BF2S Forums Congress to hear about Credit Cards

Kmarion wrote:

ATG wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

My suggestion, use neither. That way we won't have to hear people whine in DAST. There used to be a time when people honored their commitments. Now we come up with new words and call ourselves victims because we can't understand what it means to enter into an agreement. The credit card companies base their rates on credit worthiness. If you pay your mutually agreed upon debts on time your interest rates are lower. If you take out loans and bitch when it's time to honor your willful commitments you pay the deadbeat tax. I think it's running around 29% these days. I'd rather people exercise self control than demand the government stick it's nose in business.

Criminal tactics dictate that if you are late on your phone bill the credit bcard goons jack your rate.

I hope they all fail.

You willingly sign up for something and refuse to pay for it. Whose the criminal again?

Some of these companies, Chase included, have been jacking up people's rates who have never been late.  The problem with credit cards is that the company can change the terms of the agreement so easily.  Fixed rates become variable and rates skyrocket, all because they feel like it.  I'm boycotting every credit card company except Discover.  They're the only ones with any reasonable terms anymore.

Kmarion wrote:

ATG wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

My suggestion, use neither. That way we won't have to hear people whine in DAST. There used to be a time when people honored their commitments. Now we come up with new words and call ourselves victims because we can't understand what it means to enter into an agreement. The credit card companies base their rates on credit worthiness. If you pay your mutually agreed upon debts on time your interest rates are lower. If you take out loans and bitch when it's time to honor your willful commitments you pay the deadbeat tax. I think it's running around 29% these days. I'd rather people exercise self control than demand the government stick it's nose in business.

Criminal tactics dictate that if you are late on your phone bill the credit bcard goons jack your rate.

I hope they all fail.

You willingly sign up for something and refuse to pay for it. Whose the criminal again?

Also, my rate only hit the default 29.99% because I was late once, and due to hard times, I was having to put gas on my CC, so I maxed out my card. One two occasions, they've raised my balance without my knowledge and in seeing that my balance was going up each month, decided to make me pay for basically going through rough times at home. Not only did I have to deal with what I dealt with, but my CC company started to screw me over at the same time (but was more costly).

Last edited by too_money2007 (2008-04-18 13:12:29)

You guys need to get credit cards through a reasonable bank.  Mine has never raised my APR or any of that business.  I have two credit cards, one I keep in case of emergencies.  I never use it, and not once has HSBC Bank raised its rate.

Also, make sure you get your free credit report from the three main reporting agencies every year.  You are entitled to one per year from each, just goto http://www.annualcreditreport.com/.   Get it, and check to make sure that the debt that is on there is actually yours.  If anything is showing up as late, confirm that it is correct.  That file is your credit report, so make sure it's accurate.

Kmarion wrote:

I'm sorry to hear about your hard times. But expecting someone else to bear your misfortunes is hardly fair. I might need a new suit for a job interview. That doesn't give me free reign to steal from Men's warehouse under the justification that I'm unemployed.

You got me all wrong. My hatred towards Chase is that they absolutely refuse to lower my APR, even though I've paid down my balance by atleast $400. It's those tactics that make me want to puke. They're not worth my business. I mean, shit, I was paying over $800/year in interest. Pretty ghey, actually.

I'm done with credit though. It's there to get me my house and cars in the future. Nothing more. I might keep a new card open for emergencies, but that's it.

Last edited by too_money2007 (2008-04-18 13:42:49)

too_money2007 wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

I'm sorry to hear about your hard times. But expecting someone else to bear your misfortunes is hardly fair. I might need a new suit for a job interview. That doesn't give me free reign to steal from Men's warehouse under the justification that I'm unemployed.

Again read what you are signing up for. Common sense is a personal responsibility.

You got me all wrong. My hatred towards Chase is that they absolutely refuse to lower my APR, even though I've paid down my balance by atleast $400. It's those tactics that make me want to puke. They're not worth my business. I mean, shit, I was paying over $800/year in interest. Pretty ghey, actually.

I'm done with credit though. It's there to get me my house and cars in the future. Nothing more. I might keep a new card open for emergencies, but that's it.

It's sounds like you've got it figured out. I'm glad to hear that. There are many companies that will renegotiate debt. It's virtually commonplace now when people get really far behind.

too_money2007 wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

SenorToenails wrote:

You guys need to get credit cards through a reasonable bank.  Mine has never raised my APR or any of that business.  I have two credit cards, one I keep in case of emergencies.  I never use it, and not once has HSBC Bank raised its rate.

Also, make sure you get your free credit report from the three main reporting agencies every year.  You are entitled to one per year from each, just goto http://www.annualcreditreport.com/.   Get it, and check to make sure that the debt that is on there is actually yours.  If anything is showing up as late, confirm that it is correct.  That file is your credit report, so make sure it's accurate.

