AMERICAblog: UK gives two week deadline to credit card companies
Bostonian_Queer_in_Dallas
· 12 months ago
Wouldn't it be nice if, on K Street, there could be a lobbyist or two for the common man? Someone to point out to Congress that the ordinary folks are getting fucked while these corporate and banking guys are getting millions in bonuses, with government handouts, while us working stiffs are getting fucked? And I don't mean in a good way? It seems that an awful lotta people we elect just laugh at us out here in teeveeland after they get there.
TomJoad
· 12 months ago
When have we ever NOT been getting fucked royally? Seriously, what is "usery" when they can gauge folk for this much. It is monopolistic, there is some difference in rates, but NOT MUCH, and all of it is way over the norm.
They are a mini version of the sub-prime jackasses. They gave credit cards to EVERYONE, no matter the rating, and then pushed Bush to tighten up the bankruptcy laws. They didn't DO THEIR JOBS, which is to insure basic evaluation of the customers ability to pay back short term loans.
30%..it's like going to a loan shark.
RIPWAMU
· 12 months ago
Reminds me of one of my card companies who insist that they never get my electronic payment through my bank account on time each month even though my bank shows the payment processed by them 3-4 days prior to due date. Funniest thing is it used to be from the same bank until they sold credit card holdings. Hasn't happened since I switched banks early this year, even though the payment goes out the same day or earlier each month for two years. Now to top it off they change my interest to 29.97 for no reason.
KURT
· 12 months ago
INTERESTING!!!! I JUST RECEIVED A NOTICE FROM CITIBANK THAT MY RATES WERE GOING UP. I PAY THE TOTAL BILL EVERY MONTH. I NEVER GO OVER MY LIMIT. I AM NEVER LATE IN PAYING. BUT MY RATES GO UP. SO NOT ONLY IS MY MONEY GOING TO HELP THEM SURVIVE BUT I AM ALSO PENALISED FOR BEING A GOOD CUSTOMER. TYPICAL.
Older_Wiser
· 12 months ago
Call them and negotiate for a lower rate; if they won't, cancel the damn thing.
RIPWAMU
· 12 months ago
Disgusting ! I think they are making a huge run for the finish of Bushism. This needs to be stopped. Luckily you are able to pay the full amount each month. I say stop using the card but don't close it (credit score). Don't give them the business.
Alex
· 12 months ago
I just got a notice from citibank too - they raised my rate to 30% despite my being a perfect customer - or almost perfect - I was only late on a payment once. Over the 5 years I've had their card, its gone up from about 13% to now 30%. It doesn't really affect me because I don't carry a balance, but damn, I don't want my tax-money going to bail out their greedy asses
Older_Wiser
· 12 months ago
And on another note, it's being reported by Paul Krugman (who I usually believe, for the most part) that there were 172 million shoppers on Black Friday and the weekend, compared to 145 million last year.
I'm not buying that. And don't have any credit cards, either. We have tried very hard for the past few years to live entirely within our incomes, buying nothing we can't pay cash for (except the house). If we have to do without something, so be it.
red_dwarf
· 12 months ago
Older - its called propaganda. In a sea of lies its never easy to decipher the truth, mainly because the frequency of its appearence is so small. Same thing with unemployment figures, etc.
"As long as their friends can squeeze one last penny out of consumers...then everything is OK."
Which is I why I refer to them as rePigs. Why are these selfish grandiose criminals in charge? Because the sovereign, from which Gov't power is rooted, remains in the dark (a true democracy requires a Free Press, not a lackey one). Like I said, propaganda in the age of TV and radio (the web can be discounted because only fools who hang out in thier mother's basement use the web) has ruled the day. Hopefully that will change - but it will take a courageous leader to break out of this madness. Whether Obama fits that description is an unknown at this point.
Older_Wiser
· 12 months ago
Yes, I understand that--all TV is propaganda because it's simply advertising, at all levels, whether for a product, a personality, etc.
The phrase "Advertisements for Myself" was never truer...
interlude
· 12 months ago
from what i have seen, there were more shoppers but less actual buying. i suppose we shall find out eventually.
of course, if sheeple see a depression coming, are we surprised that they might make a last run?
RIPWAMU
· 12 months ago
There probably were. Most were people looking for the biggest bargains on everyday things they want or need (electronics and applicances). Sears selling a nice washer and dryer set for $600? You betcha people will flock. They are also reporting that there were many window shoppers and many people who only bought a few items. I was out there and spent hundreds less than last year - didn't think the deals were all that good for the most part. Everything that was a steal I don't have a use for. I was able to almost complete my XMas shopping and pick up some everyday things much cheaper..
cosanostradamus
· 12 months ago
. Not to worry. Obama will save us. Why, just look at the team he's assembled. What a breath of fresh air! We'll certainly see a lot of change from them. They are, after all "the people's lobbyists." Or somebody's...
OT: Democrats, including Obama, are trying to reach out and "protect Bush" and his criminals from future prosecution. Bush answers "Kiss my ass" - Dems tuck tail and run, as usual.
If there are any prosecutions of any of these criminals, I'll be very surprised...you know, like a kid on xmas who expects coal and gets a bike.
Too much "bipartisan" stuff going on. The Rethugs love Kumbaya when it's being sung to them...
Houndentenor
· 12 months ago
Why is this legal? Yes, they should make a profit but surely 10 points over the prime rate is enough profit margin. I know people whose cards have gone over 30%! Enough already!
cosanostradamus
· 12 months ago
. There are no Federal laws against usury. State laws have been rendered irrelevant by a corporatist SCOTUS decision allowing any "national" bank in any State to charge the higher interest rate in its' own State anywhere else it does business. That sc*mbag Phil Gramm helped eliminate even the intra-State usury laws by allowing a bank to charge the higher rates being charged in its' State by banks from other States.
The controls on interests rates have been taken out of the hands of pro-consumer States, and put in the hands of pro-banker States. There are no Federal controls at all. It's as if Montana could set the speed limit in NYC or LA. The credit card companies tended to re-locate in the States willing to allow the highest rates, in return for a few back-office jobs. Now a lot of those jobs are going out of the country altogether.
They didn't learn their lesson from the Union-busting Southern States, who drained jobs from the North only to then see them move to foreign countries with even worse labor laws, leaving scorched earth behind. Once you get in bed with these people, they will f*ck you to death and leave you for the next cheap whore. This week, it's called "globalization," and any opposition is called "protectionism," a "threat" to the global economy. But what good is an economy if it only benefits the few, worldwide, and screws the rest of us, in every country?
If Obama isn't willing to change this, he's got to go, too. If the Democrats won't do it, we'd better start forming a real third Party now, a progressive one. It's what's been missing from the whole equation for over 50 years now. .
TomJoad
· 12 months ago
Interesting. Thanks for that information. I had wondered about this. Sounds like usury laws have been gutted, as has (for decades now) OSHA been detoothed, and anti-monopoly laws are a joke, price fixing laws...
The list goes on an on. "We the people" have been getting rimmed for quite some time now. They would HATE for us to find out just how many more of us there are than THEM...
cosanostradamus
· 12 months ago
. I think they know how many of us there are. But if we don't take over a Party and run it by ourselves, for our own benefit, the "pro's" who do run it will simply end up working for whoever does show up, or for the highest bidder. Voting once a year, or every four years, is not enough. we have to keep on them all the time: Support the good ones and sh*tcan the bad ones, on a regular basis.
If we don't do this, we will end up as techno-peasants in a corporate medieval society, stripped of every right going back to Magna Carta. It's already happening. We have to stop it now. Simply voting for Obama ain't gonna do it. We have to keep him honest, if he ever was, or still is. .
red_dwarf
· 12 months ago
Well said cosa - strikes me as right on the money. I hope the next generation can get around some of this - at least make some progress - at some point luxury for the few will have to give way to survival of the species.
cosanostradamus
· 12 months ago
. If Obama has the will, we've already given him the way. He has to start systematically dismantling forty years of corporatism, with broad, sweeping, New Deal-style laws that put the people back in power in this country. If the corporations don't like it, let 'em move to China --but without our money, or access to our markets.
