YouTube ranter wins battle over interest rates

A California woman who made a widely publicized YouTube video calling for a "Debtors Revolt" -- announcing she wouldn't be paying her credit card bills because her interest rates skyrocketed -- has a new video proclaiming a personal victory.

Ann Minch, whose first video posted two weeks ago was seen by about a quarter million people, said in her follow-up installment that she received a call from an executive at Bank of America who agreed, after a little negotiation, to restore her interest rate to its previous level of 12.99%.

She said in the video that she told the executive that banks are borrowing money from the federal government essentially for free so getting nearly 13% interest was adequate profit. Minch said he relented, never asked her to alter or remove her fiery video and then accepted the victory as a personal win.

A Bank of America spokeswoman told WalletPop that the bank did work out a deal with Minch, but said she couldn't be more specific.

"We did reach out to the customer and, based on additional information we received from her about her situation, we reached a mutually agreeable resolution," spokeswoman Betty Riiess said. "Because of customer privacy, I can't discuss the specific terms of the customer's account."

While Minch's 10 minutes in the spotlight might be nearing an end, she said much is left to be done to try to get banks to treat their customers more fairly and urged a continuation of the fight.

Minch said her interest rate was raised to 30% even though she was a longstanding customer and always made her payments on time.

"I could get a better rate from a loan shark," Minch said in the video. "There comes a time when we must make a stand and my time is now."

A number of credit card issuers boosted rates and changed terms on their cardholders ahead of a federal law that reins in such acts.

Minch made mention of the advice many have offered to try to negotiate a lower rate with your bank -- a tactic that has worked for some. But she said her attempts had failed until her video went viral thanks, in large part, to a story on the Huffington Post site.