Rant: I Made 1 Late Credit Card Payment, So I Called... | 34 comments (34 topical, 0 hidden)
Wow (none / 0)
That was enlightening!


Now if you can find me a cheap flux-capacitor I can finally finish my time machine. Try and get something for under $200 if you can (my remaining credit is like $220).

by Tom Hanc on 08/01/2008 03:48:59 PM EST

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o well (none / 1)

"Hey, I spent all my money on take out food and a new tv but now I don't have enough for rent. Why can't my landlord just get off my back"

You make a mistake shit happens. Don't sign a contract you won't stick to.

Don't talk about religion or politics, my ass!

by TheRob91 on 08/02/2008 01:19:14 AM EST

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You're making assumptions (none / 0)
And a sweeping, insulting generalization.

At any rate, even if you agree with that, are you saying you disagree that there should be rules regarding how much credit card companies can shaft consumers (and or how easily the insanely high default rate can kick can)?

The issue here is not about buying a bunch of bullshit and then not being able to afford rent. But let's say someone DOES buy a bunch of shit they don't need.
Fine, fault them for that. If they make one late payment (many companies apparently move up their due dates or run transactions late based on the horror stories I read at Dkos where I also posted this story) why should their interest rate double or triple to a point where maybe they CAN'T pay their rent?

How does this help our overall economy, especially with stagnant wages, inflation and the mortgage meltdown? Sure, it enriches the credit card company itself, but at what price?

It seems like there are a lot of people out there that get off on seeing people punished. I'm reminded of the type of person that says "abortion because she says she can't take care of a kid? Tough, she shoulda thought of that before she got pregnant".

Sure, she SHOULD have been using birth control, I agree. But maybe the condom broke and more importantly, I care more about preventing an unwanted kid than I do about getting off at seeing that woman get her "deserved punishment" for making the mistake of getting pregnant when she wasn't ready for it.

by Tom Hanc on 08/02/2008 11:00:56 AM EST

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Sure, there is no shortage of... (none / 0)

irresponsible consumers.

But we should also remember that a large percentage financial collapses are caused by medical problems.  Just saying.  And the rest are caused by Dick Cheney hacking people's bank accounts.

And somehow the Republicans think it isn't strange that the president of the United States has televised public addresses where he has little more to say than, "Everyone go buy some more shit!"

by ProfRich on 08/02/2008 12:10:33 PM EST

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nope (none / 0)

Were not talking about abortion, which I am in favor of.

The point I'm making is that people being stupid enough to sign these plans with rate like that are worse than the companies charging them. 

Shit like this needs to be used to put an impression into people's brains - don't spend money you don't have. I think people shouldn't even get credit cards, but thats just me.

I understand that maybe it isn't the best way to solve the problem(or even a way to solve it at all), but hell, you could set up an AUTOMATIC electronic payment if you wanted to. There are so many ways around the problem that I don't really feel for people that fuck up with it. Besides, can't you move it to another card anyway?

Don't talk about religion or politics, my ass!

by TheRob91 on 08/02/2008 09:03:13 PM EST

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Horrible Attitude (none / 0)
People don't sign up for 28.99% interest, they get screwed for something stupid and THEN their rate gets jacked up.

It wasn't always that way, this is a result of credit card/bank lobbyists pushing for such legislation.

And there you go again getting off on wanting to see people punished for being "stupid" rather than looking at what makes sense for our overall economy.

And like I said before several people at DailyKos reported that they got screwed WITH automatic deductions on their account (not just for credit cards, also for cable, utilities, etc. The company moved up the due date, some on a regular basis.

Your argument is the same one used by conservatives and libertarians to justify screwing over the working poor/middle class on a regular basis. The latest example is that the mortgage meltdown all comes down to "stupid people" signing up for mortgages they can't afford.

The bottom line is that it hurts our overall economy to let corporations do whatever the fuck they want. Whatever sadistic joy you get from watching "stupid people" screw up should be far outweighed by that simple fact.

by Tom Hanc on 08/02/2008 09:33:58 PM EST

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Automatic Payments (none / 0)
As ihnb mentioned, it is common practice for credit card companies to move up due dates, therefore, making your automatic payments late making you subject to outrageous default rates.  This is why when I have credit debt, I have monthly reminders on an Excel sheet to make manual payments. 

Another insane practice that I've heard about is the ability of credit card companies to lower your credit card limit due to your credit history/score.  So you've never missed a payment, and all of a sudden you're in default because the credit card company decided to lower your limit making your balance over the limit.  Again read the fine print, but I still think it's completely unethical.

by rev24 on 08/02/2008 11:23:37 PM EST

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Still beats dealing with Vinny (none / 0)
It still beats the old school loan sharks, at least the credit card company won't break your bones if you're late on a payment, but the interest rates arn't much better. 

by alphasigmookie on 08/03/2008 02:12:41 AM EST

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autopayments (none / 0)
Yeah the autopayments can really bite you in the ass as well.  They're a great way to overdraw your account if you dont' pay close enough attention. 

by alphasigmookie on 08/03/2008 02:15:32 AM EST

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Rant: I Made 1 Late Credit Card Payment, So I Called... | 34 comments (34 topical, 0 hidden)