Thread: Expiration Date on Balance Transfer Offer

5 years ago I did a balance transfer with Discover at 3.99% fixed. I have excellent credit and have made monthly payments as required.

Two months ago, Discover said this offer had expired and they upped the interest rate to 13.24%. I wrote to them and they credited the excess interest for 2 months but said that the interest rate change was valid.

So I called yesterday and spoke with 3 different people. Discover supervisor claims that they have no legal obligation to post an expiration date of a discounted interest rate monthly. They claim that it was on the original documentation which I no longer have and that is the only requirement that they have.

I am sure that this was an indefinite offer and that they 1. legally had the responsibility to show the offer was expiring (if it was) and 2. legally had the responsibility to inform me if they wanted to increase the rate allowing me the option of closing the credit card.

Does anyone have experience with Discover and the laws on this issue. I have taken it to the Discover page on Facebook to out them!

I have never heard of Discover, or any other creditor outside of PenFed, that offers a "for life" balance transfer. After 5 years at 3.99% I would consider myself lucky and move on (although if I am going to be judgemental-which I am-after 5 years your happy behind should have paid it off).

Originally Posted by DavidNY

I have.

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Hmmm. I wonder if that is the situation with Rosie. 5 years seems very generous for a relguar balance transfer. I guess we will have to see if Rosie bothers to come back and tell us or if like her two Facebook posts, she was just venting. I'd also like to know what she was financing for 5 years....the national deficit?

I paid off other balances that had higher rates and since this was so cheap, I saw no need to pay it off earlier. I believe that credit card companies should legally have to disclose expiration of dates. Every other credit card company I have ever worked with has shown this. If it isn't the law yet, I will make every effort to make it a law. There is suppose to be transparency in credit card laws.

While I appreciate the input I received, do you still have documentation from 5 years ago? I maintain that the balance transfer offer was indefinite and an expiration date was never disclosed.

Not the national debt but my household has been hit with layoffs and forced early retirements and we didn't bail on our debts by filing for bankruptcy. Most of our debts are paid off despite long term unemployment. Be happy if you still have a job.

There sounds like 2 items that may be getting confused. First how long the draw period was for getting the promotional rate which almost always has a disclosed time period but whatever was disclosed was disclosed and that will govern.

The second is how long the rate is good for on the actual funds that were used. When an issuer promises a rate, be it the standard APR or the promotional APR a time frame is either disclosed or it is not. Again the documentation will govern. If you don't have it they absolutely should and should be able to show it to you. No one can just raise your rate without disclosing it (which was either done when you took the advance or when they made a decision to do so based on some valid criteria / although probably not at both times).

Issuers frequently get these things right, but not always, so ask for the documentation or the authority they used to make the decision - if the account agreement says at will, well then thats what you agreed to.

As too what your motives are or what you"should" be doing or how long you had the low rate for ; well thats all up to you and quite frankly matters little. Its all about what was agreed to and what was disclosed.

One would also think thats its just good a good form of communication and some basic common sense to let a customer know when something like this was happening and why. But thats just my opinion.