Lost Your Job! Disabled? Help is On the Way! "First Protect" from Visa!

[KoKo]

I am not kidding you.....I just got a call from"Bank One"......who bought out my original "Visa" card and they called me to ask "How are you doing?"

They wanted to know if I'd activated my new card (I got it two months ago FGS!) and if my new payment date was okay with me?...I said...."We've been using our new card for a couple of months and we changed our payment date from what you assigned us (which wasn't convenient) to a date which matched our old "Wachovia Visa Card."

She looked through her notes and said: "Oh......yes.....I see that now."

She then said: "I'm calling to give you some information on services we provide with your new card.....and one of my questions is.....we don't have an "E-Mail adress for you." I said: "no, I don't give out my E-Mail address." She said: "That's perfectly alright."

She continued: "I just wanted to tell you about our services: Travel Insurance, Car Insurance and we have a new program called'First Protect' where if you are layed off from your job, or become disabled you can have a credit line up to $14,000 where you don't have to pay monthly and accrue NO interest charges for two years if you have these difficulties."

I said: " Excuse me.......I don't want to be unkind.....but why would Bank One a business be offering me free use of my credit card, with NO payments for two years?" And, I said: "What about the interest rates for me having unlimited use of my credit card with no payments. And what if I was 'permanently disabled" or couldn't find a job....and therefore couldn't pay off my card use after two years.....what would happen?"

She said: "Oh most people after two years would have gotten their 'Social Security' activated for disability so they would be able to pay it, can we mail you out a packet for our "First Protect?"

I said: "No, I don't need it now, and frankly I'm not convinced this is a service you are offering without huge interest rates at the end of the program if I can't pay you back."

She said: "Oh no! Your rate of 7.5% is 'locked in' so you won't have any huge charges at the end.

I asked: "Why would a business be so kind as to offer this (which sounds too good to be true) as a service to their customers when they would be out of money for two years......and maybe more if the person can't get funding to pay off their Bank One debt?"

She said: "We are seeing that many of our customers need this service and so we felt it was a good time to offer this."

I said: "I don't need your "First Protect" service now.......but I have to tell you I'm very suspicious of it.....but, if I need it in the future......I'm glad to see that you are offering this to help people out in the Bush economy. We don't even know if any jobs will come back so you are taking a 'BIG' RISK."

She said......"We here at Bank One want to help and serve our customers......here's the number you can call if you ever need our 'First Protect' or other services."

She gave me a phone number.

MY CONCLUSION: If credit card companies are delaying your payments and interest rates for two years.......then this economy is in really deep DOO DOO!

And, I don't believe for one minute that she was offering me "Something for Nothing." :-(

[srpantalonas]

1. Average Consumer Debt > $8000 vs. $2500 5 years ago

So people are saturated with debt, plus lots of folks refinanced their homes and took equity out of their homes. people can't really borrow more, so I'm guessing card companies are easing up terms to entice them to take on even more debt. Debtor Nation.

[grasswire]

3. you should have gotten the packet...

....and posted the info here. Sounds like a real effort to keep people from declaring bankruptcy to me.

[newyawker99]

14. Hi srpantalonas!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[sam sarrha]

2. it isnt that cheap, and they got the math done that more people will

be just paranoid and not use it...it isnt that cheap in the long run

[KoKo]

5. The problem is: If I were in that bad shape (and many folks are) I WOULD

USE IT! And, I would be "grateful" to them for offering it.....until I got the bill at the end of two years.

But, then, aren't they lobbying Congress to "do away with the Bankruptsy Laws?" So, they could take me to court and get my house, car and anything I had and auction it off?

[hang a left]

4. I was just thinking about this

could it be so people can't go bankrupt? They would have to transfer balances. I don't know, something is fishy.

[KoKo]

6. I agree! Something is fishy......and I asked questions....but it's fishy.

:-(

[srpantalonas]

7. I think it's just marketing...

GM is giving 0 interest loands and "cashback" on cars to keep moving them. Now, they are losing money on the deal, and you have to wonder why they are doing it. Is it to keep plants open and help people? Or are they really making money from it, and maybe there's some sort of hidden service clause in there.

The bottom line is people are totally overextended, so they are less likely to use credit cards as they reach their debt tolerance level, which seems to be about 9k per person. this may just be a legitimate way of building loyalty through the bad times so they can make money during the good and stop people from flipping cards...but then again, we are talking about credit card companies.

[JPace]

8. The terms seem overly generous.....

reminds me of the saying:

"If its too good to be true,
it probably is"

I wouldn't trust it and besides if
possible it is better to scale way
back rather than go into debt in
these times of uncertainty.

[Demobrat]

9. Lots of CC companies offer this. It's not free.

You asked her all the questions, except the most important one. What's the yearly fee? The reason the companies can offer this is the same reason insurance companies make money. More fees than claims. It's actually not a bad deal if you're the one who has to use it.

[Julien Sorel]

11. You nailed it.

It's actually pretty expensive, and the terms are restrictive, if it's anything like the one Discover and one of my Visa issuers had. When I saw the terms I had to laugh -- they were outrageous. There were so many mitigating things that would cancel the deal that only the purest layoff would allow you to qualify.

[KoKo]

12. I did ask about the fee! She said "7.5% which is what you are now." I

asked her if it would be raised....she said, No. (I maybe left that out of my long post....but I did hit her with questions at every point....but was aware....she needs a job just like those who have lost theirs." She's trying to earn her living..........

[Demobrat]

13. 7.5% is the interest rate. Not the fee for the program.

The interest rate will never change. If it was offered to you as a fixed rate it can't (well,unless you get behind on your payments. Then they can raise it to whatever they want). The fee for the program is a separate charge, either yearly or monthly, which you can cancel at any time just like an insurance policy. It is an insurance policy. The person on the phone either misunderstood you or was deliberately not telling you about the fee.

[KoKo]

15. If what you say is correct....then this could help out alot of folks.....

but I don't accept that the companies who "got people into debt" will be so kind hearted as to "help you forgive your debt." I wish I could believe that.....but I don't.

And, this says Bush's "Rosie Scenario" about the Economic Recovery is just "hogwash." Which is what we here knew, anyway.

Companies like BanK One are targeting a need where they can make money from New Business opportunities......

This sounds like the "Jobless Recovery." Make your money "Day Trading in the Market" with help from CNBC....while average Americans live off "Delayed Credit Card Debt."

SICK! SICK!

[Demobrat]

17. They don't forgive it, unless you die. They just put it on hold.

Until you get a job again, are able to go back to work, etc. Usually the max is two years. While it's on hold, it doesn't accrue interest charges or late fees. The idea is that your credit rating won't be destroyed if something goes temporarily wrong. You need documentation, like a doctor's note, though. They're not just going to take anybody's word that they were laid off, broke their leg and couldn't work for a while, etc. It's just like filing an insurance claim.

[Julien Sorel]

16. That's the interest rate, not the fee.

The programs like that I've seen charge a monthly fee for you to participate.

[kodi]

10. smells like a slick attempt at privatization of the social safety net

the one with the holes in it.

[FloridaPat]

18. You have to read the fine print for the joke - you pay a set

amount for this "insurance" per $100 of debt - it comes out to between 7-10% depending on the company. Then you are paying the cheap interest rate - say 9%. So you end up paying 20% and you think you are getting a deal!