Beware the Sudden Rate Hike

You really have to really care when spending your money there are some credit card lenders out there who will give you a great credit rate in hopes that you put some good amount of debt on your card. Once you have added some good debt to your card the scam comes to play. They will sneak a high interest rate on you once you owe them money. The low rate was just a scam to get you to get one of their cards with the low rate. Suddenly you're in a pickle, with nowhere to go. They had you number the whole time just waiting for you to spend your money so they can jack up the interest rates and make all the money they can from you. Suddenly your stuck paying the minimum and the low interest rate card was just a scam.

In all fairness not it shouldn't be and in most countries its not. In most worlds this is considered loan sharking and usury but in the Credit Card world of revolving debt it really is not so clear. Its not fair at all to raise the rate of money you already owe. You must be aware of this practice some credit card companies are honest with you and let you know up front that they will give you a low rate for 6 months then raise it about 5 or 6 percent. Then there are those credit card companies who hide everything in the small print that they have the right to change the interest rate when ever they feel its necessary with the current market conditions.

In most countries this is illegal and you have some rights and there are those countries that you do not have a legal leg to stand on and your credit card issuer can do what ever they want. Unfortunately this is also a big problem in the US because of credit cards based in states like Delaware where they have weak usury laws for credit cards. So beware of such credit cards and always check your rates on a regular basis. If a card hikes your rates find a new card and keep on checking your rates.

There are many reasons that a Credit Card company can give you to raise there interest rates some of them can be for good reasons, while others can seem unfair. There is a lot of sharing of information in the Credit Card financial industry and even if you are doing everything right on the credit you have with one company you might suffer for a problem with another debt even if its not a credit card company. Here are some examples of reasons that they will raise your interest rates for.

1. Never pay late, if your bill is not on time you broke the rules and the Credit Card company has found a good reason to raise your rate. Always try to pay your bill a week to 10 days in advance to avoid missing your deadline.

2. As mentioned earlier credit cards share information so you might just get your rate hiked for spending money on your other credit cards. Acting badly with any card can hurt your other cards. These companies are competitors and they get a little nervous when you not taking care of business on any credit card.

3. Not paying one of your other Bills. The credit card companies keep on eye on all your payment history even your phone and electric bill going late or missing a payment will can hurt your credit card rate. They usually check your credit on a quarterly and even sometimes a monthly basis. So always pay on time on all bills to avoid higher rates.

This is really bad in the eyes of the credit card company and goes on your credit record. You just have to remember that you rate can usually rise at any time for any reason. Most credit card contracts state that they only need to give you 2 weeks notice and once they raise one of our credit card rates they can raise them all and probably will. This is a good reason to limit your cards and not have to many because they really can hurt you overall. If you ever write a bounced check make sure you make good on it as soon as possible before it get reported on your credit card.

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The first thing to do if your card rate hikes up is to contact your Credit Card Company and demand that they lower it, if this does not happen the next thing to try is to cancel your credit card and move your balance to a lower interest rate card. If for some reason you are not able to do this the only thing left to do is contact a lawyer and get yourself far away from this credit card company.

Another way you can handle this is to make a lot of racket and complain to the regulator by post. You can contact radio stations, newspapers to let them report how the Credit Card company is hurting you for no reason. Sometimes a loud voice can make someone do the right thing. Credit cards can be a problem if you don't follow all the rules and for some individuals this in not a easy thing for them to do. If you can't handle the heat in the kitchen then stop charging it.

The best thing to do is pay all your credit card payments on time and if you have more then one bill pay off the small credit card first then work on the next largest. Your goal here is get rid of all the debt on your cards and do what you can to get you balances to zero. This way you have the power and you high interest rates will disappear. You might have to ask but if they want you they will lower their rates and if they don't you can easily get a better card on you own with a low interest rate.