October 13, 2000
A consumer lawsuit against FleetBoston accuses the bank of misleading consumers by offering a fixed interest rate on credit cards, then raising the rate when consumers transferred balances from other cards.

The lawsuit was filed in state court in Providence, RI, on behalf of Tyler Chavers of Eagle River, Alaska, who said he transferred the balance of his three credit cards to obtain the 7.99 percent annual interest rate Fleet was advertising.

Chavers said that one month later, he received a letter from Fleet saying that because the Federal Reserve had raised interest rates, the bank was increasing its credit card rates to 9.5 or 10.5 percent, depending on when cardholders opened their accounts.

Chavers argued that Fleet claimed it would never increase cardholder's rates unless they made late payments, which Chavers said he never did.

"Fleet believed it could increase the fixed rate at any time and, in fact, never intended to provide the fixed rate as advertised," the suit charges.

Fleet's actions violated the Rhode Island Deceptive Trade Practices Act, the suit claims. It asks that the case be declared a class action and broadened to include thousands of other cardholders. Chavers is seeking restitution of all interest and fees as well as other damages.

FleetBoston is the nation's eighth-largest bank. It has 1,200 branches throughout New England.