U.S. credit card satisfaction down amid higher rates: poll

[UpInArms]

Source: Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. consumers satisfaction with credit cards plummeted in 2009, driven by anger due to fees and higher interest rates, according to a J.D. Power and Associates poll released on Tuesday.

The poll showed around 20 percent of customers reported an increase in their interest rates since 2008, with the largest decline in satisfaction among revolvers, those card holders who carry a balance from month to month.

In addition, 18 percent of customers complained about various fees, up from 10 percent a year earlier.

The customer satisfaction index fell 7 points to 703 points in a 1,000-point scale, its lowest level since J.D. Power, a unit of McGraw-Hill Cos (MHP.N), began conducting the survey in 2007.

The decline was "a little more than we thought," said Michael Beird, director of banking services at J.D. Power and Associates. "Rates and fees clearly had the largest impact ... We saw a decline in satisfaction among all types of cardholders in that category."

Overall satisfaction among credit card customers remains the lowest across the financial services industries, including insurance, banking and investment services, he said.

In the last year, credit card companies have been raising fees and interest rates and slashing rewards to cushion record high loan losses.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSTRE5802IM20090901?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews

[rucky]

1. From the "No shit, Sherlock" file.

[ixion]

3. yeah... imagine that

people being unhappy about being raped by CC companies, despite a good credit history. Who could have forseen...? :sarcasm:

[MaineDem]

14. My reaction exactly. n/t

[Wednesdays]

16. No shit, Sherlock? Tell that to the 82 percent

who think things are going just swimmingly. :banghead:

[cshldoc]

20. Seconded!

[Seedersandleechers]

2. To state the obvious

is news? :shrug:

[rucky]

4. This is why they pay JD Powers the big bucks.

[Gormy Cuss]

15. What J.D. Powers did was quantify the obvious

and in doing so the industry learned that the backlash is worse than they had calibrated.

In other words, they knew that they'd tick off a few customers and guessed at how that would affect their bottom lines. The good news is that now their projections for revenues generated from the new rules will need to be revised downward and the powers that be won't like that. Watch for some more "modifications" in credit card agreements.

[sui generis]

5. I've been credit card free for six months

Canceled 'em all. Once I realized I had more in savings than my combined reduced credit limits the point of even keeping an "emergency" card was moot.

It was not an easy rock climb to get here though - I was take-no-prisoners aggressive getting rid of my balances and shutting the fuckers down, with prejudice. There nothing quite as satisfying as calling them up and telling them to close the account and then telling them what you think of them and why.

[RaleighNCDUer]

9. Congratulations. I wish I had been able to do that.

Instead, I kept playing their game until my debt was unsustainable (due to severe underemployment coupled with an expensive divorce) and I wound up in bankruptcy.

I've been debt free for 4 years, and credit card free for nine years, and even with sending money to my 3-years unemployed daughter every month I'm still able to put back a few bucks every month, something I was never able to do after my divorce when I was paying literally hundreds a month in CC interest.

Today it is cash or debit card (Visa debit, so it rings like a CC when necessary, but I still can't spend what I don't have) or I don't get it.

Makes life so much simpler.

[The River]

11. Almost 10 Years Now

without them.
The money I have saved by not paying interest, penalties
or other fees is considerable.
The money I've saved by not charging impulse purchases
or things I couldn't afford has been way more than considerable.
Enough to see me through a couple of "rainy days" (months actually)

Beyond home mortgages, credit is just a shovel you use to bury yourself.

[Seedersandleechers]

19. Card Card free here for

5 years. I will never go there again. There isn't anything I can not do without a CC that I could with one except be at their mercy. (Did I say that right)?

[DBoon]

21. ours are paid in full every month

Credit cards are safer from a fraud standpoint than debit cards

Paid in full and on time, we avoid the fees

[Hugin]

6. Why, yes... Now that you mention it....

I'M DISSATISFIED! DAMMIT!

Congress should do something!

Oh, wait...

Nevermind. :eyes:

[wisteria]

7. Greedy little bastards, what did they expect?

I intend on paying off what I have and not using them anymore.

[Hugin]

8. Good plan.

:thumbsup:

[fascisthunter]

10. all I have to say is... usury

worse than the mafia itself, or maybe they are the mafia of the 21st century.

[BradXXX]

12. I can't believe how selfish people can be...

These poor credit card companies need GREATER profits. We as Americans, need to get our priorities straight. We need to make the sacrifice for rich people to get richer or the terrorists will get us again.

[Wednesdays]

17. Leave the filthy rich ALONE!

[Gormy Cuss]

13. Good. Now if consumers dig in and start saying no to the changes,

some in the industry will see the opportunity for growth by offering consumers plans without the features causing dissatisfaction.

It worked twenty years ago when the CC companies tried to get everyone to pay annual fees.... many of them discontinued that fee after a few years.

[pinniped]

18. I just got a nice letter from the assholes at Barclay's Bank yesterday.

They are attempting to jack my interest rate to 26.XX%.

I was looking for a reason to cancel these clowns, and here it is.

Anyone who gets one of these rate-jacking letters would be dissatisfied.

Thanks to the asshole banks attempting to jack my rates, I am down from 8 cards to 2 cards.