Released: July 01, 2009

Cardholders see payment hike as a raw deal

Source: David Lazarus, Los Angeles Times (Free Registration)

Van Nuys resident Richard Levinson figured he was getting a pretty sweet deal when JPMorgan Chase & Co. offered to charge an average 4.5% in interest if he’d transfer his outstanding credit card debt to the bank.

Levinson, 54, a musician, planned to use the Chase account as a rainy-day fund that would cost relatively little to maintain.

“I work in an industry where I can never be sure of my income,” he told me. “This provided me with cash at an interest rate that was guaranteed for the life of the loan.”

Now Levinson finds himself among about 1 million Chase cardholders who have been notified that their monthly minimum payment will more than double in August to 5% from 2%.

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