Great credit? Bend over. You're screwed next.

[jackoroe]

Oddly enough, I got a "Change in Terms" notice from Chase, today. They are raising my interest from 9.9% to 15.9% to maintain "profitability". Well, I'll help them out just a bit and decline the changes and payoff my balance. That way they can have a bit more liquidity.

Fuck Chase and the horse they rode in on!

 

[NickCole]

^ "Oh Blanche -- there's rats in the cellar." And bats in the belfry.

Baby Jane is perfect for you. Though you're probably more like Edwin Flagg.

 

[NickCole]

A friend just told me something he got hit with, and this is even before this legislation: he hadn't used his card in three months, and they slapped him with a $19.00 "non-use fee".

I got a "Change in Terms" notice from Chase, today. They are raising my interest from 9.9% to 15.9% to maintain "profitability".

Wait. Some Obama supporters here have been saying this won't happen.

And yet.

 

[Kulindahr]

Oddly enough, I got a "Change in Terms" notice from Chase, today. They are raising my interest from 9.9% to 15.9% to maintain "profitability". Well, I'll help them out just a bit and decline the changes and payoff my balance. That way they can have a bit more liquidity.

Fuck Chase and the horse they rode in on!

That's one heck of a jump in interest.

Personally I think people would be better off getting their credit cards through community credit unions; interest is usually lower, and there are rarely annual fees.

 

[naked gent]

Oddly enough, I got a "Change in Terms" notice from Chase, today. They are raising my interest from 9.9% to 15.9% to maintain "profitability". Well, I'll help them out just a bit and decline the changes and payoff my balance. That way they can have a bit more liquidity.

Fuck Chase and the horse they rode in on!

If you pay off your balances each month that change won't effect you a bit........is this what I'm supposed to be ascared of?

BTW the only card I have is a Chase card, I haven't received such a notice yet but if I do I'll report back.

 

[fetaby]

Throwing in my two cents.


CC companies are scrambling to make whatever profits they can before this bill hits. Raising interests rates. Non-use fees. Changing due dates without sufficient notice. Any thing to get another twenty dollars. Just big business doing what they do.

As to how they will make there profits after, I think Nick has a point and I believe they will continue taking advantage of any of customers they can.

Does this mean that people who can afford to pay off their balance each month end up in the same boat as people who can't? Yes.

That's fine with me. I don't have a credit card.

Americans are far to free with living beyond their means. That goes from poverty level individuals buying $400 video games to lower middle class individuals buying $250,000 houses they can't afford when their ARM kicks in.

That is what America is suffering from and until that changes nothing will ever get better.

Back to point, if the CC companies do end up alienating customers with good credit to buoy their bloated profit margins, hopefully said customers will reject this means of credit and switch over to using debit cards. Can't spend money you don't have. And if enough people jump boat and the whole thing comes crashing down even better.

Speaking of alternatives, Bank of America is offering a cash back program for debit card users. If you buy products online through one of the participating retailers you receive cash back awards. Is this the next step for banks? Is this their answer?

 

[NickCole]

If you pay off your balances each month that change won't effect you a bit........is this what I'm supposed to be ascared of?

Fortunately, your life will always go the way you want and unexpected circumstances will never compel you to suddenly need to use a credit card for expenses you can't pay off next month.

You have nothing to be concerned about. Credit card companies will take good care of you.

 

[naked gent]

Back to point, if the CC companies do end up alienating customers with good credit to buoy their bloated profit margins, hopefully said customers will reject this means of credit and switch over to using debit cards.

I quite agree. Further given that 80% of the CC market is controlled by the top 5 banks should those banks alienate their customers it provides an opening for smaller banks to expand their share of a very lucrative business.

If you feel that you're a slave to the big banks you probably are but it doesn't have to be that way.

 

[NickCole]

Back to point, if the CC companies do end up alienating customers with good credit to buoy their bloated profit margins, hopefully said customers will reject this means of credit and switch over to using debit cards. Can't spend money you don't have.

Great post.

Hope you don't mind if I use this part as a springboard to make a few points about what some people are saying about credit cards versus debit cards.

Notice that the post above mine responds to what I quoted of yours by chopping off the second sentence. And that's revealing because that sentence is the part that makes switching from credit to debit difficult. Credit cards and debit cards may look the same and sound a little the same but in truth they are opposites, and suddenly shifting to an opposite method of financial transaction is a big deal.

There are lots of ways that using credit cards impacts our lives to make them much easier, for people living paycheck to paycheck and also for people with a more comfortable income.

And finally, banks aren't stupid. If people switched from credit cards to debit cards, banks would figure out ways to impose new fees on debit cards. In fact I bet they're already doing that, as well as more fees on checking and savings accounts and online transactions.

Here's the bottom line about what's happening with our biggest financial institutions: they've got us by the balls because our government is on their side. "Too big to fail" is their mantra. Last fall it was Bush/Paulson with the help of Obama/Pelosi et al, and now it's Obama/Geithner et al. The banks may not get everything they want but they will get their profits and customers will be paying them because the way most of us live and work in American today, we have no choice.

 

[fetaby]

I quite agree. Further given that 80% of the CC market is controlled by the top 5 banks should those banks alienate their customers it provides an opening for smaller banks to expand their share of a very lucrative business.

If you feel that you're a slave to the big banks you probably are but it doesn't have to be that way.

Yes. When the bigger banks start steamrolling the fees, a smart consumer would look into switching institutions. But how many smart consumers are there? That is the problem. Americans give their money away.

 

[fetaby]

Great post.

Hope you don't mind if I use this part as a springboard to make a few points about what some people are saying about credit cards versus debit cards.

