ShareThisAnn Minch, whose YouTube vow to stop making payments on her credit card captured the outrage of a nation, has reached a deal with Bank of America.
In a YouTube update posted in the past few days, the 46-year-old Red Bluff, Calif. resident said the bank has agreed to drop the interest rate on her card back to 12.99 percent, where it was in January before Bank of America hiked it to 30 percent.
The 12.99 rate was where it was in January before it was increased.
Upset at the increase, Minch vented her outrage Sept. 8 on YouTube, vowing to stop making payments on the card. The video has received more than 230,000 Web hits.
Minch said she was contacted by Bank of America's Jeff Crawford, who asked why she produced the first video.
"He was very polite," Minch said on YouTube. "He didn't make any demands about pulling down the YouTube video."
Initially, Crawford offered to drop the rate to 16.99 percent. But he reconsidered after Minch argued that Bank of America has been allowed to borrow money virtually interest-free from the federal government.
"He folded pretty quickly," Minch said Monday by phone from her Red Bluff home. "I think he probably said at that point, 'I better backpedal because this woman isn't fooling around -- we already know that.' "
Bank of America spokeswoman Betty Riess confirmed Monday that the company did contact Minch.
"Based on additional information that we received about her situation, we did reach a mutually agreed (upon) resolution," Riess said by phone from her San Francisco office. "For reasons of customer privacy, I can't discuss specific terms of a customer's account or any specific interest rate."
Tom Hollihan, a communications professor at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Journalism in Los Angeles, said social networking sites such as YouTube and Facebook have caught the attention of companies big and small.
"She was able to use it to embarrass the bank," Hollihan said by phone Monday. "Social networking sites are very useful in a way to get the word out and help drive consumer choices in a way businesses have to take notice."
Hollihan noted there are several examples in which consumers have voiced their outrage with companies over the Internet.
"One of the most dramatic is the Whole Foods political activism against the founder," Hollihan said. "Customers became unhappy to his opposition" to health care reform.
Whole Foods CEO John Mackey wrote an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal outlining his opposition to President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. Customers voiced their displeasure with Mackey using Facebook, Twitter and blogs. The rebellion made national news.
Even more impressive is Canadian singer-songwriter Dave Carroll's YouTube protest song against United Airlines' treatment of his guitar. Posted in July, "United Breaks Guitars" has generated more than 5.5 million views.
Meanwhile, Minch told her audience Saturday that the war against the big banks isn't over. She has started a Web site (www.debtorsrevoltnow.com) that's under construction.
"Just because my personal account situation has apparently been resolved, this is a small victory for the debtors revolt movement," Minch said Saturday on YouTube. "The movement marches on."
Watch video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGC1mCS4Ovo.
Minch's Website: http://www.debtorsrevoltnow.com/
E-mail reporter David Benda at the Redding Record Searchlight at dbenda(at)redding.com.
Try this one on for size...
Try this one on for size...
CitiCorp, Citibank, CitiCards, or whatever they choose to call themselves this week, has just raised the interest rate on my Citi Simplicity Master Card, from a "fixed 4% plus the prime" to 29.99. I have never missed a payment, nor have I ever paid as little as the minimum required payment. AAMOF, the interest rate was just lowered one year ago when I called to seek permission to spend several thousand dollars over a short period of time.
There is a $22,000 balance on this card... so let me tell you what sort of effect this can have on one's stability and/or ability to pay.
At a rate of 4% plus the prime, monthly interest (finance charge) was 92.67 in August, 2009. Minimum payment was $339, and I paid $400.
At the new rate of 29.99%, monthly interest (finance charge) is $567.17 in September, 2009. The new *minimum* payment amount is $801.17.
I have four additional credit cards, three with balances higher than Ms. Minch's, which will certainly react if my only option with Citibank is to "opt out" by closing the account and said action shows up on my credit report, thereby lowering my gross 'open to buy' and available credit sources & thus turning my debt to income ratio somewhat upside down on paper. I know this to be a fact, as I have already closed two credit card accounts who have tried to hike my interest rates for "reasons of the economic environment". [The last quotation is taken from Citibank form # ICIT117409, P0709A, 6/2009, Copyright 2009 Citibank (South Dakota) N.A.]
