Good credit? Get ready to pay more

Good credit? Get ready to pay more
Reform may mean good card users pay more
Return of fees, higher rates for ‘deadbeats’ who pay off balance, on time
www.msnbc.msn.com...

Credit cards have long been a very good deal for people who pay their bills on time and in full. Even as card companies imposed punitive fees and penalties on those late with their payments, the best customers racked up cash-back rewards, frequent-flier miles and other perks in recent years.

Now Congress is moving to limit the penalties on riskier borrowers, who have become a prime source of billions of dollars in fee revenue for the industry. And to make up for lost income, the card companies are going after those people with sterling credit.

Banks are expected to look at reviving annual fees, curtailing cash-back and other rewards programs and charging interest immediately on a purchase instead of allowing a grace period of weeks, according to bank officials and trade groups.

More at Link...

OH BOY...just when you thought it was safe ...

The Banksters are at it again...

Either cut your "credit" or charge you even more to borrow....

Scroomed Indeed...

Opinions?

[edit on 5/19/2009 by Hx3_1963]

There is no more reward for responsible behavior. Save your money, don't spend on frivolity, have no run-ins with the law, get to bed early, wake up early, floss daily, exercise daily etc... government will just circumvent all you have done to bailout the drunk who maxed his credit out on pizzas and video games while you get to pay the bill for somebody elses idiocy.

Hooray.

If I do ever blow through my savings and max out my credit it will be on ammunition.

reply to post by thisguyrighthere
Agreed!!!

Just got my X-Mas in May "Uncle Ben" Gun/Ammo subsidizes

Ya know...even Las Vegas has "brokers"...

Last I heard .... 29%

Even "Vinnie" don't play like that!

[edit on 5/19/2009 by Hx3_1963]

The moral hazard this is all creating is mind boggling. I keep an eye on foreclosures in my County and I have been noticing much of the sales are to the plaintiffs of the foreclosure at a drastic reduction of what the sale is for. This is probably the banks adjusting their mortgages, reducing the principal owed and getting the borrower a better interest rate. Good all around right?

Well, that irresponsible buyer who probably makes as much as I do and bought more than he could afford just got rewarded for his stupidity. He has a nice Mcmansion for the same principal I owe on my small Cape Cod that I bought knowing I could afford.

Also, when these sales are recorded in town hall, they now are recent sales which will be used to appraise houses in the area thereby reducing property values.

Sorry to go on a rant but the rewarding of irresponsible people (yes, some were preyed on) that continues just dumbfounds me.

If this practice continues, which I believe it will, torches and pitchforks may be a good investment.

These thieving bankers aren't going to stop until we make them stop.
When the banks got the bailouts we cut up all of our cards except one to rent cars with if we needed to. Those pigs aren't getting another dime from us! Could you imagine what would happen to them if all of us cut up our cards, paid only cash for what we needed, and none of us used them anymore?

The bucks gotta stop somewhere.

The part that they did not mention was how the credit card companies treat you with such disdain when you call them to find out why when you have been a good customer for years, are they jacking your interest rate up to 30%.

They did me a favor. The made me angry enough to close all my credit card accounts and I took my little bit of savings and paid the vultures off.

I then cut the cards into tiny little pieces and I will eat dirt before I will ever buy anything on credit again.

So they think that they are going to make their fortune off of the guy that buys up a bunch of future landfill and then skips on his debt?

No darn wonder this country is in the mess it is in. Look at the financial genesis that is running the place.

Originally posted by wyleecoyote
These thieving bankers aren't going to stop until we make them stop.
When the banks got the bailouts we cut up all of our cards except one to rent cars with if we needed to. Those pigs aren't getting another dime from us! Could you imagine what would happen to them if all of us cut up our cards, paid only cash for what we needed, and none of us used them anymore?

The bucks gotta stop somewhere.

I just joined this club.

I hope all of America wakes up and sends these thieves packing.

The very minute that we allow elected representatives to enact laws to protect us from something is the very minute that it becomes worthless to be responsible.

I read the Senate version of the bill. While I agree with some of it, I think we all know that the credit card companies will be forced to turn to other revenue streams lest they become the next round of layoffs in the news.

