NOT using a credit card is irresponsible??!!

My husband and I are planning a vacation and called our local rental car agency to check into their progams for our destination. I have no problem with them asking for a deposit and would have gladly put THE CASH down for the deposit. I was told they took credit card only and "would you like to put that on your card?" I POLITELY told them I preferred NOT to use my card (as we are working on becoming debt free-only $5,000 more to go-woohoo!!) The person on the phoneline told me that was irresponsible!!! I asked how he could make such a statement in these times and was told this was the reason we (the people) were in this mess. We were not "charging" enough!! I was appalled and said my good-byes POLITELY...still flabbergasted. Now mind you, I had NO PROBLEM with paying the cash-and even understand putting the deposit on a credit card for the case of an accident-egs. access to the money so to speak-but the gall of being called irresponsible for NOT using my card just blew me away!!-What do you guys think???????

Couple of comments.

Sounds like you are very angry. Now, if you are an emotional person, and you get up and down, that takes a toll on your heart and your nervous system.

Which causes cancer.

Anyway, so some guy tells you to use credit card? Hang up the phone.

Go somewhere that takes cash like a normal place.

I agree with you 100%. If anything not using a credit card is the responsible thing to do. So many Americans have charged up countless bills that they will never be able to pay back and doing more of the same is the "responsible" thing to do?

I rarely use credit and even tho it may put me at a disadvantage when going to buy a car or get a loan on a house I'm not thousands of dollars in debt like many of my friends and family members.

The credit system is a scam nothing more nothing less just another way to keep us in Debt and to keep our minds on coming up with a way to pay off all of our bills.

I have not owned a credit card in 11 years (and have had no problems).

can you not use your debit card that has a visa/mastercard logo on it?

I don't know where you are renting but maybe try somewhere else

reply to post by rockhndr


First of all, I'm glad to see you are working off your debt. That is always a good thing.

Unfortunately our whole economy runs off of debt. The only way it can be sustained is to continue to bloat it. This is all also a dead end but for some reason TPTB continue to try and keep us on this road.

I don't know why they continue to fight it. It all has to come back down. It's going to hurt but it's inevitable.

[edit on 15-2-2009 by David9176]

Yes, yes of course there are other ways to get around this, I just can't believe the gall of the statement made-That is irresponsible to not use your card-and yes we have found another rental car company-Thank-you...

If everyone thought and acted like you, our economy would not be in this mess. And the Government, would still be subserviant to the people.

I had problems renting a car back when I was single and got rid of all my credit cards. I couldn't rent a car and had to rely on cabs.

They don't want cash since having their fingers in your credit card potentially gives them the ability to charge more than the rent (like if you crash the car, steal parts, swap parts, etc).

I'm sure the irresponsible comment was a personal opinion from the person on the phone, not a corporate one. They probably assumed you could not qualify for a credit card.

I own a credit card (just one, not several) since perhaps 30+ years, I always paid the total amount due, on time. So for me a credit card is just a mean of payment.

I basically only use it for putting gas in the car or some special purchase (buying furniture, paying the dentist, etc.).

I pay everything else (grocery, small purchase) cash.

If you own a car, it is hard, not to have one, since you might need a towing or get a repair in the middle of nowhere.

Now for reserving airline ticket, renting a car, giving a safety deposit in case you didn't return a rented tool, etc., I don't see the big fuss about it.

I can understand that if someone cannot control itself, having one, this could be a problem, but the problem really is your "control part".

I've got one of those pre paid mastercards, I only have it so I can buy from the internet, I only have a savings account with a cash card... Everything I do is in cash, don't even have a debit card, I don't have any overdraft limit - if I get down to zero then I really am broke, it would be easy(ish) to change that but I feel comfortable like this.

Thing is if I were to pay a deposit to those car rental guys I doubt they would be able to tell that the mastercard I used was a prepaid card... I don't know for sure but I expect they just bang the number through and see that the amount is accepted, and keep the details on record for possible future use. Now if I know I need to spend £100 on the card, I get hold of £110 cash and top it up (always a little more cos of the charges). So in that way I pay slightly more per transaction, but that don't matter cos I am such a low user... BUT I have the control - I limit any potential skulduggery

It seems very odd that someone would think NOT using a credit card is irresponsible.

Perhaps you got through to that "No More Socialisms" guy at work?

I guess the guy must just be muddled, most people seem to think it's the other way, us taking out all this bad debt we can't repay is a big part of the problem.

There is a national radio show host who who believes in living Debt Free, he comments that he doesn't has or use credit cards but rather uses a debit card for just such instances.

