She Sought Help, But They Wouldn't All Play as a Team

Cynthia Valenzuela of Norman, Okla., contacted Chase about her credit card in 2004 when her husband fell ill and family bills began piling up. She signed up with an independent credit-counseling program that negotiated a repayment plan with all her creditors that she could afford. It allowed her to make a single monthly payment that would be distributed among them. In 2005, the credit-counseling agency went bankrupt and ceased operations. Valenzuela's creditors agreed to work directly with her, lowering interest rates and agreeing on monthly payments -- all except Chase. The bank told her it would not work with any customer for five years after he or she leaves a debt-management program.

The bank raised her interest rate to 29.3 percent from 18.99 percent and has been charging monthly late fees, even though she pays on time, because it wants a lump-sum payment of more than $2,000 before her account can be deemed current. Despite regular payments of $150 to $250, a debt that was $6,000 is now $7,800.

Valenzuela said her other creditors have at least worked with her to "make it so I could make a dent in what I owed."

Contacted about Valenzuela's situation, Chase spokesman Paul Hartwick said the company erred and is now working with her to develop a realistic work-out plan. He said Chase recently started a program to aggressively reach out to customers falling behind on payments.