I had an MBNA account that I received in college with a rate of around 15%. One day about 5 years down the line, they said I was late on a payment by a week, and moved my rate up to 26%. At the time, I had zero to no balance on my card, so interest rates didn't bother me; I paid in full every month as it was.

Then I got married and moved into a new house. In doing so, I made the classic mistake of "new house needs new stuff", and promptly began to charge things for my new family and home. So I called MBNA to get my rate lowered after charging up bills for a couple years. (I have been a customer for 10 years at this point).

I told them that I have a credit score of 740 and would like my rate lowered. That combined with my ten year customer status, $100k annual income, and having only bee late by a week once in those ten years, if they could give me their prime rate again. They told me they could drop me 2%! From 26% to 24%. Mighty kind of them, I know.

So my credit line of $24,000 had a balance of $12,000 on it. I called them and told them, "I'm sending you a check now. Close my account, give me a payoff amount." I was told it was done and sent them the money I pulled from my 401k. Then I got my next month's statement, and it had an $80 interest fee charge on it. They had still charged me interest on the account, even though I closed it. Their account manager told me it was for interest on the time it took them to receive my check and cash it.

I asked them if it was common practice to let 10 year customers with $25k credit lines, excellent payment history and credit to just walk away because they wouldn't lower my rate to something... I don't know... REASONABLE? They told me "its a legit fee, sorry". Now granted, they were right, they had me over a barrel, its all in the fine print. You know, the print you need a microscope to read at the very bottom.

Now here's the not so funny punch line. They had given me two weeks to pay the final fee. In the course of my arguing with them, I didn't get the fee to them in time. So they charged me a $15 late fee, but then another line of 'interest charges'. That's right, they charged me interest fees on an account that was already only interest, plus additional fees! I expect to be paying them pennies in interest for the next year at this rate.

The final slap to the face came a week after that. I received an unsolicited offer in the mail from MBNA to get their new LOW LOW RATE CARD, with 5% APR and 0% transfer rate and fees. They sent me an offer for a card that I QUALIFIED FOR. Despite making $280 dollars in interest on my $300 monthly credit card payment for two years and not offering to lower my rate, they just cancelled me out and then sent me an offer to reapply for the card I should have been getting in the first place, all the while continuing to charge me fees and interest on an account I closed and paid the interest on.

I'm currently pondering legal action based on harassment and other Credit Act violations. More to come for me it appears.

Jay  Summers, sublight35@yahoo.com