MBNA Venting

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-07-2003
MBNA Venting
8
Wed, 08-10-2005 - 8:49pm

the MAJOR portion of my debt is on an MBNA card I have had since high school. Basically 10 years. I rarely used it, but when I did, I had always charged with it, then paid it off at the end of the month.

After I graduated college and moved back to my hometown, I went for about a year without using it at all. So, they sent me an offer for 0%.

This was a great "safety net" for me, and gave me the courage to move from Massachusetts to Kansas City, to find work in my field, something I had wanted to do. (at the time I had a $12,000 limit on the card).

I moved, was lucky to find work in less then 2 weeks, and didnt need the safety net of the card. then, a week later, my transmission blew. $4000 went on the card, but at 0%.

I lived cheap and paid it off fast, at least $700 a month was going to that card.

the 0% went away, Im sure, but I have no idea to what interest rate. a few years later, and I was miserable in my job, and suffering a variety of health issues. (a whole other discussion.)

Once again, MBNA came thru for me. The 0% offer showed up.

I quit my job and started working only parttime. I went to Doctor after Doctor. 2 sleep tests. blood work and more blood work.

I was now paying insurance out of pocket AND the portions of all these tests that insurance didnt cover.

Only a year later and I'd maxed out the now $15,000 limit on the card.

0% was long gone.

In fact, 4 months ago, when I openly admitted I was in trouble (biiiig trouble) I FINALLY looked at the interest rate on my MBNA card and found it was a whooping 29%.

$15,000 at 29%. Minimum payment was above $350, a weeks worth of pay at my new job, and I was getting late fees and hovering at over limit fees. (I'd get it down one month, then back over the next.)

For 3 months I focused on THIS card, payments were on time and included every penny I could scrap together. The balance got down to $14,340.

A month ago I called, explaining how difficult the minimums (now $377) were for me...that's one weeks pay! I dealt with customer service, got a different number that I had to call, and did so. they were closed, I called the NEXT day, as well.

I got a gal, seemed nice enough. I explained my situation, and she said she would file for a lower rate for me, which would, in turn, lower my minimum.

She told me she would call me back.

48 hours later, I hadnt heard from anyone. I called back. they said the paperwork was being processed to get me a 14% rate, and I would hear from someone. that I should call back in a week if I had NOT heard.

Several days later, I got a letter from MBNA saying my account was closed to further purchases, per my request. This (while not surprising or upsetting,I had already cut the card up) was NOT ever discussed, and, frankly, I HAD planned on filling the card up if I got the 14%, since I have another card at 27%, also. In addition, the letter did NOT mention the interest rate change.

I waited a few more days, until a full week had passed since phone call #2, and called back.

The gal this time explained to me that she saw where the 1st person had said she was requesting the 14%....but it looked like that had not been followed up on. She told me she would do so right then, and all would be taken care of. She told me my new minimum payment would be $323.

Well, I was going out of town for 2 weeks, and recieved some $$ from my parents for that trip. so, I made a payment of $350. I thought this was a good lil snowflake and was quite proud of myself.

I returned from my trip and have my next statement from MBNA.

My interest rate is still 29%.

My $350 payment was recieved, BUT my minimum payment is still listed as $377...soooo, there is a LATE Payment fee for the missing $27, AND I am considered $67 past due!!!!

My balance has gone UP.

My new minimum payment, with the $67 past due and the higher balance is $463!!!

So, I call. Again.

Im NOW being told that that file (from call #3) WAS processed. But denied. (apparently they felt no need to let me know that?!!?!) BUT, this agent says he will talk to his manager, because there are ways to "circumvent the second agency that we go thru, and get you a lower percentage, anyway." He says he will "personally" check to see if they can grant me a "14% or lower" interest rate and will call me back tomorrow at this time.

SOoooo. Keep your fingers crossed for me. argh.

The late fee should DEFINITELY be tossed, dont you think? I mean, I dunno how I'll manage it, if I have to make the $27 payment over the phone tomorrow, but the $50 late fee needs to be tossed. right?

Im just so.....grrrrrrrr

Not that I would expect it to be EASY...but....I've been a GOOD customer for TEN YEARS. Well, 9 out of 10 years.

Its like, since they have NEVER gotten interest out of me in 9 years, they feel the need to make it up NOW.

And its just soooo nervewracking. I mean, this is fully half my debt. I am trying sooo hard to make all my payments on time and at least the minimum..but right now my basic minimum expenses (rent, car and debt) are only $100 less then what I MAKE as base pay. so I have $100 for gas, food, electric, water, phone, etc, etc.....if I could get this minimum down it would help sooooo much. even the $50 difference between $377 and $323 is a major windfall for my budget! :S

Grrrrrr..........anyway....just needed to vent...its lessens the hyperventilating and panic...thanks for listening (reading.)

