Consumer complaint received 2020-06-02
Product: Credit card or prepaid card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest — Unexpected increase in interest rate
Company: CITIBANK, N.A. (CA)

I remember when the APR 's on my credit cards were all less than 10 %. Granted that was a long time ago, - before the establishment of the CFPB. I also remember during the Great Recession after the Banking Reform Act was passed, that fees for late payments and insufficient funds at my credit union were less than {$10.00} per incident and had limitations as to how many times in one business day a consumer could be fined. Over the years, all of those fees have crept back up to the inflated absurd levels typical of banks and credit unions today. 

So, my complaint is not really about a particular incident, but is a general complaint that credit card interest rates are crazy absurdly high -- when the Fed rate is at zero. Now that my business is vastly diminished due to a global pandemic, I called customer service for each of my three credit cards ( XXXX XXXX XXXX card, XXXX MC card, and Citi Diamond Preferred MC card ) asking for a reduction in the APRs, which are at 21 %, 18 %, and 20 % respectively, -- and was simply told " no ''. Made a second round of calls, explaining that I was close to my credit limits due to having to use them to pay rent, buy food, and pay bills, and I asked to speak with managers. 

Given that all three institutions have public statements about helping clients, I don't think my request was entirely beyond reason. Even one or two percentage points for a temporary period of time would have assuaged my anger, but I was not even offered a review, a " maybe '', or " let us get back to you ''. One card offered to enroll me in a " special program '' specially designed to help customers get through the pandemic. There was the reading of the small print, and the do-you-understand-your-responsibilities as if I was signing my life away ... and all their vaunted special program did was cancel the late payment fee. Nothing more. I have had all three cards since XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX respectively and maybe a dozen late payments between the three over all these years ... until recently. The penalty now for a late payment is a hike in your APR -- in addition to the {$25.00} or {$30.00} late fee -- with no consideration at all for previous early payments, double payments, or even having no balance at all. 

These policies have nothing to do with discipline, customer responsibilities, or incentives because I have reviewed much research on this issue prior to breaking with my credit union in XXXX. They are simply trying to maximize their profits with policies that they can get away with now that regulating bank practices is less of a political priority. 

My credit score has always been well above XXXX, I have paid off mortgages, student loans, credit cards that I thought were rip-offs, a truck ; I have never been evicted, never failed to pay rent ( even if I had to use a credit card to do so ), never any legal problems, never lost my driver 's license ; I have paid all my taxes, and have generally been financially responsible -- but now when I have had to use my credit cards under duress, I am finding myself in a hole that seemed manageable at first ... and yet turned out to have quicksand at the bottom. 

These absurdly high APR 's are predatory, as are the policies around late fees, penalties, stonewalling clients like me who are asking for APR reductions, and are inconsistent with their public narrative of " helping '' their clients or consumers during the Covid-19 pandemic. Please do your jobs and rein in these abusive banking practices, before so much more damage is done. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX