Retribution! Credit Card Companies Plan to Start Gouging Their Best Customers
By Susie Madrak Tuesday May 19, 2009 4:00pmI have to laugh at this transparent ploy: Let us keep our usurious interest rates, Senator, or your American Express card is gonna get it! Apparently the fine folks of the credit card industry seem to believe they have an inherent right to obscene profits. Uh, ixnay, fellas. Usury is not only a sin, it's bad economic practice. Legislators have a right to control your out-of-control industry because credit has become something akin to a necessary public utility - especially when people can't even get a job due to a poor credit rating.
Seems to me it's time these companies learned to trim their expectations to fit current reality. I wonder if credit card executives have been asked to take off one day a week to save their company a day's pay?
Credit cards have long been a very good deal for people who pay their bills on time and in full. Even as card companies imposed punitive fees and penalties on those late with their payments, the best customers racked up cash-back rewards, frequent-flier miles and other perks in recent years.
Now Congress is moving to limit the penalties on riskier borrowers, who have become a prime source of billions of dollars in fee revenue for the industry. And to make up for lost income, the card companies are going after those people with sterling credit.
Banks are expected to look at reviving annual fees, curtailing cash-back and other rewards programs and charging interest immediately on a purchase instead of allowing a grace period of weeks, according to bank officials and trade groups.
[...] As they thin their ranks of risky cardholders to deal with an economic downturn, major banks including American Express, Citigroup, Bank of America and a long list of others have already begun to raise interest rates, and some have set their sights on consumers who pay their bills on time. The legislation scheduled for a Senate vote on Tuesday does not cap interest rates, so banks can continue to lift them, albeit at a slower pace and with greater disclosure.
“There will be one-size-fits-all pricing, and as a result, you’ll see the industry will be more egalitarian in terms of its revenue base,” said David Robertson, publisher of the Nilson Report, which tracks the credit card business.
People who routinely pay off their credit card balances have been enjoying the equivalent of a free ride, he said, because many have not had to pay an annual fee even as they collect points for air travel and other perks.
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I'm one of them.
I routinely get offers to raise my limit that I refuse.
You know what folks in the industry call people like you, y?
Deadbeats.
That's their name for you. Responsible people who pay their bills on time are deadbeats. That's the rabbit hole you fall into when you get in bed with these bloodsuckers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Quhj6PEboCU
and never will.
Fuck the credit card companies!
If ya can't pay for it with cash, check or layaway...do ya really need it?
Try staying in a hotel
Booking travel
Or basically living in a modern society
Not so easy without a credit card.
Works just like a credit card, but if ya ain't got the money, ya don't get to buy it.
I should have put that in there at first.
Here I was thinking I was being responsible. Doing the right thing. Improving my credit score.
Perhaps I should have just maxed every card out then whined to Congress for bailout cash? That would make me more like a bank, then I'd be soooooo cool with the banks.
Who needs to sleep at night, remain unburdened and feel good about myself? Apparently, that's for losers.
Up is down . . sun is the moon . .night is day. . . oh, brother.
Twice they've bailed out the shopaholics here in Korea. All these people that maxed out billions in shopping, and the banks got billions of tax-paid dollars (I pay). The sad truth is they must keep everyone shopping. all the time, because economies depend on it. Isn't 2/3 of the American economy consumer spending? Probably the same here now that Koreans have money. Seoul is non-stop shopping.
It doesn't help the consumer when the entire congress is beholden to them.
Congress is beholden to the Corps, Big Business and et al!
Shameless
Call to protest..1.800.828.0498 or 1.866.220.0044.
Try buying a house without a credit history
Or even getting certain jobs.
The argument (threat) that CC companies will pass the losses from protected bad customers onto good customers begs the question: why do you have so many bad customers? That really gets to the root of the issue. Perhaps if CC companies exercised restraint and only gave credit cards to the people who they think can use them responsibly instead of... EVERYONE they wouldn't be in this mess.
If the govt wanted to enact meaningful credit card reform they'd be better served to look into making changes across the board that reduce the almost universal need to own a credit card nowadays. Then people would be far more comfortable in walking away from companies with bad policies. And thus the 'market' would take care of those policies.
They make most of their money from late payments, over credit limit fees, etc. etc.
Those with the worst habits (credit ratings) ARE their best customers!
For all their talk about good/bad customers, the fact is the CC companies actively search for bad customers so they can make money from their bad habits. I believe the term 'predatory' would not be out of place.