They've been screwing us hard for years. I say we start screwing back, even harder. You'll know it's working if you hear their network talking heads howling. In fact, we need to squeeze 'em until O'Reilly's head pops like an infected zit.
Personally, I don't have time to wait for the next generation. The 40-80 somethings let all this happen, now we have to fix it. It isn't fair to dump it on the kids. It's like leaving them a bankrupt, broken-down estate with nothing but debts and detritus. Imagine inheriting that! No way!
Not if we want them to take care of us in our extended old age. If I were them, I'd eat us, if we don't fix things first. They might have to. .
RIPWAMU
· 12 months ago
This is stupid on their parts. The higher the interest the less likely people will be able to pay. Imagine someone having a 30k balance at 30% when it used to be 12 or less? That is more than double the payment I would think. People will default left and right. Thankfully my balances are nowhere near that.
medium lebowski
· 12 months ago
Where's the Democratic Party Approved list of bank cards? Something like a Consumer Reports list?
Oh, and if there were really a market for asphalt roof shingles, wouldn't the price be coming down as oil falls and people stop building houses? But the price is going UP instead. When you need a roof you can only put it off so long, and the shingle makers/suppliers apparently have been allowed to amass the market power to do whatever they want with prices. Free market in name only.
Asterix
· 12 months ago
I believe that I know why this is happening.
Credit card issuers see a huge rise in delinquencies coming on the horizon. Run your interest rates to the ceiling. The folks who will close their accounts are the ones with month-to-month balances. The ones who pay the balance to zero every month aren't affected and will stick around.
This is a purely defensive move.
2009, I predict, will be the year of the Credit Card balloon. Subprime mortgages will look like a penny-ante game in comparison.
RIPWAMU
· 12 months ago
I have seen the interest rate on one of my cards go up so far and received a letter last week that one of my credit card accounts was being closed. Just some generic letter saying card program discontinued and I could no longer use the card. They also cut down my limit to just above what I owe. I called the number to find out what they meant that the program was being discontinued and why my credit limit was decreased so much. No answers given and certainly no sympathy. Just a nice "don't forget you are still responsible for this balance". I then went off about how this will affect my credit score (limit to balance ratio) and the jerk laughed at me and said oh well, guess you better pay more each month.
I think Paulson should instruct credit card companies (especially those getting bail out money) that they are prohibited from cancelling card programs, closing accounts in good standing, and lowering credit limits (or at least limiting it by how much) until this nightmare is over. He should also instruct the credit reporting agencies that they cannot lower scores in these scenarios.
I have busted my butt to get my credit score up (had some hard times) so that I might be able to buy a house when things turn around.
benb
· 12 months ago
Citigroup sent my BF a note saying the APR on his card was 26.99% but would go to 30.99% if he missed a payment---this just before they asked the Gov for a bailout.
All Comments
Seriously, what is "usery" when they can gauge folk for this much. It is monopolistic, there is some difference in rates, but NOT MUCH, and all of it is way over the norm.
They are a mini version of the sub-prime jackasses. They gave credit cards to EVERYONE, no matter the rating, and then pushed Bush to tighten up the bankruptcy laws. They didn't DO THEIR JOBS, which is to insure basic evaluation of the customers ability to pay back short term loans.
30%..it's like going to a loan shark.
I'm not buying that. And don't have any credit cards, either. We have tried very hard for the past few years to live entirely within our incomes, buying nothing we can't pay cash for (except the house). If we have to do without something, so be it.
"As long as their friends can squeeze one last penny out of consumers...then everything is OK."
Which is I why I refer to them as rePigs. Why are these selfish grandiose criminals in charge? Because the sovereign, from which Gov't power is rooted, remains in the dark (a true democracy requires a Free Press, not a lackey one). Like I said, propaganda in the age of TV and radio (the web can be discounted because only fools who hang out in thier mother's basement use the web) has ruled the day. Hopefully that will change - but it will take a courageous leader to break out of this madness. Whether Obama fits that description is an unknown at this point.
The phrase "Advertisements for Myself" was never truer...
i suppose we shall find out eventually.
of course, if sheeple see a depression coming, are we surprised that they might make a last run?
