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!
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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
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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
1. 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.
Theolinda Knight at 8:32AM on May 15th 2008