Well imagine my dismay when they asked me to pay ten dollars for the privilege of paying the bill online. It almost sent me over the edge and then they added insult to injury when they added another thirteen dollars for refusing to pay the ten dollars.
I called customer service and ended up speaking to a woman named Joe in India who would not give me her last name but did take the charge off the bill. All I could think was that it is about time someone took a look at the abusive practices being used by credit card companies.
Dirty Credit Card Tricks
Say "Bye-Bye" to Your Grace Period
No grace period means that you'll start accruing interest the moment you charge something and that can cost you a bundle of "extra" interest. Most credit card issuers have already reduced their grace period from 25 days to 20 days. Many others have eliminated the grace period altogether. Now they are coming up with more and more reasons to take away your grace period. Miss a payment? Stop carrying a balance? Bye-bye grace period!
AOL Money & finance
Punishing You for Being Smart
These fees are the lowest of the low because they penalize you for being a responsible credit card user. Some of the biggest offenders include charging you a fee for:
+ Closing your account
+ Failing to use a card for a period of time (such as six months or a year)
+ Not carrying a balance
+ Every transaction each and every time that you use your card
If your card charges you any of these fees, it's time to look for a new card!
AOL Money & finance
Lowering Your Minimum Payment
Another way some cards try to jack up their profits and lure you deeper into debt is by lowering the minimum payment due on your balance. It used to be cards required a minimum monthly payment of about 4% of your balance, but many now require as little at 2%. Don't fall for it! Going from a $40 payment to a $25 payment on a $2,500 balance means it will take you an extra 19 months to pay off your balance!
AOL Money & finance
Inviting You to Skip a Payment
Broke this month? In their infinite generosity (ha!), some cards will "invite" you to skip a payment. This "helpful" offer, which sounds great at first blush, often comes after the holidays when your balance is big and your wallet is stretched. DON'T DO IT! Skipping that payment can lead to a host of trouble from a higher interest rate to possibly having to make extra payments in the future. Are you starting to notice a pattern?! You should be skeptical whenever your credit card company does something "nice" for you without you asking for it!
AOL Money & finance
Tricky Timing
We all know that our payment is due on a certain date or it's late, right? But a new twist being thrown into the mix is having your payment due by a certain time on the due date. If your payment is due at noon, and gets processed at 12:01, you get socked with a late fee AND likely a higher interest rate. Gimme a break! Carefully check your statement so you avoid this trap.
SOURCE: Dirty Credit Card Tricks provided by AOL Money & Finance
AOL Money & finance
They give the corner check card cashing stores in the hood a bad name.
At least you know up front what they are going to charge. Well finally my prayers have been answered because there is legislation being drafted that requires credit card companies using these practices to start playing fair with consumers.
The Federal Reserve and Office of Thrift Supervision has proposed legislation that would:
+ Prevent banks from raising interest rates on previous purchases charged to a credit card
+ Not allow creditors to prey on folks with poor credit histories
+ Curb lending to young people
Comments: (32)
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By: Theolinda Knight on 5/15/2008 8:33AM
It's about time. Credit used to be regulated, then it was deregulated, interest rates went from about 8% up to over 25%. When you buy something on credit you pay almost twice the price, even if you pay it off in less than a year. Also the merchant charges you more because they have to pay about 3% of the charge to the credit card company before you pay a dime. They are coining money. Are they happy? No, they keep finding ways to make sure you never get out of debt. The worst is car loans. If you do not have collision insurance acceptable to the company, they charge you for VSI (Vendor's Special Interest) insurance, the monthly premiums on which are about half the amount of the loan, and if the car is totalled, you never see a dime, it all goes to the lender, even if you have made most of your payments. Also it doesn't insure you for liability or anything else. So after a couple of months you owe more than the vehicle was ever worth, and it keeps adding up. That's why so many people just drive the car off a cliff, at least it gets the loan company off their back, even if the police come after you. Using credit is a good way to get poor if you're not, and to stay poor if you are.
Remember St. Paul's advice "Owe no man anything but to love one another."
Incidentally, the bible forbids usury, interest on a mney loan, it is a sin, and in Islamic (sharia) law, interest on loans is also forbidden. So if you take part in our credit madness, you are sinning by God's law, no matter how good you think you are. Consider that the next time you want to buy something.
