San Francisco, CA – March 2, 2009 – According to a new survey for National Consumer Protection Week (March 1-8) from Credit.com, a third (33.7%) of consumers say their credit card company has made one or more of the following changes to their credit account:
- Increased their interest rate 15%
- Increased their minimum payment due 11%
- Changed their due date 9%
- Lowered their credit limit 8%
- Reduced their rewards program 8%
- Closed their account 7%
“Despite efforts to get credit flowing again to consumers, for many, the exact opposite is happening,” said Adam Levin, chairman of Credit.com. “Even responsible consumers are discovering that a lowered limit or a closed account can impact their credit score for years. It is critical that business, government, public interest organizations and the media work together to significantly improve and expand credit and financial help and education.”
This national telephone poll was conducted for Credit.com by GfK Custom Research North America from February 20-22, 2009. A total of 1,004 interviews were completed, with 524 female adults and 480 male adults. The margin of error is +/- 3 percentage points for the full sample and higher for subgroups at a 95% level of confidence. – Credit.com
