Obama to challenge credit card titans »
Posted By rafaeldenillo 7 months, 1 week ago in Business & Finance
WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama will Thursday tell US credit card industry chieftains he will push for more regulation to shield consumers from unfair fees, punitive interest rates and predatory lending.
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slate7 months, 1 week ago
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The 'credit' system in majorly messed up. Our whole lives are based on our credit. If you have less than stellar credit they even charge you more for like Insurance on your house and car, even after demanding you auto paying from your checking account, insuring they get paid on a pay day and you are never late paying 'them'. The best way to fix this class war of 'credit' status is to throw out your credit cards and save up for rhe things you need and pay for them, instead of continuing the addictions credit cards cause of having the things you think you need right this moment.
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UnusualSuspect7 months ago
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How true, Slate...
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I got a letter from TD Bank on Tuesday, saying they're upgrading my Platinum VISA to a "Easy Rewards" Platinum VISA...same thing except for the "rewards" part.
However, they're increasing the rate from 7.24% to 14.24%, almost double! I've always paid on time, and even pay it off in full on occasion. I can opt-out by letter by May 30, which I'll probably do.
I'm not worried about never paying the balance on time, but it's just the principle of the thing. You don't do that kind of thing to good customers.
Unfortunately, cancelling your credit cards isn't a good idea either, as it shows up on your credit report and can lower your rating. Best thing to do is let them become inactive from non use for a long time, like putting them in a lock box, and throwing away the key!
Just don't use them. Use cash when you can. They'll get the message soon enough. -
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Tcaros7 months ago
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The credit system is messed up because the elitists had a "fix" in the White House for the previous 8 years.
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They were allowed to "rape and pillage" the average consumer.
Now, times they are changing. We have someone who cares about the average guy. Wouldn't you know it- the dirty conservative blue collar people have to love it.
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dailyblueberry7 months ago
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You're right Slate, we should be responsible for our futures by saving up to buy or accounting for all our purchases so that at the end of the month we "know" we can pay them off.
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This is why it drives me insane that we now allow our Uncle Sam(donkey or elephant) to try and shelter us from any responsibility. He's simply fixing our current situation, without allowing us to learn anything.
I've been telling my son for 2 years, "don't play with your gum," and what did he do yesterday...he played with his gum and it got in his hair. I didn't just cut it out so he wouldn't experience the pain, I let it hurt a little so that he will remember not to do it again.-
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aceofspades17 months ago
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daily - what you are losing site of is that use of a credit card is a vurtual neccessity - try doing business on the internet without one , try making a reservation or booking a flight without one. Try going to a resort without filing a card to cover incidentals - yes the use of a credit card is a fact of life if you ever cross over the threshold of your house. Judicial use is the way to handle it, but even under those circumstances the credit issuers are finding ways to beat you.
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stalemateComment removed: Retracted by user
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engineer7 months ago
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At one time the banks were regulated and could not charge more than 12% on any consumer loan. The MAFIA leaders went to jail for this. The banks did and credit card companies did fine before this. The banks and credit card companies need strong regulation.
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A person who works and pays their bills gets laid off. the credit card companies should not be able to kill that person financially because of bad times. Obviously they say you're down and now I'm going to kill you because you don't have the financial resources any more to pay in full -
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Charlson7 months ago
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I got fed up with credit companies years ago and cut up all my credit cards. I use a debit card tied to my checking account instead of credit cards. So, I only have a mortgage and utilities to pay every month. I think I'm one of the lucky ones.
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chevydog7 months ago
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I do exactly the reverse. Refuse to use debit cards; but will use credit and pay it off religiously at the end of the month.
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I kind of think the banks can find some justification for their high rates on outstanding balances. If you ask for a loan (e.g. car purchase), much info is required. Not so with credit cards -- you may not even need to be a real person. So credit card holders in general will not 'rate' as well as people who have 'real" loans because the larger population will be sure to get you some bad risks. The remedy for that of course is to go back to what credit cards were originally for -- high earners and really good risks. To a modern banker that doesn't sound that great. -
stalemateComment removed: Retracted by user
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cheif7 months ago
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I believe if you 'follow the credit card' you'll find the person behind all the deregulation
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for credit card companies is your own vice president - who the rest of DC coined the phrase
'don't leave home without your Biden' because of all the things he did for them.
I hope Obama can cancel a lot of the Biden changes, and I know Biden is working hard for the
credit card companies at this point - they give him LOTS of campaign help...should be an interesting time...I'm pulling for Barry at this point...he's REALLY got a high hill to climb; with Biden pulling him down as hard as he can...
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DarkWizard7 months ago
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I had 6 credit cards about 2 years ago. I now only have 2 and keep them for emergencies. The reason I kept 2 was because I was able to lock in lower interest rates. The other cards I paid off and they warned me it could affect my credit. But, you know what, I would rather my credit go down a little than have a credit card company hold me ransom by threatening my credit rating and charging me an annual fee. I paid them off and shredded their cards.
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I do believe that us, as Americans, need to go back to a cash society. Buy what you can afford and pay for up front. Of course, there are always going to be needs that we'll have to purchase with credit at some point. But, if you only do this when necessary you will keep your credit card balances low and be able to pay them off more quickly.
Some helpful hints: I have always bought everything I could in cash and even negotiate prices for items. I'll buy a perfectly fine stereo system off the floor for less. I have bargained for furniture, cars (still can't pay cash), electronics, food, etc. I also try and see if I can get extras thrown in for free when buying items. Many times I get extras or more money off just for asking. I've gotten extras at restaurants too. You don't know what you can get if you don't ask. -
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dandt16127 months ago
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We also got a letter in the mail this week. We always pay on time, even paying more when we can and have paid it off three times in the past and don't think we deserve this kind of treatment so we have decided to cut up our credit card and glue the piece's on a piece of paper with a colorful message for them and mail their own letter back to them with our message on it.
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May sound like something a child would do but it makes us happy.-
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cheif7 months ago
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There's a lot of 'children' out there doing the same thing...keep it up!!! I've gone a step further...
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when I get a solicitation with those checks in them, I fill them out and change the name to their
CEO and send it back to them...as you said; just makes me feel better...
Almost forgot...our Nigerian kings on the internet who have millions of dollars waiting for us if we give them a bank account number to send the money to ... I send them back to each other ... small, but a feel good...
Keep happy and cash is king!!!
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reallypsst7 months ago
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Here is a sure way of getting away from credit cards,if you cant pay for it with cash then don't buy it,because you don't need it,and if you really needed it you would have worked and saved up for it,this is what my grandparents always told us ,but do we pay heed ,hell no!
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ADAGUY7 months ago
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I use credit cards every day on a regular basis. I can't recall when I didn't have a balance on at least 2 cards and at times, as many as 5 cards. Fact is, it is the way I finance my business.
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When I need a loan, it is cheaper for me to call a credit card company and ask what is the rate for a cash advance. They may respond with "2% for a year, then it goes up to 12%". I then have then transfer the funds to my checking account, and make payments for 11 months. At that time, I call the a few other credit card companies and find out who has the cheapest rate for a balance transfer. I've used this method for about 8 or 9 years, and it has really served me well. But it's not for everyone. If you fail to stay on top of it, or if you miss a payment and the rates go up, the interest will eat you alive. -
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dgoodii7 months ago
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Got letter from Bank of America informing me that the fixed rate on my card was increasing to 13.9% and variable. So they are now starting to remove the fixed rate status as well. Also took the cap off of balance transfers and advances, no max anymore. Called them and they reset it for now, no guarantee on how long it would last.
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Was informed that 45 million card holders had or were going to get new terms in the next month or two, regardless of their history.
I believe they are starting to increase rates on those who will pay. Industry sees the looming defaults from laid off and unemployed workers, since it is unsecured debt their last on the list to get anything. -
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