HA HA HA LMAO..Credit Card Offer in the mail today!

[youthere]

A platinum MC...Introductory rate of 7.9%. Closer inspection reveals there's a $29 account set up fee, a $95 program fee, a regular annual fee of $48 in addition to an annual PARTICIPATION fee of $72 and if I want an extra card its another $20 annually....

So assuming I accept this "generous" offer (and that my math is correct) I get to pay $244 ($264 if I get a card for hubby) for the privilege of allowing this company to screw me by raising my interest rate to 21.9% in six months AND slapping me with a $25 monthly fee if I happen to be late on a payment or another $25 if I go over my limit.

Wow..Show me where to sign! :sarcasm:

[BOSSHOG]

1. May I ask what company?

I have a USAA credit card and am quite content with it. They are very customer friendly.

[youthere]

7. First Premier Bank...

I get tons of these things from all these crappy little companies I never heard of. We have a citibank Visa we are happy with so I always throw this crap into the burner. It just makes me laugh when I see them but I always have to wonder what kind of person goes for that kind of offer.

[Hand]

13. Of South Dakota. My, my...

Google "South Dakota banking law" and you'll find:

Current law, and recent actions by the administrative branches (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Office of Thrift Supervision, who monitor banks and credit unions, for example) make it possible for the Bank of XYZ to import into the state where I open my payday lending store, the laws of the state where Bank of XYZ is chartered. In other words, if you live in North Carolina, it is not North Carolina law that applies to this lending, it is the laws of the state where Bank of XYZ is chartered, or incorporated. Where is that bank chartered? Delaware or South Dakota, of course.

Delaware and South Dakota have had a race to the bottom to get banks or thrift organizations to incorporate in their state. Each one has been stripping themselves of whatever small bit of consumer protection laws they have had in order to entice the bank to file papers in their state. And to top that off, the administrative agencies that regulate such entities have been in a similar race to entice entities to become a bank vs. a credit union or vice versa. The agency’s budget is based in large part on the number of organizations it regulates, so they do what they can to entice an organization into becoming their type of regulated entity. It is a lot like two whores on a street corner, each of them underbidding the other for your business.

So the end result is that you live in a state that has some laws that protect you from this kind of gangster type lending. But the bullies come in armed with a rented sign that says “Bank of XYZ of Delaware” and they get to use Delaware law. What does Delaware say about interest rates? Not much. It doesn’t say much about anything else, either, at least from the point of what cannot be done to consumers.

I assume that the Delaware rule applies to South Dakota as well. :grr:

[youthere]

14. This kind of crap really makes me sick..

I'm not about to fall for their game, but it's just the idea that they are allowed to actually do business like this and it's legal. I know, I know...people have to be responsible and actually be aware of the terms and conditions when they hold credit but it's still what I consider to be predatory lending. The only difference between this and loan sharking is the credit card companies don't send a guy to bust your kneecaps.

[KansDem]

32. "...people have to be responsible and actually be aware of the terms and conditions..."

I agree, however, when those terms and conditions are written in extremely small font in extremely light-colored ink, it can be difficult to keep up at times.

If they weren't trying to fool people into exploitive accounts, why not just put terms and conditions up front and in easy-to-read format?

[Oeditpus Rex]

35. Because then the people who run the card companies

couldn't get richer than all fuck while doing their part to destroy Mer'ka's lower economic classes.

:patriot:

[youthere]

37. Oh I agree...

They try awfully hard NOT to be obvious.

[I_Make_Mistakes]

28. Yep, the games have been going on for a long time. I had a

Sear's card, grew up and went to College in PA. My first job out of college was in MI (GM)., I received a letter from Sear's welcoming me to MI without any thought other than that was strange.

I then moved back to the East Coast, NJ, with another letter welcoming me to NJ, never thinking the wiser. In 1986, I applied for an apartment lease, and thru a credit check had come back with 3 separate Sear's accounts and almost prevented me with,other than stellar credit history from getting the apartment.

Sear's never issued another card, never informed me as to credit term changes (they charged me a 6% higher interest for charges made in MI, but transferred to NJ).

