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Joined:
April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Just a heads up.....with the new cc rules going into effect in a few months, the cc companies are making some pretty dumb moves IMHO (it is called balance chasing).
Balance chasing seems to be their new thing with AMEX and BOA being the two biggest culprits but smaller banks following suit (google if you don't know what I am talking about).
Over the last week, 3 of my cards have been hit. I have never been late...usually pay 2-5 times the minimum amount due....and had approximately 50-60% available credit on each card.
Now I have less than 5% credit available on each card since they lowered the available credit to several hundred above the balance.
Not only does this fuck me up from an available credit limit but it also LOWERS MY CREDIT SCORE because it now looks like I overspend and all my cards are almost maxed out.
The cc company does not give any advanced warning, they just do it and from what I have read they will send you a letter about 6 weeks after the fact.....real nice.
I spoke to a friend today about this and he said the same thing had happened to him about two months ago. He had made a large payment on his card because his wife and kids were going on a family vacation. When they got to their destination and he went to pay for his hotel the card was declined due to not enough funds. His card originally had a $25,000 limit and he had paid it down to $10,000 in anticipation of the vacation (it was in Hawaii). When he called the cc company he found out his available credit had been lowered to 10,800.....leaving him with $800 available credit when he though he had almost 15K.
The banks take federal money to bail their asses out and then pull this kind of shit.
This is just a heads up and this thread will probably be locked down but I just had to speak out against this bullshit practice that will be more and more popular with the cc companies between now and when the new laws go into affect that will stop their predatory practices. |
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Joined:
May 2006
Posts: 4239
Location: Steeler Nation, Hudson Valley Contingent | Strangely enough, I just paid of my last credit card ten minutes ago. (It's taken a few years to do get rid of all of the dumb things.) When the payment clears, I'll close that account too. I now just carry a debit card with a major logo on it.
Until this industry gets its act together, I'll suffer less without'em than with'em.
Good riddance as far as I'm concerned. |
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Joined:
December 2006
Posts: 6268
Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | One CC company stuck a $25 late fee on my account prior to sending a statement. Fortunately I make my monthly payoffs via the web (ergo, no mail excuses) and had the records to dispute the charge
The local office took care of the charge.
Be on the look out for more and more of this BS! |
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Joined:
November 2006
Posts: 3969
| Originally posted by Patch:
I now just carry a debit card with a major logo on it. So do I. No CC = no temptation to spend what you don't have. You're much better off IMO. |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Nice work, gents. You are to be commended for managing your credit wisely. Millions don't. Financial naivete, lack of cashflow or other alternatives to cashflow, and loss of self-discipline over credit card usage is a huge problem for consumers. For years, credit card companies exploited this fact to increase volume, market share and profits. With the recent collapse in the credit markets, they're forced to change their practices in the name of preserving profits or minimizing loss risk. The needs of consumers is of little concern, despite their marketing spoo to the contrary. Unfortunately, there are some disadvantages to using a debit card which limit its all-around usefulness. Lower limits is a particularly problematic issue for me. I have just one credit card and use it for everything possible in order to snag the miles, so it has pretty high limits. I've even purchased vehicles on it. If you monitor your credit card account on-line, you should be able to monitor any changes they make to your account, particularly if concerned about a lowering of limits without prior notice. |
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Joined:
March 2008
Posts: 2683
Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | Never had one, never wanted one. Yeah, debit cards are a no-no on line, but I can live with that. One of the things I think you'll be noticing soon is that a lot of businesses that used to take cards will no longer do so. The fees they charge for the privelidge of accepting their card are so high and there are so MANY fees, it just isn't worth it any more. There's an ATM down the street... |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12761
Location: Boise, Idaho | Back in the good ole days as newlyweds, my wife and I were denied a Mastercard because we didn't have enough money, never borrowed and had no history. I had to buy an $80 suit at Sears so I had something to wear to my new job and Sears was the only place that would give us a credit card. (Obviously we didn't have $80 between the two of us at the time.)
My how times changed, but we have never had any credit card debt since. I understand that our credit score has suffered because they actually ding you if you pay off your card every month, but I've never needed a better credit score. Although the guitars and other items I bought from Al were paid with credit cards, I just use them as a substitute for cash or checks. Unlike Patch and G8r, I don't use the debit card because the fees are higher.
I'm trying to convince SWMBO to pay off her car, since I don't like borrowing for cars and if I wouldn't have depleted the bank account for guitars and some vacations, we probably would have paid cash for the car and paid off the house loan.
I realize I'm unAmerican and we're supposed to spend and borrow to stimulate the economy, but some of the old American ways were better. |
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Joined:
November 2006
Posts: 3969
| Originally posted by Mark in Boise:
..I just use them as a substitute for cash or checks. Unlike Patch and G8r, I don't use the debit card because the fees are higher. Exactly, a substitute for cash. My credit union issues its own Visa-branded debit card, and the only fee it charges for it is the standard out-of-network fee when you use it as an ATM card. Like the Prof, I also have a CC I use for big-ticket items to get mileage points, but never carry a balance on it. If we don't have the money for something we simply don't buy it - or wait until we do, which isn't long when you're not paying 30% or more of your budget just to service CC debt that'll take as long as a mortgage to pay down. |
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Joined:
May 2008
Posts: 4996
Location: Phoenix AZ | All depends how you choose to manage you finances. Key word is "manage". I have never bought anything on a credit card that I couldn't have gone to the bank and taken out the money and paid cash. I rack up significant expenses every month between work, mortgage, cars, etc. and it all goes on a credit card. The beauty is that I write one check at the end of the month and pay my entire living expenses in one lump sum. It's just how I choose to do it. I don't use a debit card and I don't carry cash. Different strokes for different folks. |
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Joined:
December 2006
Posts: 6268
Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | Originally posted by G8r:
My credit union issues its own Visa-branded debit card, and the only fee it charges for it is the standard out-of-network fee when you use it as an ATM card. Like the Prof, I also have a CC I use for big-ticket items Ditto. My CU limit$ daily debit transaction$, but not the CC. |
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Joined:
March 2009
Posts: 715
| I realize I'm unAmerican and we're supposed to spend and borrow to stimulate the economy, but some of the old American ways were better. [/QB] You are right, some of the old American ways were better.