~ Teresa

Teresa
http://www.affordingpickles.blogspot.com

Avatar for mommyof2grlz2boys
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
In reply to: teresawhe
Wed, 08-10-2005 - 9:05pm
Its funny it seems like credit cards are so quick to draw you in with wonderful offers we as consumers dont always check the fine printand get nailed, I mean going from 0 percent to 29 that a dirty company in my opinion. If you have been a good customer you deserve way better you deserve a lower intrest rate! I would maybe find a part time job if you could and start chunking extra money on that card or you will be paying forever! Maybe goimg to a credit councelor who could do some work on your behalf and get your payments down. I mean they should help you since you are trying to pay and not just filling bancruptcy. Hang in there!
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-19-2003
In reply to: teresawhe
Wed, 08-10-2005 - 9:31pm

Hello,

Can you go to the bank and apply for a debt consolidation loan? The interest rate would probably be around 14-15% but its half of what you are paying now.

Just to note I would only do this if you have committed to change the behavior that got you here to begin with. Not that we don't love having you around, but for your sake it would be better if you don't live forever in 29% interest "land". (for lack of a better word)

Its getting late so I am not making sense, but hope this helps anyway,
Shannon

Shannon


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Avatar for cl_beckymk
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
In reply to: teresawhe
Wed, 08-10-2005 - 10:31pm

Yes, the credit card companies can be difficult to deal with!


You could check into a consolication loan and see what happens although I have a feeling that your debt to income ratio might be too high but it can't hurt to try.


I'm really not sure MBNA is going to do much for you since your account is closed, usually they try to do those deals to have you keep it open.

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-18-2004
In reply to: teresawhe
Thu, 08-11-2005 - 11:23am

I really can't help you other than to offer you sympathy. I closed down my MBNA card because I really didn't like them. One time I called to get the intrest rate down (I think it was 19.8% at the time) and they told me they could lower it to 19%. Gee thanks! I was told to pay off about 10% of what I owed then they would relook the rate they were charging. I did and they lowered it to 14.5% then upped my limit by $5,000. I eventually paid it off and closed the account.

The really funny thing is, even though I closed the account a year and a half ago, and it is showing on my credit report is closed, I am still getting offers from MBNA because I "have been an excellent customer for so long."

Good luck and don't let them get you down. You aren't your debt and these people will realize they shoulda kept you.

Kellie

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-07-2003
In reply to: teresawhe
Thu, 08-11-2005 - 7:57pm

Hi all...thanks for the support and sympathy!

It just so frustrating...as im sure you ALL know....to know that you're putting out over $1000 a month to DEBT every month, but that your TOTAL debt is only decreasing like, $100 a month. ugh.

Just got off the phone with the man I talked to yesterday. I know this thread is MBNA VENTING...but...ifyou have a MBNA card....call Wayne!! :) He called me back the exact MOMENT he said he would (7:30pm eastern). He explained that (argh) the FIRST person I had talked to had not filled out the CORRECT form. that is why it was not approved. grrrr.
So. his manager has already approved the 14% now, and he has submitted the correct form. In addition to "compensate" me for my frustrations, he has voided any overlimit/late fees for the past FOUR months ($156). He is guaranteeing the 14% will be in place on my next statement, which will lower my minimum payment, he says, to $182. the 14% will be fixed for 1 year. He set up an appointment to Call Me the monday after my statement is generated, to confirm that everything has been taken care of. For THIS month I need to make the minimum from the 29%...but the 156 credit counts toward it, so its lessened, also.

Im a little hesitant about the $182 new minimum..since the last person told me the new minimum would be $323 at 14%....and $182 is like...1.2% of my balance...so im not sure i understand how THAT would work....and im NOT holding my breath on that being the new minimum...but the $156 credit helps a LOT and the interest rate being cut in half helps, too!

In response to all the wonderful thoughts and tips.....

I have looked into debt consolidation thru my bank. However, since I don't own my car nor do I own a home...it would be an unsecured loan. The highest unsecured loan my bank offers is $1,500, at $17%. So I didnt bother applying for that, even.

I have refinanced my car, which will save me $100 a month, starting next month. (I went from 0% to 3.9%, and extended it out by 2 years. which seems silly, but i believe will help in the long run.)

