How many other out there are waiting for codename47 to post in this topic?

FYI - I too received this nasty notice in my november statement (paper). almost threw it out since it was slightly smaller than the ad it was stuck to. i have a 3.99% LOB from several years ago with a balance of $4500, no other purchases on it, pay close to the minimum each month, just before due date. I think I paid a small amount, if any, for the original transfer - it was before they started adding high BT fees upfront. My card expires 03/09.

i emailed a generic request saying i saw this notice & want to know what my options are. here's the reply i got through the website:

<<An alternative is available, but it does mean giving up
the current APR on your promotional rate balance(s) with
no expiration date.

With this alternate offer your promotional balance(s)
would be changed to a 7.99% Fixed APR. This new rate will
remain in effect until the billing statement that includes
January 1, 2011. After this date, the APR for any
remaining portion of the balance will be the standard
purchase APR associated with this account, which is a
Variable APR of 9.99%. If your standard APR is a Variable
APR, the rate mentioned above is the sum of the margin and
the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Prime Rate. Variable APRs
may vary with changes in the WSJ Prime Rate. Please refer
to your Cardmember Agreement for more APR information and
other account terms.

This alternate offer will suppress the assessment of the
monthly Account Service Charge, and your minimum payment
calculation will remain the same.

If you would like us to apply these alternate terms to
your account, please send us an email reply confirming
your acceptance of the alternate terms. If you prefer,
you may also contact Customer Service directly at the
phone number listed on the back of your credit card.

Note: We must receive your confirmation of acceptance in
order to apply the alternate terms to your account. If
the confirmation is not received, the Account Service
Charge and increased minimum payment noted in the Change
in Terms will become effective on your account as of the
January 2009 billing statement.>>

I got approved for a PenFed CC so I'll likely transfer it over. I'm not happy, and the rate would be roughly the same, at least until chase decides to add more to the load, but i can't stomach giving chase any more than i have to at this point. I want to keep the card since it is quite old (15 years maybe?) and has a decent limit (11K).

For those who may be interested, I received a reply from my email to Chase asking them to quote the language of our contract which allows them to add fees and effectively increase my 3.99% APR (by imposing the $10.00 per month finance charge). Here it is, and they are not gonna budge:

"Our records indicate that a Change in Terms notice was sent to you in November 2008, which advised of the
addition of an Account Service Fee and a change to the required minimum payment for your account, effective as of your January 2009 billing statement. Please note that the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) on your account is not changing and you may continue to take advantage of the promotional APR currently in effect on your account.

An alternative is available, but it does mean giving up the current APR on your promotional rate balance(s) with no expiration date.

With this alternate offer your promotional balance(s) would be changed to a 7.99% Fixed APR. This new rate will remain in effect until the billing statement that includes January 1, 2011. After this date, the APR for any remaining portion of the balance will be the standard purchase APR associated with this account, which is a variable APR of 7.99%. If your standard APR is a Variable APR, the rate mentioned above is the sum of the margin and the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Prime Rate. Variable APRs may vary with changes in the WSJ Prime Rate. Please refer to your Cardmember Agreement for more APR information and other account terms.

This alternate offer will suppress the assessment of the monthly Account Service Charge, and your minimum payment calculation will remain the same.

If you would like us to apply these alternate terms to your account, please send us an email reply confirming your acceptance of the alternate terms. If you prefer, you may also contact Customer Service directly at the phone number listed on the back of your credit card.

Note: We must receive your confirmation of acceptance in order to apply the alternate terms to your account. If the confirmation is not received, the Account Service Charge and increased minimum payment noted in the Change in Terms will become effective on your account as of the January 2009 billing statement."

Blah, blah, blah.
All I can figure to do is tell them I want the 7.99% rate so that no $10 monthly charge will be added. Then I'll try to transfer the balance somewhere else, but my chances are low to do this.