Still though my point I think is valid that if instead of forcing the credit card companies to not be total dicks, if the congress addressed the root causes of why people almost need credit cards to function then people would be free to walk away and not be prey.
Correct me if I'm wrong here, but isn't there a fee on every single credit card transaction that goes through? Meaning that no, people like me who always pay on time are NOT getting a free ride, we're just getting overcharged if we pay in cash since prices at any retailer that accepts credit cards have been adjusted to compensate. Pretty sure that's why many discount bulk retailers don't take plastic.
Meaning, if I'm correct, this is a thin excuse for trying to wring every last cent out of their "best" customers. (And by "best" I mean "people who don't fall for the trap of paying insane interest rates on short-term loans, instead using the card as a convenience.")
I can say this: The day my card issuer adds an annual fee or removes the grace period on purchases is the day I cancel my card.
I'm a "cash only" person nowadays. And I put that in quotes because I mean that I pay nearly everything by credit card and pay it off every single month.
The interchange fee that Visa charges on a transaction averages about 1.5%, so even though they're not getting any interest or annual fee from me, they're making quite a bit of money in fees from my purchases.
If they decide to start charging me an annual fee or get rid of my grace period, I'll cut them off and use my debit card instead.
because Visa -- and the rest -- still get their discount (what I think you refer to as interchange) fees from the merchant, and in fact, the fees can be substantially higher depending on the type of account. For instance, if you use a card that garners perqs like frequent flier points, the merchants pay a higher percentage to "accept" that sale. If you're a higher-risk customer, the merchant (and thus, you) pays higher fees.
Coming ang going, indeed.
My debit card will not charge me an annual fee and I don't have to worry about a grace period. If I cancel the credit card, they can't charge me a fee.
As a merchant, I can tell you that debit cards charge the merchant MORE than credit.
So, while you will not be paying the fee, the credit card companies still get more money... smaller businesses (local businesses) take a harder hit, AND they have to raise prices.
Ever notice merchants ask if it is debit or credit?
Yah CC companies like screwing the merchant as much as the consumer. You are right if the card offers points or something we get hit harder, I've seen up to 10 percent of total purchase. The trouble is how the hell do you tell what type of card it is???!!!! They don't tell you! I'll gladly turn down a card that is going to hit me for 10 percent of the sale, but until I get the end of month statement I can't tell what I'm going to loose! So I raised my fees 10 percent and offer a 10 percent cash discount.
All VISA/MasterCard terms and conditions as far as I know stipulate that you will not offer discounts for paying cash. You have to look through all the fine print, but they can and have cancelled Merchant accounts for offering cash discounts. You should be able to talk to your merchant service provider about only accepting certain card types, i.e. cards without the big bonuses for the consumer and big fees for the merchant.
I have a debit card, because it's damn convenient and I can use it online just the same as a credit card. But I'm the one who controls the money, not some computer algorithm that decides because my payment came in twenty minutes after their arbitrary deadline, I have to pay twice as much interest.
No, thanks. I've never been under the illusion that I'd own a house, I've never bought a new car, etc. If there are certain things that require a credit card, I simply avoid them. It's a matter of deciding your priorities: the ability to buy what you can't afford, or freedom from financial slavery. I prefer to be free and frugal, kthxbi.
You know, it is quite possible to use a credit card on a regular basis without becoming a financial slave. That's sort of the point of why this potential is insulting--credit cards with no fee and a grace period are, for many people, a significant convenience.
Examples: I carry enough cash to cover smaller purchases at local merchants, because I assume the fees hit harder on small purchases (maybe not, this is just my assumption). My debit card has a $500 daily limit. There are, periodically, times when I spend more than that shopping online or when doing major shopping locally. With my ridiculous credit limit, I don't need to worry about whether I've hit that ceiling, and I have never in my 12 years as a cardholder carried a balance or paid a fee.
Or international transactions, which I do regularly (Amazon Japan, etc); good luck using your debit card at an international retailer. Mine, at least, explicitly prohibits it.
Or when I need to buy a couple of new computers for work, something else I do regularly.
Also, I DO have plans to own a house, and my high credit score will help. Just as soon as my local real estate market gets around to crashing down to where it should be...
Instead, I get my 1% cash back so at least I'm getting something out of the increased prices I pay at merchants who accept credit cards. Why shouldn't I?<?p>
Fuck the CC companies!
They ain't gettin none of my damn money.
Thank you for pointing that out. I was getting frustrated reading this comment thread and was about to do it myself. Even people who use strictly cash have to share in these fees that ultimately get worked into retail prices for the goods and services that everyone pays for.
Amen to that. My patronage of any CC is a privilege to THEM. I don't have to do business with them. If they want to live in a fantasy world and think they can just do whatever they want to me, they'll find out how quickly I can stop doing business with them.
of the card companies and now they are threatening the good customer!What asses Congress has created by deregulating...Call them to Pooh -pooh the vote for Corps/Banks as opposed to the American voter!BS BS BS....1.800.828.0498 or 1.866.220.0044...WEAK WEAK WEAK!!!
Become the standard to use your credit rating as a qualification for a job? I have, possibly had now, great credit...but now all these useless banks after buying each other have canceled most of my cards, which I tend not to use, for the reason that I never use them. So now, I believe my credit rating has fallen and could be part of the reason I can't find work. When did this become accepted practice?
I would say at least half of the big companies do it.
just looking for people with REALLY bad credit, and then if they find them, they follow up on why?
I definitely think there are some places where I'd want people to have their credit checked before being hired. Principally in law enforcement and/or any job where there'd be a temptation/opportunity to embezzle.
For instance, believe it or not, there's a correlation between credit ratings and your risk on auto or homeowners insurance. There's a statistical correlation between credit ratings & risk-taking behavior in general. Between credit ratings and the likelihood that you'll show up at work on time, or at all.
In general, somewhere, there's an actuary that has checked every possible statistical correlation between any two behaviors that have ever been thought of LOL
American Express made 10.38% profit last year. I don't think this is "obscene."
There are complaints that the credit card companies give to those who should not have a credit card, but the same people would complain if they were blocked from having a card if the bar were raised on what a bad credit risk is. What about free choice and personal responsibility?
So, I would never have had to use a credit card ever?
American Express does not allow its cardholders to roll over their balances. They have to be paid off every month. So they don't rake in the hideously obscene fortunes in late fees and deceptive due date-shifting practices.
Bad example. Try harder next time.
I've had an American Express card through Costco and they'd love to have me carry a balance from month to month, that's why they offer to allow you to make a "minimum" payment on your balance. I think you're talking about the way Diners Club used to work.
their classic charge card is just one of them, they have some credit products.
That being said, 10% profit after tax for what amounts to basically making money out of thin air and moving other people's money around... seems pretty "obscene" to me.
Also, most financial institutions... and American Express is a notorious example, tend to put their profits before tax back into equity. So they only have to report a reduced percentage that will then be taxed. The real profit margin is much, much, much higher that the 10% our resident American Express PR extraordinaire led us to believe. But I am sure he already knew that...
As a small business owner, I can tell you that there is no such thing as putting profit "back into equity" to avoid it being taxed. Money spent on expenses, wages, overhead, and depreciation is not taxed.
I beleive you might be speaking of "retained earnings." This is the post profit money that is not returned to shareholders, and it has no tax implications.
I mow lawns for a living. I basically "send someoe to cut your lawn." What do you feel is a reasonable profit for me? What's a reasonable wage for someone who basically "bolts a wheel onto a car"? How about "basically does [insert whatever it is you do here]"? Nothing is ever that basic as you like to state.
OK, AE made 10.38% profit last year.
Pharmaceutical companies average 17%, oil companies roughly 9-10%.
The average grocery store makes 1-2% profit, usually more like the 1%. The average business in the US, in general, makes roughly a 5-6% profit.
I'm thinking that 10.38% looks a lot more on the "obscene" side than the "average" side.
Seems like a great way to get your best customers to cut up their credit cards and stop giving you any money at all...
I have the highest credit rating possible. I used to have half a dozen credit cards, but as they pissed me off over time
I got rid of them and am down to one card. If they put the screws to me for paying off my bills on time...
I've got a wicked pair of titanium scissors in the kitchen.
I use the card as a convenience. I don't need it.
Same here. I have one and use it only once in a while. It gets paid in full every month. I haven't used it since January.
Don't be afraid to ask for discounts if you pay in CASH. I get 'em all the time. ASK! They say no, I walk out. Often there is a change of heart, and a discount can be negotiated.
For the info :) I'm going to try it!
I grew up believing (because I was told by my elders) that one would be looked upon with disfavor by the credit industry if one paid off their card in full each month - as the card issuers wouldn't make any money on interest charges and fees.