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By: Theolinda Knight on 5/15/2008 8:32AM
It's about time. Credit used to be regulated, then it was deregulated, interest rates went from about 8% up to over 25%. When you buy something on credit you pay almost twice the price, even if you pay it off in less than a year. Also the merchant charges you more because they have to pay about 3% of the charge to the credit card company before you pay a dime. They are coining money. Are they happy? No, they keep finding ways to make sure you never get out of debt. The worst is car loans. If you do not have collision insurance acceptable to the company, they charge you for VSI (Vendor's Special Interest) insurance, the monthly premiums on which are about half the amount of the loan, and if the car is totalled, you never see a dime, it all goes to the lender, even if you have made most of your payments. Also it doesn't insure you for liability or anything else. So after a couple of months you owe more than the vehicle was ever worth, and it keeps adding up. That's why so many people just drive the car off a cliff, at least it gets the loan company off their back, even if the police come after you. Using credit is a good way to get poor if you're not, and to stay poor if you are.
Remember St. Paul's advice "Owe no man anything but to love one another."
Incidentally, the bible forbids usury, interest on a mney loan, it is a sin, and in Islamic (sharia) law, interest on loans is also forbidden. So if you take part in our credit madness, you are sinning by God's law, no matter how good you think you are. Consider that the next time you want to buy something.
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By: GW on 5/16/2008 10:34AM
Thanks to Republicans the credit card industry can do what it wants. Remember how credit card interest could be deducted from your taxes? Well thanks to Reagan back in the 80's, when the Repubs were thrilled by his tax cutting measures, this was one tax break that disappeared. Around the same time the interest rates began to skyrocket. Under the Repubs, again, the credit card companies moved to have bankruptcy laws changed to make it darn near impossible for ordinary people to file for bankruptcy to get out from under credit card dept. Face it, by the time you pay off a huge credit card debt you have paid for the purchases you made many times over.
I never carry a balance on my credit cards. I use them only for convenience and pay them off ahead of time each month. I discovered that one company began moving the payment due date ahead, hoping I would not notice the shortened time period. They can only make money off of me if I'm late and have to pay a penalty.
This industry needs to be re-regulated, especially since credit cards are becoming more and more a necessity. With all the money in the World you still cannot rent a car without a credit card, you cannot make purchases over the internet or by phone, and who carries around large amounts of cash anymore?
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By: BEAUTIFUL ONE on 5/16/2008 11:33AM
HAPPY FRIDAY!
BLING, BLING!
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By: Lynn on 5/17/2008 1:30AM
Thank God. The banks are sucking poor Americans like leaches. There should be a limit on the interest rate they can charge and it shouldn't be allowed to go over 6%..enough of milking Americans and they are part of the problem why we are in this mess. Greed has ruined this nation, however, the Bible has always spoke of this. It's ok to make a profit but to get down right GREEDY is absolutely WRONG. Just as worse as drug dealers and Pay Day Loans. Preying on the weak and unknowledgeable and anyone in Congress who allowed that law to pass should be voted out of office or NOT into office. They make billions and Americans are tired of the greed and so is God..hence why we are in this mess now.
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By: leon on 5/27/2008 9:09AM
I guess we all have to use wisdom when using our cards.
www.sbshoppes.com
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By: MRS T on 5/27/2008 10:47AM
LYNN, I AGREE WITH YOU 1000000%.
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By: Jason on 5/27/2008 11:40AM
Also why is it when you can't pay or late on montly payments they charge fees, and increase your interest rates? If Americans can't pay the min montly payments what makes the credit card companys think that we will be able to afford all the fees and an increasing monthly payment because the interest is now through the roof? Then when we can pay and start to pay off the balance all in sudden the credit card companys want to be your buddy by offering low interest on balance transfers. Also all in a sudden the credit card companys start to call you and offer you lower normal interest rates and offer you the world. Why would we keep a credit card company when they want not thing to do with Americans who need help to pass a rough spot?
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By: anita on 5/27/2008 1:07PM
It is a money making business and it will get worse over time. The bankruptcy laws changed a couple of years ag. No longer can you start clean and just have the barkrupcy on your credit for 10 years, you now have that scar in addiion to having to pay back a portion of the debt. And the way the economy is, many people are reaching for the credit card to buy the basic necessities such as gas, food, medicine or even to pay a bill. So what happens the credit card debt goes up, so does the interest. And we as conusmers are not knowledgeable. The interest goes up, the minimum payment goes down. We just can barely afford to pay the minimum and it takes 20 years to pay off the balance and the comapny makes twice what the balance was. If you can live without using the card, don't, if you must try to pay at least the minimum plus the interest per month or if you can afford to only charge what you can pay off at the end of the month. Foreclosures, credit card debit, high price of gas/food/health care. And they want us to use our stimulus money to boost the economy.
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By: Roy B on 5/27/2008 4:46PM
The federal government has seist to over see and regulate prices and left the consumer to the dogs, and thereby the dogs fix prices to keep the homeless homeless, the poor poorer, and the rich richer. Is this government for the people by the people?
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