FTC Consumer Alert

Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection Division of Consumer & Business Education

Credit Card Interest Rate 

Reduction Scams

Voice mail boxes across the nation are being clogged with prerecorded phone calls from 

companies that claim to be able to negotiate significantly lower interest rates with your credit card 

issuers if you just pay them a fee first. 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, says consumers 

who get these interest rate reduction robocalls should listen to them with extreme skepticism, and 

delete them. Many are scams.

The companies behind the sales pitches claim to have special relationships with credit card issuers. 

They guarantee that the reduced rates they offer will save you thousands of dollars in interest and 

finance charges, and will allow you to pay off your credit card debt three to five times faster. They 

claim that the lower interest rates are available for a limited time and that you need to act now. Some 

even use money-back guarantees as further enticement.

The FTC says that the companies behind these robocalls can’t do anything for you that you 

can’t do for yourself — for free. You have just as much clout with your credit card issuer as these 

companies, and you are just as likely to get turned down for a rate reduction regardless of their 

promises or supposed efforts to negotiate on your behalf. Indeed, FTC investigators found that people 

who pay for these services don’t get the touted interest rate reductions, don’t save the promised 

amounts, don’t pay off their credit card debt three to five times faster, and struggle to get refunds. 

Amendments to the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule prohibit companies that sell relief services 

like these rate reduction scams on the phone from charging a fee before they settle or reduce 

your debt. If you do business with a debt relief company, you may be required to put money in a 

dedicated bank account, which will be administered by an independent third party. The account 

administrator may charge you a reasonable fee, and is responsible for transferring funds from 

your account to pay your creditors and the debt settlement company when settlements occur. See 

Settling Your Credit Card Debts at ftc.gov/credit for more information.

Protect Yourself

The FTC says that if you’re looking to reduce the interest rate you’re paying on your credit card 

purchases, your best bet is to handle it yourself for free: call the customer service phone number on 

the back of your credit card and ask for a reduced rate. Be calm, patient and persistent. And if you are 

tempted by the promises in a rate reduction robocall, the FTC says hold off — and hang up. 

•	 Don’t give out your credit card information. Once a scammer has your data, they can charge

your credit card for their own purchases or sell the information to other scammers.
1-877-FTC-HELP FOR THE CONSUMER

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ftc.gov

February 2011

•	 Don’t share other personal financial or sensitive information like your bank account or Social

Security numbers. Scam artists often ask for this information during an unsolicited sales pitch, 

and then use it to commit other frauds against you. 

•	 Be skeptical of any unsolicited sales calls that are prerecorded, especially if your phone

number is on the National Do Not Call Registry. You shouldn’t get recorded sales pitches

unless you have specifically agreed to accept such calls, with a few exceptions. See 

New Rules for Robocalls at ftc.gov/phonefraud for more information. 

•	 If your number is on the National Do Not Call Registry, a telemarketer may call you only

if you have agreed to accept calls from the company the salesperson works for, if you have 

bought something from the company within the last 18 months, or if you have asked the 

company for information within the last three months. 

•	 To report violations of the National Do Not Call Registry or to register your phone number,

visit DoNotCall.gov or call 1-888-382-1222. 

File a Complaint

If you think you’ve experienced a credit card interest rate reduction scam, file a complaint with 

the Federal Trade Commission at ftccomplaintassistant.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP 

(1-877-382-4357).

If your credit card has been charged for a service you didn’t order, authorize or receive, and you 

can’t get a refund, dispute the transaction with your credit card company. First call to try to stop 

the payment, and then follow up in writing. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, you have the right to 

dispute charges for any service you didn’t get or any transaction you didn’t authorize. See Fair Credit 

Billing at ftc.gov/credit.

For More Information

To learn more about dealing with debt, visit ftc.gov/MoneyMatters. 

The FTC works to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace 

and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint 

or get free information on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP 

(1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. Watch a video, How to File a Complaint, at ftc.gov/video

to learn more. The FTC enters consumer complaints into the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure 

online database and investigative tool used by hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies 

in the U.S. and abroad.