And now we've arrived at fucked if you do, really fucked if you don't?
Fuck that.
Paying your bills as expected and on time AND having a low balance verus your available credit will make your credit score higher. So how are you F&$Ked if you do?
having a low balance vs. available credit affects negatively your credit score, in lieu that you are using little of the credit capacity assigned to you by some bean counter.
If you are in little debt, you are actually of little use to the financial industry, and thus the lower credit ranking.
Furthermore, credit rankings should be fully regulated...
The credit card industry is in a similar position to the banks in the Wild West who used to print their own currencies, or to the factory-owned towns that used to pay their workers with company credit, redeemable only at the company store. Today, electronic funds and credit scores are core components of our financial infrastructure but a bunch of hooligans get to make up all the rules.
A credit rating shouldn't reflect the potential for profits for the bank, it should reflect the ability of a consumer to pay off debt. And we should develop a public infrastructure for electronic funds transfer that charges no transaction fees to merchants.
I do all that and HSBC lowered my credit limit because of "low utilization" (a business decision they called it) which they mean I never get close to going over the credit limit! So, by lowering my available credit was my credit score lowered? And are they just hoping I go over the new lower limit to collect fees?
My credit limit was lowered after 10 years of raising it about every 6 months. Same reason - low utilization - like I'd be stupid enough to borrow $30,000+ on the card when my credit union will make a home equity loan for 4.9%.
"...'deadbeats' being the industry term for customers who pay their balances in full, depriving the card companies of profitable interest payments."
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Banking/P...
Now I am on the other side of it. Sad, harrassed and true. Can't afford to file bankruptcy. How's that for irony.
Claiming they are going to start charging interest from the time of purchase is a bluff because they know good customers won't put up with that shit. You may need a credit card to rent a car or a hotel room, but you don't need it to buy groceries and shop for everything else from the home improvement box store to the big box warehouse to the garden center to the gas station. Start using cash and debit cards for all those things and the credit card companies tank.
And they know it.
Comsumers have the power here. Starve the credit card companies. Call for a Day Without Credit and see how the credit card companies like a little taste of the future they face if they continue to fuck around like this.
This idea that idle money is somehow entitled to high rents, this rent-seeking behavior, whereby money is diverted from real capitalization of business enterprises into sinecure, no-work-required coupon-clipping, has been seen before. Note that "rentier" is a French word, that it describes the behavior of the wealthy in France just before they set up the guillotine to address that behavior. Every day that passes provides fresh anecdotal evidence, such as this item, suggesting that we may see a similar remedy soon to address our contemporary rent-seeking behavior problem.
I know this is off topic but damn. Frank opened up a can of whup ass on Crazy Eyes.
What a lop sided match up this was. Even Lou Charlie Brown Dobbs after clearly coming out in a right wing slant by labeling ACORN a "librul group with close ties to Obama" tried to appear middle of the road towards the end after hearing the serving of whup ass Frank was giving Bachman. Charlie Brown Dobbs didn't want any part of that!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/19/barn...
She must think that her vacant smile and Republican talking points will trump facts.
Creepy.
I live very happily without credit cards. It took some time to save enough to keep in my account but now I happily live with a debit card. I never realized exactly how much more expensive life was with that little plastic card and the even smaller fine print that allowed them to gouge me with every purchase. Buy only what you can actually afford--otherwise they've got you by the short hairs.
It is interesting to me how much I could have saved all along without the damn things and I'm surviving well without. However, I was in a business that required a lot of travel so credit cards seemed indispensable. Do it if you can ASAP, though, I agree.
Best thing I ever did was burn my credit cards. Haven't looked back for 5 years.
But I put it at equal value with getting rid of my TV connection about 12 years ago. Now I just use the tube to watch DVD's.
My life is SO much happier now, I can't tell you.
got rid of it and I've never looked back. Commercial free zone in our house. It took a bit for the step kids to get it but they are on board too except the oldest moved away and is having self esteem issues from watching Brett Michaels Rock of Love and now apparently Daisy of Love.
"What's in my wallet?" Cash.
Credit card companies sprang up like weeds because there were zero barriers to what they could charge, thanks to hacks like Dodd and Schumer and Rahm Emanuel who worked hard to keep Congress packed with more pro-Wall Street anti-regulators. And as we've seen, they're still in Congress protecting the Banks interests - at the cost of the entire American economy.