My lease is up in October ( I currently have a beautiful, wonderful, 2 bedroom, 2 bath apt, with cathedral ceilings.....but my roomie got married and moved out months ago..so the $625 is a BIT pricey.) I will be moving to the most cost-effecient place I can find (considering a studio for $285, its a small town so its not a BAD place to live..but i would also need to get a storage facility...... am also considering purchasing a home....if i can find the RIGHT home, that appraises high enough and sells low enough.....I'd be able to roll debt into the home loan..but it would need to be a home i'd be willing to live in for a while. At any rate, my housing costs will decrease in a few more months.

My cell is on contract, but i cut it back to the lowest possible plan.

Also, now that I am back from my best friends wedding, which was halfway across the country, in a pricey new england beach town, I have no more "planned unexpected expenses" on the horizon....so I can go ahead and play the balance transfer game to max out my lowest interest cards, etc.....which will help.

So I do have options, which is good in terms of "big picture" ~~ but it still just gets soo frustrating. My debt producing "behavior" was that I was stressed beyond my limits....dont get me wrong, mainly the self-induced stress of a naive 25yr old.....but I was working 80-100 hours a week, hadnt had a day off in 2 years, I had an office at home,as well, so basically every waking moment was working....and there were few non-waking moments....was living off fast food....when I reached my breaking point and quit, I had gained 40 lbs in 2 years, had ulcers, kidney stones, was going thru sleep tests,was put on anxiety meds, etc,etc...so all of my debt is either health bills...or basic living expenses since for a year I was working parttime at most.

In other words, yes, my debt-producing behavior has Definitely changed!! (and not JUST because I can no long afford fast food. ;) ) Which I think is just another reason I get soo frustrated with the CCs....like "I charged these bills because I didnt want it to go to collections thru the hospital..and hospital financing turned out to be only 12%!!!! I want to send ALL of it back to the hospital. :D

Anywho...thanks, all, for your comments and advice! I did read all the responses, and will take all thoughts into consideration. :)

THanks!!

~ Teresa

Teresa
http://www.affordingpickles.blogspot.com

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-22-2005
In reply to: teresawhe
Thu, 08-11-2005 - 8:16pm

That's some great news!

" ... the most cost-effecient place I can find (considering a studio for $285, its a small town so its not a BAD place to live..but i would also need to get a storage facility...... am also considering purchasing a home...I'd be able to roll debt into the home loan...if i can find the RIGHT home, that appraises high enough and sells low enough..."

JMHO, instead of spending X amount each month for storage, why not sell what you don't need, donate what you cannot sell (and get a tax write-off), and when you finally get your finances straighten out and ready to buy a house, you can use that money saved from not having storage to get new furniture. For a while I was paying $50 a month to store things I don't use. After 2 1/2 years, I realized I have paid $1500 to store things that are worth only $800.

Not sure rolling debt into the home loan is such a good idea ... In fact, the more you debt you can pay off before getting a mortgage, the better the chance for you to get a good rate. Since it is such a large amount of money, there is a huge difference in the amount you pay over a 30-year period between, say, a 5.5% vs. a 6%.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-07-2003
In reply to: teresawhe
Thu, 08-11-2005 - 8:45pm

Storage vs. selling.... I hear ya!

Its something im still thinking hard on, actually. I recognize that NOT paying storage...and having the influx of cash from selling everything not needed...would be GOOD.

I would want to only be in a studio for a year...you know, the theory of work your butt off asmuch as you can and live as cheapas you can and pay asmuch as you can...knowing htere IS a light at the end of the tunnel....so that has me hesitating.

also....my parents moved out of the large farmhouse they had lived in for 25 years, to a small manufactured home, last year.
in that process...I was given everything that is "mine." They have NO storage. so, photos albums and that sort of thing...I have here with me. everything that mom hadpacked away in the 26 years I have been on this earth, thinking "Teresa will want this one day" was delivered to my apartment one sunny day. (one reason a house is more appealing then a studio apartment)......included in MY items is a full-sized canopy bed that I inherited from some wealthy family friends as a teen. I would never get what the bed is worth, valuewise....not to mention emotionally...and i dont think it would even FIT in the little studio. hehe. (I also have a small twin bed that I had used prior to the canopy bed being moved out here, so that would go with me into a studio.)

Anyway, I wanted to acknowledge your tip...its a good one.....and one I will probably follow in the end...im justclinging to my Stuff still. hehe. I dont have a lot of it....but im still clinging. ;)

Teresa
http://www.affordingpickles.blogspot.com

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-22-2005
In reply to: teresawhe
Thu, 08-11-2005 - 11:35pm
I agree with you, if those are items with a lot of emotional value, then by all means keep them because it is hard to put a price tag on emotions!