On January 22nd I received my credit card statement with a $69.00 annual fee. I called customer service and told them to close my account immediately due to not wanting to pay such an outrageous annual fee (especially for a card that was not even gold or platinum).

I was told that due to a January 21st charge... that I still had to pay the January 17th annual fee despite my immediately closing the account when I found out on January 22nd. I explained that I didn't know about the charge on the annual fee on the 17th until I rec'd the statement on the 22nd... or I would have closed the account on that day and not used it on the 21st. Needless to say... the woman I spoke with could care less about my being ripped-off... and insisted that there was nothing that I could do about it.

Does anyone know if this is legal? Does anyone know the name/address for the CEO at Orchard Bank aka HSBC? Would greatly appreciate any assistance or advice.

Thanks!