My mom has a credit card that is pretty much maxed out & her interest is 15% (basically about $250/interest per month). She can't even make ends meet on her 2-small pensions & SS each month, let alone pay $400+/mo. for her minimum credit card debt. Does any one have suggestions on who to contact to get them to lower her interest to zero. For someone that's been a customer for 20+ years & made probably thousands in interest, you'd think they'd do that for an 89-yr. old senior. Contact a private co. to help out with this, or the credit card co. itself?
I just googled "Lower credit card interest rates" and one article had this: Ask About Forbearance or Debt Management Plans.
"When all else fails, there is one last resort that can ultimately get your rates lowered. The credit card companies know that millions of their customers are in financial distress. It may be because you lost a job, had an illness in your family, or are simply earning less than you used to earn (what they call being "underemployed").
What the credit card companies will often do in such cases is review your situation, and based on what they find, they may decide to work with you to restructure your debt. This restructuring can include lowering your interest rates to zero for a period of time (usually six months to a year), lowering your minimum payments, suspending over-the-limit penalties or annual fees -- or all of the above.
There are two basic types of hardship plans for people with credit card problems: Forbearance Plans and Debt Management Plans (or DMPs). I have coached people who had credit cards with interest rates as high as 29% who were able to get their rates cut to zero as a result of signing up for one of these plans.
One downside of enrolling in these programs is that your credit card company may report this to the credit bureaus -- and if it does, this could lower your credit score. But not all the card companies do this. To find out whether yours does or not, make sure you read the fine print before you sign the contract. The truth is that even if enrolling in a forbearance program affects your credit score in the short term, it's better than falling behind on your payments or not being able to reduce your debt because you're paying so much in interest.
The reality is your credit card company is not going to lower your rate if you don't ask. So, when you do call them, make sure that you have all your information prepared and organized if you want the best results. The same goes for entering a Forbearance Plan or DMP to lower your interest rates -- you need to make sure that you do your homework so you can be in control of your finances and make the right decision for yourself. "