hey i agree with everyone. credit card companies got us hooked like cigarettes. teased us with low interest, then slowly over the years they would change the rules as they deemed fit. in the past, if you were late and they raised rates it would be just a few points. but they then decided that all they needed to do was change the due date, catching you off guard, so that you are late, thus incurring late charges and again raise your rates. or in some cases, i read that they were holding checks so they would be posted late, and that some people would actually get the bill, pay the bill and send certified mail to prove they received, but did not post to your account. years ago, you could call the companies and ask then to renegotiate and usually were willing to do so. but now, forget it, you are stuck and they love it. forget bankruptcy, the 2005 new laws that the credit companies were part of, make if almost impossible to file. my husband has $16K in debt with Chase. he has had the account 10 years that started with providian, then WaMu and now chase. he has been self-employed for over 20 years and about 1/2 of it was to keep his office open over the years or file bankruptcy. with the economy as it is and so many people unemployed has put additional strain on most of us. but the credit industry is holding all the strings and we have no negotiation power. you call and ask to set up repayment plan and lower interest and they say no, so sorry. he now has 29% interest and was only late 1 day last year when they changed the due date by 1 day. my step daughter used to go to payday loans when she was a teenager and they raped her with all kind of fees and interest because you could not wait 1 day to buy that great mascara. but the credit card industry is almost as bad as the payday loans with the power they have on all of us. the best movie i have seen is called maxed out. it explains how the credit card companies have slowly raped the american public.
any other posters out there, clark talked about on his tv show that if you do not make a payment for 6 months, that the credit card will then default you and at that time they will be willing to negotiate with you, if you have any advice please let me know, since at this time we are thinking about this since they wont negotiate.

When CC companies make it impossible for us then our attitude should be, SCREW THEM I WON'T PAY A DIME. And forever nothing goes on credit again. Lets bring down the American economy. It will hurt us. But it will hurt the rich much more. And would they dare ask for another bailout?

BOA and Chase are charging me 29 to 31.9% while we as taxpayers are going them loans at virtually no cost. And yet our congressmen and senators who will take political contributions from banks do essentially nothing to protect us from predatory practices. In commercial real estate, a desperate purchaser may use a "hard money" lender at 15% interest vs. a 7 to 9% normal loan. Credit card debt wouldn't be as risky or difficult to maintain at 7 to 10 %, but our political leaders aren't concerned with what's reasonable for the borrower, just how much their bank contributors can make.

I have perfect credit.Zero debt.The bank just wacked my credit line,after cancelling the card and reissuing new cards. I am hearing the same from other consumers.The banks are saying nothing and re:the new cards,they say that secuirty has been "compromized".I never needed all the credit but I do not like the way they just cahnge the rules and say nothing!

One point I rarely see mentioned is that there is absolutely nothing wrong with using a credit card to make purchases IF you pay off the balance every month. There is no need to cancel accounts, cut up cards, quit charging - unless you have no self control and continually charge more than you can pay at monthend. I get loads of free stuff every year from rewards credit cards, and have never paid a dime in interest or annual fees. I have no idea what my interest rates are and don't care, because I use cards as a tool, not to run up debt.

The credit card companies can give you every excuse in the book, but the bottom line is it is nothing but GREED on their part. I have a BOA card (that I pay in full every month) where they slashed my limit from 25k to 12k and raised my interset rate as if I were a large risk to them. I know cancelling the card will temporarily dent my credit score so Ill just use it a couple times a year for a tank of gas or something. The best solution is not to do business with these greedy bailed out banks.

We also need to go after all the dead-beat dads. They don't pay, but the children have to be taken care of. The desperate momther is not thinking of antyhing more than her baby when she maxes out her cc on milk and diapers.

The dead-beats take off and the moms end up on welfare.

Keep paying what you can each month and try to avoid bankruptcy. Debt solution companies are a ripoff. Talk to your creditors and arrange a monthly payment and stop the loans, funeral expenses, etc. to family. You can't afford to bankroll your family. If they can't afford the bills, then maybe they need a paupers' funeral.