OMG! RAGING RANT HERE!!

[WalkingWolf]

And my CC companies have sent me notices asking why I have no charges, and Citi bank canceled me and the reason was I did not charge enough. Account inactivity is what they said. No problem I didn't want the card in the first place when they decided to send it to me.

 

[bluey]

I just dumped my two cards for the same reason. I paid them off immediately and told them to kiss my gluteus maximus.

 

[deerman]

Beware when closing you cards, I closed all my card accounts. Have no other bills, everything payed off for years.

Check my credit score 0, because I have no record. Found out should have a few to keep a score. But keep the bal. less than 33% of the limit.

Got a new Truck put down 30% just to get the loan, trying to get a credit score.

 

[HennysMom]

deerman.

yeah...it affects your score... but.. the way I see it... me paying outrageous % rates is worse. Scores can be made higher...money cant be given back once handed over

6 months time - your score will be back to what it used to be. Dumbest thing I've ever heard though... close an account in good standing and they lower your score - disgusting.

 

[WalkingWolf]

If you buy everything cash you don't need a credit score, and you get to keep all that interest money. My father ran a dairy for years without borrowing a dime. That is probably why his delivery business lasted longer than others, and he decided to get out when he had money in his pocket. My parents bought every house and car cash and still had CC companies and banks begging them to borrow money.

If we stop living on credit then you can live on a much lower income. Stop feeding the bankers. No offense but I think it is ridicules the things some people buy on credit.

 

[kodiakchicken]

Hey all,

I just read a couple pages then skimmed through the rest but I had to add to this.

In addition to raising your interest rates due to "the cost of doing business" credit card companies can and do run your credit history now and then.

About 4 years ago we had several cards with balances. The totals were way more than we should have had, but we were managing the payments fine and always paying a little extra. Well, one of the cards (started with Bank of America and the Citibank was next) ran our credit history and decided our debt to credit ratio was too high (even though we were making all our payments on time) so what did they do? Raised our interest rate! The Bank of America card was high already, 17%, but it was the Alaska Airlines card that we had a small balance on and we earned so many miles it was worth it. However, when the raised the interest rate it went to 28%!!!! We stuck with that one but then citibank did the same thing, raising the rate to 29%. It tripled our payment. So, while we were scrambling to try and get the rate reduced and come up with the payment, we ended up being late on the payment. They charged us almost $50 in fees and raised our interested rate again - to 32%!!!! It was at that point that we gave up. They wouldn't help us, said it was out of their hands, blah, blah, blah. We quit paying, went to a debt settlement company and have just one more to pay off. Citibank was by far the nastiest though. They made endless threatening calls and finally filed suit against us (for $11K - yeah, I'm sure the legal fees were higher than that!).

I will NEVER have another credit card. They are all evil and people that work for them and the credit collection companies should be ashamed of themselves for gouging and attacking fellow citizens just like them.

 

[Black Feather]

In all honesty, the only reason I have the one card that I do have is to make purchases that I could not easily make otherwise. If I want to purchase a flight online, reserve a hotel room or make some purchases online I use the card.

I also make sure I pay it off every time I use it. This way at least I avoid the interest charges.

I read one article once that put it this way. How many banks do you know of that will give you a free loan for a month? NONE! That's what credit cards do, they give you free money for a month and all you have to do is pay it off otherwise you get the interest payments added. That is why credit card companies HATE people who pay off their cards regularly. I believe they call the 'free riders'. They're getting a free ride and they can't make money off them. They are hoping that you will slip up and make a mistake so that they can make a profit.

Sooo....the cards are a double edged sword. Think of them as a one month free loan and you'll do ok. Think of them as an extension of your income and you'll be in trouble. Don't spend money you don't have and you'll be ok.

UC

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

In all honesty, the only reason I have the one card that I do have is to make purchases that I could not easily make otherwise. If I want to purchase a flight online, reserve a hotel room or make some purchases online I use the card.

I use my checking account debit card for these. Never had a problem being refused.

When my SO turned 67, within weeks both his MC and Visa rates went double. When the economy started souring, they went up again-- to 28%, so he canceled them. Then his credit score dropped 100 points! He went from over 700 to low 600s in just one month and the only thing that had changed was those cards.

I'm old enough to remember when charging 15-20% interest was considered loan-sharking and the people who did it were criminal lowlifes. Now they're bankers. It's just that now they wear 3-piece suits and have fancy offices instead of hanging out on corners or in back rooms. But they are still crooks.

Rusty​

 

[HennysMom]

sometimes that is easier said than done Urban....

I agree with you for the most part..however - sometimes its just not that easy when a car breaks down or your house has something wrong with it that costs thousands of dollars and you either wipe out your savings - or you opt to put it on a credit card and pay a monthly payment.

 

[MayberrySaint]

While I would be very ticked if they raised my rates, without credit card companies, I would not have been able to start my business.

No bank would make a business loan of $100,000 without adequate collateral or less than 8% interest. I was able to cash advance about $120,000 from my cards at an average rate of 3.5% (0.99% to 5.99%).

Because of them, I now employ over 40 people and contribute in a small way to our local economy.

Yes, they are greedy, but if you have good credit and use them responsibly, the cards (credit) can be a good tool.