People's Bank, CT - I recently took advantage of a "free" balance transfer and was charged a fee amounting to around 38% annualized for the privilege

People's Bank, CT - I recently took advantage of a "free" balance transfer and was charged a fee amounting to around 38% annualized for the privilege

People's Bank CT Credit Card

Not much service from this outfit (People's Bank, CT). While they advertise a low rate credit card, the agreement has a lot of hidden "fine print" that is not very good for the consumer. Mailings for "free" balance transfers are unclear and deceptive. I recently took advantage of a "free" balance transfer and was charged a fee amounting to around 38% annualized for the privilege.

I called, and was told that some of the checks don't have the balance transfer fee, but the one I used did and there wasn't anything they could do about it. Since the amount had a "0%" rate through July, I decided to let it ride and pay it off in installments. I was in for another surprise when my next statement came -- finance charges.

Even though I was making many times over the minimum payment I was hit with finance charges. When I inquired about the charges I was told that all payments received are first applied to the balance transfer. Therefore, I would always be charged for the minimal purchases balance that were in my account until the balance transfer was paid off. Pretty slick! Luckily, I have the luxury of being able to pay off the entire balance and tell People's where to stick their unfriendly consumer policies. Needless to say, I am no longer a customer and would urge people wanting a "low-rate" credit card to find one somewhere else. My rating of People's Bank of Bristol, CT: on a 1-10 scale I would give them a ZERO.

Chris E

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