walk.

Kenneth of Willow Park, TX March 30, 2006

I was the co-signer of MBNA credit card and I maxxed it out at 18,600. The interest was low, something like 8%. I was making the minimum monthly payments and MBNA decided to pull a credit report on the card owner and found one little Blemish on his Credit Report for a Time Share he had quit paying on and was in dispute over at the time. So they jacked the interest up to like 26.99% so that made the payments go from 240 to over 600 per month so I did not have the budget to pay those kind of payments.

I called once and MBNA lowered the interest but for only 3 months and then jacked it back up. I called them once again to have it lowered and they would not work with me. I just could not pay for it so I just let the bill go into default. Now they are trying to sue the card owner (my roommate)which did none of the charging, I did. So my roommate is very upset with me for such a mess that I feel MBNA got me into because they made it impossible for me to pay monthly payments.

MBNA sent me a notice of being sued and a judgement sounds like what they are looking at. Not sure what that will do to my roommate which is the card owner and I am the co-signer.

Desiree of El Centro, CA March 29, 2006

I received my monthly credit card statement and noticed the increase in my monthly minimum due. My payment went from 440 to 721 a month! I looked at the percentage rate and noticed that it went from 11.99% to 24.49%.

I have always made my payments on time. I did go over my limit by 40, but I made an internet payment right away to get my balance under the limit.  The supervisor told me a notice was sent in December of 2005 stating our rate was going to go up. I never received that notice.

She told me that they base the interest increase on credit reports. I told her that couldn't be possible because we had just gotten two other credit card companies to lower our interest rates, and they would not have done so if we didn't pay our bills on time. 

I'll never be able to pay off my balance at this rate.

Eric of Atlanta, GA March 29, 2006

Two months ago my credit limit was reduced from 12,600 to 10,200. MBNA told me that I had too much credit and had 2 collections posted to my account.

I checked at my ratio of debt (41%) and my credit ratings (640 and 717).  The two collections were actually one collection (which I corrected with Equifax) that was paid and disputed.

A month after my limit was reduced, MBNA increased my APR from 13.3% to 20.99%. They said they sent a memo in my December paper statement informing me of the increase and allowing me to opt out if I responded by Jan 31, but I do all my banking online and didn't see any notice in my paper statement.

I believe the credit reduction and subsequent increase is a planned strategy.

Marcos of Everett, WA March 21, 2006

I was issued an MBNA America credit card in 2004 at a rate of 5.9%  I was never late on any payment, as with all my creditors. Since then my income has increased, I have payed off a 300 per month auto loan, my FICO score is currently over 730 and have had another card increase my credit limit to 13,500 up from 7,500.  My balance on the MBNA card is only 3500.

With all of this, MBNA has increased my rate 3 times and is currently charging me 28.49%!

I have excellent credit and can't understand how MBNA gets away with this.

Jim of St. Augustine, FL March 21, 2006

I just received my new statement yesterday, and noticed the minimum amount due had gone up considerably. My eyeballs nearly popped out of my head when I saw that the interest rate had been jacked to 25.49%. My payment had been received in plenty of time, so I called to find out what the heck was going on. The woman told me that they thought I was using too much credit.

I have had this card for 10 years, and never been late on a payment or over my limit. Needless to say, I will soon be paying this card off and closing the account.

Deborah of Cherry Hill, NJ March 19, 2006

My apr of 9.9%, which I have had a very long time, jumped to 20.49% on my April bill. MBNA said they sent an insert in my December bill about the increase, but if they did, I would have called them immediately to find out why.

I was told that the rate increase was partly due to a lateness on a credit report that stated my mortgage was 30 days late in June 2003. I have a copy of two of the three credit bureau agency's report and my mortgage (which is now closed as of May 2003) was late in September of 2001. Our credit scores are good.

I was also told it was because I wasn't charging recently and that my balance was high. Intelligence would tell anybody that if your balance is high, you don't charge and you start paying down your debt.  I was offered a 17.99% apr when I spoke with customer service and was told that a 9.99% rate was no longer available and I would have to wait 10 months in order to ask for a reduction in my apr.

I have been a cardholder with them since 1986 and all of a sudden I receive an 11.50% increase.  I feel this is an attempt to make a great profit at my expense. 

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