Michael Burkholder, who has had a Bank of America credit card for the better part of the last decade, said his jaw dropped recently when the interest rate on his card nearly tripled to 14.99% from 5.5%.

The 41-year-old Laurel, Md., resident insists that he always pays his bills on time and that while he typically carries a balance, he has made it a practice the last two decades to pay well over the minimum amount due on his accounts.

When he called to complain, a customer-service representative told him the bank would lower the new rate to 7.9% for six months and that he should call back at a later time for another decrease.

He asked why the bank jacked up his rate for what he believes was no apparent reason and was told it was necessary to offset losses from the growing numbers of low-performing or default accounts.