Credit Card Debt

[dolansco]

i recently had a creditcard put on hold , so I rang the issuer ... ( i had a positive balance ... +€5xxx )...
Reason given . They immediatly took the card off hold , but warned me that they were in the credit business and I was abusing the system by pre-loading my card ?

Pre-loading is not generally a good idea BTW , as you are not covered againt fraud on your own money by the issuer, ( in the TOS here in Ireland ), the banks only cover their own money . Thus $0 balance seems the ideal sceanario.

 

[tas38]

I wanted to add more then my limit once, they told me out right I would get hit with a over the limit fee. I told them that is nuts, they said well it's over the limit and to bad. So I had to use, 2 different card to buy what I was getting. The funny thing is, the store had no problem, letting me use to 2 different cards to pay.

 

[katherine]

I use my cards quite extensively but balance is always paid in full from bank account.
The rates are too expensive and not a viable financing option unless you have no other choice.
I have settled all my debts long ago... you can't really be free when you are in debt, that is one of the pitfalls to avoid in our society... every effort is being made to make you a slave of something.
Consumer debt is a major plague of our times. The whole nation is living on credit, being at the mercy of foreign lenders. When you think countries like China own a large chunk of US debts I find it scary k:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_public_debt

 

[DomainMagnate]

No debts here, just the damn taxes..

 

[D'same]

Sssshhhhh....i am not saying.....but right now anything with card in it i try to avoid....even Chinese dumplins...

 

[tas38]

After the bank give me a good raking, I don't really care anymore.

I got a 2001 sable just under 50k on it, and the bank oked the loan for just about 12k. Well I pay $270 a month payments, they put $175 on the fee's and just $95 towards the car.

The car was 9k add 3 year or 30k ford warranty, and then the add on insurance to cover the bank, for anything over book value if it's totaled. And it was 12k, plus the full covage I must keep on it. Now if some one hits my car and totals it, the bank gets all the money. Till the loan goes under book value, and the way they are doing it that a long ways off. And by then it will not have, much book value left by that time. And I get nothing out of it, but to lose my car and all the money I put into it.

The bank says bend over, and the insurance pulls down your pants. I have to pay it, but I don't have to like it. What ever happen to paying the fee's, as you pay off the auto loan like a normal bank loan. I'm paying close to 2X as much on the fee's, as I'm paying on the auto it's self. My mom tells me, that that is the way they all do it for auto loans anymore. They did not even send me a title with a lean on it, my mom says they send it only after it's paid off.

I said then why do they, put that thingy on some autos to shut them off. If they miss a payment on them, because you sure can't sell it or even get insurance or anything. If they call the insurance and tell them, to drop the insurance on it because you have not made your payment. As they own the auto, till you pay it off in full and they turn it over to you. Seems a bit over board to me, my car don't have it on it. But why worry if they own it, that seems kind of really dumb to me.

Ok my rant is over, I'll get off my soap box now.

 

[Biggie]

The average household carries $8,000 in credit card debt according to MSN. How do you compare?

I started in this biz with a credit card

10k limit initally, then $16k, then $24k one 1 card.

had another with $8k limit

and a "Revolving" credit for $5K


ran em all up to the max!

now, i've paid off all credit accounts and closed all except one.
that one card has maybe $2k > $3K balance and it has a $35K limit.


i like to use other people's money....what can i say

 

[Rockefeller]

the 10k, 16k, and 24k were all different cards? wow, I don't even think i could get one that high.

 

[VioxxLawyers]

If you havent seen this movie about the credit card industry....you shoud ..

http://www.maxedoutmovie.com/

documentary....Pm me and thank me later

Thanks.... downloading..... :cheesy:

 

[Biggie]

the 10k, 16k, and 24k were all different cards? wow, I don't even think i could get one that high.

no, that was one card.... a "Gold" MS.

i paid the balance at least twice before and they kept raising the limit.

it's the only credit card that i have left.

i think the most my minimum payment was $270, then when they changed the CC minimums it went up to $350.

so i paid it off and threaten to cancel the account.


then they lowered the APR to "6." something on any balance until 3/08!

i use it mostly for backorders

 

[GAMEFINEST]

The credit card companies want you to go into debt, make monthly payments, and have late fees, and mostly target lower income families because thats where the money is.

 

[Rockefeller]

Is that your movie GI?

 

[Biggie]

The credit card companies want you to go into debt, make monthly payments, and have late fees, and mostly target lower income families because thats where the money is.

I was with you until this statement:

and mostly target lower income families because thats where the money is.

 

[Rockefeller]

I was with you until this statement:

That is basically the truth. Credit card companies do not give you credit hoping that you will be a great member and pay off your balances every month, this means that they wont make money. I tend to agree and disagree on the low income family statement. When someone doesn't have money to buy what they want, they look to get credit knowing damn well that they can't pay it back.

 

[whitebark]

Why do you think they call those that pay off their balance every month deadbeats? They WANT you to carry a balance and make only minimum payments - those that get trapped into that are those of lower economic means - ie - lower income families.

