Posted on 06/07/2007 9:19:04 AM PDT by outfield
Well, they should charge them. I'm all for the free market system and all that ole bud, but what I am against is those that take advantage of people in dire straits. Caviat Emptor and all that but there is a limit. There seems to be no limit anymore nor any enforcement of what limits there may be. What ever happened to usury laws anyway?
Agreed, but online payment can nip that in the bud, too. Instantly credits to the account.
Credit cards are a tool that should be part of any individuals financial arsenal. NOT a way of life.
I’d agree. Full disclosure should really be all they need.
Now, if there is any intentional baiting or deception going on all bets are off. Underhanded ways of “forcing” people to be late to have an excuse to bump a fee or what have you is different.
Not after 5 pm EDT on Fridays...
Debits, on the other hand...
Well, I agree personally.
However, most of what you discuss can be accomplished with “Check cards” and debit cards, as the people you use them with don’t know the difference on their end.
Ideally, I’d have a credit card with reward points of some sort, pay EVERYTHING with it monthly, and then pay it right off at the same time - earning the points and avoiding the interest.
Not at that point yet, but working on it (have about $4400 to pay off at this point.)
I never said that, sometime the mere threat of Congressional action is enough to get some needed changes made.
However, as many here apparently agree there are practices that the credit card companies engage in that need to be addressed. Whether it’s trying to trap customers into paying late fees or simply raising interchange rates that merchants pay thus making everything we buy more expensive, there are some problem areas.
Military warning personnel on payday loans
"..WASHINGTON (AP) — Army Chief Warrant Officer Thomas Burden needed money, but he had just been through a divorce, his credit was bad and he couldn't qualify for a conventional loan.
So he turned to a payday lender — one of dozens within a mile of Fort Hood, Texas — and began a cycle of getting quick cash advances at high interest rates. His first $300 loan cost him $60 every two weeks.
More loans and fees at the equivalent of 520% interest per year soon swelled the debt to more than $1,400..."
DAve Ramsey saved my life and my marriage.
We are debt free by following his plan, which is nothing more than common sense.
Someone above asked: Why are solicitations sent to students with no income?
This is what irks me the most. I fell for it with a Discover Card. Got a free t-shirt!
In High School they should teach a class to all Seniors that teaches them about interest rates, balancing a check book, how long it takes to pay off a $3,000 credit card bill with 26% interest rate and paying the minimum balance.
Let me get this straight: The credit card companies give the financially challenged the oppurtunity to buy things that they can't afford and really don't need just so that they can keep up with the Jones' and achieve immediate gratification, and the credit card companies are greedy?
If you don't like the credit card companies, then live within your means and don't buy on credit.
Tell that to Dave Ramsey!
I would love to own a credit card company. What a freakin racket!
Have some faith that the free market will work if not screwed with. (Business owners will always be able to outsmart politicians)
I agree with you. Credit reports aren't "accurate' at all, in the normal sense of the word. "Universal default", as a result, is legalized larceny --- period.
Typical story. Many years ago I moved. I called the telephone company and requested a) that my line be disconnected, and b) the amount to mail them to clear my account up to the time that the phone is disconnected. They gave me an amount, I wrote a check and mailed it to them.
Many years later, I discovered a "negative" in my credit report while in the process of buying something else. Seems that the phone company was trying to collect a balance due of a little less than $3, which had gone through no less than four collection agencies, and that had colored my credit and cost me God-knows how much as a result.
Well, "d'oh!" you say. Why don't you check your credit report?
Hello??!!?? if that were my duty, to correct every bureaucratic mistake, I would have no time to do anything else!
Another example.
My original first-house-bought mortgage was "sold" several times and I ended up with Wells Fargo Bank.
Many years later, I chose to refinance to pay for daughter's college. A deed of reconveyance was part of the process, and Wells Fargo sent me a bill for over $300...
When mortgages are sold and bought, the original terms hold. The original purchase agreement and terms specified $15 for a deed of reconveyance.
When called on it, Wells Fargo reduced the charge to the proper amount. No apology, no "kiss-my-elbow", nothing...
Ever noticed that those sorts of "mistakes" are never in the customer's favor?
All these years I kick myself for not initiating a class action suit. How many other suckers meekly paid the illegal extortion?
Dave Ramsey preaches a method that will help you be ultimately very secure.
If you’re more adventurous, you can do things a bit differently and end up much better off.
A guy I knew, when he was dying, he paid for everything w/ his CC b/c he knew that he wouldn’t have to pay his bills. And he didn’t either. No estate.
BTW, a little advice on collections and your credit report.
The very fact you HAVE a collection hurts your credit score, whether you then pay it off or not! Even if you have a collection that shows a zero current balance, it stays on your credit report seven years, and get this:
It has the same negative effect on credit scores WHETHER YOU PAY IT OFF OR NOT! The very fact you HAD one is what hurts you. Not the amount, or whether or not it’s paid off. Just the fact there is one there.
Subtitled, "Best Get Your Lobbyists Down Here To Line Our Pockets ASAP So We Don't Get Medieval On Your Ass".
“the practice of mailing statements with progressively shorter time-to-pay intervals in hopes of triggering late fees is my favorite...”
I only have and use one credit card at a time. I pay my balance, but know they make money on transaction fees. I have cancelled a card before for doing that. My latest card tried that on me, I was a day “late” with full payment. I complained, they changed it. If it happens again, I’ll just move along.
Credit cards are a great tool, and the banks make their money off of them when they are above board. When the banks go to deception to drive up their profits, they should be hammered.
Or whether it was an error on their part.
Reminds me of a Ziggy cartoon of many years ago where he's reading a letter from the IRS that says...
We seem to be unable to find the tax return you filed for 19XX... if it is not found within 30 days you are subject to a fine of $20,000 or ten years in jail, or both...
OK, the feds with all their guns may be able to get away with that, but banks and other credit issuers? No way!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.