It all goes back to personal responsibility - something that apparently is missing from probably everyone else who doesn't post on ATS. It seems like this is the only forum where I continually hear about the merits of personal responsibility.

All hail the Banks!
They do a great job of deflection.
a great job of pitting consumer against consumer. Rather than Consumer against Bank.
Of course all Banking practices have been sound. It's those dang customers that mess everything up. Let's go break some windows!

Ever have a bank make a mistake with your account?
Ever try to get it cleared up?
Then, after the mistake was made, did the interest rates on your OTHER cards change?

reply to post by Hx3_1963


I have a problem here that I don't know how to resolve it. I never liked credit cards and would cut them in pieces soon as I would get them in the mail. I have been living in the State for almost 40 years and on the present address for 25 years. I bought cars and other things in the past partly cash and some loans but paid them soon as possible. Recently my auto Insurance charging me more because they cannot find my credit report. I just wanted to buy a car and to borrow 1/3 for the price but the interest rate they want to charge me around 9% because they cannot find my credit report. I am sure as things go forward there will be more and more controls for people like me. I really never cared for credit report and don't even know what it is but I have been asked questions about my credit report. I don't like some one else to control me and I don't know how to combat this. One scenario I thought is to leave USA for good. Because no matter what I do I will always be haunted by big businesses. I lost my faith in our Government. Quite honestly the only solution I see is to have a bloody revolution that would be verse than French revolution. Can any one comment on this.

Originally posted by charlie0
reply to post by Hx3_1963

 

I have a problem here that I don't know how to resolve it. I never liked credit cards and would cut them in pieces soon as I would get them in the mail. I have been living in the State for almost 40 years and on the present address for 25 years. I bought cars and other things in the past partly cash and some loans but paid them soon as possible. Recently my auto Insurance charging me more because they cannot find my credit report. I just wanted to buy a car and to borrow 1/3 for the price but the interest rate they want to charge me around 9% because they cannot find my credit report. I am sure as things go forward there will be more and more controls for people like me. I really never cared for credit report and don't even know what it is but I have been asked questions about my credit report. I don't like some one else to control me and I don't know how to combat this. One scenario I thought is to leave USA for good. Because no matter what I do I will always be haunted by big businesses. I lost my faith in our Government. Quite honestly the only solution I see is to have a bloody revolution that would be verse than French revolution. Can any one comment on this.

You could try to get a payment history from all the places with whom you had loans. Along with that history and the explanation that you prefer not to use credit cards for your personal business may be enough to get you a better rate.

Do you really think Congress is going to close all of those loopholes so that banks can no longer prosper from its customers?

Sure we will see some common sense issues applied to the credit card companies but in the end they will still be free to prey on customers.Congress just wants to make it look like they are doing something for the average American for once rather than their friends. Looks can be deceiving.

Why on Earth would anyone pay an annual fee for the privilege of buying something on credit? That's just stupid. So they are going to start gouging the 1/3 of their customers who by definition have the wherewithal and ability to simply abandon the use of credit cards altogether? I don't think so. I predict that when (not if) they lose 1/3 of their customers, they will come crawling back with even better rates and rewards.

Out of the three cards I have, only my Regions Visa rate went up and they tried to charge an annual fee. When I called them and asked why this was so, their excuse was it was due to inactivity. I immediately told them to cancel the account and the lady I spoke with returned my rate to where it was and waived the annual fee if I would keep the account open.

I think a lot of these banks will do the same thing if people simply call and give them an ultimatem. And if they refuse to make your rates reasonable again, so what, cancel the account. There's probably thousands of other banks that would love to have you as a customer right now. And if you have a poor credit history and cannot negotiate with your bank, then you get what you deserve.

Banks cannot sustain their business with these shady practices. People are already fed up with all the other BS the government is pulling right now. Along with having to pay higher taxes being imposed on everything, this is one thing we the people have control of.

[edit on 19-5-2009 by Mudman21]

reply to post by Mudman21


You were lucky with your bank. I used to have WAMU; they got bought up by Chase. The big banks don't want the debt responsible customers anymore.