I came to find out that, when I was in PA (the state that actually issued me the one and only Sear's card), and made a payment, it took 5 months to appropriately apply the payment to the MI and then NJ account. They were allowed to change the NJ interest rate, (no issue of a new card) of the state that I resided in, not where the purchase had been made, (IT was 6% higher in one case).

The American public has been lied to, cheated and had stolen from them since (my knowledge, the mid 80's).

[BOSSHOG]

25. Thanks

We have a shredder in the garage. Anything with our name on it, or account numbers or address or any identifiable info gets shredded. I've about worn out the shredder. We have gone the opt out route but we still get credit card trash in the mail.

[stirlingsliver]

2. Shread EVERYTHING and

Shred everything (except the postage-paid envelope)the company sent you.

Then put it all into the postage-paid return envelope.

Then mail the return envelope.

The company will have to pay the postage and will get the message.

[youthere]

11. HA HA! I love that...

usually I just throw them in the burner. I will do that.

[EnviroBat]

23. I've been doing that for awhile now!

I think EVERYBODY should do it! It's sooo much fun, although I was told I could get in trouble for mail-fraud, but I did it anyway...

[onethatcares]

31. black out the bar code on the envelope first

the rest is easy.

[canetoad]

33. Don't forget to add

an encycopaedia-sized block of hardwood for good measure.

[youthere]

38. LOL!

[fudge stripe cookays]

3. I am so SICK of these things!

We were getting a bazillion offers a week (half of them from American Airlines Citibank-- we were getting one of these apiece EVERY WEEK). We have paid down all of our cards but one that I use when I travel. NOT INTERESTED!

I end up spending an average of 3 hours every month going through these things and shredding them all! I finally called American Airlines furious a couple weeks ago and told them to take BOTH of us off their list. Still have aways to go, but that cut quite a bit of my shredding out.

[prole_for_peace]

4. link to opt out of credit offers

www.optoutprescreen.com/?rf=t

i still get a few but not nearly as many as i was.

[youthere]

9. Thanks for the link!

I get tons of these damn things.

[fudge stripe cookays]

26. Thanks!

I did that a few years ago, and it was so nice not getting so many, but I couldn't remember the link I signed up at!

:thumbsup:

[mainegreen]

5. Opt out!

https://www.optoutprescreen.com/?rf=t

[youthere]

10. thanks for the link! Done!

[Turbineguy]

6. OK, I'll accept

but only if the card comes with a picture of George W Bush.

[youthere]

8. LOL!

[rox63]

12. I have only one major credit card

It's a Visa issued by the credit union where I do all my banking. I'd rather deal with a local company, where I can walk into a bank and talk to someone.

[youthere]

16. I have a friend who has 6 major credit cards...

from different banks. Why on earth does someone need that many credit cards?

[hfojvt]

27. I don't need them

but if they offer me 0% for six months, sometimes I will take another one. And they add up. Some of the offers have made me money.

[Buzz Clik]

15. If you're looking to a high-priced screwing, you can get a better deal in DC.

... and you'll actually have something to talk about.

[youthere]

18. yes but my name might end up on the Drudge report!LOL!

[Buzz Clik]

24. A badge of honor to be sure.

[MindPilot]

17. I posted this one a while ago...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=709503

Lowe’s is being kind enough to “upgrade” my store card to “a Platinum Visa”. (Which is for emergency use only and hasn’t seen a balance in well over two years.)

I wanted to read though it to make sure that “no annual fee actually meant that. I haven’t lost a dime but I feel like Gannon & Friday (It was hot in LA; we were working bunko out of the Santa Monica Division. The boss is Captain Jackson.) are going to be banging on my door any moment.

The interest is adjustable; if you’re good it’s at the highest of the primes. If you’re not, it’s prime plus 23.99%! The time between the end of the billing period and the time they get to tell you you’re late is 20 days! You can’t use online payments—it must be mailed--and any of the following may cause a delay of up to five days crediting the payment to the account:
Not received the proper address
Not drawn on a US bank with USD
No remittent coupon or more that one
Not in the envelope that came with the bill
Staples, paperclips, tape, a folded check or any correspondence
Or pretty much anything else they want to use to excuse raping the cardholder for 32%.