Not to worry. Obama will save us. Why, just look at the team he's assembled. What a breath of fresh air! We'll certainly see a lot of change from them. They are, after all "the people's lobbyists." Or somebody's...
Yeah.
Now, for the good news.
.
Let Professor Turley explain.
Too much "bipartisan" stuff going on. The Rethugs love Kumbaya when it's being sung to them...
There are no Federal laws against usury. State laws have been rendered irrelevant by a corporatist SCOTUS decision allowing any "national" bank in any State to charge the higher interest rate in its' own State anywhere else it does business. That sc*mbag Phil Gramm helped eliminate even the intra-State usury laws by allowing a bank to charge the higher rates being charged in its' State by banks from other States.
The controls on interests rates have been taken out of the hands of pro-consumer States, and put in the hands of pro-banker States. There are no Federal controls at all. It's as if Montana could set the speed limit in NYC or LA. The credit card companies tended to re-locate in the States willing to allow the highest rates, in return for a few back-office jobs. Now a lot of those jobs are going out of the country altogether.
They didn't learn their lesson from the Union-busting Southern States, who drained jobs from the North only to then see them move to foreign countries with even worse labor laws, leaving scorched earth behind. Once you get in bed with these people, they will f*ck you to death and leave you for the next cheap whore. This week, it's called "globalization," and any opposition is called "protectionism," a "threat" to the global economy. But what good is an economy if it only benefits the few, worldwide, and screws the rest of us, in every country?
If Obama isn't willing to change this, he's got to go, too. If the Democrats won't do it, we'd better start forming a real third Party now, a progressive one. It's what's been missing from the whole equation for over 50 years now.
.
The list goes on an on. "We the people" have been getting rimmed for quite some time now. They would HATE for us to find out just how many more of us there are than THEM...
I think they know how many of us there are. But if we don't take over a Party and run it by ourselves, for our own benefit, the "pro's" who do run it will simply end up working for whoever does show up, or for the highest bidder. Voting once a year, or every four years, is not enough. we have to keep on them all the time: Support the good ones and sh*tcan the bad ones, on a regular basis.
If we don't do this, we will end up as techno-peasants in a corporate medieval society, stripped of every right going back to Magna Carta. It's already happening. We have to stop it now. Simply voting for Obama ain't gonna do it. We have to keep him honest, if he ever was, or still is.
.
If Obama has the will, we've already given him the way. He has to start systematically dismantling forty years of corporatism, with broad, sweeping, New Deal-style laws that put the people back in power in this country. If the corporations don't like it, let 'em move to China --but without our money, or access to our markets.
They've been screwing us hard for years. I say we start screwing back, even harder. You'll know it's working if you hear their network talking heads howling. In fact, we need to squeeze 'em until O'Reilly's head pops like an infected zit.
Personally, I don't have time to wait for the next generation. The 40-80 somethings let all this happen, now we have to fix it. It isn't fair to dump it on the kids. It's like leaving them a bankrupt, broken-down estate with nothing but debts and detritus. Imagine inheriting that! No way!
Not if we want them to take care of us in our extended old age. If I were them, I'd eat us, if we don't fix things first. They might have to.
.
Oh, and if there were really a market for asphalt roof shingles, wouldn't the price be coming down as oil falls and people stop building houses? But the price is going UP instead. When you need a roof you can only put it off so long, and the shingle makers/suppliers apparently have been allowed to amass the market power to do whatever they want with prices. Free market in name only.
Credit card issuers see a huge rise in delinquencies coming on the horizon. Run your interest rates to the ceiling. The folks who will close their accounts are the ones with month-to-month balances. The ones who pay the balance to zero every month aren't affected and will stick around.
This is a purely defensive move.
2009, I predict, will be the year of the Credit Card balloon. Subprime mortgages will look like a penny-ante game in comparison.
I think Paulson should instruct credit card companies (especially those getting bail out money) that they are prohibited from cancelling card programs, closing accounts in good standing, and lowering credit limits (or at least limiting it by how much) until this nightmare is over. He should also instruct the credit reporting agencies that they cannot lower scores in these scenarios.
I have busted my butt to get my credit score up (had some hard times) so that I might be able to buy a house when things turn around.