Great Info Tips

This is my opinion of credit card companies: They are “ripping off” consumers! Personally I have run rings around credit card personnel. When you call the companies you deal with they do not want to help you. Very few will give you any definite reason why they cannot help you. If you are calling to find out why the rate suddenly jumped on your credit card you may be told they can’t help you.You have to read the fine print when a credit card is issued to you. Most of the time you will see a line stating the company reserves the right to increase the interest rate if you have charged too much. This is what happened to me. One card jumped from 14% to 23%. When I called I was told if I paid steadily for 6 months they “might” consider reducing the rate. It never happened! I no longer deal with that company, even though it is a major credit card company.

I recently read an article by Mary Hunt outlining some things credit card companies do to consumers. Did you know you are charged interest on a new purchase immediately? The “grace period” means nothing if you don’t pay the whole amount you owe to the credit card company every month! At this rate you will never pay off that credit card! Then there are the low “teaser” rates, Ms. Hunt reports. She tells us the competition for new users is what drives this. However, you may end up having a high rate anyhow if you transfer the balance from one card to the new one that offers the lower rate. Some companies even charge a “transfer fee”! This is outrageous!

Time to drag out the credit cards you have in your wallet or drawer. Check each one to see what the interest rate is currently. You may be shocked to realize sometime in the past few months that rate went up without you even knowing it. Check the last few months’ invoices to see when the rate went up or better yet call the company. Complain! Tell them you will take your business elsewhere, then cut that card up! Pay it off as fast as you can, sending extra money each month to get the balance down lower.

There is a way to avoid those “late fees”, too. Ms. Hunt suggests paying the credit card bill the same day you receive it in the mail. If you wait and think you are getting that bill paid in time if you send a check just a week before it’s due, think again! They may not receive your check on time and bang! another late fee for you to pay! Try fighting that! Ms. Hunt suggested having 1 credit card and paying it off each month. I have another suggestion. Get yourself a second checking account at your bank. Make sure you get a debit/credit card. Put in as much funds as you feel you may need to start, then use that card for any “credit card” charges. You are spending your own money, have no interest rates, and you won’t have late fees or over-limit charges. You can only use what money is in the account.

Credit card companies are getting richer and richer off poor American families. We don’t have to take this anymore. You can do something to help yourself. Don’t accept their offers. Call and tell them to take you off their mailing lists and phone lists. All the calls coming through from credit card companies can make you crazy. In one day at my job (which is customer service for a large worldwide company, but not credit cards! ) I can get at least 10 calls telling me there’s a credit card waiting for me and all I have to do is…. This is where I hang up. It’s very annoying. Unfortunately, there is no way we can have these calls stopped at the job. Make sure you are on a “do not call” list. If you do get a call politely inform the person on the other end you are not interested and you consider it harassment that they call all the time. Remember to not yell at that person because he or she is just doing a job. They have to earn a living, too.

We have to fight back. Learning the tricks credit card companies pull sure can help you to decide if you want to even have a credit card. If you do, make sure you have a small limited amount. That way you won’t be enticed to overspend. Read that small print. Don’t get yourself trapped into a life time of paying back a credit card. Just be careful with your finances.

Ms. Hunt’s article was printed in the March 4, 2008 issue of Woman’s Day magazine if you would like to read it. I only skimmed some of what she discussed.