The Citibank Saga..

[HennysMom]

Okay - so a while ago I ranted my first ever rant about my Citibank credit card that we have had since 2003 that was locked in at 7.9% forever and a day; one day I opened up my statement/went to pay my bill and noticed the rate shot up to 14.99% for no reason. Never late, never anything. So I called and ranted and raved, never got the notice, they told me they sent it and put it on my statement in Dec... I had 6 months of statements in front of me and nothing, nada (many on here know what I'm talking about, they read my thread). ANYHOW - I told them to close the account immediately and I would be paying the balance in full - I refused to do business with a place that I just bailed out as a taxpayer and they decided to just increase rates "because they could" for any reason. This happend to MANY people, not just me - it was across the board with CitiBank and other issuers, changing the rates. They stated they would close the account and retro the rate back to 7.9% since I was closing it out....as that was the only way to get my rate back. Me: Fine...you do that.

WELLLLLL... enter earlier this week. I pay my card off in full and what do I see on my statement? ROFL!!!!!!!!!!!!! My card is NOT closed..the interest rate IS at 7.9% fixed - AND *drum roll please* they increased the very limit by $5K!!

I call this morning thinking surely this must be a mistake... get Customer Service on the phone and ask them

"Why is this card still open when I specifically closed it in January due to your company changing the locked rate I've had for 5 years? I told you to close it, I told you it would be paid in full and now I see a $5K increase along with the rate lock? What's up?"

CSR: "Well, you've been such a great customer, we decided to revert your rate, increase your line and keep it open for you, we want your business."

Me: "Ah.. I see - well... you should have thought about that before illegally changing my terms on me without notifying me. Sorry - I do not want your credit card, I do not need it, nor do I want to do business with Citibank. Close this card as I requested, thank you."

CSR: "Ma'am, but what if you need $$ for home repairs, your credit line is 15K, you're just going to throw that away?"

Me: "Then I'll pay cash for it. CLOSE IT."


MAN THAT FELT GREAT!!

 

[texaschickmama]

I bet it felt great. I wonder if they are going to do the same to us?

 

[jbowyer01]

Thats almost as bad as Goodyear sending me a condolence letter in reference to my DH. Oh by the way he is definitley alive LOL! Oh and they closed our account.

 

[HennysMom]

I dont know but if I were you.. I'd be calling and raising all types of heck. I was SHOCKED when I called this morning...

Guess they're having alot of people close out their accounts because of their rate hikes and I cant blame people for doing just that. I was so angry I could have spit nails.

Good luck to you!

 

[bockbock2008]

Yay for you. I hate credit cards. I got a little irresponsible with them several years ago and have chosen not to have one since. I do the cash only thing and it works out fine. These companys have no idea about the concept of morality. They gave my 16 year old step brother a card and when he couldn't pay it and the collections started my step dad told them to try to collect. He wasn't 18 and wasn't even legal to have a credit card. They stopped collections and he never heard from them again. Glad to hear they won't be getting any more of your money.

 

[toletiquesbysam]

I agree with you completely on why you did it and the bailout and what they are doing to other people. But the negative of what you did is by closing the account out, that is going to affect your credit score and not in a good way. I've always read that if you don't use a card still keep it open because of your credit score. Probably won't affect you immediately unless you go to buy a home/car/loan/etc.

 

[HennysMom]

Tole: I'm not worried about the score - yes it will go down, but at this point in time, I have nothing on the books to purchase and dont plan on anything anytime soon.

I think more and more people are going back to the old ways too: dig a hole in the backyard, put your money in a jar and its much safer than anywhere else LOL!

Actually, I had a friend whos grandmother did that - when she passed away she left instructions to "start digging" - they unearthed Hundreds of QUART SIZE jars filled to the brim each and every one of them with Kennedy dollars! I think all total they had like 75K in the backyard!

Oh man... What I wouldnt give to find THAT in MY backyard!

 

[Wifezilla]

But the negative of what you did is by closing the account out, that is going to affect your credit score and not in a good way.

If you don't rely on credit, a credit score means nothing.

As for cars, pay cash. A house? You put down enough of a down payment and they wont care if you closed an account you paid off.

I think most people's "credit scores" are going to look like Swiss cheese over the next decade. And all those high credit scores didn't do a lot of people any good in the long run.​

 

[HarlansHollowFarms]

Quote:
If you don't rely on credit, a credit score means nothing.

As for cars, pay cash. A house? You put down enough of a down payment and they wont care if you closed an account you paid off.

I think most people's "credit scores" are going to look like Swiss cheese over the next decade. And all those high credit scores didn't do a lot of people any good in the long run.

I so agree, if you need to purchase a house, it is prudent to have at least 20% or more, and the lending company will not look so hard at your credit score.
My DH and I put 35% down on our house and the bank was bending over backward for us, there was a problem getting comparible sales of log homes in our area, the accepted comp from over 300 miles away...I think this had to do with the money we had down, not our credit score.

 

[toletiquesbysam]

Some jobs check your credit score in their background checks, so credit score is not only an issue with loans! Cash is King right now with the economy the way it is so I agree completely, if you don't have to worry about any of that then I think you did the right thing. Plus it made you Happy!!!