Nor mine. In fact I recently got a fixed 5.5 fixed 30 year mortgage (October).

Grats. I'm looking for a similar loan, fixed 30 year, hopefully 5.5-6.0. Though, the rate is lowering, so there's no telling what I'll get. I'm sure it'll be higher, as I'm the only source of income ($40k/year) and my wife is a stay at home mom (would cost more to put son into daycare than for her to get a job), but I do have a 650-700 credit score. We'll see what happens. Closing is July 15th and we're going to start meeting with our people.

Are you building? Builders are working with lenders now to help people get where they need to be (Builders are in a bind as well). They are buying down the points, paying closing cost, and working with lenders to lock in rates.

too_money2007 wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

Are you building? Builders are working with lenders now to help people get where they need to be (Builders are in a bind as well). They are buying down the points, paying closing cost, and working with lenders to lock in rates.

Yeah, we're building. I know that my builder, if you go through their lender (CTX mortgage) pays the title fees of ~$1k, and that's it. I've rolled in like a bit over 3/4 of the closing costs into my loan, so I'm looking at $130k for the house. We're going to see their proposal and then talk to the guy that my mom and my wife's parents use, as he'll most likely beat out a crappy offer from CTX.

Just crossing my fingers, as the hardest parts are coming up fast.

That's pretty weak. Only title fees? The seller usually pays that anyways. Not much incentive to use their lender.

Kmarion wrote:

I might need a new suit for a job interview. That doesn't give me free reign to steal from Men's warehouse under the justification that I'm unemployed.

So all the customers are the criminals now. Sure sounds like what you're insinuating. Was I a criminal when ____ was hiding what I really owed for a couple months? I had to ride them like crazy to erase $150 of payments, while avoiding extra charges and late fees for unannounced charges like pinball pitfalls. The only time they acted like a stand-up company was when they waived about $25 from these negligible fees. Now multiply shit like this for ten to thirty years, and you can see how people can get taken advantage of.

Credit is tied into so many aspects of our economy that the government has no choice but to poke its nose into their business. Some of the terms and conditions on these agreements are so vague and seedy that it's hard to blame an average Joe for falling for the con.

Last edited by unnamednewbie13 (2008-04-19 19:02:34)

Kmarion wrote:

unnamednewbie13 wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

I might need a new suit for a job interview. That doesn't give me free reign to steal from Men's warehouse under the justification that I'm unemployed.

So all the customers are the criminals now. Sure sounds like what you're insinuating. Was I a criminal when ____ was hiding what I really owed for a couple months? I had to ride them like crazy to erase $150 of payments, while avoiding extra charges and late fees for unannounced charges like pinball pitfalls. The only time they acted like a stand-up company was when they waived about $25 from these negligible fees. Now multiply shit like this for ten to thirty years, and you can see how people can get taken advantage of.

Credit is tied into so many aspects of our economy that the government has no choice but to poke its nose into their business. Some of the terms and conditions on these agreements are so vague and seedy that it's hard to blame an average Joe for falling for the con.

Context. They don't "hide". They have to disclose it. Pay attention to your terms. Im not denying Credit is a trap. It a legal trap that people walk willfully into. If they said they cut your balls off after twenty months of late fees I bet people would be reading more carefully. Pay attention.

Then how come it took me two months of phone calls to straighten their shit out?

unnamednewbie13 wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

unnamednewbie13 wrote:

So all the customers are the criminals now. Sure sounds like what you're insinuating. Was I a criminal when ____ was hiding what I really owed for a couple months? I had to ride them like crazy to erase $150 of payments, while avoiding extra charges and late fees for unannounced charges like pinball pitfalls. The only time they acted like a stand-up company was when they waived about $25 from these negligible fees. Now multiply shit like this for ten to thirty years, and you can see how people can get taken advantage of.

Credit is tied into so many aspects of our economy that the government has no choice but to poke its nose into their business. Some of the terms and conditions on these agreements are so vague and seedy that it's hard to blame an average Joe for falling for the con.

Context. They don't "hide". They have to disclose it. Pay attention to your terms. Im not denying Credit is a trap. It a legal trap that people walk willfully into. If they said they cut your balls off after twenty months of late fees I bet people would be reading more carefully. Pay attention.

Then how come it took me two months of phone calls to straighten their shit out?

I'm not saying that some companies aren't crap. More often than not it's consumers who ignore their commitments though. I deal with lenders almost everyday and work to get those things straightened out. Some banks also work with people to renegotiate their debts, which they are not obligated to do. There is no industry wide standard.