Q.Can a bank change the payment terms on a closed credit card account? I have an account at a very big bank with a balance of $58,000. Seven years ago, the bank said I was a credit risk and closed my account. Since then, I have been paying about $500 a month, which is equal to the finance charge plus $20. This payment was in accordance with the bank's policy before my account was closed. Three months ago, the bank notified me that it was using a new formula suggested by the Federal Reserve and my new monthly payment would be about $1,036. I think that when a bank closes a credit card, all of the terms for that account also are frozen.

A. Most credit card agreements give issuers wide latitude to change interest rates and payment requirements even if the account is closed to new charges.

In May 2005, under pressure from consumer groups, the Federal Reserve pushed banks to increase the minimum payments on credit cards to force consumers to pay off debts more quickly. In most cases they doubled the minimum payment from 2% to 4% of the balance owed.

As so many credit card holders have discovered, making a minimum payment does little to reduce your debt, because most of it is applied to the interest.

If you check Interest.com's minimum payment calculator you'll see how incredibly long it takes to pay off a credit card making just the minimum payment. But it does ensure that the credit card companies will get rich (very rich) collecting interest on the same balance month after month, year after year.

With the increase in your minimum payment to $1,036, more than $500 would go toward paying your principal, which would accelerate your payoff. But that's a big increase. Can you afford it?

That debt and your involuntarily closed credit card accounts probably are hurting your credit score, too. What you really need is a way to pay off your balance and get a fresh start.

We suggest that you contact the National Foundation for Credit Counseling on the Web or by calling 1-800-388-2227.

The foundation, the nation's biggest and oldest credit-counseling organization, has 120 member agencies that abide by a set of professional and ethical standards that have served many people well over the past 50 years.

They will review your situation, negotiate with your creditors to write off part of what you owe and establish a realistic, 36-to-60-month repayment schedule to retire your balances. Their fees will be modest. Many NFCC members charge nothing to review your finances and less than $100 to establish a debt management plan, or DMP, as they're often called.