MBNA SUCKS

Watch out for these guys!

Hear my story.

I, like many countless other American taxpaying citizens, received a solicitation from a credit card company, MBNA America, based in Wilmington, Deleware. The low introductory interest rate was attractive, so I moved a little consumer debt around and took them up on their offer. After several months, the low introductory rate shot up to around 20%, and I paid off the card. Several months went by, over which I received numerous mail solicitations from them offering me special incentives to use their card - special purchases, frequent flyer miles - that type of thing. I wasn't interested, so I kept throwing the junk mail away. Then one night a woman - very pushy - calls trying to see what it would take to move some consumer debt from my other cards to MBNA again. Well, I finally talked her down to a fairly low rate attractive enough to try for awhile. Again, after the trial period was over and my rate shot back up, I paid off the card and stopped using the account. (I have great credit, so I just moved the debt to another card - no big deal, right?).

Another period of several months went by until a fellow from MBNA called pestering me to convert my high interest credit card account to a 12.5% APR fixed rate personal line of credit with a $10,000 limit. This actually wasn't such a bad deal to have as an option, so I finally relented and let him set me up. So far so good, okay? NOT!

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I moved some debt around for awhile, kept up with my payments, and actually thought this was a pretty good thing. In fact, the previous statement from the one which popped my cork said I had a "Payment Holiday" if I wanted. No payment due. "My, what a valued customer I must be" I thought. My balance was around $6,500 at the time, and I had other uses for my money (summer had just come into full bloom). So I exercised my option to not send them any money last month. Okay. Here's the beef. This month's statement shows that there is no past due balance, but it indicates that there is an amendment to my agreement. Fortunately, I read the amendment. It reads as follows: Effective on the first day following your statement closing date in August 1998, your account will have a Daily Periodic Rate of 0.043781% (corresponding ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE of 15.98%)

It went on to say that, unless I give notice in writing by August 19, 1998 that I reject the change, the new rate will take effect. And, if I reject the change in rate, my account can no longer be used after that date. I wrote and rejected the change. To hell with them. If they don't want my business, fine.

How on earth can it be a fixed rate if the creditor can raise it any time they wish? It can't! This was a telemarketing scam. No more, no less

My dad has a personal line of credit at 12% he's had for years and years. Fixed means fixed. Period. Evidently not in MBNA's eyes. Whatever you do, watch out for these guys. They're sleazy. They solicited me at home over the phone in the evening to lure me into a credit circumstance where I started to rely on that rate. There's no question that they were simply waiting until I got my balance high enough where they figured I couldn't readily pay it off. Then they tried to slip a rate increase by me. A lot of people probably never read those little fine print amendments to their account agreement that come every so often with the statement. Fortunately for me, I read it this time. Make no mistake, these people are sleazy, low life, underhanded pond scum. I'm no lawyer, but it smells like telemarketing fraud to me. I'm not the sueing type, but I don't like to be taken advantage of. Pass this on to everyone you know. Tell them not to do business with MBNA America. I intend to propagate this information until the day I die or until they go out of business.