Financial Future

As more Americans lose work, many are increasingly struggling to pay their credit card bills, forcing lenders to do what they had been loath to do in the past: forgive some of the debt or modify it in the cardholders’ favor.
Much public attention has been paid to efforts at modifying mortgages to keep borrowers from losing their homes. But in another battered corner of the credit market, charge banks are quietly negotiating with borrowers rather than giving up entirely on millions of debts. Lenders are looking to restructure charge card accounts by lowering interest rates or minimum monthly payments for a specific period of time, waiving fees, or settling the debt by accepting less than what is owed.

“Issuers are looking to get something as opposed to nothing,” said David Robertson, publisher of the Nilson Report, which monitors the industry.
Most lenders are unwilling to talk about the practice for fear that they will be swamped with requests from people who do have the funds to pay their bills. But industry executives confirmed that the practice is becoming more common as lenders face a record percentage of charge-offs, giving up on collecting debts that consumers never repay. The charge-off rate on U.S. cards for July was 10.52 percent of balances, according to Moody’s, which expects it to reach at least 12 percent in the middle of next year.

“I think the credit card companies have learned from the mortgage problems the value to them and their customers of trying to work something out where it’s appropriate and feasible,” said Nessa Feddis, vice president and senior counsel at the American Bankers Association.

John Fullmer of Annapolis was one customer in need of help, after racking up thousands of dollars in card debt to start a mental health consulting business a couple of years ago. It seemed manageable until the interest rates on two of his credit cards soared past 20 percent. “I’m paying so much interest, I can’t pay down the principal,” Fullmer said.
Several weeks ago, he called Citi and Chase to plead for lower interest rates. Both companies agreed to a 6 percent rate — but only if he closed the account. He did not accept right away as he contemplated how it would affect his credit score. Modifications on credit card accounts can damage a borrower’s credit history several ways.
Shortly after, a Citi representative called to offer him a zero percent rate for 12 months — again, if he agreed to give up the cards. This time, he accepted immediately. “They just said they wanted to work with me,” he said.

Robertson said a Nilson Report review shows that about 3 million customers got some type of modification last year. He expects that number to increase this year as the unemployment rate nears 10 percent.
A Bank of America spokeswoman said the company expects to modify 1.2 million charge card accounts this year, up from 1 million last year. Chase has made it easier for those in the earlier stages of delinquency to get modifications and last year restructured credit lines for more than 600,000 customers, according to a company statement. The company said it expects that “elevated level of need” to continue this year. Lisa Gonzales, a spokeswoman for American Express, would not say how many people are enrolled in the company’s repayment plans, which in some instances involve forgiving some debt, but said, “It’s fair to say in light of the economy more people are experiencing financial difficulty, so we’re offering the payment programs more frequently.”

Samuel Wang, a spokesman for Citigroup, said the company provides a variety of programs for customers in financial distress, including modifying interest rates and matching payments to help retire the debt more quickly. “Citi is proactively reaching out to its customers who are not delinquent but who may be showing signs of financial stress,” he said.
Consumer advocacy groups, however, have pointed out that credit card firms have increased interest rates and cut lines of credit in the past year in anticipation of a new law limiting their practices.

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Por ejemplo, BBVA Bancomer está enviando cartas a sus clientes que tienen planes de pagos en sus Tarjetas De Credito que “si realiza en pago en sucursales Bancomer, indicar al personal en ventanilla el destino del pago anticipado que realizará, es decir, deberá indicar cuánto de su pago será aplicado a su ‘Plan de Finanzas Ajustadas (PFA)’ y cuánto a su saldo revolvente en caso de tenerlo”.

Más abajo en la carta indican que “si sólo realiza el pago sin especificar lo anterior, el pago anticipado que realice quedará como saldo a favor en su revolvente y será aplicado a las mensualidades del ‘PFA’ conforme se vayan requiriendo mes a mes en los siguientes estados de cuenta, a menos que fuera absorbido antes por nuevas compras”.

El problema es que aquellos clientes que hagan sus pagos a través de otros bancos, ya sea vía electrónica o en sucursal, de cualquier forma se ve obligado a acudir a una sucursal de Bancomer a pedir que tanta cantidad del pago se vaya al saldo revolvente y otra determinada cantidad al PFA.

Sin embargo, de acuerdo con el artículo 10 de la Ley para La Transparencia y Ordenamiento de los Servicios Financieros “en los créditos, préstamos o financiamiento que las entidades otorguen, el pago de los intereses no podrá ser exigido por adelantado, sino únicamente por períodos vencidos”.

A pregunta expresa, BBVA Bancomer aseguró que las nuevas disposiciones para algunos de sus clientes de tarjetas de crédito no violan este artículo.

Pero ¿si no puedes acudir a la sucursal a pedir que se destinen las cantidades, no te están obligando de cierta forma a pagar intereses por adelantado?

Adicionalmente, conforme al artículo 17 de la Ley de Transparencia, los bancos tienen prohibido llevar a cabo prácticas discriminatorias, como “los actos que se realicen para no permitir a sus clientes utilizar la infraestructura de otras entidades o desalentar su uso”.

BBVA Bancomer también asegura que sus nuevas disposiciones no violentan la ley, ¿tu qué opinas?
Para la Comisión Nacional para la Protección y Defensa de los Usuarios de Servicios Financieros (Condusef), al menos sí se le está complicando la vida al cliente para cumplir con el pago de sus adeudos.

La mayor institución bancaria en México, medida por sus activos, aseguró que estos PFA o Planes de Finanzas Personales se están otorgando a clientes en el caso de que tengan “algún problema para pagar su tarjeta de crédito” y no califican como reestructuras.

La Condusef está trabajando actualmente en una nueva regulación que permitirá a los usuarios antes de que termine el primer semestre del año, enviar un oficio a su banco para avisar al banco que se quiere cancelar la tarjeta y dejarla en un régimen que se llama “terminal”, esquema que se puede utilizar cuando se quiere cancelar el plástico, pero no se tiene el dinero para saldar el adeudo de inmediato.

Esta nueva disposición evitaría que los bancos puedan cobrarle más comisiones al deudor.
El caso de BBVA Bancomer es sólo un ejemplo, algunos meses atrás vimos el caso de un deudor de Santander, quien tuvo que acudir a la Condusef para que le respetaran lo prometido.

¿A ti, con la institución bancaria con la que tienes tu tarjeta de crédito te facilitan o dificultan el pago de tu deuda? ¿Ves conflictos entre lo que te dicen en la atención telefónica y lo que te dicen en sucursal? ¿Has logrado que te atiendan o te resuelvan los problemas? ¿Cómo calificas el servicio que te dan como cliente? ¿Qué quieres decirles a los directivos de estos bancos?