Have you experienced a "Reprice Rate" on your credit card? If so, you may be entitled to a refund from your credit card issuer.
I wrote a post almost a year ago about my personal experience with one of my credit card issuers. Here is the link if you would like to read it.
The short version is my credit card issuer more than tripled my interest rate (Rate Repricing). I had never made a late payment and always paid AT LEAST the minimum amount due and my reward for being an excellent customer, they raised my interest rate to 33%. I closed my account and paid it off saying good riddance and watch out for that karma thing, BTW.
Well, today I received a letter from the credit card company, Advanta regarding credit card Rate Repricing:
Dear Sir/Madame,
The enclosed check in the amount of $134.15 is a reimbursement relating to certain changes(s) in terms that resulted in an increased interest rate ("Reprice Rate") on your Advanta Business Card account between June 1, 2007 and December 31, 2008 ("Reprice Event(s)"). Please cash this check as soon as possible. It will be void after 180 days from the date of the check.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is the primary federal regulator of Advanta Bank Corp. The FDIC has determined that the Repricing Events may have constituted an unfair practice under Section 5 of the Federal Trace Commission Act. Advanta disputes this, but it has entered into a Consent Agreement with the FDIC as part of a settlement with the FDIC in connection with their determination regarding the Repricing Events. As a part of the settlement, Advanta agreed to reimburse certain credit card customers impacted by a Repricing Event. Under the terms of the Agreement and Order issued pursuant to the Agreement, you were identified as one of the customers the Bank is required to reimburse.
The amount of your reimbursement check equals the difference between (a) the full amount of interest that accrued on your account from the effective date of the Repricing Event(or, if you received a downward interest rate adjustment after the Reprice Event, then instead, the lower interest rate) and (b) the amount of interest that would have accrued using the APR that would have applied had there been no Reprice Event, for the two billing cycles immediately following the Reprice Event. If you have any questions, please feel free to call us toll free at (800) 503-7510 Monday - Friday 8:00 am to 8:00 pm Eastern Time.
Upon accepting and cashing the enclosed check, you agree to release Advanta Bank Corp. and its parent and subsidiaries from any and all claims or actions that might exist, or might have existed, on the date of this letter that involve any Reprice Event.
Sincerely,
John F. Moore
President
Advanta Bank Copr.
Has anyone else received a Repricing Rate reimbursement from Advanta Bank Corp. or any other bank and if so are you going to cash the check? I'm thinking I should receive ALL the interest back, not just 2 months worth. Your opinion is welcome.
Here are some links with more information on this issue:
Advanta customers next option: Small Claims Court
Advanta settlement checks arrive...with a thud
Advanta lawsuit pending; average settlement: $131
Thank you for stopping by. Your comments on this post are welcomed and appreciated.
No one sold more homes in Del Norte County in 2009, 2010 and 2011--*in units sold and volume--than Fran Gatti. Put Fran to work for you!
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Great job. Getting something from them is monumental!
Wooo Hoooo! Don't you LOVE getting unexpected money in the mail? Thank you for this information. I actually have a friend this happened to, I will definitely share this with her!
Evening Fran, The credit card companies have attempted to establish preferential rates prior to the new laws aimed at reining them in !
Dave and Stephanie,
I have to say that I am totally shocked to get this money. Banks just seem to take and take, giving nothing back to the consumer. It is nice to get this money. It doesn't soften my opinion in anyway of banks. This reimbursement was FORCED by the FDIC.
I just received the same letter and a check for a refund of $139.38. While I agree that we should get a full refund, this may be the best offer we get.
I just received a check as well. Advanta has gotten away with hurting many small businesses...mine being one of them. I checked online to find out if it was wise to cash the check and found this site: www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/.../advanta_settlem.html
There are many, many comments with interesting info on this site. Seems like advanta is willing to lower the interest rate of some and not of others. And those who quit making payments as leverage have a better chance of receiving the lower rate. I am considering trying the same tactic, but am concerned how it will affect my credit rating. I am pretty sure I will cash my check since something is better than nothing and a class action suit against a near bankrupt company gains money only for the lawyers. FDIC did little to help small businesses with this settlement with Advanta. I had hoped they would be on the side of the little guy, but it was nothing but wishful thinking.
Thanks Linda for the link to more information on the Advanta settlement. I added several to my post.
Great post Fran. I love information about credit card companies and their scams. When I was in college, I had a card from Providian (who I believe target college students) and they screwed my quite badly with the interest rate thing. But I never received a check in the mail!