According to PBS - 115 million Americans carry monthly credit card debt. That's where they make their money! Add in the fees which go up every year, and in the US restrictions on fees have been all but removed since 2000. Miss a payment they slap you with a fee and immediately increase your interest rate - thus trapping you even more!

Heck they even set up shop in States with lax restrictions on usury - on purpose of course!

 

[tas38]

The banks also took stock holders for a big ride, they made deals with incs behind close doors. CEO's and CFO's, would get big fat bonuses to stop the loan payments. So they could file BK, the banks got a BIG % of the new incs. That was then free of all debt, open under a new name and started selling stock all over again.

But this time the stock went much higher, because the biz that they told the BK judge was worthless. Was worth much more then before being debt free, the banks made a killing and the incs did as well. Only the old stock holders, got the shaft and had worthless stock.

How do I know this, well I saved up for 3 years to buy some flag telecom stock for my kid. Everything was great, till when they was a short ways from being done, building the fiber lines around the world. They had a few good contracts, and had the funds on hand to make it to profit. But then the bank and the head of flag telecom, made adeal that they would stop paying on the loan. And the bank would file on them, so they could file for BK.

They told the judge all the billions of fiber optic lines, they had going around the world under the sea bed. Was only worth junk price if that even, the CEO was to get a big fat bonus. Us stock holders got a lawer, well the CEO did not get his big bonus. But all we wanted, was a small % of the new telecom's stock. Now they said if we thought it was worth so much, that we could just buy some of the new stock when it comes out.

Well the judge just went with the bank, and the telecom and our stock was worthless. And they changed the name, and was then debt free and they put out new stock. Seeing how it value rised big time because of the BK, and they inked some very big contracts. Because the bank owed a big % of the new telecom, the stock was released at a high price. They all made a super big killing on it, old stock holders lost everything on it. They would not even give us a small % of the new stock, that is all we really wanted because we knew it's real worth.

And the worst part of it is, there was a clear record of all this. And the judge still left them rip us off, and this was done many times over by the banks. Out right ripping stock holders off, only when the banks cut into the gov't pension funds did they say anything. That is because the gov't, them selfs had to make up 50% of the funds the banks ripped them off. They still left them, pull it on others stock holders though. But a few judges, did give the the stock holders some thing. But only after the stock holders, got the news and and good lawers to help them.

The best we could do though, was got the CEO's big bonus for going BK taken off him. The lawer we had said, he was very sorry but the judge would not even let him talk to him. The judge made him submit papers, but never really touched base at all. The lawer said, he was never treated in such away by a judge before. And that it was all worked out, behind closed doors way ahead of time by them.

The judge ordered that the banks guy, be placed as the trusty over the whole BK case. And that any problems would have to be taken up by the trusty, and the lawer said the trusty would not give him the time of day even. Nothing that he could do to help us, that was the end of it for stock holders. Be leave it or not, most of us was ok just knowing the CEO lost his pay off. We was sure the bank rip him off of it, and that made us feel much better knowing that. That is what happens, when you play with the devil don't you know.

http://www.flagtelecom.com/

Some about the BK they filed.....

http://www.imorasoft.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.17

Take note of this part....

Flag Telecom released the quarterly report on May 15, 2002. It states that the company had 2353M of asset in property and equipment. How does the value of asset go down from 2353M to 385M in 3 months? The company has not indicated the write down of assets of this proportion in any other statements. Thus, either Flag Telecom released a false balance sheet on May 15 or it is writing down too much asset in the reorganization plan. Assets and liabilities should not be written down since it would not reflect a fair market value. Fair market value of assets and liabilities are listed in the previously released SEC document.

 

[Giode]

I maybe owe $300 or less on a card. It serves as a good backup when I realize my wife has my debit card. Learned from personal experiences in college how easy it is to lose yourself with credit card debt. Now, don't need them!

 

[VioxxLawyers]

All i can say is watch 'MAXED OUT', great documentary.

Banks basically borrow huge amounts of money from companies, foreign lenders, rich Americans, and lend it in small (consumer lending) or bigger amounts (mortgages for ex.) at high rates (20-30% p.a. including fees) to middle class workers and poor people.

When you borrow $1 from a CC company, you have got pay the principle back + $2 in interest for every dollar.

More about payday loan centers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payday_loan

91 percent of their revenue comes from borrowers who cannot pay off their loans when due, rather than from one-time users dealing with short-term financial emergencies.

Debt is the biggest corporate profit machine in the US.

MBNA America was the single largest donor to the Bush campaign in the past election.
http://www.opensecrets.org/2000elect/contrib/P00003335.htm

 

[HomerJ]

usury

you said a mouthful there.

i remember in college on campus the credit card company campus reps would set up tables and give away free t-shirts for kids who would sign up for a credit card. they were always out there doing this, i hate to think how many kids they roped in with a 'free' t-shirt. "no thanks" i would say, .. you can keep your Joe College t-shirts and your 23% interest.

unfortunately our whole economic system is based on credit, ie. fractional reserve lending, ie. a house with no foundation. i hesitate to bring this up, but why did the central banks pump over 100 billion $ into the market last week? where does this money come from? :worried: