I have to admit that the recent reforms forced on the credit card companies is a good thing, the word for what they had been up to is gouging, nothing more or less. Most distasteful of all, these things were all directed at the vulnerable type of person, who got into trouble with the cards. Once that happened, it was open season on the poor saps [and I say that as someone who has been a sap in my day]. Unfortunately, it turns out that this was a great part of the profitability of that type of business, actually part of the reason investment in financial stocks have suffered recently it seems. Better keep an eye out for how they might be maneuvering to get some of those profits back, I say.
So yay! for the reforms, pretty heart-wrenching to know personally someone getting clobbered and to see what they have to go through. But to tell you the truth, if I was being selfish, I'd be for the old system, not being a target myself. What the reforms actually mean to me is nothing, I don't care about any of them personally. Furthermore, the things that do irritate me about these outfits is going untouched.
So what are these things? A#1, I resent totally and absolutely the fact that in order to function fully in this society, you must have credit cards. You can't properly and conveniently buy airline tickets, items on the internet, etc., but especially can't make hotel reservations and rent a car without these things. Apparently we can expect this to get worse if the ideas from some quarters prevail. I'd actually prefer to live my life without them, and trust me, the cost of living goes down when you pull out hard earned cash for everything, as anybody sure thinks twice.
And there is a host of other BS practices that are going to be allowed to go on unchecked. Such as continuous unsolicited offers for more cards, just rope to hang yourself if you don't use these cards properly.
Such as offering "no payment this month". Ever get one of those offers? Of course this is an attempt to lure you into paying interest. They may only send those to those of us who pay off the bills every month.
Such as sending checks to use in the mail, unsolicited. It is my firm opinion that this is an attempt to get you to think this is just another usual way to use your credit card. Full disclosure that you are dipping into the high cost cash option, in my experience, is lacking or written in gobbledygook. Seeming indications that it is not cashing out are not to be trusted IMO. You could get cash with that check, couldn't you? That should be all the thinking you need to do on that.
Such as constantly trying to get you to sign up for protection on your cards. Seems to me this protects them, not you. You have the limited liability of $50. In a related matter, in my line of work, I used to constantly have American Express users get denied when larger purchases were involved. The irritated customer would have to call this card company so they would know that it was a proper and legitimate charge. The customer would be told that this was to protect the consumer. Of course, it was only to protect American Express. This practice would sometimes freak a customer out and you'd lose the sale. I have never forgiven that outfit for this, although in the last few years it seems to have stopped.
Such as dazzling offers in the mail for things I care nothing about. You can get a card that will say "you are some kind of hot shit" when people see it! Sure. BTW there are credit card websites where people get together to talk about the cards. I've lost the links, but apparently typically it's all about who has the flashiest card, the most perks, and the highest limits. Yawn.
Such as being transferred to an operator who tries to sell you something when you are just trying to activate a card. I've had some ugly experiences with this, getting my jollies first by asking them why it would be that they have to ask me who I am. It finally occurred to me that you have activated the card using the automated system (they don't want employees in that!) and when you realize you are being transferred to talk to someone, it's just time to hang up.
Such as bad service when you have a problem. It just should not be the case that you would have trouble getting through to a human being! Yet it is often so, I've run into things like being asked for a security phrase when I never set one up! Not to mention plain old ridiculously complex phone trees to wade through, causing you to have to go nuclear to get service.
You see, I'm not crazy enough to want to go through all this baloney if I could get it out of my life. But I can't, you must have these horrid things.
BTW did you hear what happened when the Soviet Union collapsed? Former bureaucrats of that system said the dossiers they supposedly on all their citizens were about totally non-existent except for special cases. What was impressive, they said, was the credit card histories kept on all the citizens of the west. Now that was something the Communist secret police really envied!!
Bottom line, I resent this system, this necessary evil. I get even by gaming the system. That will be a future post.
Oh, yeah, I promised to say what going nuclear is. What you want to do is find and call the number that is for lost and stolen cards. You'll get an operator right away, no phone tree to navigate. Ummm, before you sign up to "protect" your credit cards, guess what this shows about who is actually liable for unauthorized charges?
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6 comments:
I agree. It will be interesting to see how they figure out to game the system and find new ways of tricking people into new and better services that they don't need or want.
I use cash when I can or write checks which really drives people bonkers. But I have come to accept that for some things, we just have to put up with it. I've had my fights with credit card companies and the only way to deal with them is to be ever vigilant. You have to watch everything.
On the other hand, we have used them as shields when we were getting ripped off. My experience is that complaints against merchants are taken seriously. We usually get credit for a bad purchase and the card company takes over from there.
You did not focus on debit cards. You are way behind. Now people just use a card to transfer money from the bank to the store, everyone charging separate fees for the "service' along the way. There is no limitation or protection for debit transactions. If your card is lost or stolen, you are liable. I NEVER use a debit card.
Overall, I think you really get agitated over stuff that is not worth losing sleep over. We can't stop it. So just throw away the credit card offers, the checks, and the protection solicitations and move on. I am coming to the point that people just need to be a little more responsible for themselves. This mortgage crisis has left me with no sympathy for people who are too dumb to know when they are being ripped off or that they simply cannot afford something that is too good to be true.
For example, those checks contain all the information you need to know that it is a cash advance, as federal law requires. People just need to pay attention. The GOP always says that the market will work with transparency. Fine, but it is the government who forces companies to put stuff out there and it is there. More is coming. But they cannot force people to read the fine print. We need to be responsible. If you do not understand ask someone who does.
As for phone trees, I have two techniques. The one that works most often is to not press a button. Most systems will transfer you to a person but you have to get far enough in before that will work, maybe two buttons and then stop. The other is to just keep hitting O
NO, NO, NO!!! Do not throw away the solications/checks that come in the mail. This is an open invitation to identity theft. The best investment you can make is in a good, reliable, cross-shredder. I used to also shred the "free" return address items from various charities since a complete name/address is often all that is necessary to begin the id theft process. (And, BTW I do not feel obligated to send a contribution or to pay for any item that I did not order.) Gave up shredding those when there got to be so many of them I became concerned about all the self adhesive gunk in my shredder. So far no repercussions from not continuing to shred them. Got my fingers crossed though!
In Australia, EFTPOS (bank draft) is used a lot for purchases -- including paying rent, etc. I'm not entirely sure how it works, but I think you can also use your bank card. So there's much less obligation to carry a credit card.
I prefer credit cards though, because it's a lot easier to deny purchases you didn't make. With EFTPOS you don't have as much as a cushion, I don't think.
some folks love debit as opposed to credit cards, but I think you have the skinny on those. apparently it helps the typical person who likes them keep from over-spending, but I am puzzled personally by that kind of thinking.
as far as how things change, I can remember wanting to pay cash for gasoline, being scandalized by the thought of using a credit card. Now I am totally for pay-at-the-pump so much that I will drive off if they don't have it!
thanks for all the input
Carl [too lazy to sign in]
Found out recently that I cannot apply for an Australian credit card until I've been a resident for a year. So I'm stuck with the Visa check card thing for online purchases and such unless I want to be gouged by fees with my American credit card. Boo!
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