Doreen Eddy in Columbus, Georgia, found out the hard way how swift and antiseptic credit-card companies can be with customers.

Five months ago, one of her three cards for her small business, the Cyber Exchange computer repair and sales store on Veterans Parkway, was canceled abruptly.

The account carried an $8,200 balance, but Eddy had not used it in months. The issuer, seeing her card was inactive, closed the account but allowed her to pay it off.

Last month, Eddy failed to make a payment because the bill had been shuffled under some paperwork. Though the card company said no penalties would be forthcoming, Eddy's interest rate suddenly skyrocketed from 13.99 percent to 32.99 percent. Her monthly finance charge spiked from $95 to about $225.

"I called them up and said, 'You've got to be kidding me. Somebody has lost their mind,'" she said. "I went around and around with them."

But to no avail. Despite her pleas and having good credit, Eddy got nowhere with the customer-service people and she angrily paid off the card’s balance.

Read the complete story at ledger-enquirer.com