I tried the new American way of borrowing and spending, to the tune of $11,000.00. It took me over a year and half to get out of debt, and I've been debt free now for over a year (except for my car payments).
The one nice thing about having the credit cards paid off is that I rarely get any unsolicited offers in the mail. I guess that the banks have figured out that they won't make any money on me anymore.
Once in a while, I listen to Dave Ramsey on the radio. He is not big on the credit score thing and thinks that having a good credit score is overrated.
Michelle |
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Joined:
January 2009
Posts: 4536
Location: Flahdaw | Never use a debit card at a restaurant. Never let your debit card get away from you. A nasty server can swipe your card through an unauthorized card reader and you do not have the same protection as you do on a credit card. Disputing charges gets very difficult with a debit card. We pay off our cc every month, always use it at restaurants or anywhere else where they "take your card", but use debit for everything else. |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13997
Location: Upper Left USA | So what I think I'm hearing that if you don't use Credit Cards, Bravo!
If you use Credit Cards you need to hurry up and buy something from Al before they chop off your buying power!
M(Al's new Buddy)Woody |
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Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Originally posted by Gallerinski:
I have never bought anything on a credit card that I couldn't have gone to the bank and taken out the money and paid cash. Same here. I use my Costco Amex everywhere I can, because we get 2% of it back every year. Last year we did a lot of air travel and a cruise and walked into Costco with a refund check they had to verify because none of them had seen one that big. You don't get that from a debit card. |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 5332
Location: Bluffton, SC | We do the same. Use it all the time and pay it off at the end of every month. Never had issues. |
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Joined:
April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Guess I am the only OFC member to carry a balance.
Well, I guess I gotta change that.
Check the for sale section real soon.
Nothing cheap (in quality) and you won't regret the purchase. |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12761
Location: Boise, Idaho | You can't take it with you, so enjoy those guitars. I worked with a guy that was as financially astute as anyone. He always shopped for the best deal, invested well, had separate accounts for toys so his wife wouldn't spend it, bought the cheapest Toyota in the country and put it on a credit card that he paid off the next month. He even found the cheapest flight that stopped at O'Hare, so he could pick it up in Chicago and drive it back in one day so he didn't have to pay for a hotel.
He was on his way to retirement at 55, but he fell off a ladder and died. At least he left his wife and kids well-off financially. |
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Joined:
April 2006
Posts: 2491
Location: Copenhagen Denmark | My story is a little different , I `m never " on credit " ,allways spend less than I have , HOWEVER : ..
Some time ago I took out a LOAN to buy recording gear , made the deal ,:..
Borrow so much / Pay back so much pr. mnth., .. so far so good , then..
A couple o`months ago I received a letter stating that due to the this and that ( eco crisis etc. ), I had to pay back more , But .. not to worry , the monthly installments would be the same ,
All I had to do , was ..
pay ONE More YEAR EXTRA !!!
My Eldest son , who is studying JURA tells me :
YES Pa , They Can Do That , It Is LEGAL !!! |
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Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | There's a contract you should have read... |
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Joined:
April 2006
Posts: 2491
Location: Copenhagen Denmark | Originally posted by The Wabbit Formerly Known As Waskel:
There's a contract you should have read... There`s NO MENTION in the Contract , it is the LAW.
My son had to look it up ..
For the Record :
I ofcourse stuck to my end of the bargain ,.. paid the correct amount , allways on time , correct acount .. |
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Joined:
June 2006
Posts: 7307
Location: South of most, North of few | Originally posted by The Wabbit Formerly Known As Waskel:
Originally posted by Gallerinski:
I have never bought anything on a credit card that I couldn't have gone to the bank and taken out the money and paid cash. Same here. I use my Costco Amex everywhere I can, because we get 2% of it back every year. Last year we did a lot of air travel and a cruise and walked into Costco with a refund check they had to verify because none of them had seen one that big. You don't get that from a debit card. |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 2793
Location: Atlanta, GA. | CitiBank SUX!!!
that's all i'm gonna say 'bout THAT. |
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Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Originally posted by FlicKreno aka Solid Top:
There`s NO MENTION in the Contract , it is the LAW. It's the law that a lender can change the terms of the agreement? That's an odd form of consumer protection... |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | I use a US Bank debit card with a Visa logo on it.
It works just like a credit card online.
I bought a (long-gone) Ultra 2171 with it, cuz PayPal don't work over the phone!
[And I was snagging one of the last of ten that they had... couldn't risk missing-out on it with an online transaction]
I am sure I would get a fee if I tried to use some other bank's ATM... So I don't.
When I am out walking I have an old-fashioned, Yankee-Cheap, rule...
If I don't have the Cash, I don't need it that bad. (This does not apply to Food!)
But after the recent financial woes, the general population has suddenly become Thrifty.
You realize that your old TV works just fine, and your car will probably run another few years.
So the Banks gotta dig into your wallet anyway they can.
Be Careful Brothers & Sisters!  |
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Joined:
April 2006
Posts: 2491
Location: Copenhagen Denmark | Arthur , Yer Killing me ... :D
Vic |
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VERY OT: Balance Chasing Bastards
Members Forums -> General Posting