Bankruptcy used to be a bad word to the working man, but not any more. The bank accounts I've worked my ass off to keep in good standing and with an earned line of credit all just went to hell not because I was ever late or made any errors- but because I suddenly became seriously ill and simply started tapping into all the unused credit.
Those free credit report scams and commercials don't tell you that the credit bureaus are now the equivalent of big brother- spying and warning the banks of every move you make. Thanks to them every bank upped my interest - most retroactively and cut my line of credit back.
That increased my payments and left me with balances that weren't being paid down.
Well I had enough! I sought protection and retribution -from them - and filed Chapter 7.
And folkes, never have I felt so cleansed and victorious after being so defiled from Wall Street con men!
and I'm working on it.
Return to sender.
Chase "United Airlines" card just sent me a letter yesterday raising my interest rate from 9.35% to prime PLUS 10.95% and also said they could cancel my card at anytime for any reason. I haven't used the card in ages but always paid it off monthly. I stopped using it when United made it too hard to book frequent flyer miles.
I was told when you "cut up your card", you may be lowering your credit score. Credit scores are crazy but dropping a card gives you less credit to draw from. Almost like having too much credit to draw from.
At any rate I am going to use the card and pay it off each month for a little while. I don't want a hit on my credit score (almost perfect) because I want to refinance my house at 4.5% and save $225 a month on my mortgage. At that rate I can pay more to principle each month and get that monkey off my back. Banks, credit card and most corporate companies suck.
You can and should immediately close every card you don't want to use and especially when they change the rules to your disadvantage.
I just went through Chapter 7's legal counseling requirement and asked about that. I had closed 6 unwanted accounts. I was told that was a common scam to get you to keep the card open and ready to use.
It's actually better to close it because the more accounts you have open go against you, not in your favor.
Nobody with a brain could possibly be surprised by this. If the administration thought these vampires would just meekly follow the law, they must be terribly naive.
Not a year ago I had to opt out of "pre approved" credit card offers. I'd get dozens a week. Now I'm supposed to foot the bill, after bailing them out. Last month Citi raised my interest 50%, on a card I've had since the early 90s.
Cry me a river.
I have a couple of debit cards in addition to my credit card. Every so often, the institutions behind the debit cards advocating signing for the transaction instead of entering a pin, because they make money when the transaction is processed as a credit transactions. On one of these deals, I was getting 25¢ per transaction. So, they're making money, which is why I get "points" when using my regular credit card.
I think if you're getting your credit card from Delaware or South Dakota, then, it's probably a rip-off card. I have a 9.9% one from a credit union who only gives them to people who are good credit card risks. So, there is no subsidizing of bad credit card risks involved. Reasonable terms, like no annual fee, and 60 days late before a hike in interest rates, not 3 minutes late.
Next time I pay interest on my balance will be the first time. Every month, payment in full.
Credit is nice, but its no substitute to a good paying wage, so the creditcard co's can go fish. This depression (and it is a depression) has shown all of us just how weak our economy actually was. You can't tell til the tide goes out who's swimming naked. The current gov't can do nothing more than provide a 'floor' of minimum necessities to keep the population going. It will be up to US. ALL OF US to get out of this mess.
This will be a new age where luxury falls, and frugality rises. Getting to know your neighbors will help make both of your resources stretch further.
"Apparently the fine folks of the credit card industry seem to believe they have an inherent right to obscene profits." Maybe they don't have the explicit right to, but they don't have the explicit rule not to. Corporations are about profit, that is all. They do, however, have to play within the confines of law. If the law does not limit obscene profiteering or any form of extremism, you can bet your bottom dollar it will happen.
I offer the current financial meltdown of many banks for subprimes as exhibit A.
Usuary laws forbid from any institution from overcharging at insane interest rates. Not long ago it would've been illegal to jack up interest rates to 30%. Not to mention the scams they're pulling now, like purposely moving due dates, declining automatic payments, & the rest, to falsely generate late fees.
I've been CC free for a few years, & except when renting cars or hotels, I love it.
People dont need credit cards PERIOD.
The companies took a gamble when they went into business. Too bad.
I haven't for several years and will never possess a credit card again.
I like pay at the pump - no more spilling gas because I want to get the price on an even dollar. The budget is a monthly budget - only really have one transaction to deal with the groceries. Phone bill charges the credit card, at no additional cost, so I'm getting points. My IPOD came from points.
I'm betting a lot wrong with credit cards involve the same large suck-ass banks that needed bailing out. Simple resolution is to not subsidize institutions that issue credit cards to sub-prime borrowers. A credit union or a strong regional bank not involved in the sub-prime philosophy of doing business is the way to go.
And forget about credit cards from Delaware. They're in Delaware expressly because state law makes it easy to rip the borrower off. I think the same is true with South Dakota.
after my divorce, i depended heavily on credit cards to survive the next couple of years. when i changed jobs in 2006, i had a decision to make w/ my 401k plan. i decided to cash most of it in and pay off my steep credit cards w/ their obscene interest rates. after the market tanked, i was happy that the money i cashed in to pay off credit was used to get me out of debt. if i would have sat on the 401k, most of it would have been lost to the wall street bastards. now, i keep one credit card for necessary transactions and pay cash for everything. NEVER again with those bloodsucking pigs. they'll put their foot on your throat and eat your children for supper. fuck'em all.
The basic problem with a lot of pricing of services is they offer you something free that actually costs them to provide. For example, there is no possible way for a bank to offer free checking. They have too much work to do than to offer you a free service like this. We're used to getting "free" stuff. Actually, we're used to being sucked in and then stuck for little-advertised fees.
If the banks actually begin charging for credit even if you pay your bills within 20+ days in full, we are getting back towards a "fee for service" kind of pricing. Either charging some interest even during the 20+ days of now free credit, or a yearly fee to have an account will offset their very real costs.
We need to get away from "gotcha" pricing and set up systems where consumers actually pay for what they are getting. It make a more honest system and sets up some honest competition.
My CC is "free" apparently because merchants pay a transaction fee. To the extent there is subsidy, it's coming from the cash paying customers. Some months, there's double your points incentives to put things on the card. My credit union has a 60 day late policy before raising the interest rate. There's no "universal default". I don't expect them to fix what is not broken.
What is broken is somewhat the same as what happened in the sub prime mortgage failure. These predatory lenders are trying to get people in over their heads. Now that people are out of work, and can go bankrupt, they're looking for ways to recoup losses from their predatory practices. They're basically loan sharks. Their pitch is EXACTLY the same as a loan sharks: They're making credit available to people who otherwise would be unable to obtain credit.
The simple answer for credit worthy individuals is to not subsidize these businesses.
There must be fair & reasonable rates but we have to pay for services as well. People do these jobs and they must be paid somehow. I don't like the idea of merchants picking up the tab, because smaller merchants are having such a hard time right now anyway, and wouldn't they just pass it along by either raising the price of their goods or paying their employees less?
“wouldn't they just pass it along by either raising the price of their goods or paying their employees less?”
That's what is going on. We're being subsidized by cash paying customers. But, if they start charging me, I'm done. I know for a while, Walmart had a tiff going with VISA over debit cards when the transaction was keyed in as a credit (signature) transaction rather than by a pin number.
In the case of gas stations, it looks like paying at the pump pays for itself. There's no attendant, no cashier, and the cars are in and out faster, requiring fewer pumps.
From the point of view of the merchant, they're going to look at sales volume. If charging credit card users diminishes sales, then it isn't worth it. In other words, I don't think that it can be assumed that the same exact amount of sales would occur if credit card use was assessed fees. If this was so, they would be crazy to allow credit cards and pay fees in the first place.
But, if they start charging fees, then I'll go debit, pin transaction.
the bank is actually making money with the money you deposit. If on top of that they charge you to access your own money, they are actually double dipping into your money.
If you are being charged fees by your bank, I suggest you move your accounts somewhere else.
These banking bastards would charge deceased cardmembers late fees - and then repo their tumbstones to resell if they thought they could get away with it.
Because I've got sterling credit and I've been paying huge fees for years and they've already gotten rid of all the points programs, as well.
But, on a brighter note, they do charge $30 for missing a payment by a couple days.
What they are threatening to do to the best credit card customers is nothing new. My bank (then Washington Mutual) changed the terms on my credit card so they could start charging interest immediately from the time of purchase even when the card was paid off in full every month. And this happened over a year ago.
Extracting more profit from the riskier bets?
Hardly!
I opened my account in 1978, never paid late in those 30 years, and my credit score is 830. Needless to say I cancelled the card and now use my Paypal credit card exclusively.
How are people who pay their bills on time getting a free ride? Can someone explain to me how, if somebody owes me money and they pay it back quickly, they are doing something wrong? Also, don't retailers pay a fee for accepting credit cards?
I am not a business man but I seem to recall many of my friends complaining about clients taking an awful long time to pay their accounts receivable.
Perhaps we should have a "tea party" of our own, one in which we don't buy on credit.
Personally, I use my credit card all the time, for pretty much everything. I get cash back and insurance on all my purchases. It's a platinum card and I pay a fee for it but the cash back takes care of the fee. They make the rules, I play by them.
When you use your credit card, you're buying your television with someone else's money, then you pay them back.
That company makes money by making short-term loans, with interest.
If you pay in full every month, you don't pay any interest.
If you don't pay any interest, the company doesn't make money off you.
The person who carries a balance, and pays interest, on the other hand, is the person who is contributing the money that keeps the credit card company in business. So you're getting the advantage of a short-term interest-free loan, and paying nothing for it. In fact, if you have a card where you earn cash back or rewards, you are being given something for nothing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHPxAnt1HE8
administration continues to interfere with business.
If Obama has so many great ideas and can fix everything with bigger government why has he never held a real job?
This administration continues to reward failure and pays for it with money stolen from the responsible citizens of this country.
Or are you making an extra effort here.
You are so blinded by hate that you can't even see that it was your boy Boosh that got us into this.
Boosh brothers Gorge, And Jeb have had banking business's that failed.
They all needed tax payer money to bail them out. Oh, And Neil too.
Your just a troll. And a bad one at that.
Does your Mommy know you're using the computer?
You all KNOW that Klintoon started this housing bubble by forcing lenders to give money to people with no intent of paying it back.
You were the ones stupid enough to believe 95% of Americans would pay less taxes under this new dope when ONLY about 50% of the people actually PAY taxes. Let's see how little you pay in tax increases when Cap & Trade hit.
Obama hired Geithner, someone too stupid to use Turbo Tax and admittedly stated he would likely never have paid his back taxes if he wasn't hired for the TREASURY job!
This administration CONSTANTLY rewards poor performance with bailouts....Defend that position? You can't!
The few will pay for the many...it's the theme of this administration.
began under the Bush Administration..with no oversight.
Take your second grade reading level and go read a newspaper.
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?article...
or this:
http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/hotpro...
To find out the TRUTH.
As much as you libs want to pin everything on Bush, again the FACTS don't support you or you wouldn't have to result to name calling.
It's funny how the responsible people get PUNISHED by the people who refuse to pay, but yet if they CC companies would stop issuing cards to people with low credit scores, the ACLU would be screaming "Racism"
Actually, no one has forced lenders to "give money to people with no intent of paying it back."
The regulation you're referring to (a) didn't apply to lenders or financial institutions, only to banks, and (b) it didn't force anyone to make loans to people with inadequate credit, it forbid the practice of red-lining, or refusing to give loans to qualified applicants based on the location of the property being mortgaged.
And unlike some people I can think of, I'm quite capable of understanding the difference between saying "95% of Americans will pay less taxes" and the statement "95% of American taxpayers will pay less taxes."
Wow, are you stupid or what!
Your post is not only incredibly stupid, it's also inaccurate.
Were you dropped on your head as a child? Repeatedly?
yourself...
You do realize, you have a red mustache...right?
Kid, you have your "facts" all kindsa fucked up and jumbled.
Take some ritalin, take a nice long nap...I"m sure ya must be all tuckered out, after all that flailin about.
Who started the housing bubble? What president signed off on giving loans to the unqualified? Sorry but it was Klintoon...
signed the bill, because the GOP had the majority in the house and senate at that time, and he couldn't veto it.
And even if the bill was his idea, which it was NOT, the big players behind the scenes driving the legislation to favor the mortgage and credit industries set the stage for this clusterfuck we're experiencing now.
And your hero, bushco made it easier for predatory lenders to sign up unqualified people for loans.
Granted, some of the people applying for these mortgages SHOULD have known they couldn't afford them.
But the majority of the bad loans were carried out by unscrupulous lenders, looking to make a quick buck on the less fortunate.
And attempting to assign blame to Clinton for this mess is disingenuous. and proves to me that you're just an ignorant fucking troll spewing forth RW lies.
Just because YOU have bought into the lie, doesn't mean anyone else is gullible enough to believe that bullshit.
How ya like DEM appples?
Read the article:
That overlooks the 2.5 percent fee that they take from the merchant on every purchase. If they weren't interested in collecting that they wouldn't be offering all those "perks"—such as they are.
yes...i know many of us do. It's time for those folks to face reality and live within their means.
As for me...start charging me interest from time of purchase...I'll use cash. I will cut up EVERY card I have, toss out my EZ Pass and order a new stock of checks.
Screw the card companies.
that actually advocated responsiblity for personal actions instead of looking for someone to blame.
That's what's wrong with this country....it's always someone else's fault! You applied for a card, you SIGNED the agreement, now pay what you owe!
You're right. I signed the agreement, and I'm paying what I owed.
I don't think it's unreasonable, however, to expect the other party to honor that same agreement. Or to expect them to inform me ahead of time if they decide to unilaterally change the terms of the agreement, instead of changing the terms, penalizing me, and THEN telling me they've changed the terms.
Or you could just do like I've been doing for years.
Don't get credit cards to begin with, I'm gettin through life just fine without ever having a credit card.
The cowardly idea of racking up $10-$70K in debt up and then screaming FOUL is insanity.
I don't feel sorry for them or anyone who signed up for and ARM and is not screaming. You liked the rate when it was 5% but now that it went up what they TOLD YOU IT WOULD or COULD you scream foul! LOL!!! You signed for it...pay for it!
The banks had no hand in it -- like giving credit lines greater than a person's income, multiple cards w/ mega lines of credit, teeny minimums, marketing to people who have no self control about spending -- the banks have nothing to do with it, they're the vics?
Consumers are just following the 'insane' example set by the GWB admin last year. The Banks -- they all came to him, crying like babies last year after they had recklessly racked up trillions in debt and then screamed FOUL when asked to not give multi million bonuses, on the tax payers dime, to account for the money the trillions that the Bush Admin just gave them
Most CC applications you sign allow them to do everything they are currently being accused of. Raising rates without warning, etc....It's ALL in the fine print, but in everyone's haste to buy more than they can afford they forget about all of that. Just like the Obama administration, they are looking for someone to blame.
You knew the terms of the card....Pay up!
really. A total and complete moron. We just had a couple decades of deregultion so the banks could do this. and the dereg was ramped up over the last eight years. Our biggest example, the idiot in the WH was demonstrating over and over again how not to take responsibility. The Role Model in Chief also demonstrated how you could get ahead by eschewing responsibility and breaking some of the highest laws of the land, those contained in the Constitution. If you will recall, the right wing fully supported Bush's criminal acts, and agreed with him when he called the Constitution "a goddamned piece of paper".
I'm betting a lot of people crying right now are these supporters. I mean, look at you, asshat. Crybabying your eyes out on a left leaning site, calling people on the left the Constitution haters. Based on what, Einstein? There's more to the constitution than #2.
I think with my sourcing, I pretty much crush you on that, though you would never sack up and admit it.
Here's a tip: The truck nutz you stuffed into your tighty whities, right before you started posting here, they aren't real. They're plastic, like you.
"Klintoon"?
Freepers are now allowed to play their namecalling games here?
Great way to ruin a website.
Slate let them ruin their fray.
When I was in the Army (more years ago than I care to think about) those of us who were able to manage our princely salaries (I cleared $109 a month) discovered a great business to get into, namely loaning money to those irresponsible dimwits who just absolutely had to live way beyond their means. The common between-paydays deal in the barracks back then was to loan "ten for twenty" i.e. I'll give you $10 in mid-month if you repay me $20 on payday.
Not only was the payback sweet, there were also unbelieveable bargains to be had from the mouth breathers who went out on payday and bought stereo setups (called hi-fi back in those days) and good quality 35mm cameras. One to two weeks before payday, they would go door-to-door in the barracks offering up their goods for pennies on the dollar so they could afford to go to town and try to get laid. Instant gratification was big back then, too.
Not only did I finish my 3-year tour with a load of goodies I got for nearly nothing, I came home with money in the bank, something that I could never had done had I depended on banking 10 percent of my salary.
Before you get the idea I was one of those barracks nerds who never went out touring Europe and partying on a multinational scale, let me assure you I enjoyed the scene so much I eventually chose Germany as my retirement home because of its convenient central location.
As I scroll thru these credit card threads, I can't help thinking things haven't changed that much in 50 years. People (with very few exceptions) who carry a balance from month to month and feel morally upright and oh-so-entitled because they've never been late making their minimum payment are the barracks dimwits of the past. And the credit card companies are the loan-sharking GIs taking "unfair" advantage of their stupidity.
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