Credit card companies: Penalties after the fact

Low, even for credit card companies.

Apparently, some are trying to reduce the spending limit to below the current balance and then charging penalties for spending over the limit. What the fuck ...

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/106716/How-to-Blow-Your-Credit-Limit-Without-Spending

 

Two credit card issuers did it to me in 2002. I almost didn't recover from the torrent of fees and penalties unleashed.

Shameful. Crooks.

 

When they do that, it's time to take out the scissors to the plastic.

 

Thing is, you still owe the fees. Too bad the law doesn't take effect until 2010.

And the ironic thing, these companies argue that they have to pay their execs their bonuses because they have a contract. Yet, they seem to enjoy taking full advantage of changing their contracts with their customers. More typical hypocrisy from the wealthy elite.

 

The executives won't sign on without an ironclad contract. The consumers accept awful contracts from the companies because they believe they need the credit cards.

 

The people running credit card companies are parasites of the highest order and should be treated as such. Exterminate them.

 

On this, we absolutely agree.

It's a shame there are people out there who feel they HAVE to have credit cards to survive. The consumers made the mistake of getting and overusing those credit cards, and some blame goes to them. But this practice? Horrid.

 

Amen to that.

We just refinanced and folded some of our credit card debt into the new mortgage. I envy my wife, who got to mail in the checks paying several of them off -- including Bank Of America, who jacked our rate for no good reason in the mid-20 percent range.

Eat shit motherfuckers.

 

I'm a little behind on one of my payments. The account is well under the limit but I haven't used it in several years, so to pay more critical bills, I shorted my MasterCard payment. Yeah, I know, I'm asking for it, but it's a bed of my own making so I'll accept whatever happens while continuing to pay it down, soon to a point where I can use Bubbler's last line on them. My credit rating is in no danger as I pay my other things on time and I have no intention of buying a car or house in the next five years.

The phone rings frequently with a number I Googled and discovered it's one of BofA's telemarketing people -- the same people who tried to shame a son into paying off his dead mother's account. Like the U.S. government, I refuse to negotiate with terrorists. They'll get what they get when they get it.

 

So don't you need a credit card in this day and age? Seriously.

Not saying you need to charge up debt, but how do you rent a car, hotel, etc?

 

I knew someone was going to jump all over that.

In the interest of fairness, I'll clarify. No one needs the number of credit cards to far too many American carry, especially with enormous balances.

I have a debit card with a credit card logo on it and it's just as effective. And I can't spend more than I have, so no credit loads to carry.

But I cannot imagine carrying a debt on four credit cards like I did in my younger days.

 

Even besides the obvious answer of a debit card, you can usually do any of those things except rent a car with a simple phone call ahead of time.