I got a call from one of my credit card companies last night. They were curious about some purchases that were made. I verified thus said purchases (back to school shopping for the kids) and they unlocked my account.

Pretty spiffy! I didn’t even know it was locked. I do respect them for verifying that I had my card and the charges were legit.

Then, out of boredom, I looked at my online statement for Capitol One. I haven’t purchased much on it lately, so I thought I’d look and verify that nothing odd had shown up. I wasn’t happy with what I saw.

Apparently, my 8.9% fixed interest rate is gone. It’s gone up the past two months and is currently at 12.25%. WTF? I’ve never been late, am nowhere near the credit limit, and always pay extra. So.. I called them.

After talking to a couple of people, I got transferred to an account manager. He looked at my account, said everything was more than perfect, but couldn’t give me a specific reason why my interest rate had suddenly jumped up. The only answer I got was “the accounting department changed some rates”. “What did I do wrong”, I asked. “Nothing as far as I can see, and I’m looking way back into your account” he replied.

He then offered me 9.9% rate if I transfer a minimum of $500 from another card. This, he proudly told me, was a fixed rate (for both the current balance as well as the amount I’d transferring over). “Fixed like my old 8.9%?” I asked with a chuckle.

Like the lemming I am, I agreed (he stated I’d be saving 3.5% by doing that). That got me thinking… 3.5%??? They increased my interest rate for the current billing period to 13.4%!

What’s in your wallet? Apparently, I’ve got a big old stinky turd in mine.