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[C1232]Credit Card Rates Going Up

by Rateempire, Rat

Have your read your credit card contract through completely? Do you know when it is okay for your creditor to raise your interest rates? If you are not sure about how and when your rates can be affected over the life of your contract you should take a few minutes to read your contract thoroughly from beginning to end.

Creditors must have clauses in their contracts that give them the right to change your interest rates. And if your rates have gone up you can be pretty sure that they are there, you may have missed them on your first read through but they are there buried in the contract.

If even after reading your contract again you still cannot figure out just how your credit card issuer can do this to you ask yourself the following questions.

Have you been late paying your monthly credit card payment recently? If you have, your interest rate going up is most likely due to this factor. Whenever you are late making a payment the credit card company has the right to raise your interest rates.

Have you been late on any other debt payments? Any late payments can cause your interest rates to rise, even ones that are not associated with your credit card. Your creditors have access to your credit report and all payments that you make are on there, if they see you made a late payment to someone else it can get them concerned that you will do the same to them in the future. That is why it is so important to always make your payments on time every single month.

Has your credit card company merged with another company? Mergers can affect your contract. The acquiring company has the right to change the rules on you as long as they let you know what is going on and why.

It is amazing what credit card companies can get away with legally. All you can do is make sure that you understand the ins and out of your contract, that way you will not be stunned when you get hit with extra fees.

Credit cards are a big financial responsibility, before you sign for one decide if it is really the right thing for you financially.

When you sign your credit card contract you probably assume that the interest rate quoted in this contract is the rate that you will always be paying. This is not the case. Credit card companies have the right to up your interest rate. Knowing how and why can save you a lot of stress in the long run.

Do you have a credit card? How many times do you use your credit card on average per day? How many people do you know that have one and use it regularly? You can begin to imagine just how many millions of credit card transactions are done every day and therefore how much opportunity there is for credit card fraudsters. It is perhaps the simplest way to part someone from their money and can be easily done without the person even realising. This means they can very quickly run the card dry before you know whats happened. How can you ensure this does not happen to you? First you have to know the criminals get your details in the first place.

Always be careful when withdrawing money from ATM machines. Check for anything that looks unusual e.g. a device attached to the insertion slot which can scan your details and send them directly to the thief's computer or a camera above which can read your PIN. Be wary also of suspicious behaviour of the people around you e.g. someone distracting you while someone else takes your card and quickly 'skims' it. Credit card fraud can also be perpetrated by people behind counters in shops and gas stations who will take your card and skim it in their devices under the desk so keep an eye on your card when you hand it over. Also be sure to destroy any receipts that contain your number on them. You wouldn't hand over your credit card details to someone in the street so don't leave them lying in your rubbish bags for anyone to rake through and find. Finally, when entering credit card details online you must check you have a secure connection through 'https' not just 'http' as if the information is not encrypted any fraudster tapping the line can easily steal them.

Obviously if someone steals your wallet or handbag you will be immediately aware the your plastic is in the wrong hands but we have seen that there are many ways for people to obtain your details without your knowledge. It is therefore very important that you check every transaction on your statement and if anything seems unusual then you must investigate further. If your credit card details are being used fraudulently then there is every chance you could be under attack for full-scale identity theft. Identity theft is horrendous and often takes several years and thousands of dollars to resolve.

Fortunately most credit card providers will protect you from having to pay your losses although the types of protection differs from country to country and will depend on how negligent or not you were. If, for example, you still have your card in your possession you usually won't be liable for any of the losses. On the other hand, if you kept your PIN code near your card then that would be deemed as negligence and you may not be covered.

Coupled with the fact that they are so small and slim, the fact that we use them so much means that it is very commonplace for people to lose their credit cards. If this ever happens it is vitally important that you contact your issuing bank as soon as possible so that they can block the card. Even if you think it is most likely hidden in your car or house somewhere you should still contact them. I know that personally my credit card is always in my wallet and if its not there then it is much safer to consider the worst-case scenario.

Article Source : How To Make Custom Cards

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Both Rateempire & Andrew Mcnaught are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Rateempire has sinced written about articles on various topics from Finances, Diamonds and Mortgage. Martin Lukac, provides information including