They ALMOST got me! (EJ Kritz)

A couple nights ago I got an interesting phone call from Capital One, a provider for one of my credit cards.  I’ve had this card for over 10 years and this was one of the first times I’ve ever gotten a call from them so right away I figured somebody must have stolen my credit card number and was using it.  Amazingly, I was greeted on the other end of the phone by a very nice well-spoken woman who immediately asked how I was.  She explained that the purpose of the call was to educate me on some changes that will go into effect soon as part of the new credit card legislation.

The kind woman explained that under the new law, should I try to make a purchase that would put me over my credit limit (something I’d never do anyway) my card would be declined.  Today should I make the same purchase, the charges would actually be accepted allowing Capital One to charge me a $39 over-the-limit fee.  The customer service employee explained that Capital One would like to “help” me keep this “feature” as part of my account and in the future would only charge me a $29 fee should I go over my credit limit.

My suspicion caught wind of her little scheme.  Never has a credit card company been so generous as to simply reduce a fee they might be able to collect.  Clearly, this credit card company is trying desperately to allow their customers to act carelessly with their credit by allowing them to go over their limit.  Without the new legislation, which takes effect in February, credit card companies could continue to collect large fees from their customers without teaching them the valuable lesson of responsible use of credit.  It is apparent that a $39 or even $29 fee is not a deterrent!  Despite my protests and my pointing out that Capital One was simply trying to maintain a revenue stream, the relentless representative began to give specific examples including an emergency auto or home repair, as reasons why I might want to go over my limit.  Under the new legislation, over-the-limit fees are basically to be eliminated and yet this company, preying on the weak and uninformed, are trying to continue collecting.  Don’t be fooled and think Smart!

EJ Kritz, SmartGeorge