WHY

the

Chevy Chase Bank Victims Society

exists!

I put this site up only after trying to resolve my problem with Chevy Chase Bank "through the system".

I had been a loyal customer for years, I paid my bills on time, and then one day I went from a "Customer in Good Standing" (when I was issued my new Gold Master Card in June of 1996), to a "credit risk" two months later in August 1996.  They changed the terms and the conditions of my account without notice, without proper disclosure, without my consent, and without just cause! I know the law and I knew at that very moment that they had violated the law!

I contacted the bank and confronted them on their illegal and unethical practices when they first raised the interest on my account which was always paid on time! In return I got harassed, laughed at, and felt the coldness of their arrogance. I then responded in writing and pointed out specific areas of Federal law that they had violated (two of which were later acknowledged by the Office of Thrift Supervision as violations by CCB). I pointed out how they failed to notify us of the changes in the terms and conditions that we originally agreed to, they failed to provide the source of the information used to make this decision, and they failed to provide ANY adverse action notification. I asked them to explain why they raised my rates from 18% to 26%. Again, they responded with their cold arrogance, and only selectively addressed points raised in my letters.

So next I was forced to seek out consumer protection from the State and Federal level. Unfortunately, the state could not do much since CCB had jumped the state line (what with all the deregulation, government down sizing and passing power to the states), and the Feds did nothing more than to acknowledge their wrong doings!  Of course the OTS said that they would advise CCB of their mistakes and make sure that they would fulfil all the requirements of the law in the future (but since they didn't stop them the first time, one can only wonder how they will prevent them from repeating these offenses in the future).

That is when I realized that things have gotten so out of control in this country, that the keys to the country have been given to big business, and that there is nobody out there that cares about the consumer or cares about our rights (except Ralph Nader and his fine organization)! At this point I had tried to address the issue through the system, I had written dozens of letters, I had contacted all my representatives in Congress, and I had written letters to the editor. Still, no actions were being taken, and CCB was allowed to get away with their illegal and unethical practices! So, I took the story to the next forum, The Internet!

I quickly learned that I was not the only victim. I learned that thousands of others had been similarly victimized. And then a pattern started to emerged that revealed a more hideous, premeditated, and targeted plan by CCB. As hundreds of us met online and shared our stories, we discovered not only were we not alone but there were many similarities to our stories, to the way we were treated, and to why we were targeted! Many of the people had always paid on time, had outstanding balances of at least $2000 or more, and had both the means and ability to pay. So one could speculate that since the people targeted had the ability to pay, and had outstanding balances that would take some time to transfer, CCB could make a quick buck and even if they lost the customers, they would then get the pay off money back to re-invest to entrap others! Oddly enough CCB implemented this well designed, and highly targeted plan, right before they were planning to take over   the credit card operations for an East Coast food store chain called Giant Food. Therefore, a sudden insurgence of cash from increased interest, increased fees and consumers paying off their accounts based on the INSANELY high interest rates that CCB began charging over night and without ANY warning, provided them with the capital to underwrite this new credit card operation (more consumers to bait and switch, to dupe, and to take advantage of)...

I think part of the problem is that there really is no consumer protection any more. If it wasn't for Ralph Nader and his fine organization, BIG BUSINESS would steam roll all over this country! Another part of the problem is that consumer credit and consumer bankruptcies problems are more often than not viewed as a problem with the people not with the system. The media and others view the consumers as over spenders and when they complain about it, they are considered whiners. The typical answer one gets when complaining about a credit/banking problem is "well, why don't you just switch to another bank". One day they will wise up and realize TWO very important facts; people are not given adequate information in the school system to balance a check book let alone, do the taxes, or understand all the fine print involved with credit/interest/minimum payments/etc., and secondly, the consumer is lured in by the banks and encouraged to spend, to over indebt, and to put it on credit. I view it very much like the drug problem; people have some responsibility for their actions but the dealers who are enticing, encouraging, and marketing the junk are the real criminals! Until the mindset changes that the problem is not really the user as much as it is the seller, nothing will change!

We just got to all stick together, fight back, write letters to the editors, write to our Congressional representatives (now that they have stopped thinking about sex for a while), and be patient and be persistent...  The whole system is designed to wear you down. They figure that most people will give up after a while, and when they get too squeaky they settle with you in hopes that you will become fat, dumb and happy again, and hope that you will then give up the fight...

I can't speak for every site out there on the Internet but I know in my case and with my sister site, we are not grippers, we are NOT looking to make a buck, we are NOT looking to make a name for ourselves, we ARE trying to seek out TRUTH, JUSTICE, and the OLD American Way!

I want the truth to be told so that power and protection will be returned to the people! I want justice NOT money, so that Chevy Chase Bank and others like them will reap the consequences of their actions! I want the New American way to return to the old American Way! It use to be you could trust your bank to look out after your best interests, they knew your name, they had convenient drive thru tellers, they didn't hit you up with fees for everything you did, they smiled when you did business with them, they were helpful, and they even gave your children a sucker.... But under the New American way, BUSINESS rules, banks see you as a credit score NOT a name or a family, the drive thru tellers are almost gone, you get hit with ATM fees both coming and going, and now you are the sucker...