Notice that the post above mine responds to what I quoted of yours by chopping off the second sentence. And that's revealing because that sentence is the part that makes switching from credit to debit difficult. Credit cards and debit cards may look the same and sound a little the same but in truth they are opposites, and suddenly shifting to an opposite method of financial transaction is a big deal.

There are lots of ways that using credit cards impacts our lives to make them much easier, for people living paycheck to paycheck and also for people with a more comfortable income.

And finally, banks aren't stupid. If people switched from credit cards to debit cards, banks would figure out ways to impose new fees on debit cards. In fact I bet they're already doing that, as well as more fees on checking and savings accounts and online transactions.

Here's the bottom line about what's happening with our biggest financial institutions: they've got us by the balls because our government is on their side. "Too big to fail" is their mantra. Last fall it was Bush/Paulson with the help of Obama/Pelosi et al, and now it's Obama/Geithner et al. The banks may not get everything they want but they will get their profits and customers will be paying them because the way most of us live and work in American today, we have no choice.

Lke I said. Americans live beyond their means. And the easiest way to get there is by spending money that isn't yours to spend. It is very easy to get into that hole.

If and when the banks start imposing greater fees for debit/check users, it may just be time to sock all that cash in a sock.

 

[Kulindahr]

If you pay off your balances each month that change won't effect you a bit........is this what I'm supposed to be ascared of?

Nick already said it, but there are sometimes situations where you need that card to an extent you can't pay it off next month... or the month after.

After all this trouble with banks, IMO Americans ought to be turning to their local credit unions, anyway. That holds for credit cards, too.

 

[naked gent]

Most with good credit are regular Americans who charge their gas and groceries and other purchases and then pay off their card at the end of the month. They enjoy the convenience of using plastic instead of cash,

And if all the major credit card companies impose the same rules, there'll be no choice for consumers. It's not like most of us can function in today's society without a credit card.

Annual fees is one of the ways they're going to get profits from customers with good credit. Duh. Up to now, people with "sterling credit" could easily get those fees waived. And there will be other ways to get profits from average people with good credit.

Nick already said it,

As you can see Kuli thats not what Nick actually said. In the beginning of the thread he said that everyone will be effected by this including those who pay off the credit bills each month who, as he said, will have no choice but to dance to whatever tune the CC companies choose to play.

Oh yeah somewhere in here he undoubtedly said Obama....bad man.

 

[NickCole]

As you can see Kuli thats not what Nick actually said.

Actually I did. In post #70.

In the beginning of the thread he said that everyone will be effected by this including those who pay off the credit bills each month who, as he said, will have no choice but to dance to whatever tune the CC companies choose to play.

That's right I did say that. And it's true.

By increasing fees and other charges, coupled with increasing interest rates to any percentage banks want, virtually everyone will be effected. Including those who pay off their bill each month. And it is also true that unexpected expenses appear suddenly for most people now and then and unless Americans somehow build up big savings accounts in this crippled economy, we are going to have to continue to turn to credit cards.

 

[Kulindahr]

Chicken Little nonsense.

Or not...

Issuers might charge new customers higher rates at the outset. They might also reduce credit limits, or make it harder to obtain reward perks. Hardekopf expects a resurgence in the annual fee, which he said only one in five cards has now.

The complete article is worth a read.

 

[NickCole]

Or so. The industry needed regulation.

It needs good regulation.

Obama's credit card legislation is as lousy as his other legislation and policy has been, from nuclear power plant leaks to bank and AIG bailouts to that bloated economic stimulus. And his healthcare legislation will probably be just as bad.

Imposing rules and regulations is not, in and of itself, a good thing. It has to be legislation that evaluates the entire situation and does what's best to keep the system healthy. Obama's credit card legislation doesn't do that. And inept regulation can be as bad or worse than no regulation.

If it learns nothing from this light slap on the wrist, then they can get further reigned in.

That's just silly.

Financial institutions are not children. They're profit making organizations headed right now, and for a while, by greedy unscrupulous dishonorable people. Learning from legislation is not part of the equation. That's just ridiculous thinking.

And ObamaCo is not going to reign them in. ObamaCo only pushed through that crappy credit card legislation to garner approval from the more foolish of his followers -- or ObamaCo is incompetent, which is possible as well.

Banks will figure out ways to continue to get big profits from customers, and ObamaCo will not stop them because banks making big profits serves ObamaCo's purposes as well. Remember these are the banks that ObamaCo, like Bush & Co, says are "too big to fail." Well you can't continue to be "too big" without big profits.

One things for sure, their revenue will drop even further if they fail to play ball. It is capitalism, Kulindahr, you do still believe in it?

Oooooh, teeny tiny little customer threatening the "too big to fail" banks that ObamaCo, just like Bush & Co, are protecting with trillions of your tax [strike]dollars[/strike] debt.

One thing many Obama supporters are proving is that some people can be fooled over and over and over and over and over.

 

[naked gent]

Chicken Little nonsense.

Or not....

Kuli from your link we really can't tell if its chicken little nonsense or not. For those who pay their bills on time the article says both that they could see a return of annual fees and that "some people who pay their bills fairly fast will also benefit"

While some here qualify as chicken little's who live in fear of their vulnerability to big banks it is interesting that the article does not mention either that CC companies profits have exploded over the last 5 yrs (which could mean that this will return the industry to a more historical level of profits) or that there are smaller banks out there which might use this as an opportunity to expand their share of a very lucrative business.

Because of reward points and cheap credit consumers have gotten into the habit of using their cards for almost everything......it stands to reason should the points disappear and the credit no longer be cheap their habits might revert back to what they were not so very long ago.

 

[Kulindahr]

Vapid commentary? I see no purpose in this comment at all.

You suggested they should learn from this legislation.
He said that's not part of their makeup.

So unless your original comment was "vapid" and without purpose....