Consumer complaint received 2026-02-06 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Fees or interest — Unexpected increase in interest rate
Company: Continental Finance Company, LLC
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
I opened my Surge credit card in XX/XX/XXXX. Over the past several years, this account has become increasingly difficult to manage not because of how I used the card, but because of recurring fees, an optional add-on I didnt agree to, and a rising interest rate that made it harder and harder to get ahead. 

From XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX, I was charged {$540.00} in Credit Protection fees. I did not authorize this as an ongoing monthly charge. It appeared month after month. There was no clear way to cancel it online, and I ultimately had to call in XXXX just to have it removed. 

Out of frustration, I reviewed all of my statements from XXXX in detail. I found recurring Credit Protection charges, a steady increase in my interest rate over time, occasional monthly maintenance fees, and XXXX late payment charges all of which kept my balance elevated even when my actual spending was minimal. 

I also discovered that my annual fee increased from {$99.00} to {$150.00} in XXXX without my knowledge or authorization. This higher fee was added at the same time I was already struggling to reduce my balance. 

In addition, I was charged monthly maintenance fees twice in late XXXX that I did not agree to or authorize. These charges appeared without any clear explanation or opt-in on my part. 

On top of this, my interest rate increased over time without my knowledge or explicit authorization. When I opened the account in XXXX, my APR was around 26 %, but by XXXX it had climbed to roughly 36 %, making it far more expensive to carry even a modest balance. 

While I understand the cardholder agreement allows fee and APR changes, these increases felt unreasonable, poorly explained, and inconsistent with my minimal usage and consistent payments. 

In XX/XX/XXXX, I asked Surge to freeze my card so I could focus on paying down the balance without new fees stacking up. I was told that even if the card was frozen, I would still continue to be charged monthly fees and interest. That meant I had no real way to stop the charges while trying to make progress. 

I also asked about a hardship option because I wanted a reasonable path to pay this off while protecting my credit. I was told that enrolling in hardship would automatically close my account, hurt my credit, and place me on a three-year payment plan. In other words, the only official help offered required me to take a credit hit, even though I was asking for a responsible way to pay. 

Throughout this time, I made repeated payments several of them in the {$300.00} {$500.00} range but my balance often barely moved because my payments were being eaten up by interest and recurring add-on fees. It felt like I was working hard but stuck on a treadmill. 

For clarity, here is a full breakdown of fees assessed to my account from XXXX ( excluding interest ) : Year Credit Protection Annual Fees Late Fees Returned Check Monthly Maintenance Total Other Fees Total Fees ( excl. interest ) XXXX {$33.00} {$99.00} {$0.00} {$0.00} {$0.00} {$99.00} {$130.00} XXXX {$91.00} {$99.00} {$0.00} {$0.00} {$0.00} {$99.00} {$190.00} XXXX {$160.00} {$99.00} {$30.00} {$30.00} {$0.00} {$150.00} {$320.00} XXXX {$250.00} {$150.00} {$71.00} {$0.00} {$20.00} {$240.00} {$490.00} TOTAL {$540.00} {$440.00} {$100.00} {$30.00} {$20.00} {$590.00} {$1100.00} These figures are drawn directly from my statements and reflect a consistent pattern in which my balance was driven more by fees and interest than by actual spending. 

I have attached supporting statements from : XX/XX/XXXX ( account opening ) XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX selected months in XXXX and XXXX XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX 2025

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation