Credit Card Companies Find New Ways To Rip You Off

[blade2k5 1,523]

Heres the article

This is one of the 100s of reasons why I don't have nor need a credit card.  Credit card companies are nothing more than a thieves guild.

[Larks2242 251]

Yea, it is unbelievable how they can just raise interest whenever they want. It's funny how some even charge you just to be a member.

[blade2k5 1,523]

And now want to charge you for not using the damn thing.

[Larks2242 251]

Originally posted by: blade2k5

And now want to charge you for not using the damn thing.

quote>

You mean like some sort of inactive fee?

[Easy Bakes 253]

Originally posted by: Larks2242

Originally posted by: blade2k5

And now want to charge you for not using the damn thing.

quote>

You mean like some sort of inactive fee?quote>

Yes you pay a fee for being Financially prudent.

But thiers ways around it.

Use it once a month, pay a small bill or something, go to a moive, ect.

Pay it off every month and you avoid the nonuse fee and have no interest for outstanding ballance.

 

[Duke87 1,070]

And, apparently, closing an account actually hurts your credit rating. So, that credit card you're getting charged a fee for not using often enough? You might actually be better off keeping it and paying the fee. Cancelling it will cost you as well.

[Larks2242 251]

Originally posted by: Duke87

And, apparently, closing an account actually hurts your credit rating. So, that credit card you're getting charged a fee for not using often enough? You might actually be better off keeping it and paying the fee. Cancelling it will cost you as well.

quote>

In that case it seems like it is not worth getting at all, unless it is one of those card that gives you a discount when used or credits/points for stuff.

[Easy Bakes 253]

there are certian things you can only buy with a credit card.

Rental cars and Plane tickets come to mind.

[Larks2242 251]

Originally posted by: Easy Bakes

there are certian things you can only buy with a credit card.

Rental cars and Plane tickets come to mind.

quote>

Really no cash only a credit card, wow you would think companys would want the money as fast as they can get it.

[Larks2242 251]

Then again i guess it may be due to insurance reasons.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Originally posted by: Larks2242

Then again i guess it may be due to insurance reasons.quote>

No its so they dont have to handle cash. And to keep track of who rents the car or is on the plane

[MattShizzle 11]

There's always debit cards. I'm in the process of declaring bankruptcy due to a $12,000 + credit card debt.

[blade2k5 1,523]

Sure makes me glad I decided a very long time ago to avoid credit cards all together. The way I see it, if you don't have the cash on hand, don't buy it. I've done quite well by that and have saved myself thousands of dollars of interest in my lifetime.

[sneakeypete 16]

Credit cards are just fine if you use them responsibly (know how much money you have and can spend), and if your really careful you can actually use them to make a little extra money:

One way to do that is to put all your pay into a short term money making account, buy on credit and then use the money to pay it off just on time before interest is paid. Then you get, what, 5 dollars of extra interest.\

Its a bit hard to get around in life thesedays without a credit or debit card. Cash is too hard to carry around for large purchases, and bank transfers can take too long. Its worth pointing out that i only use mine (which is connected to parents account, since when i got it 2 years ago i was only 17 and a bit) for large irregular purchases (eg, computer parts), for day to day stuff like food, paying bus cards, fuel i usually use cash, which is a bit more use of cash than a lot of people, i think.

[Legosim 14]

Originally posted by: MattShizzle

There's always debit cards. I'm in the process of declaring bankruptcy due to a $12,000 + credit card debt.quote>

My family probbly will too, cant pay our medical bills. Debit cards are better, just make sure you have the money in the bank first, to avoid fees

[blade2k5 1,523]

Originally posted by: sneakeypete

Credit cards are just fine if you use them responsibly (know how much money you have and can spend), and if your really careful you can actually use them to make a little extra money:

One way to do that is to put all your pay into a short term money making account, buy on credit and then use the money to pay it off just on time before interest is paid. Then you get, what, 5 dollars of extra interest.\

Its a bit hard to get around in life thesedays without a credit or debit card. Cash is too hard to carry around for large purchases, and bank transfers can take too long.

quote>

Actually, no its not.  It's really simple and easy if you plan ahead.  I always have cash on hand when I know I'm going to be purchasing a big ticket item, like when I bought two 42" and one 27" LCD tvs last year and paid for them in cash, roughly $2000.00 all at once.  The look on the clerks face was priceless when I pulled out 20 crisp $100 bills

Oh, and now days you pay interest on your credit card balance whether you pay it all off in time or not.  And if you're not now, you will be soon.

[MattShizzle 11]

The clerk probably thought you were a drug dealer or something.

[Larks2242 251]

Originally posted by: MattShizzle

The clerk probably thought you were a drug dealer or something.quote>

Just cuz you have a lot of money does not make you look like a drug dealer

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: Larks2242

Originally posted by: MattShizzle

The clerk probably thought you were a drug dealer or something.quote>

Just cuz you have a lot of money does not make you look like a drug dealer quote>

No, but with credit and debit cards so pervasive these days, it's understandable that one might jump to the conclusion that someone peeling off large sums in cash is someone who is handling large "cash only" transactions - transactions which usually are of an illicit variety.

Of course, there are other perfectly good reasons. My uncle lives in Italy and whenever he comes here he's always making trips to Wal-Mart, Modell's, and other such places, and buying hundreds of dollars worth of stuff, because with the exchange rate being what it is and with many products being more expensive in Italy, it's considerably cheaper for him to buy that stuff en masse here and then take it home with him rather than buying it back home. And, he pays for it all in cash because his credit card will charge him an exchange fee for buying something not being sold in Euros.

And that's fine, but that also means he's walking around with a few thousand dollars in his pocket... I, for one, would never want to be carrying that much cash on my person at once. Too risky. It's an awful lot of money to lose to having your pocket picked or getting mugged (or simply losing your wallet). So If I have to make a large purchase I'll either use my debit card or write them a check.

In that regard, I don't like $50 and $100 bills... I generally don't find myself making purchases that large and paying in cash, so they become dead weight in my wallet unless the rare occasion comes up or I make someone break one on a smaller purchase. Fortunately, ATMs only give out $10 and $20 bills, so this is only an issue that comes up if I get one from someone else!

[Larks2242 251]

Originally posted by: Duke87

 he's walking around with a few thousand dollars in his pocket... I, for one, would never want to be carrying that much cash on my person at once. Too risky. It's an awful lot of money to lose to having your pocket picked or getting mugged (or simply losing your wallet). So If I have to make a large purchase I'll either use my debit card or write them a check.

quote>

Can't you use travelers checks that way if you lose it no worrys because it has not been signed.

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

Well, it just goes on, and on.  Thieves guild is probably as good a description as any.  I no longer have any credit cards and will never have one again.

The worst aspect is that they are now invading the debit card game.  This will increase the charges for Interac transactions and will probably produce a fee increase with your banks.

I believe it is in Leviticus where the Bible declares that any interest rate beyond 10% per annum is usury and a sin.  I long for the good old days when the Bank of Canada Act set the maximum interest rate in Canada at 6% p.a.  I guess this shows my age.

[Larks2242 251]

Originally posted by: N_O_Body

I believe it is in Leviticus where the Bible declares that any interest rate beyond 10% per annum is usury and a sin.  I long for the good old days when the Bank of Canada Act set the maximum interest rate in Canada at 6% p.a.  I guess this shows my age.

quote>

I don't think credit card companys care about the bible. I hope the US lowers the max interest rate below 36%, people are losing there homes because of poor credit  this it is ridiculous.

[Patricius Maximus 236]

Credit cards are like shackles, which bond the people to the banks. That is what the article demonstrates. The big boom of debt and credit cards is now coming back to bite the American consumer with the inherent goal of the corporation -- to make more money, by whatever means possible.

I myself do very little business with credit card companies, and only use them where only credit cards are taken, or for big-ticket purchases that I wish to pay over a period of time. In my experience, cash is always best to use for transactions, since it is accepted just about everywhere, and there is no bank or other third party involved.

[diamonddog_74 32]

The most troubling aspect of this new development is that we have become so docile to these crooks that we actually believe that we can't function without them. Just as thousands march on Washington for civil rights, we should push back and protest these abuses. It was the incredible greed and irresponsibility of banks that got us into the economic mess we're in. We bailed them out, and now they want to thank us by hiking up fees and making up new ones out of thin air. And what do we do? We read it, and say, "Well, that's just terrible," and then we proceed to pay anyway. We've been whipped into submission. This makes me so angry, I can't write anymore because I don't want to say something that will get me kciked out of the forums.

[blade2k5 1,523]

Originally posted by: Duke87

Originally posted by: Larks2242

Originally posted by: MattShizzle

The clerk probably thought you were a drug dealer or something.quote>

Just cuz you have a lot of money does not make you look like a drug dealer quote>

No, but with credit and debit cards so pervasive these days, it's understandable that one might jump to the conclusion that someone peeling off large sums in cash is someone who is handling large "cash only" transactions - transactions which usually are of an illicit variety.

Of course, there are other perfectly good reasons. My uncle lives in Italy and whenever he comes here he's always making trips to Wal-Mart, Modell's, and other such places, and buying hundreds of dollars worth of stuff, because with the exchange rate being what it is and with many products being more expensive in Italy, it's considerably cheaper for him to buy that stuff en masse here and then take it home with him rather than buying it back home. And, he pays for it all in cash because his credit card will charge him an exchange fee for buying something not being sold in Euros.

And that's fine, but that also means he's walking around with a few thousand dollars in his pocket... I, for one, would never want to be carrying that much cash on my person at once. Too risky. It's an awful lot of money to lose to having your pocket picked or getting mugged (or simply losing your wallet). So If I have to make a large purchase I'll either use my debit card or write them a check.

In that regard, I don't like $50 and $100 bills... I generally don't find myself making purchases that large and paying in cash, so they become dead weight in my wallet unless the rare occasion comes up or I make someone break one on a smaller purchase. Fortunately, ATMs only give out $10 and $20 bills, so this is only an issue that comes up if I get one from someone else!quote>

Maybe where you live it's risky, but not here and not if you don't open your big mouth and brag about how much you're going to spend.  And I don't carry that kind of cash in my wallet, I have another hiding place for it.  The wallet I carry has nothing in it but a note that says "You've been had"

[Larks2242 251]

Originally posted by: blade2k5

Originally posted by: Duke87

Originally posted by: Larks2242

Originally posted by: MattShizzle

The clerk probably thought you were a drug dealer or something.quote>

Just cuz you have a lot of money does not make you look like a drug dealer quote>

No, but with credit and debit cards so pervasive these days, it's understandable that one might jump to the conclusion that someone peeling off large sums in cash is someone who is handling large "cash only" transactions - transactions which usually are of an illicit variety.

Of course, there are other perfectly good reasons. My uncle lives in Italy and whenever he comes here he's always making trips to Wal-Mart, Modell's, and other such places, and buying hundreds of dollars worth of stuff, because with the exchange rate being what it is and with many products being more expensive in Italy, it's considerably cheaper for him to buy that stuff en masse here and then take it home with him rather than buying it back home. And, he pays for it all in cash because his credit card will charge him an exchange fee for buying something not being sold in Euros.

And that's fine, but that also means he's walking around with a few thousand dollars in his pocket... I, for one, would never want to be carrying that much cash on my person at once. Too risky. It's an awful lot of money to lose to having your pocket picked or getting mugged (or simply losing your wallet). So If I have to make a large purchase I'll either use my debit card or write them a check.

In that regard, I don't like $50 and $100 bills... I generally don't find myself making purchases that large and paying in cash, so they become dead weight in my wallet unless the rare occasion comes up or I make someone break one on a smaller purchase. Fortunately, ATMs only give out $10 and $20 bills, so this is only an issue that comes up if I get one from someone else!quote>

Maybe where you live it's risky, but not here and not if you don't open your big mouth and brag about how much you're going to spend.  And I don't carry that kind of cash in my wallet, I have another hiding place for it.  The wallet I carry has nothing in it but a note that says "You've been had"

quote>

A bank?

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: blade2k5

I don't carry that kind of cash in my wallet, I have another hiding place for it.quote>

I'm not going to make an obvious juvenile pun...

I'm not going to make an obvious juvenile pun...

I'm not going to make an obvious juvenile pun...

[Larks2242 251]

Originally posted by: Duke87

[

I'm not going to make an obvious juvenile pun...

I'm not going to make an obvious juvenile pun...

I'm not going to make an obvious juvenile pun...

quote>

What's the pun?

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

At most I might carry as much as $100 near the first of the month because I like to have that much as pocket money for the entire month.  If I have too many debit transactions, I get hit with a service charge, even on my senior's account, otherwise my bank account costs me very little.  The only time I get hit is for outsiders teller machines or Interac transfers.  I try to avoid these as much as possible.

I have no credit cards, and only a mortgage to pay monthly.  I wouldn't have the mortgage except for some bad investments in the late 1980's. and '90's.  (Yes, even I counld be sweet-talked by an investment dealer then).

If you don't know what you are doing, don't borrow to get into the market.  And tear up those come-ons from the credit card usurers.

[Patricius Maximus 236]

Originally posted by: Larks2242

Originally posted by: blade2k5

Maybe where you live it's risky, but not here and not if you don't open your big mouth and brag about how much you're going to spend.  And I don't carry that kind of cash in my wallet, I have another hiding place for it.[...]

quote>

A bank?quote>

I can't speak for Blade2k5, but I prefer to keep most of my money in my own possession (i.e. a safe), and not trust a bank with it.

Originally posted by: blade2k5quote>

The wallet I carry has nothing in it but a note that says "You've been had"

quote>