Now figure this into the equation... I am not a homeowner and I make approximately $30K per year as a self employed independent audio/recording engineer; fighting a market that is progressively lowering it's 'bar' for quality and rapidly succumbing to a computerized, do-it-yourself, software based reality. I am 56 years old and wondering which path to take.
Have a nice day Ms. Minch... I'll be pulling for you.
Credit War
Ann Minch has empowered me to fight back. Sears has me at 29% interest and it feels like a noose. They obviously are paying their executives well and they don't care about sucking the life out of the middle class.
balderdash
Is this the nation we've become? A nation of whiners who don't want to take personal responsibility for our actions? blaming the banks? blaming the contracts we made with those banks? We've gone a long way downhill since Mr. Jefferson that's for damn sure. People who can't accept personal responsibility are a shame on this country. People charge thousands of dollars on credit cards and get pissy when they have to pay interest? ARE YOU ALL COMPLETELY STUPID? OF COURSE THAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. GROW UP. QUIT EXPECTING OTHERS TO PAY FOR YOUR STUPIDITY. Getting the government to force others to pay for your stupidity is a crime of massive proportions.
Bank of America
I missed one payment to boa and they shot my interest rate to 29.9% for missing one payment> Yes it was my fault but I have made payments on time for over 13 payments and the boa wont bring down the rate even though i made these payments on time... They are not looking out for the little guy but are out to make the middle class hard working person make up for the dead beets who file for bankrupsy..
I would like to say thank you
I would like to say thank you to author of these articles on this site. I read all of these articles and i need to read some new articles. I've watched a video on youtube about this topic for now and i loved it. Also it is one of the rarely topic on this site.
See you on a new topic...
Piggybankblog.com
WE DO NOT BELIEVE YOU BANK OF AMERICA! LIAR! LIAR! BANK ON FIRE!
WHERE IS OUR LOAN MODIFICATION BANK OF AMERICA!?
If it walks like a piggy, talks like a piggy, by golly it’s a PIGGY!
BofA and it’s CEO Brian Moynihan reminds me of that song by John Lennon and George Harrison titled "Piggies" I invite you to listen to this song on youtube and see if it appropriately fits.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTmeHM-Hojg&feature=related
Have you seen the little piggies
Crawling in the dirt
And for all the little piggies
Life is getting worse
Always having dirt to play around in.
Have you seen the bigger piggies
In their starched white shirts
You will find the bigger piggies
Stirring up the dirt
Always have clean shirts to play around in.
In their ties with all their backing
They don't care what goes on around
In their eyes there's something lacking
What they need's a damn good whacking.
Everywhere there's lots of piggies
Living piggy lives
You can see them out for dinner
With their piggy wives
Clutching forks and knives to eat their bacon.
When I filed my lawsuit against Bank of America, myself and United Law Group thought of the many others out there in the same situation. It was then that we decided to educate the public on what these piggy banks are doing, as well as unite us all together as one voice. Please help me turn this David vs. Goliath modification process, into a Goliath vs. Goliath.
Please stand with me and United Law Group and send an email to Bank of America that states that we will no longer tolerate their potentially illegal, fraudulent, irregular and abusive business methods.
So please send your email directly to Bank of America and include the following:
1. Your name
2. Your complaint concerning your experience with Bank of America.
3. Please end your email “I support John Wright vs. BofA Lawsuit!”
4. Please send a copy of your email to johns-wright@hotmail.com
5. Please send your email to BofA CEO Brian Moynihan:
brian.t.moynihan@bankofamerica.com
I HAVE HAD ENOUGH AND I AM FIGHTING BACK!
John Wright Vs. Bank of America-
Please join my fight or show your support through your comments at www.unitedlawgroup.com or find information and friends at piggybankblog.com
Divided we might have fell America. UNITED WE MUST STAND!
Hope to see you at piggybankblog.com