Wells Fargo wants to stand out and raise credit card rates

Wells Fargo wants to be different. It wants to stand out. It wants to raise your credit card rates and it’s doing so right now.

Getting the news that credit card rates won’t be able to just go up and down like an expensive roller coaster anymore starting in either December or February, Wells Fargo has made the decision to raise the interest rates on most of the company’s credit cards 3% before the law goes into effect.

You know, it’s not really fair for me to say that Wells Fargo wants to be different because, in reality it’s being the same. JPMorgan Chase has also decided that it is going to likely raise the rates for consumers. The only bank that has made it public that it is NOT going to raise rates is Bank of America actually. So, I suppose actually it is BofA that wants to be different and stand apart from the crowd.

Wells Fargo is saying that the new rates will take effect November 30th, just one day before new legislation will likely go into effect saying that credit card companies can no longer just raise rates because they feel like it.

“We are raising interest rates up to 3 percentage points for a majority of our Wells Fargo customers due to the current business environment, including rising business costs and current consumer credit challenges,” a company spokeswoman says. “We decided many months ago that it would be necessary to increase interest rates. We delayed our decision in hopes that the business environment would materially improve

Wells Fargo is, at least, giving customers 45 days to decline the new terms, close their accounts, and pay the balance off at the old interest rate if they so choose. However, for someone who has thousands on their credit card, this may not only be a bad choice, but also one that is just not feasible. If someone is that much in credit card debt, then they will probably just have to “grin and bear it” when it comes to the new rates.

This is the kind of practice that led to the new legislation. This is exactly why this kind of legislation had to be put in place. Wells Fargo (as well as most of the other large lending banks) have no one to blame but themselves and their greedy ways for Congress cracking down on them. I’m glad that something is finally being done.

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