OMG! RAGING RANT HERE!!

[monarc23]

Quote:
I forget the credit card we use/used but luckily my hubby caught the increase notification, and that was the choice we had too so we were happy to shut it off. Im sorry those dimwits didnt even have the consideration to make sure you got your notification!

 

[OPIE]

Well, pay the caards off and get away from them! It sux, but I did it 4 years ago and dont look back, if I cant pay cash, we dont buy it.Yea sure alot of people have alot of fancier Tv's, computers , etc, etc. But I dont have there credit card problems. YEE DAWGEEEEe
Im not tryin to rub your face in it by no means, I was there once, I was just lucky enough to be able to get them paid off and throw EVERY new application in the wood stove, dont eaven open it up!

My dad would always loaugh and play with these card offers. They would send him the pre-approved letter, he would call them and they would runhis credit and say" were sorry sir, its not that you havebad credit, its because you dont HAVE any credit history" my dad would laugh nd say "yup, I pay cash for everything" and hang up on them. (hey it was cheap entertainment for a great ol guy) ..

 

[HennysMom]

Opie & Urban:

I didnt use my card for "fancy things" - car repair or house repair isnt IMO "fancy things" - and in others defense - some people unfortunately have to use their credit cards on occassion to purchase food and/or medicine when the paychecks just dont stretch far enough. I'd rather not take my savings to $0 and wipe it out in one fallen swoop and try to rebuild over months and even years, its just not feasible - when if something else comes up - I would end up having to 1. borrow money with a loan or 2. use my credit card anyways due to not having that money since savings would be gone.

This wasnt a debate on "who spends money better" or "who's smarter" - I manage my bills very well and pay on time every time, paying off as I see fit or need to when the need arises - and also "borrowing" as I need to or see fit. This was about the screwing from the Banking Industry - and the continual screwing we as consumers will continue to get regardless of bailouts or not.

Thanks for your input though - it does help to see others sides, but lets try to stay on point. I dont want this to get closed or heated into something it shouldn't - k?

 

[FractalFarmer]

But can't you see that they need a new corporate jet? And some more multi-million dollar bonuses for their execs? I'm sure if all of us just chip in and tighten our belts just a bit more to pay them 20% interest on money they borrow for 0% from the Fed, then everything will be fine for them. Besides, if we don't give it to them voluntarily, they'll just have their little congress-puppets pass another bailout bill and steal it from us & our children through lifelong taxation.

Seriously though, even if you pay your bill in full every month, the CC companies still get the transaction fees. Starve them by using cash, debit cards, and barter whenever possible. But definitely don't pay them any interest if you can possibly avoid it. Don't feed the beast!

Recommended reading: The Creature from Jeckyll Island

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

And then the fools on CNBC were saying that buying that jet would have employed people in its manufacture and upkeep and use fuel etc etc

First off the thing was made in France....

Secondly it would not have created 50 million dollars worth of work in its entire lifespan even if you counted in flight crew and baggage handlers for cripes sake!

Trickle down does NOT work - they need to allow for some more money on the bottom and create a tsunami UP!!

 

[Wifezilla]

Well, the problem is that cities place so many barriers to entry for small businesses (license fees, sign licensing and fees, inspection fees, zoning regulations, taxes, etc...) that competitors to these big corps never get the chance to form.

Then the cities take your tax dollars and use to it recruit big companies away from OTHER cities while giving these companies tax rebates, zoning exemptions, and incentives to come to their area. This gives big corps additional advantages over a small start up company.

Then you have these big companies hiring locals at the lowest possible wages while it pumps all profits out of state to some corporate headquarters.

If, for some reason, it can't suck money out of your community fast enough, it closes its doors and then half the town is out of work.

Because of the business environment, small companies can't open to replace the lost jobs.

Who employs the most people? Small business. Who gets screwed the most by government? Small business.

 

[Black Feather]

HennysMom no worries, I'm not heated in this debate at all! Some people are just amazed when they do the math on how much they pay in interest and how much they would have saved if they had done things a different way.

It certainly wasn't meant to say one way is better than another. By stating the difference in paying upfront in cash vs over time with interest then it will allow people to make informed choices, no matter which choice they make.

The thing that gets my goat is that the credit companies can pretty much do as they please and they have us by the short and curlys so to speak. If we break our dependence on them then they loose their power over us and then hopefully start to show us as their clients a bit more respect. They change the rules on us and we have no choice but to swallow it, and it stinks. I don't think it's right that the OP was forced with a hiked interest rate while they had paid all their bills on time. It just doesn't seem fair. Same with being charged for not using the card....just doesn't seem fair.

UC

 

[HennysMom]

Oh yeah.. I forgot to mention when someone else talked about Debit cards.


for those that may not know - each one you have IS on your credit record - it is recorded as a credit card - in case you didnt know. Not in the "traditional sense" with a "balance and minimum payment" but it IS there. If you havent looked lately at your credit report - check it out, they are there. Mine is and DH's is on all 3 reports. I at first thought someone opened an account falsely until I did further research and found out that it was our debit cards.

Because you can use them like a credit card and now companies can and usually DO run them like a credit card regardless if you tell them its a Debit - they go on your report.

To open a bank account/checking/savings - they require you run a credit report to see if you are credit worthy - why? In order to see if they will even issue you a debit card to begin with! If they dont see a high enough score - they can and will deny you. Our bank that I've been with since the 80's is located 60 miles away now since we moved - so we opened another account locally with the only bank here - Bank Of America - and I was SHOCKED that I had to "apply and be pre-approved" via credit worthiness. I had $$ in hand to open a checking account - and they want to run a report on us?!!

What choice do you have if you need a local bank to cash checks and whatnot? So...we did - and luckily we got a promo where there are no fees - but I will never open another account with another bank ;and yes...I have a debit card with BOA - and a nice new shiny mark on my credit report...

Tell me WHY they can pull whenever they want and make our scores go DOWN but we have no say?? UGH

 

[HennysMom]

Quote:

I was the OP LOL!

I hear ya Urban..I hear ya... *scoots over to save ya a seat*

DH was just saying wouldnt it be nice to call them up and say "Hey..know what... I dont like my current rate, so I'm changing it...yep - you heard me.. here's my notice to you!"

He did fire off 3 letters to Senate and Congress today though..

Squeaky wheel people.... fire them letters off!

 

[Rhett&SarahsMom]

Actually. The reason the banks run a "credit check" is to make sure that you havent over drawn an account elsewhere and taken off. Or opened several accounts in several locations and banks. That could be looked at to be an attempt at fraud.

I worked for a bank for nearly a decade. And even had a credit check run when I opened an account that I dont have a debit/atm card on Same as my mom. And we use a pretty big bank.