I have had an MBNA-issued VISA credit card through Wachovia since 1997 and have always paid more than the minimum payment every month on time. I have been carrying a balance the last couple of years because I started up a new business and charged a lot of the equipment needed to get going. Back in May of this year my account was "reviewed" and MBNA decided to jack the interest rate up to 19.99%. I don't remember what it was immediately prior to that but I do remember that the rate was 8.99% to begin with back in 1997 and that it wasn't a promotional rate either!
I called up MBNA to find out why my rate had been raised and was referred to a manager, Tyra Gregory (1-800-441-7048 x78037), who was very condescending when answering that my income was too low relative to my balance. I wouldn't complain if I had been falling behind on my bills there or elsewhere but, as I said, I hadn't. Tyra didn't really seem to care and she refused to transfer me to her supervisor.in the meantime, I received my next statement from MBNA/Wachovia and saw that my interest had gone up AGAIN, this time to 24.98% - the rate for people who have DEFAULTED is 24.99%, so I am getting an interest rate that is only 1/100 of a percent better than someone who doesn't pay their bills at all!!!
I called MBNA once again and got a manager who was much more courteous but was also just as unhelpful as Tyra Gregory. When I explained to him that this policy of MBNA's was extremely hostile to good customers and that it was going to drive me to transfer my balance elsewhere and never do business with MBNA again, he only said, "I understand."
Something I didn't yet know, though, was that being self-employed makes it very difficult to get a new credit card - MBNA knew this, though, which is why my threats to transfer my balance elsewhere fell on deaf ears! Basically, they knew they could get away with jacking my interest rate up so the did. This must be why they have the highest annualized return of any bank in the S&P 500. Ripoff!!!
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