They see the people that pay off their bill every month as deadbeats because they can't make any money off of them. They use their money for 30 days then pay off the debt and the bank doesn't make anything. Plus for those that get perks like frequent flyer miles or discounts they are actually losing money on them.

They want the people that are going to run up their debt and only make the minimum payment. This way the people will never pay off their debt and they will make a fortune off of them over the life time of the loan.

So most of the big banks now are only interested in people that are going to carry a balance. If you don't carry a balance they make it very clear they don't want you.

reply to post by Kellter


Moral hazard my arse. I have never missed a payment on a credit card. Yet in the last six months every credit card I have has tripled their interest rate and cut my limits to my outstanding balances. Triple interest means triple payments every month. So now my debt cost 3 times more every month and gets paid off no sooner. With the economy being bad, things were already tight and now they are largely impossible. I will be paying my secured debt (upside down house) before I pay my unsecured debts. In the end I will probably have to shed my unsecured debt in bankruptcy, or negotiate a major discount after not paying for many months. Had they not taken the action they did then they would get paid back in full. Bankers are stupid for thinking that trying to cover mortgage losses with credit card hikes would lead to anything but the same type of collapse they saw with mortgages.

The end result will be that only the wealthy will have credit cards. The banks will have already done their damage before any law actually becomes effective.

The joke will be on the banks in the long run.....70% of the US GDP is personal consumption....mostly funded with mortgage equity and credit card debt....it's simply unsustainable, just like the business models that the large banks use... We are in the beginning stages of a multi-generational paradigm shift towards less consumption....and modern banking will be a happily forgotten relic within 20 years....

Originally posted by disgustedbyhumanity
reply to post by Kellter

 

Moral hazard my arse. I have never missed a payment on a credit card. Yet in the last six months every credit card I have has tripled their interest rate and cut my limits to my outstanding balances. Triple interest means triple payments every month. So now my debt cost 3 times more every month and gets paid off no sooner. With the economy being bad, things were already tight and now they are largely impossible. I will be paying my secured debt (upside down house) before I pay my unsecured debts. In the end I will probably have to shed my unsecured debt in bankruptcy, or negotiate a major discount after not paying for many months. Had they not taken the action they did then they would get paid back in full. Bankers are stupid for thinking that trying to cover mortgage losses with credit card hikes would lead to anything but the same type of collapse they saw with mortgages.

The end result will be that only the wealthy will have credit cards. The banks will have already done their damage before any law actually becomes effective.

I wonder what they are doing for the people who don't pay their bills?

You are not alone. It not only happened to me but many of my friends and family have complained that they have had the same thing happen to them.

They are going to war against the honest, hard working, financially responsible Americans.

Where is our protection?

You are right.

They can make all the pretty speeches they want on Capitol Hill but by the time the actually do something the bus will have run over us and sped away.

Get an American Express green card which requires you pay it off every month. You pay a reasonable card fee each year and the customer service is OUTSTANDING. You also get points which you can redeem for free travel or merchandise.

They report to credit agencies and it will boost your overall score. You won't have to worry about interest. There's no credit limit (and yes, it's true because I've charged over $30,000 on it in one month).

Plus, you can use it for recurring charges which means you won't have to divulge your bank account information by using a debit card.

Originally posted by VelmaLu
Get an American Express green card which requires you pay it off every month. You pay a reasonable card fee each year and the customer service is OUTSTANDING. You also get points which you can redeem for free travel or merchandise.

They report to credit agencies and it will boost your overall score. You won't have to worry about interest. There's no credit limit (and yes, it's true because I've charged over $30,000 on it in one month).

Plus, you can use it for recurring charges which means you won't have to divulge your bank account information by using a debit card.

I see what you are saying but right now n this country we need to go back to basics.

We need to go shopping in our own closets or the closet of a friend and start wearing some of those items that you forgot you had, many with the price tags still on them, and stop drowning ourselves in more debt and filling our garages with more landfill material.

We need to remember how to "save".

If you are going to kill yourself working at least let it be for you, your family and your future.

Stop making your enemy rich and giving him the ability to hold as a slave or an indentured servant.

Cut up the credit cards. You can make it without making more debt. It is the only way to bring sanity back to America.