Advanta Bank Credit Card Advanta Bank Increased My Interest Rate to 35% Springhouse, Pennsylvania

Good for you Cat. It's nice that some people can afford to do all cash. There are very few of them and far in between. I commend you for being able to do that. However, most of the population doesn't have that luxury. A lot of the people screwed were using their 0% financing for 15 months and then they would have only had to pay 7.99% which is not too terribly expensive. But, cash only is a long way off for most people. I consider it a syndrome from 911. Most people have been spending money like a drunk sailor since then because they feel good about the economy. Now the economy is in the toilet and it's time to pay for living high on the hog.

Had the coffee shop owner opened up his shop with cash, yes it CAN be done. Then he would have not faced laying off any employees because he has profits and money at the end of the day not a pile of credit card bills to pay. Cash works wonders these days. With the economy the way it is, you people need to stop living off debt. My husband and I started a small business, we only use cash, we drive in our cars for our business and they are bought with cash. We do not have to worry bout the economy because we have money in the bank because we do not have one bill that isnt bought with anything other than you guessed it, cash. So no, its isnt the fault of advanta your friend has no money, its his fault for having built his house on the sand and not cash.

Advanta was sued recently by one of the people who had their rate jacked for no legitimate reason. It only took his attorney and himself 2 weeks to win back over $2,000 in excess interest and his attorney got his fees and court costs. They sued them in small claims court in Philadephia where your allowed to sue for up to $8,000. I suspect others could do this also.

They can raise their rates according to the card agreement, which also says they will provide notice. Like most credit card issuers, Advanta sends this notification in a small print insert, surrounded by throwaway junk mail. If people do not even bother to read the initial card agreement, how many do you think will bother to read these inserts in their bill? Advanta and other banks have been sued for this practice, but it continues primarily because the minor cost of settlements outweighs the money they make. I actually read those inserts and have successfully opted out of fee and rate increases on a couple of cards (not Advanta) over the last few years. I'm betting that 99% of my fellow cardholders just tossed those inserts out.

I want to be very clear here that I in no way condone this practice. I think it's deceptive, but on the whole, it's just a technicality. The main point I've been trying to make is that no one seems to read the initial card agreement that gives the bank a free hand to pretty much do whatever they like with regards to fees and interest rates. Why would any sane person agree to borrow money under such lopsided terms? If you read enough card agreements, you'll find that they are all very much alike. The federal rules for revolving credit lines (i.e. credit cards) are vastly different from most other types of lending, and banks exploit this difference to their advantage.

What it comes down to is that people are complaining about egregious increases in their interest rates, when there is nothing in these card agreements that says that can't happen. I have a feeling that Advanta will be able to prove that they sent required notifications and that the majority of cardholders did not read them.

If Advanta always has the right to raise interest rates any time they feel like it, why did they have to bother to send out opt out notices which no one magically seems to have received. Out of 200 or more complaints I've seen, only a few have received them. I'm also wondering why they lost a 17 million dollar lawsuit in 1997 for pulling this same shenanigan of jacking interest rates without notice on one of thier other programs?

Thanks for your insights. I will follow up on the Office you mentioned.

Advanta is not doing anything contrary to their credit card agreement. The problem here is that people do not read the agreements and realize what they are agreeing to. This is not an Advanta problem. All banks are doing the same thing. When your interest rate jumps from 7.99% to 29%, it certainly seems unfair, but the terms that you agree to when you get the card say that this is OK. What surprises me is that anyone would agree to such a lopsided financial arrangement. Given the frequency of complaints on this subject, I am left to conclude that the majority of folks are not reading their card agreements and do not really know what they're getting into. If they did, they'd never borrow money via a credit card.

By the way, I've seen the FDIC mentioned a few times in response to this post. The FDIC insures deposits at commercial banks. They have nothing to do with credit cards. The organization that has everything to do with credit cards is called the Office of Thrift Supervision. It's part of the Treasury department. If you want to complain to an organization that has the power to do something about credit cards, that would be the place to start. The OTS has recently come out against these crazy rate increases and excessive late fees. They know that what the banks are doing is currently legal, but they are proposing changes to the laws. I suggest Googling "office of thrift supervision" and "credit card" for more info.

With Advanta doing to this to more and more people every day, they are using predatory lending practices to jack many many people's interest rate to 35% with no justifiable reason. These people as you can read in the reports all have excellent credit reports and FICO scores. Advanta claims they sent them all opt out notices and magically 98% or more have never received them. Advanta just lost several million dollars in the last quarter, have had to increase their allowance for bad debt by about 14 billion dollars, their stock is in the toilet at $3-4 a share compared to over $24 or so last year, and are now having to outsource jobs to India.

The FDIC, FTC, BBB, your senators and representatives, and whomever else needs to be contacted and let the voices of the small business owner be heard so something will be done about it. Take a look at the Philadelphia Biz Journal and search for Advanta and you'll find an article about Michael Collins, who just recently used his Advanta card to start up a coffee shop. They have jacked his interest rate from 7.99% to the high 20% range for no justifiable reason and he has had to lay off two of his employees and is close to already going out of business due to Advanta raping him on his interest. Did all these people agree to it?? I don't think so!

...when you accepted the card, read that teeny lettered agreement you received, plus you said "especially if your late on a payment" don't be surprised all your other credit card companies start putting you on there default rate also as your now a universal risk to all of them.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) wants more rip-off-report against Advanta Bank.

Last time it was reported they have over 800 complaints by the Advanta bank card holders. FDIC just needs 200 more filed complaints in order to take big giant action against the Advanta Bank

Please do your civic duty and report this crime to FDIC.

Remember, Advanta Bank is regulated by FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation). They can close down any minute; they just need more complaints by you.

Here is the website link:

https://www2.fdic.gov/starsmail/index.asp

It is very easy to fill-out the form at FDIC. It takes less than 3 minutes of your time.

They are very close to knock on door at ADVANTA HQ in PA.

It is time to expose Advanta CEO Dennis Alter.

If you do not report, Advanta scumbag CEO Dennis Alter will get away this type of rip-off from small business folks like you. Dennis Alter should be jailed for his crime.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) wants more rip-off-report against Advanta Bank.

Last time it was reported they have over 800 complaints by the Advanta bank card holders. FDIC just needs 200 more filed complaints in order to take big giant action against the Advanta Bank

Please do your civic duty and report this crime to FDIC.

Remember, Advanta Bank is regulated by FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation). They can close down any minute; they just need more complaints by you.

Here is the website link:

https://www2.fdic.gov/starsmail/index.asp

It is very easy to fill-out the form at FDIC. It takes less than 3 minutes of your time.

They are very close to knock on door at ADVANTA HQ in PA.

It is time to expose Advanta CEO Dennis Alter.

If you do not report, Advanta scumbag CEO Dennis Alter will get away this type of rip-off from small business folks like you. Dennis Alter should be jailed for his crime.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) wants more rip-off-report against Advanta Bank.

Last time it was reported they have over 800 complaints by the Advanta bank card holders. FDIC just needs 200 more filed complaints in order to take big giant action against the Advanta Bank

Please do your civic duty and report this crime to FDIC.

Remember, Advanta Bank is regulated by FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation). They can close down any minute; they just need more complaints by you.

Here is the website link:

https://www2.fdic.gov/starsmail/index.asp

It is very easy to fill-out the form at FDIC. It takes less than 3 minutes of your time.

They are very close to knock on door at ADVANTA HQ in PA.

It is time to expose Advanta CEO Dennis Alter.

If you do not report, Advanta scumbag CEO Dennis Alter will get away this type of rip-off from small business folks like you. Dennis Alter should be jailed for his crime.