Millions of Bank of America customers are being notified that the interest rates on their credit cards are going up.
Citigroup, Chase, and America Express have already taken similar action.
These banks are penalizing customers who carry balances on their credit cards rather than paying them off monthly, a reversal of the usual policy in which banks prefer customers with balances.
The increases fees are being accessed regardless of a customer’s credit score or payment history, reports the article “Easter Surprise: Bank of America Raises Credit Card Interest Rates” on Consumer Affairs.com.
Customers with interest rates below 10 percent will see large increases beginning with June statements.
About four million of Bank of America’s 70 million credit card customers will be affected, the Consumer article estimates.
Meanwhile, Congress is debating new credit card restrictions, with bills moving through the House and Senate.
Although federal rules were adopted in December to restrict credit card interest rate increases, the regulations won’t be in place until June 2010.
It’s ironic that credit card issuers, who are being bailed out by taxpayer funds, are making it harder for consumers to borrow money in these tough economic times by assessing them billions of dollars in fees and penalties.
