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ADVANTA Credit Card Company ADVANTA Bank Corporation - Credit Card Company Increase in Interest Rate from 14.5% to 35% WITHOUT NOTICE and WITH EXCELLENT CREDIT RATING!!! Salt Lake City Utah
For months I have been attempting to contact a human being with Advanta Credit Card Company but have been put on hold, told it was not their working hours, or sent a pat and dry form letter to contact at a website. The attempt to contact Advanta was due to a consistantly sleek increase in interest rate on my account of 5 years.
Upon finally reaching their customer service and being sent from Chris to supervisor Don Scheeler and aspiring to reach his supervisor Leanne Giles (conveniently out of her office)
I ended my hour conversation with Mr. Scheeler in total SHOCK. He, as his understudy Chris, could only tell me over and over that the reason for the increase was due to 1) credit history, 2) back mortgage payments, 3) economical situation. In response I stated I had a blemish free credit rating, that I had no mortgage...as my home was totally paid off 3 years ago, and that it is NOT my problem if their company had problems with the economy.
"Check your records" I stated. He did and agreed I had a perfect credit and payment history. Then, why it was that I had never even received notice of an increase in my interest charges and why was was it that it had reached such an astronomical height? He simply replied that THEY had the right to increase the interest rate at their will and that 35% interest was the best they could offer. BEST?
When I have maintained a perfect credit rating, never missed a monthly credit card payment, and do not have any outstanding debts? I asked again to please define what their criteria was for increasing interest rate to this level? Mr. Scheller only repeated again the same pat answer...that they rely on one's credit rating, their mortgage history and their payment history of the account.
Again, I explained this just did not make sense as I had all of this in check. He then began explaining it was the ECONOMY and that they had to increase rates and they had the RIGHT to increase at any amount they needed. Increase rates from an agreed rate of 14.5% to a sneaky 27% just 3 weeks ago to an outrageously high one of 35% yesterday? This is the most ridiculous explanation I could ever imagine an employee of a major banking industry provide.
But more ridiculous is the message behind it and the fact that Advanta has just lost a customer and I can envision there will be many more out there who dump the company and its multi-millionaire CEO Dennis Alter who has no concern over his shop and would rather give away $15 million gifts and smile and laugh at the ignorant masses who can eat the crumbs.
Criminal Fraud Report being sent to the Texas Attorney General's Office.