Find the best credit card offers online.American credit cardholders are becoming increasingly more disappointed with their card companies because of higher interest rates and increasing fees. A recent survey conducted by J.D. Powers and Associates, one of the industry’s most reputable research firms, discovered that the satisfaction rate among many cardholders have gone down considerably in the past year.
Collecting data from more than 9,000 respondents, researchers were able to find out that cardholders were becoming less satisfied with their card companies, mainly due to higher rates and costly fees. In the past year alone, banks and card issuers have increased penalties for delayed payments and unused cards in anticipation of tougher regulations next year. Interest rates have also gone up before Congress passed the new law in May. This has prompted many cardholders to express their frustrations on their card issuers.
The same study discovered that one out of every five consumer saw their interest rates increase since last year. A large majority of these cardholders were those that carried revolvers or balances from one month to the next. The number of cardholders who complained about the different fees charged by card companies also rose to 18 percent from 10 percent the previous year.
According to the survey, customer satisfaction dropped by seven index points to 703. The highest possible rating in the firm’s surveys is 1,000 points. The research body has also been conducting satisfaction surveys since 2007. The results of the latest study is so far the lowest since surveys began.
The lower-than-expected figures even surprised researchers who believe that the change in satisfaction would be minimal at best. According to some credit experts, the massive rate hikes in the previous months came without warning, possibly angering many cardholders and influencing their satisfaction opinions. The sudden increases also caught the attention of the federal government, which has injected billions of dollars in bailout money to the credit industry.
Of all the financial services industries, the credit card industry suffered the lowest satisfaction ratings from consumers. In an attempt to salvage whatever revenues they can, card issuers also slashed rewards and credit limits, further angering many cardholders. In fact, the credit lines of some 58 million cards were reduced by an average of $5,000 in recent months.
Analysts point out that with delinquencies declining and charge-offs dropping considerably, card companies can look forward to seeing reduced losses by the end of the year. However, they point out that the projected slowdown in losses may not necessarily mean higher satisfaction ratings from cardholders.
