Have you tried reading your credit card contract through completely? Do you have any idea when it is okay to have your interest rates raised by your creditor? If you are unsure when it comes to how and when your rates can be affected over the life of your contract, then reading your contract thoroughly from beginning to end is what you need to do.

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

If you are still unable to figure out just how your credit card issuer can do this even after you have read your contract again, then you need to 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. The credit card company has the right to raise your interest rates whenever you are late making a payment.

Do you remember if you have been late on any other debt payments? If there are any late payments, then this can cause your interest rates to increase even if they 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. This is the reason why it is essential that you make your payments on time every single month.

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

Credit card companies can get away with some things legally and it’s quite amazing. Making sure that you understand the ins and outs of the contract is all that you can do in order to avoid being stunned when you get hit with extra fees.

A big financial responsibility are credit cards therefore, you need to decide if it is really the right thing for you financially before you sign for one.

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. Increasing your interest rate is what the credit companies can do. Saving you a lot of stress in the long run is knowing how and why.

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Fighting Unfair Bank Fees in Australia

The key to fighting excessive bank fees is to know the terms and conditions of the accounts you use. In recent years, most Australian banks have increased fees or introduced new fees. Be aware of the terms in the fine print. When you activate an account you are accepting the conditions imposed by the bank and this usually includes a disclaimer that the bank can change the conditions.

One of the newer ways that banks are robbing us, is with the use of “shadow limits”. Supposedly all credit cards have a credit limit determined by the bank and accepted by you. However, the banks may allow a transaction to go overlimit, up to a certain point. They won’t tell you what that “shadow” amount is. They will charge you an overlimit fee. As I see it in that situation, the bank has two choices. They could just decline the transaction, which in the case of credit cards, can result in no extra fee, or they allow the transaction, and charge you extra. It’s easy to see which option is better for the bank. If your account remains overlimit they will charge you the fee every month until you reduce the balance.

Shadow limits can also apply to ordinary savings or cheque accounts. When an account is low on funds and a transaction would result in overdrawing the account, the bank may reverse the transaction and apply a dishonour fee. Some banks will allow the transaction, again, up to some unknown limit, and apply a similar fee for over drawing the account. They may even charge you the same penalty several times in one day if multiple transactions are involved. The resulting fee can end up costing you more than the actual amount of the withdrawals. Ask your bank if your account has a “shadow limit” and if you don’t want it, ask them to remove it.

Over the last 5 years, credit card fees and penalties have been on the rise. The best way to fight this is to shop around for a low fee credit card. When transferring a balance to a new card, again check the fine print on the new card. Be sure there is no hidden surprises. If you don’t need or don’t use the extras provided by a high fee card, change the card.

If you are not happy with the fees your current bank is charging you, shop around. Make a list of the account features that are most important to you, and start looking for another bank or credit union that will provide just the features you need. Don’t be caught paying for services you won’t use. You can visit the banks/credit unions themselves to ask questions, but you can also do a lot of research online. It’s easy to do a search for information on specific account types and you will also find forums where others discuss their own banking experiences. It’s your money, take control of it.

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