OMG! RAGING RANT HERE!!

[patandchickens]

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Indeed, we have walked up to them and HANDED them our short and curlies and said "ok now hang on tight"

Not a good situation. For every person that the availability of credit cards has helped, I would bet there are 20 or 100 who've been led seriously astray by having that available.

The fallacy of using credit to avoid having to dip into savings is that, as Urban Coyote says, you end up paying more money total that way, and thus having less savings total once it is all past you.

Pat

 

[deerman]

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My debit card, does not show on any of my three reports. but mine will not pay if no money in the account.

 

[ruth]

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Actually, there's lots of "fine print" that say when/how they can raise your rates - like if you are ever so much as 1 day late or over the limit or if your credit score changes.

They did that to me, but it was Discover. Same situtation, I had used some of those checks they send you to use, 3.99% for life of the loan. Paid regularly for a year. I called in a payment three days before due date but they posted it as "late" and charged a late fee and raised my rates to 28.99%. When I called I was told "well, you were late." No, I called this in prior to due date. "Well we have to wait till the funds clear." No, I don't think so. "Sorry, there's nothing we can do for you, the agreement says...." I just continued up the supervisor ladder till I got one who put the rate back at 3.99%. Then I get a letter that they are lowering my limit because they pulled a random credit report and now I'm over the limit - so guess what happens to that special rate if you're over the limit - you got it!!!

So beware, be very aware - they can and will get you any way, shape or form.

 

[Black Feather]

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Haahaa! Now that is funny. Good thing I had swallowed my drink before I read that!

I think the thing to remember is that the credit card companies are businesses. The more ways they can make money the better for them and the worse for you. This wouldn't be so bad if they weren't so greedy, but they are. If rates were reasonable, say 5% then they could still make money and it wouldn't gouge their clients. Unfortunately as I'm seeing more and more and more, big business is all about sucking the life out of their clients....just look at Exxon Mobile, didn't they just post massive record profits in the billions, in just one quarter! What they don't realize is that it should be a symbiotic relationship, not a parasitic one. The client dies, and so to does the company.

"(New York - Exxon Mobil and Chevron, the top-ranking US oil concerns, Friday reported record earnings in 2008 despite a strong falloff in business in the final quarter of the year. Exxon Mobil said its profits reached 45.22 billion dollars, up 11 per cent from the previous record results achieved in 2007, while Chevron reported 23.9 billion dollars in profits, up 30 per cent.)"

 

[OPIE]

Hennysmom, I didnt mean to offend. I know how those darn cards work also. It bites. Its not going to be them taking a hit, they are going to pass it on to everyone else.
As far as the foolish spending with cards goes, I was refering to my friends who have flat screens, one upstairs and one downstairs and all the fancy trimmins that go with that stuff and they brag about what a good deal they got and couldnt pass it up so wipped out the plastic. Didnt mean your situation, there are people that used them to get by and back when things were better, it could be done, but now, all bets are off. Good luck to ya on dealing with them, try to see if you can find a different one to switch to with lower one.



Deerman...... GET THE HE$% OUT OF Bank Of America!!!!!!!!!!!! There facing colapse and are ome of the BIGGEST banks to screw ya out of your money with hidden fees!!!!!

 

[dacjohns]

I'm just one of those uninformed consumers that has no idea what my credit card interest rate is. We pay our cards off every month and earn dividends on our cards. Our car loan is a 0% interest loan and our credit score is high.

All this comes from living within our means and being very fortunate that we have had no medical or other disasters to deal with. It also comes from totalling a truck. The snowball effect of wrecking a vehicle eventually paid off a two property payments and a home equity loan with money left over. And no, it was not a medical settlement, it was only car insurance paying for the totalled vehicle.

 

[SpottedCrow]

Henny!
Cheap Greek DH says don't close that account, just don't use it anymore...

 

[BayCityBabe]

If you pay it off every month, it doesn't matter what the rate is...

 

[beak]

They did the same thing to us. Sent the notice in a little envelope that looked like trash mail. Almost threw it away. We have 3 cards with the same company. Took all night to find out what card it was because they didn't put any numbers on it.

Now that they got their bailout money from Paulson they're trying to help us out. As in out of our house. They're going to end up with a lot more BK's.

 

[Buster52]

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I don't know if this has been answered, but the government reassessing your value downward is a GOOD thing. The bank does their own assessment during a refi, and ours assessed for $50k more than the county assessed it for. The bank may look at the county's number as a factor, but not THE factor, in determining the value of your home.