My response would be as follows:

Chase, we had a contract. You may change whatever terms you wish, prospectively. I do not wish to use the card under the new terms; however, the deal we struck was for 3.99% for the life of my balance, without fees. You now wish to charge me $120 a year to maintain the rate we agreed would apply for the life of the balance. Please, again, quote me the language which states that you can charge me whatever fee you wish in order for me to keep the benefit of the bargain we reached. There is no such language in our agreement. You do not have the right to make an agreement and then tell me I have to pay you $120 a year in order to get the benefit of that agreement. That's a DIFFERENT contract to which I never agreed. Please do right by your customers and perform the agreement you have with them.

And send THAT to the president, or to the general counsel of Chase, if you are tired of the CSR response.

SUCKISSTAPLES said:Stop waiting for a manager to call you back with more BS. WRITE a letter and MAIL it to the CEO/President of Chase. One of the executive assistants will respond.

What about this: folks in this situation on FWF band together and write an aggressive letter with legal language and with multiple signers, class-action style.

"As a group, we feel this change in terms is unacceptable. We are actively seeking out other Chase customers in this situation."

gatzdon said:Jane0218 said:....... Please note that the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) on your account is not changing and you may continue to take advantage of the promotional APR currently in effect on your account.........

Just curious, do you still have the original promotional materials and at any point, did the promotional materials state the APY in addition to the APR???

Unfortunately, the orginal promotional materials were the checks I used. Whatever the checks were attached to (probably the terms of the promotion) I threw out probably a year after the checks were used. Chase will be sending me the promotion terms and said it will take at least 30 days. How convenient for them, since by then the new terms will have taken effect. They said I'll receive my standard cardmember agreement terms in 7-10 days.

That's where I get confused. What takes precedence? The overall cardmember terms (which should state the % of the bal. required to pay as the min. monthly pmt), or the promotional terms (which probably did not speak to the % rate for minimum monthly payments? That's the real kicker for someone like me, with a large balance. My monthly payment will increase about $600/mo.

DavidScubadiver said:My response would be as follows:

Chase, we had a contract. You may change whatever terms you wish, prospectively. I do not wish to use the card under the new terms; however, the deal we struck was for 3.99% for the life of my balance, without fees. You now wish to charge me $120 a year to maintain the rate we agreed would apply for the life of the balance. Please, again, quote me the language which states that you can charge me whatever fee you wish in order for me to keep the benefit of the bargain we reached. There is no such language in our agreement. You do not have the right to make an agreement and then tell me I have to pay you $120 a year in order to get the benefit of that agreement. That's a DIFFERENT contract to which I never agreed. Please do right by your customers and perform the agreement you have with them.

And send THAT to the president, or to the general counsel of Chase, if you are tired of the CSR response.

Thanks, David. I am going to do what you've suggested, and I really hope that many, many others do the same.

gatzdon said:I don't remember the Chase promotional materials, but I do remember MBNA promotional materials that not only stated the APR, but also would state the APY when showing comparisons to other products. If someone has anything from Chase with any sort of APY identified, then they may have a decent case to go after chase.

This is just a personal opinion (and I'm obviously not a lawer), but with the change the change in minimum payment calculation, I doubt anyone is going to find a politician willing to back that one as Chase is being touted as a victim in DC.

I think the only real attack at chase that has a chance is one that hinges on them changing the APY for the deal.
Please excuse my ignorance, but what do you mean by APY? I only know is as meaning "annual percentage yield," or interest earned on deposits.

On monthly statement Chase is using two different APRs:

Corresponding APR (rate of interest) and
Effective APR (“represent total finance charge- including transaction fees such as
Cash advance and balance transfer fees – expresses as a percentage”)

One, probably, can try to argue that promotion offer had promised Effective APR for the life.

I cant stress enough that its a waste of your time to send these complaints via email where they get a canned response from the CSR drone.

Is it really that much more difficult to print out a hardcopy, write out an envelope and stamp to the CEO?

If you still get no satisfaction using that route, then its time to go all Codename47 on them