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Funny, the biggest opposition comes from conservatives who are primarily Christians who’s founder went on a rampage against money lenders. You’d think they would be the first to want to do the same against today’s money grubbing scoundrels.
You’ve got to love the banking industry.
As our friends in the financial sector were passing the hat among taxpayers last week for $700 billion in bailouts to cover their crappy mortgage investments, they were simultaneously condemning the House of Representatives’ passage of a “Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights,” which aims to crack down on some of the industry’s more troublesome practices.
The legislation — HR 5244 — would, among other things, end card issuers’ self-proclaimed right to change interest rates at any time. […] It also would give cardholders more time to pay by requiring issuers to mail bills at least 25 days before the due date, as opposed to the current 14 days.
[…] “We are very concerned that this bill would significantly hinder our ability to price the risks of lending and would result in less credit being made available to creditworthy borrowers at the worst possible time, with generally higher prices for those who do receive credit,” said Bank of America Corp. spokeswoman Betty Riess.
Nonsense.
“They’re using the I’ll-take-my-toys-and-go-home argument,” said Linda Sherry, a spokeswoman for Consumer Action. “But that won’t be the case. They’ll keep fighting for our business.”
[…]A Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights would level the playing field by protecting consumers from questionable late fees and sudden rate hikes, and requiring clear disclosure of terms and conditions.
That doesn’t seem too much to ask of an industry that has no problem asking taxpayers to cover its bad bets.
And even if the result might be a few more people with risky credit are turned down for cards, is that such a bad thing given the volume of debt citizen’s now have?
Credit card companies should eat shit and die. If regular humans tried the kind of shit that credit card companies routinely pull, they’d be charged with loan sharking, usury, and general all-around moral turpitude. If you’re late on a utility bill, they can crank up your interest rate to 36%, they show “minimum payments” that will allow you to die still owing a credit card balance, their FF miles programs are pretty much useless, ad nauseum.
I’m pissed about those latter-day Shylocks, and I don’t even carry a credit card balance. Ever.
Those bastards need to be clamped down on, hard.
One thing that is pretty clear is that their tactics are what got them (and us) in this mess. The loan sharking backfired… Seriously what did they expect? Every single bank and credit executive deserves to be fired and put in jail for fraud.
Don’t worry, even after we hand the banks $700 billion you can rest assured they’ll be back for more. What they’re doing now amounts to extortion and our spineless politicians will keep giving our money away. No doubt some of these politicians are probably getting their pockets well greased for the favor.
#1, Credit card companies should eat shit and die. If regular humans tried the kind of shit that credit card companies routinely pull, they’d be charged with loan sharking, usury, and general all-around moral turpitude. If you’re late on a utility bill, they can crank up your interest rate to 36%, they show “minimum payments” that will allow you to die still owing a credit card balance, their FF miles programs are pretty much useless, ad nauseum.
I’m pissed about those latter-day Shylocks, and I don’t even carry a credit card balance. Ever.
I never thought I would agree so strongly with you any subject, but I do on this!
Those bastards need to be clamped down on, hard.
I agree on this as well. However, it should be the consumers that do the cracking down, not the government.
#5–LL==why are you against regulation even of clear abuse? Use this very example of credit cards as a good example. It is DEMONSTRATED that the free market does not curb this excise, saying that it “should” really misses the point.
#5 – LibertyLover
>>I agree on this as well. However, it should be
>>the consumers that do the cracking down
How do they do that? By spending an hour or two pressing 1 for English, pressing 5 for account information, blah blah blah, and then yelling at the poor schmuck in Mumbai or Chennai? Even in the unlikely event that he tells a supervisor about it, they’ll just laugh and answer the next call.
It’s the government or nothing. That’s what the government is there for; to protect us from enemies, foreign and domestic.
And the credit card companies certainly are our enemy.
#7, How do they do that?
The same way you admitted to doing it.
If they know they are going to be bailed out by the government where is the incentive to do the right thing?
“If we raise the rates on our credit cards this month, we’ll have a 4.8% default rate. The government will bail us out but we’ll make an extra $36M.”
Or
“If we raise the rates on our credit cards this month, we’ll have a 4.8% default rate. The government will not bail us out so we’ll lose $4M.”
Gee, I wonder which one makes more sense?
As with every regulation, this came about because of abuse. By taking credit card regulation away from the States, we now have the usury seen today.
Congress should either regulate the industry or allow the States to. The linked article has a poll which showed 98% of respondents want some regulation. That is a difficult number to argue with.
#9, The linked article has a poll which showed 98%
Without more information on the questions presented, I have to take that number at face-value. I find it high, though.
What concerned me was the $17,000 — average — balance. This isn’t the fault of the credit card companies. This is the fault of the consumer. I don’t carry a balance. MM doesn’t carry a balance. Quite a few people I know personally don’t carry a balance or even have a credit card.
This law will do nothing more than force the companies to float the bad loans longer, thus taking the responsibility of the loan off of the consumer. People need to be held responsible for their own screw-ups. A $17,000 credit card balance is a screw-up in my opinion.
