why didnt cc offer this sooner?!

[cantwait]

We have just started missing our cc payments for the first time EVER. We started getting phone calls this week. I decided to answer so maybe they would wait a week or 2 to call back. Anyway, both citigroup (home depot account) and 1st national bank were very nice and offered us several different programs. One was 0% interest for a year with a $25 min payment. Our min payment now is $115. Both cards had programs that had semi-affordable payments and with a low interest rate to pay them off in 5 years. I asked how long they have had these programs and was told a couple of years. Funny, in the past 2 years we have called all our cards 3 seperate times to lower rates. "There just wasn't anything they could do" Instead every month our interest rate went UP even though we were never late. Anyway it's too late for us to do a program like this because my husband's salary got cut. We are now living on $1,200 less a month. We were already living pc to pc. Anyway just wanted to share that. Hoping to retain attorney within 2 weeks if we can save up for retainer fee.

[SCorpPain]

They are not in the business of making our lives easier. They are in the business if sucking us dry with their insane interest rates and late fees.

Good luck with your situation.

[jribe]

I know, isn't that terrible? I did the same thing last November/December. I wasn't late on anything, called and begged that they lower my interest rate, or work something out on payments. They said no. Well, in January i couldn't afford to pay them anymore.

Now i get calls all the time, and letters telling me they can work out a payment plan..

I think it's just silly that they won't be proactive with customers..


(QUOTE=cantwait;277068]We have just started missing our cc payments for the first time EVER. We started getting phone calls this week. I decided to answer so maybe they would wait a week or 2 to call back. Anyway, both citigroup (home depot account) and 1st national bank were very nice and offered us several different programs. One was 0% interest for a year with a $25 min payment. Our min payment now is $115. Both cards had programs that had semi-affordable payments and with a low interest rate to pay them off in 5 years. I asked how long they have had these programs and was told a couple of years. Funny, in the past 2 years we have called all our cards 3 seperate times to lower rates. "There just wasn't anything they could do" Instead every month our interest rate went UP even though we were never late. Anyway it's too late for us to do a program like this because my husband's salary got cut. We are now living on $1,200 less a month. We were already living pc to pc. Anyway just wanted to share that. Hoping to retain attorney within 2 weeks if we can save up for retainer fee.[/QUOTE]

[phoenixrisin]

I agree. You stop paying them for 6 months or a year and suddenly they are offering you half-off deals- not from the OC's, however, but from CA's. I feel like, dude- If I had $500 to pay off a $1100 debt, I wouldn't have stopped paying on the CC in the 1st place! And I am not paying a CA who probably bought the debt for pennies on the dollar!

I really didn't understand how bad my situation was until I filled out all those papers from the lawyer. When I had to photocopy more of the pages where you list your creditors, and hit Creditor #40, that was darn scary!

[DownNotOut]

Yep, I got the same treatment. I knew things were headed south and I wanted to be proactive, but they wouldn't hear it. "Sorry, ma'am, there's nothing we can do about your interest rate. No, you have to make the full payment." All said in a sarcastic, snotty voice. I wanted to go through the phone and throttle that little jerk!

So, now who's calling to offer me all these "great deals" and "I have something that will be of great interest to you"? Yes, these low life credit card companies that wouldn't help me out before. Only now, I don't have anything at all to give them. So guess who gets to be sarcastic and snotty now?

[SCorpPain]

This thread has made me feel a little better. I kept thinking that I missed a step, that somehow I could have done something different or better and I could have gotten things reduced earlier.

But, now I see that is their mode of operation for everyone. It is not logical at all.

[anime-chicka]

Yes, I remember getting the same thing. I called and asked for help from Amex and BoA. BoA got me in contact with a credit counseling firm who said that bankruptcy was probably my best option.

It wasn't until it had been about a couple of months with no payments that they all started sending info on how they could help me. Maybe they don't think we're serious when we call and realize we are when the money doesn't come in.

[cantwait]

i thought there might be others that this happened to. We got these offers of help after just missing our first payment. I've talked to them and put them off for a couple of weeks "while we figure something out" but didn't tell them we are going to file because we haven't retained a lawyer yet. I can't wait to get over this chapter of our lives.

[fireworks]

The cynical side of me says this is why I don't care about filing BK on all of my CC debt ($130K last I checked, probably much higher now with penalties and interest). USAA offered me 0% interest for a year with a 1% minimum payment. That would still be $250/month, but that's less than half of what I was paying them before (somewhere north of $600 minimum). Citibank has offered me settlements for roughly 40% (if I had that kind of cash, I'd still be paying you....) and the AMEX folks have suggested that it might be an option. A few months ago when I called Citi and AMEX about lowering interest rates they wouldn't consider it. Ah well - that's what they get.

[sophia]

All our CC companies offered to help us once I told them we had retained a lawyer and they needed to call him. They sure did not want to help us when they raised out rates after 10+ years of no missed payments ever to anyone. I felt so guilty not paying them at first, but now not so much.