I am so enraged about the credit card companies

[ailsagirl]

How they are mercilessly screwing the little guy (by the bankruptcy thing) on the one hand, while showering people with seductive credit card deals on the other. Not a day goes by, I swear, that I don't get some sort of offer in the mail.

I just called Citibank and AT&T and told them to get me the hell OFF their gd mailing lists. It was all I could do not to go off on a rant against those fat cats at the top who can never get enough $$$

GRRRRRRRRRRRR
:mad:

[candy]

1. I mail it all back to them in the postage paid envelope-----

minus my name,of course.

Silly,but I get a wee bit of satisfation from it.

They are truly evil.

[ailsagirl]

3. They ARE evil

They're so effing greedy it's hard to comprehend. Don't they make enough in INTEREST to support their opulent lifestyle? With greed, I guess, it's a bottomless pit. It's a pity.

Sadly, sadly misplaced values.

We can certainly add their names to the list of those who have a hand in bringing down this country.

Bastards

[barb162]

21. never thought of that, good idea; at least it costs them something

[WillowTree]

2. All those "seductive offers"...

....are what shredders are best for, at least for those who find all those offers "seductive". I think it would be great if Americans were given a better education about how to manage their finances and the myth of "easy credit". Learnng to say "no" to the credit cards and what they can buy would help a lot, too. Then we, as a society, would be less "seducible".

[knowbody0]

4. as a former mortgage banking accountant

i can attest to the practice of idiots approving loans where the families were absolutely unqualified, only to end in foreclosure before a year's time. i gathered evidence and forwarded it to FNMA and FHA, then walked away from the world of commerce. it is very contaminated

[ailsagirl]

7. Really. That is truly outrageous

But I guess I'm really not surprised.

[Kazak]

5. Pay those SOBs off.

They want personal responsibility? Give it to them.

[TreasonousBastard]

6. Well, you've got 6 months...

to charge up a storm and go belly up.

I doubt many will do it, but it's one answer to the card industry. Let them take a big hit and find a million or so potential customers aren't customers any more.

(Note the potential massive economic collapse when people aren't charging stuff any more.)

[shanti]

10. i would advise against going hog wild

just to file bk. the judge would rule out those bills if he/she saw a trend there.

[elehhhhna]

14. Creditors have the right to dispute your filing--

they always have . They ran the numbers and it apparently wasn't worth it in most cases. Now they won't have to.

Running the card up in order to file is called stealing where I come from.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

15. Voice of experience: you have to document your entire financial

history down to the last penny.

A debt accumulated over time, caused by hardship, okay under current rules.

A deliberate attempt to charge up a storm and renege? No way.

[booley]

8. treat them like the pushers they are

...and go cold turkey.

Not easy. when you have no groceries or the utilities are abotu to be shut off,,that's how I got in trouble.

But I just had to stop using them. They cause mor egrief then solve.

[Melynn]

9. People should pay off their credit cards and not use them

if possible. I know some people can't do that. Those of us that can do without using a credit card should just do it to punish the credit card companies.

[ailsagirl]

11. That's exactly what I plan to do

Unfortunately, when you buy stuff off the Internet, you pretty much have to use a credit card. I can't use a debit card because I don't have one anymore-- not after some stranger used it to withdraw nearly all my $$ from my checking account!!!

It was straightened out but it was scary

[Melynn]

13. I plan to keep my credit card but keep the balance zero

The idea is to not let the credit card companies make any money. If buy anything I will pay off the balance at the end of the month. I know not everyone can do this.

It would be scary to have someone steal all of you money out of bank account. I hope they caught the person who did it to you.

[ailsagirl]

20. Keeping your balances at zero is the best idea of all!!

As for my checking account-- everything was cleared up but my impression is that no one wanted to bother putting in the effort to track down the guilty party so, basically, whoever it was got away with it.

And this was a debit card. It was just chance that I logged in one
day from work and noticed it-- I got on it right away.

But, yes, it was scary. At least with a credit card, you're not liable for unauthorized expenditures.

[ailsagirl]

12. You're right-- those people ARE pushers

I never thought about it in those terms but that's exactly what they are.

Disgusting

[GoldenOldie]

16. Stealing from your checking account????

Having worked in banking instiutions from the East coast, the West Coast and in the South West, the reason for supplying the banks, savings & Loans, Credit Unions, etc., a signature care along with another form of identifying you ie., mother's maiden name, was a way to protect YOU and the Financial institutions from theft and others from stealing your IDENTITY. If you receive monthly statements or you call to verify a balance and find that your balances do not agree with the financial institution.....this is a red flag. It is the responsibility of the financial institution to protect your money by verifying the signatures and if you have given notification that your account funds have been compromised, it is their responsibility to correct the problem, not yours. Your accounts should be closed immediately and new ones opened. If the financial reps do not offer or mention this.....another red flag, that they are not protecting the customer. They have gotten away with taking no responsibility for "identity theft," because the customer and the public do not understand their rights. You should periodically check-in with your financial institutions on balances and be sure to check those monthly statements. If you disagree or something appears to be out of order, contact them immediately, get the name of the individual who you have talked to, time, date, etc., you should even follow-up with a lttr. Maintain all info so as to support your claims that you notified the proper officials.

I am also receiving my daugter and her spouse's mail while they are working out of country.......I get from un-requested 5-10 applications for credit cards daily. I was wearing out my shredder until I followed a previous DU'ers recommendation of tearing off all identifying names, numbers, etc., and filling the return envelope with a batch of similar unsolicitated mail. If every one does this and they have to start paying big bucks on their mailing they will get the message. I'm, doing my part.

[SOS]

17. And to think

these loan sharks collected $14.8 billion in "late fees" in 2004.
2004 was also a record-breaking year for after-tax bank profits.
Their greed knows no bounds.

[siliconefreak]

18. secured cards

Get a secured card. The banks don't like them because they can't screw you as badly, but if you like the protection that a credit card can give you, it's the best way to go.

[gizmo1979]

19. I got behind on mine because of job loss

so I went to a credit counseling place.They didn't tell me somethings,like they charge you late fees every month even though you're paying the agreed upon amount.My credit score was 685 when I started now it's 520.I was told I was better off filing bankruptcy!So I say cut up those cards and go without.It's tough but you learn to go without.