According to the contract, I have ‘til May 7th to opt out of the “upgrade”. I’m sure glad I decided to open this one and not toss it out with the rest of the junk mail. My failure to respond constitutes acceptance of the contract.

FUCKING MOTHERFUCKING COROPORATE RAPIST FUCKING FUCKERS!!

[youthere]

19. And...

it's LEGAL.

[MindPilot]

20. Yeah, it's legal fraud.

I know I'm a rarity in that I actually took the time to read the contract which literally required a magnifying glass.

The fuckers who think this shit up should be taken out and shot.

[youthere]

21. The business of poverty..

it's a pretty profitable concern.

[entanglement]

30. They are scum - anyone who signs up without reading ALL the fine

print is well and truly screwed by these bloodsuckers / parasites.

[Sapere aude]

22. You are one of the few who read the fine print. I just shred them.

I use to read some of them and it is just like taking money out of you account and burning it for the privilege of paying more for something than if you used the cash instead of burning it.

[anitar1]

29. I opted out on credit cards a few years ago.

It was very difficult to get used to but I was determined. Now I don't give it a thought. If I can't afford something I don't buy it.I have empathy for friends who are caught in the trap. I have a problem keeping all the card offers shredded. I hate that. Junk mail should be a crime.

[youthere]

45. I have a friend who carries six major credit cards..

and a slew of store cards. She insists you can't "live" without credit cards. If I had to guess I'd have to say she and her husband are somewhere between $200-$300 thousand in debt with the credit cards alone. About five years ago she told me they were carrying $175 thousand on their credit cards. They tried to take out a home equity loan to pay them off and the bank wouldn't let them because they didn't have the equity, and I know she hasn't changed her spending habits at all and neither has her husband, so I think that's a fairly safe estimate (and probably pretty conservative). I can't even imagine holding that much revolving debt.

[Oeditpus Rex]

34. This is precisely why I bought a paper shredder (n/t)

[TexasLawyer]

36. Think of all the people who don't read the fine print

It's total thievery.

[youthere]

40. KansDem said it perfectly further upthread:

"If they weren't trying to fool people into exploitive accounts, why not just put terms and conditions up front and in easy-to-read format?"

And I agree wholeheartedly. They take such pains to make the actual terms and conditions difficult to read and understand. I read somewhere that the average American reads at a 5th grade level...but those little brochures they send with the offer are always written using a lot of industry terms that a lot of people aren't going to understand.

It's financial date rape.

[PA Democrat]

39. I am curious as to how difficult it was to discover all of the various additional charges.

My experience is that you have to go through microscopic print with a fine tooth comb to find all those "minor" detail.

[youthere]

42. Yep..

There was nothing on the "acceptance" letter..but all the terms and conditions were listed in a separate small brochure included with the offer. This little brochure was on thin white paper with small gray print, and it was folded over several times, so the resulting brochure is about 31/2" x 5" . First it lists all the information for the "credit protection" program (a service available for an ADDITIONAL fee) and then all the special rules and conditions relating to purchases and cash advances etc. It lists all the refund disclosures, arbitration rules and billing rights, their policy on information sharing, special state disclosures, how to qualify for credit limit increases, pre-approval condidtions THEN it lists all the account fees and rates...I supposed they figure they've bored you enough with all the other crap you will have stopped reading by that point.
Sneaky bastids.

[myrna minx]

41. I love the offers that say you'll have a "fixed" rate, but the fine print

states that they can change your APR at any time and for any reason. :eyes: Nice "contract." I get so sick of shredding those things.

[youthere]

43. I wonder if I'd get in trouble for writing:

"GO PISS UP A ROPE" on the offer in giant magic marker letters and mailed it back to them in their own envelope? doesn't matter..I like the shredding option better I think. Maybe I could send them the shreddings with a note that says "GO PISS UP A ROPE". LOL!

[xchrom]

44. i just got an offer for a platinum card -- which they will be happy to open

as soon as i send them 37 dollars -- their annual fee.

please --:eyes:

[youthere]

46. Well cripes! What are you waiting for?!

LOL!

[xchrom]

47. lol -- i know huh?

i can't WAIT --- to give you my annual feeeeee!!!!