Would you say anything about how credit card companies calculate interest rate, OR would you figure if you say anything they flagg or close your account????: At Wachovia for the last 3 months the balnce has been less than $20, they chargesd $0.50 finance charge and state that is 12.99%. It seems to be more than twice what they state. The point is not this small amount, but wonder how accurate they are when you have many thousands of balances. Although even in this case they should be accurate.
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duna said:Would you say anything about how credit card companies calculate interest rate, OR would you figure if you say anything they flagg or close your account????: At Wachovia for the last 3 months the balnce has been less than $20, they chargesd $0.50 finance charge and state that is 12.99%. It seems to be more than twice what they state. The point is not this small amount, but wonder how accurate they are when you have many thousands of balances. Although even in this case they should be accurate.
I would assume that they state that there is a min finance charge of $0.50
To make sure that consumers receive detailed and uniform disclosures of rates and other cost information related to credit and charge card accounts, Congress passed the Fair Credit and Charge Card Disclosure Act in 1988. To implement the law, the Federal Reserve amended its Truth in Lending regulation (Regulation Z).
Truth in Lending is designed to help consumers know the cost and terms of credit. The regulation requires credit and charge card issuers to reveal important information in a clear, easy-to-read, and easy-to-compare manner so that consumers can shop for the credit terms that work best for them. This pamphlet summarizes some of the major features of the regulation.
The regulation has always required credit and charge card issuers to tell consumers things such as the interest rate they'll be charged for credit, but the information wasn't always easy for some people to find.
Now, all issuers of credit and charge cards must either provide specific information in an easy-to-read table with headings, or they must alert you of any costs associated with a card and provide a toll-free number and an address so you can find out the details. This information will make it easier for you to find important cost information and compare the terms offered by different card issuers.
curtisekarr said:Maybe you could do a Balance Transfer of the $20 to a card with a lower interest rate. Try to avoid high BT fees, though. Noooo ... cuz then there will be a $5 minimum BT fee which will be classified as a finance charge on the BT card, and then the "actual" APR disclosure on the first BT card statement will say something like 48.2% and then we'll end up with another thread asking why there was a illegal ratejack to 48.2% and then that thread will be bleeding red ...
At first I thought this was troll behavior than I looked at OP's posting history and he posts a lot in FWF (I first assumed he would've wandered over from hot deals or something).
I think we need a default opt out of min finace charges. These companies are making tons of money off these fee's, it would be better for the consumer not to have them.
If anything, Wachovia is getting the short end of the bargain. 50 cents doesn't even cover the costs of printing and mailing the statement.
Oh, I forgot, the new breed of American heroes regards every bank fee or charge as being predatory and existing for no other purpose than financing a corporate jet.
staci86 said:If anything, Wachovia is getting the short end of the bargain. 50 cents doesn't even cover the costs of printing and mailing the statement.
Oh, I forgot, the new breed of American heroes regards every bank fee or charge as being predatory and existing for no other purpose than financing a corporate jet.
WHO cares what Wachovia pays to print and mail? That is part of their cost for doing business, and those costs are deductible.
*and NO, not one of the new american heroes... just a savvy consumer, who refuses to put MY money in a bank and then have the BANK charge me to access/move/use/remove my OWN money!
Sorry that the OP created such heated responses. The issue is not being "deadbeat", nor mailing cost or stamp since the statement comes via their web site, nor BT, etc. It is more like: if there is a 50c minimum should there be an accurate APR calculation?
duna said:Sorry that the OP created such heated responses. The issue is not being "deadbeat", nor mailing cost or stamp since the statement comes via their web site, nor BT, etc. It is more like: if there is a 50c minimum should there be an accurate APR calculation?But the charge isnt based on any APR. It's a fixed-dollar minimum amount. Translating it into any sort of annual rate would be meaningless and misleading, and only spark anger and confusion from people wondering why their rate suddenly spiked to 61% APR.
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