OT: Credit Card Rates To Double!

Atrocities · #1 July 25th, 2005, 09:26 PM

Some radio adds have been point this out for a few days now. None of the banks or credit unions have posted any info about it nor do they seem to know. I did some checking and discovered that the Controller of the Currency, is mandating a 100% increase in the minimum payment on credit cards by the end of the year. This is big news if you have large out standing balances on CC's.

Link

ToddT · #2 July 25th, 2005, 09:39 PM

Yes i'm aware of it, the reason for it is because the minium payment rate the CC companies are using now is a marketing gimick to get ppl to charge more, so the CC companies can rake in more money. the result has been far to many ppl accumulating far to much debt. the downside of this is alot of those same ppl probably can't afford the increseased minimum. (under the right circumstances the current minium can actully result in you going further in debt every month with out buying a thing, neat, huh)
One reason i'm thankful i'm what the CC compaines call a dead beat, i carry no balances.

Suicide Junkie · #3 July 25th, 2005, 09:46 PM

Thus it is NOT the rate going up.
Its the maximum screwage allowed going down slightly.

Of course, if you aren't paying it off in full each month, you're going to be screwed either way...

Slynky · #4 July 25th, 2005, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Suicide Junkie said:Of course, if you aren't paying it off in full each month, you're going to be screwed either way...

That's the way I do it...the only way to do it. Of course, sometimes, Murphy has another plan to mess up your finances and put you in that Credit Card Blackhole. Thankful I've never been in that hole.

Atrocities · #5 July 25th, 2005, 10:21 PM

You know, they put the mob out of business so the CC companies could go into business. CC are nothing more than plastic loan sharks.

The thing is there are no strong comsumer protection laws in place that protect consumers from CC companies. Universal defualts, bull [censored] late fees, over the limit fees, and unannounced interest rate hikes. Oh ya, the always famous unknown - yet oddly always approved - charges for such things as credit protection plus, thimbal collections - that you never get, map assist, road guide, and other wonderful things that you never use and never signed up for that always seem to push your limit over the top costing you even more money.

When you know your in trouble and ask the CC companies to lower your rate, they refuse. You then fail to make the payment and what do they do? They raise your interest rate to 29% and start calling and harrassing you.

Yet if you go through a credit counseling service, they always lower your rate.... WTF?

The credit card industry makes their own problems and dead beats by not working with people and by employing what should be considered illegal tactics to rip you off. And when you try and complain, you find that there is nothing you can do since the Controller of the Currency is funded by credit card companies. Go figure. If that is not a conflict of interest, no punn intended, then I do not know what is.

CC Companies = Mob
Control of the Currency (CotC) = Bought off Pigs!

ToddT · #6 July 25th, 2005, 10:28 PM

Naw, its the payday loan compaines who are the real sharks, effective interest on a payday loan hits near 600%.
the CC companies are over gown leaches.

Sivran · #7 July 25th, 2005, 11:54 PM

Interest rate? What's that?

--What people should be saying, rather than paying the minimum.

If a credit card company signed me up for something I didn't want, they would either refund me my money or face a BBB complaint, along with the cancellation of my account, and possibly more.

dogscoff · #8 July 26th, 2005, 05:20 AM

*Gasp*. My 0% interest rate would double to... 0%.

And then when this "introductory" rate runs out in a few months and they hike it up to 19%, I'd have to go and find another introductory 0% rate...

Shop around, and transfer your balance regularly. When I'm not paying 0%, I'm rarely paying more than 3%- that's less than either my bank loan or my mortgage.

Iron Giant · #9 July 26th, 2005, 09:09 AM

From the Payday Loan website:

*Finance charges are calculated on the basis of $10 per $100 borrowed for each 14 day period. APR for all PayDay OK loans is 260.71%.

260% Interest? How stupid do you need to be to pay that kind of interest? Talk about Instant Gratification.

El_Phil · #10 July 26th, 2005, 10:02 AM

More like 'How desperate.' or 'How bad a credit rating.'

Finance charges that brutal reflect, at least partly, that the firm isn't going to get all its money back every time and quite regularly will get little or nothing back.

If the person borrowing was creditworthy they (should) go to a bank or get a low interest loan from some other source.

Besides APRs are misleading on a short term loan: http://www.nationalcashlenders.com/calculator.html

You get charged $20 per $100 regardless of how long you borrow for and the actual amount you pay back doesn't change. But the equivalent APR looks awful. On a 3 day loan its 2433%. But the amount you pay back hasn't changed its still $120 per $100 borrowed.

20% ain't cheap certainly, but if your desperate and no other bugger will lend you money it could be a hell of alot worse.