Why would a credit card company extend that kind of credit to someone who couldn’t afford it in the first place?
I’ve always looked at the credit card companies as akin to the mafia, with the vigorish they take on these cards. It is a setup to keep people ‘on the vig’ for life. I would like to see some sort of limits put on the cards, I don’t really know how, but some regulation that severely limits how much credit they can give someone until that person clearly demonstrates an ongoing ability to pay off most or all of their credit card most of the time, at least. And once someone is not able to do this, severely limiting that persons use of any credit card. I realize it is protectionist and ‘nannie-state’, but the credit card companies prey on the very young and vulnerable. They WANT people to be in perpetual debt and that stinks.
Why do you hate Christians? It’s like a weird compulsion with you. This must be your diary:
“Dear Diary,
Today I went to the store and bought myself a shirt. I saw a Christian. I bet they don’t shop in that store. They are weird!
– Uncle Dave”
Uncle Dave, why are you afraid to mock Moslems?
#13, #10 That’s the point. People use credit cards as if they were portals to an endless fountain of free money.
So you agree this is another case of “the government will take care of you?”
Hogwash. People should be responsible for the own actions.
And credit card companies should educate their customers on proper use.
Where’s your data? You can’t just say most Republicans are Christians…are you out of your mind?? Well, I guess you can, but you are really putting your credibility in doubt by saying so…if that means anything to you at all (and I guess it doesn’t).
BTW, I grew up in the South, and I know TONS of Southern Democrats who are DEVOUT Christians…
Man this drives me crazy. I personally think (this is just my opinion) that the US politicians are dancing around an issue with this.
Personal debt in the US is ridiculously high. The average working person in the US has 9 credit cards and racks up close to $20,000 in long term debt per year on them. You can bitch about the credit squeeze all you want but this is about everyone in the US (wage earners to government to businesses) growing up and living within their means.
The rest of the world has learned this or is learning this. Ten years of hard times ahead for the US. Bummer, but that’s life. This will be a fundamental cultural shift for the US to get people to “think and act” differently. Bad timing though with all those baby boomers retiring and the US welfare state ramping up to service them.
The old Limeliters’ song, Marvin.
One thing they should put on the bill, if it isn’t there already, is that every bank customer should be allowed to pay the balance automatically, just like a utility bill. The credit card bill is the only one that I have to think about. Why? They’re hoping I forget, so they can start charging interest.
There should also be a law which allows vendors who accept credit cards to give discounts for cash. I remember over a decade ago that such a thing was illegal in the State of Washington.
Why are we surprised that an industry would want to prevent rules that don’t benefit it?
Just like the government; The executive, legislative and even the judiciary make rules that benefit itself; shocking…
So expect them to continue to defy common sense and the public, to pass the 700b and say well, we just know better, it’ll be good for you.
Does any one have an opinion if the government should come in and start voiding contracts? That’s what they’re talking about. I don’t like CEO golden parachutes either but voiding contracts? Wouldn’t that be worse?
Be prepared to be saying ‘but it’s for the good of society’ a lot in the future if the government starts voiding contracts.
#10, LL,
Without more information on the questions presented, I have to take that number at face-value. I find it high, though.
The solution would be to go to the linked article and see the poll for yourself. You did read the linked article, didn’t you?
True story: I went to my credit union to bowwow $20,000 to but some acreage in Northern AZ. They said 7.5% and I said fine. I like to support my CU. When I went to sign the papers they had slipped in a prepayment penalty. I said see ya later.
My good credit earned me a $25,000 limit on one of my cards. They did a balance transfer into my checking account (which I used to buy the land) at a prommo rate of 2.9% for one year. When the year was up I asked them to extend the rate. They said no, I said see ya later. I got a new card with a promotional rate of 0% for 15 months. At the end of that term the land will be mine for at an average cost of less that 1.5% using credit cards. Hee, hee, hee.
#5 – bobbo
The free market *would* fix this kind of behavior but our lovely government won’t let it. Think of what would happen to those companies and the consumers that got in over their heads if the government hadn’t bailed them out.
The lenders and the buyers are at fault, and now for some reason *I* get to pay for it. I have no debt, and a growing net worth… I’ve been responsible with my money. Why should I pay?
I would really like to see WaMU, and all of the other idiot companies just die.
#1 Ya, lets bring back the good old days of debtors prison for deadbeats instead of charging them 36 percent interest. I don’t know about you but I’ve never been charged that. And every time I call and ask about a late fee that was my fault it’s been waved. Now I realize that this is anecdotal but I have to ask, what do you have to do to get that kind of charge? Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve only had late payment 4 or 5 times in 20 years.
BTW, I’ve quit using credit as much as possible, what great timing. Only my mortgage left. Talk about a nice sense of calm.
Many are missing the bigger picture. Our economy is so dependent on credit, it would collapse without it. I mean a collapse of Biblical proportions, not a bubble. The worlds economy would quickly follow. Wouldn’t be a nice time to live through.