Of course not using a credit card is irresponsible. Credit cards give you the ability to dispute and never pay for a charge (dispute mechanisms on debit cards are woefully inadequate), earn rewards, and float your money for 30 or more days (thus increasing your own network because a smart person keeps all his cash earning interest in a bank account some where).

Just because you personally cannot handle a credit card without charging it up through buying things you don't have the cash for doesn't mean that it cant be used a responsible tool that gives the card holder a lot of benefits. For people who can handle treating the credit card like cash and spending no more than they have, its much better than paying with anything else.

Where in my post does it say I DON'T have a credit card-I POLITELY told them I preferred NOT to use my card (as we are working on becoming debt free-only $5,000 more to go-woohoo!!) do you READ? I never said I didn't have one-just chosing NOT to use it!!-...I have NO payments, My HOUSE IS PAID for...I OWN MY CARS-a 2006 and a 2008...Do You? I have $5,000 left to pay on my card and I live a very stress free life and can afford NOT to have to charge things...how silly of you to judge did you read THE ENTIRE post- I didn't ask for ridicule...just discussing the mindset of people like you who charge EVERYTHING and pay the minimal every month-How do YOU get ahead...I already am....and my vacation will be COMPLETELY paid for-no payments when I get back-!!!!!!!!

reply to post by rockhndr


Glad you were able to use another company. Personally, I might then inform the first company as to why they lost your business. Some customer service!

Anyway, now I have a lovely earworm because of this thread. Frank Sinatra keeps singing "Call Me Irresponsible".

MrD and I are credit industry "deadbeats"; we use our card (not cards!) but carry no balance. We are on the road quite a bit and use a card for convenience. The other night, for ex, we had to pay a tow truck driver for a balance over our allowance, and we used our card. I don't like to carry a lot of cash.

The other thing with paying with a credit card is the ability to refuse payment for a purchase that went badly.
Ex, we had an engine blow up because a part we ordered turned out to be defective; we immediately returned the part and explained the problem to them but they insisted it was our fault and refused to give us our money back. When we wrote the report and provided documentation for the credit card company, the card company sided with us in our attempt to get our money back and didn't pay them.

I remember the days long ago, when businesses offered a discount for cash. Credit cards have become just another way of doing business, except for gas stations, which will often have cash prices listed separately. Since some smaller businesses must pay when we use our card, out of goodwill we will use cash with them.

Car rental is always like this.
You see if you give them a cash deposit, you could do more damage to the car than the deposit covers.
Then they have to take you to court track you down serve you etc.
With a credit card, they can charge up to the limit on the card.
Not much good if the limit is only 50 bucks.
But usually its alot more and they know this.
Many car rental places scam you, if they find one stone chip on the paint they charge $2500 for a new paint job.($500 done by Mexicans, they keep the 2k)
Ive never had it happen to me, but ive known people it happened to.
That's why they like the cards.
Best to take photo's with time and date of the condition of the car before signing the paperwork or giving the credit card.
Because they can just take your money.

Well, where I live it's also a status symbol.
If you go to upscale restaurants and want to pay cash the people are looking at you like you are some kind of ghetto kid.....
Anyway, all that is gonna end sooner as many might think.....

As someone who worked in the Hospitality industry for a while, I can tell you exactly why certain people demand credit over cash;

People that pay cash on the whole tend to be unnecessarily abusive. This might not be the case with you, but there are so many people who will trash what they paid for because they paid for it that many industries HATE dealing with people who pay cash...

and you would too, if you had the experiences they do.

rockhndr, you are actually responsible. What is irresponsible is expecting others to pay extra (interest, fees, etc.) in order to allow you to maintain a lifestyle that is also beyond your own means. That is what this oxygen-wasting CO2 production robot you talked to is doing.

Congrats on getting out of debt. Once clear, you have so many financial options that never were available to you before. I have been debt-free for at least 15 years now (with the exception of a couple 30-day net accounts I keep running with suppliers for convenience) and I never realized the possibilities that would open up to me. If i want something now, I can buy it. If the price is too high, I can haggle since I have ready cash. If I don't want to work this month, I can survive. Sure there are rough times. Sure there are times when I momentarily dream about how nice it would be to get something now and pay for it later. But then I come to my senses again.

Enjoy your new-found freedom and remember one Latin phrase I love to repeat to myself when in similar situations:

Illegimati non Carborundum - "Don't let the bastards wear you down."

TheRedneck

Good for you. Cash. Excellent idea. : )
You just entered the twilight zone of
unconscious people who don't really know
what is going on.
Be grateful that you do.

Stay on your path and realize the more resistance that you meet -
the more right on you are.