LOL. Pedro, did you just benchmark the US economy against individuals in Latin America? Nice.
Credit card interest isn’t the only issue with banks.
I had an account with a bank that America in its name. It was used to receive funds, which I then transferred out to my personal account. I always stayed well above the minimum balance (for no fees).
All of a sudden a $35 fee for one month over minimum. On investigating, they said I was notified. Turns out it was hidden in the multi-page – fine print – legal notice enclosed with EVERY STATEMENT. Tough luck (in almost those words).
So, let’s see. They have teams of high priced lawyers writing this stuff, in legal terminology that other lawyers would have trouble understanding. They send pages of the crap out every month.
What are we supposed to do, hire a lawyer every month to interpret it?
There is no recourse, except reasonable regulation.
Of course, I pulled my accounts and wrote a letter to the president of the bank – a futile exercise, I know.
When it happens at the next bank, I’ll do the same. It’s better than feeling helpless – even though I am.
It’s all OK because I can cook pancakes on my iPhone.
Please be citizens, not just fans. Vote.
Just a bunch of money grubbing Whores. Fuck them !
JOHN – here’s a Poll question for you to put up:
Do you know the term usury or remember laws against it?
The credit card industry operates a lot like the car insurance industry. The Car insurers will sell anyone a policy, no matter how danger a driver they are. It’s just a matter of upping their premium. Just ask pedestrians in Florida, who live near old people and their huge cars.
#19 – Jbellies
>>every bank customer should be allowed to pay the
>>[credit card] balance automatically, just like a
>>utility bill
How are they going to pay it automatically? Charge it to their credit card? The only other option is to deduct from their checking account, and imagine the fine kettle of fish you’d be in when some bogus $10,000 charge appears on your bill, and all your checks start bouncing. It would take a year to straighten that mess out.
No thanks.
I get my credit card bill, review it for any charges that look suspicious, and then e-pay the bill. I like it better that way.
#24 – GoodDebate
>>…instead of charging them 36 percent
>>interest. I don’t know about you but I’ve
>>never been charged that.
Neither have I. In fact, I haven’t been charged ANYTHING for over 15 years, b/c I always pay my bill off every month. Looking at the mysterious 8-page, single-spaced, double-sided, 6-pt font form letters they send me every now and then with IMPORTANT INFORMATINO ABOUT MY ACCOUNT, I see they have the right to do that. At any time. For almost any reason.
Some people carry a credit card balance because they have no self-restraint, and can’t stay out of the day spa, away from the power-boat dealer, choose to eat filet mignon on a hamburger paycheck, etc. They should get whatever’s coming to them.
Others carry one because some emergency (medical, job loss, etc.) has left them without enough money for basic necessities for their family, or other circumstances beyond their control have made it necessary to borrow money. Credit card companies are a little bit (a very little bit) better than the guys with the broken noses and baseball bats, so that’s where they go. Those people should not be subjected to the virtually regulation-free abuse that credit card companies are capable of inflicting on them. And THEY are the ones who are being charged 36% interest. The ones who are paying $3600/yr on a $10,000 credit card bill.
That should be illegal.
To everyone here… Curious.. has or does anyone know exactly what is going to happen yet if the proposed plan passes?
In other words, has anybody said or is it anywhere that ppl who racked up debt and past paying or now charged off, etc.. now being bailed out??
Seems if that is the case, they just eliminated a ton of collections jobs? Right? Concerning debt and ppl blaming the ppl in it.. well, folks may disagree with me but to me it’s a slippery slope.
Yea.. ppl borrowed that $ and they owe it.. but I know people who are honest, never late on a payment for years, etc etc who just got themselves in total Sh*t situations and the only way they tried to fix or could fix was to charge while trying to recover & pay back but just ended up digging themselves deeper to the point of losing hope and pretty much everything ..
It happens and sure lot of people have a sad story while others are fortunate to make the right decisions everyday and not be in this position. However, these folks who were months behind were still getting CC applications and pre-approved Loan Offers… It’s like the CC’s knew they were in a bad time of life, need $ to pay others and waving this in front of them to take…
I’m sorry but think lot of this happened bc ppl unfortunately got themselves in the scenario of borrowing from Bill to pay John, then borrowing for Henry to pay Bill & so on etc etc. Same thing for banks, they were doing the same exact thing.
Again, it’s a slippery slope for me and everyone’s to blame and of course there is just the deadbeats who had no intention of ever paying a penny.. but the main question is, are these individual ppl being bailed out? or are we bailing the banks who still going to sue folks or place judgements.???
#21, Without more information on the questions presented, I have to take that number at face-value. I find it high, though.
The solution would be to go to the linked article and see the poll for yourself. You did read the linked article, didn’t you?
Yes, I did and my apologies for the way I worded my statement.
I was really trying to figure out was what all was included in the question other that “We want it, we might want it, we don’t want it.” I suppose if no one knew what was in the bill other than talking points, those would be enough.
#35, Do you wear a girdle when you get into your nanny mode?