Answers
....is just a scam? I asked this question about a month ago, to see what others thought of the 'CC Holders' Bill of Rights' increasing the fine print.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index; _ylt=AjDZzTlDn6st5B7cYOk6Za_ty6IX;_ylv=3 ?qid=20090430111244AAArKDA
Since then, one of my family members has received a "Notice of Change in Terms and Right to Opt Out" from Citibank, the holder of their Shell gas credit card.
Section 3 of said notice has to do with default APR. The first 2 didn't surprise me any. You will go into default if you 1) do not make the minimum payment when due; and 2) go over the credit line. This is all pretty standard in the credit card industry. Here's the one that got my attention: 3) make a payment to us that is not honored.
If I'm reading that right, and I'm sure I am, that's saying that you can send them your payment (I'm assuming it would be on time) and they can choose not to honor it, just to put you in default! Now, I understand that they can and will do this if you send them a check that bounces. That's reasonable.
And by the way, default APR equals the greater of 1) the prime rate PLUS up to 23.99% or 2) up to 29.99%
Credit Card Holders' Bill of Rights? Yeah right. They just found a way to sneak us the shaft even more.
Have you seen any evidence like this?
haven't seen any evidence but they really should have capped the interest rates. I've worked in the credit field and it's absurd. The only thing a 20%+ rate does is keep the person who defaulted (usually because they had some financial difficulty) in perpetual debt. The credit card companies have already calculated the risk of default and potential losses and spread that amongst all their other cardholders.
www.SmallBusinessCreditGuru.co m Testimonial Fred Radloff from Five Star Flooring gives a testimonial for the http credit building product. Do you ...
I am 18 years old, and a full time student. I work hard and make my own money but sometimes I won't have the money for another couple days. So I ask myself, why don't I open a credit card. Now I know what your thinking, this young fool will go overboard and go into debt. No, I don't spend much and when I do it's for groceries, gas and maybe something small like buying a cheap jacket. So I applied several different credit cards in different time lines to see if I'll get approved. Including Shell Card, Discover Card, and many others. I even tried stuff like an Ebay Card and TJX Card, all of them got denied. My own bank even denied me and I been with them for over 4 years. How do you build credit if people won't give you credit? Please help, what do I do to build my credit and is there any cards that are easier to get?
Probably when you graduate no one will hire you because you don't have job experience. Sorry, bad joke. But it's the same situation with building credit. Banks gamble on your financial circumstances; they'll give you money (an unsecured loan, aka credit card) based on the fact that you have money (job history) and will continue to earn money.
The good news is that there are more financial resources - seminars, books, webinars - that give solid advice for what you're seeking. You university or bank may even provide them. Check out these articles from Bankrate.com, a reputable financial website: http://www.bankrate.com/search/results.a spx?q=build%20credit. If the search results don't come up, type in "build credit" in the search box on the main page.
Bankrate also provides tools to help you figure how much debt you can afford and lists financial institutions which might be willing to work with you. Proceed with caution, legislation going into effect January 1 will curtain some of the unfair practices banks will be getting away with but basically you'll still be putting your head in the lion's mouth when you obtain a credit card. Make sure you read the fine print and ask questions!
I was eligible for a master card and I had applied for it. When I received it, it already had charges of $179 on it for set up fees and that stuff. I didn't like that so I canceled the credit card right away. The person helping me on the other line warned me that rapidly canceling credit cards and accounts would make my credit score go down. Is this true??
I have a debit and credit card with BofA and a Shell card, and canceled the First Premier Bank card that I applied for. Would this harm my credit?
And is there any free sites to check out my credit score free of charge?
Thanks.
First part, yes your score has taken a hit and will now be lower. This is due to 2 things, first, the hard inquiry that was placed on your credit report when you applied for the card,(this remains on your report for 2 years: read the source)
Next you are reducing your debt utalization ratio which is based on how much credit you have available to how much you have used. When you opened the account you had more credit, so depending upon how much you owed on the other accounts, your utalization may have gone down, closing the account raised this utalization to what it was before.
Next part, there is no such thing as a free credit score Some credit card companies used to provide what is called a FAKO score, one that was usually way off but most of those banks went under.
Hope this answers your question.
La. restaurants suffering credit card 'nightmare'
Faced with paying out tens of thousands of dollars in fines and penalties, George Sheen Jr. made a tough — but calculated — decision last year to stop accepting debit cards and credit cards at Jones Creek Café and Oyster Bar.
The decision came after cyber criminals out of Eastern Europe hacked into his restaurant’s point-of-sale computer system in early 2008 to steal customers’ credit card information.
Sheen said he was held liable for fines, fees and charge backs, money recouped from the illegal purchases, on grounds that his system was not compliant with the credit card industry’s security standards.
Sheen called it “the worst nightmare in the world.”
The Modern Gal: Why some people are getting New Year's gifts from me
I mentioned that I spent two weeks this month traveling, the first for pleasure and the second for work-related purposes. During that work week of travel, I ended up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, one of my three former hometowns. The first day that I was there -- Thursday before Christmas -- I managed to lose my one and only credit card at either the gas station or the coffee shop across the street from the gas station. It took me about two hours to realized the card was gone, so like any smart modern gal, I phoned the credit card company before going to search for it only to find some benevolent good samaritan had already canceled the card for me, so there was no use looking for it. And in canceling the card, my credit card company automatically put in an order to send me a new card with a new account number. Don't let any of the rest of the story make you think that good samaritan was NOT a good person for doing that. For some reason, I've never bothered to sign up for a debit card with my checking account. I don't know why. I'm not sure my bank offered them when I first opened my checking account. Or maybe they did, and I said not to bother because who needed a check card when I had a credit card? I've had a credit card since I was in high school because my parents are financially smart people who knew they could teach me more about using credit while I was living in their household than while I was on my own. I started out with a low limit and learned to pay off my card EVERY SINGLE MONTH. (MG finacial tip No. 3: Pay off your credit card every month.) After I graduated college I signed up for a new big-girl credit card (you know, one with rewards and stuff). A few years later I go SO PISSED OFF at the company which maintained my original credit card that I cancelled it to teach them a lesson (I won't name names, but if anyone claims to be hassle-free, they're probably lying). I meant to sign up for a Target Visa card as a backup card (and I mean who can complain about Target rewards!), but somehow I accidentally signed up for just a plain old Target card that is only good at any store with a giant red bullseye as its logo. Did you know it takes like two weeks to get your new credit card in the mail? I learned after having an exchange with a customer service rep on Twitter that I -- had I been the one to cancel my own credit card -- could have asked the credit card company to FedEx my new card for me for free! Too late now for that. Did you know that it's nearly impossible to finish your online Christmas shopping when you're operating on a cash or check basis? Did you know there's not an option to tie your Netflix account to your checking account? It's frustrating to find out how dependent you are on credit, but I found out just that considering I had to fund five stops at the gas station by prepaying with cash. I still cannot quite estimate how much money I should shell out on the front end to ensure my tank will be full. The good news is, my new credit card arrived in the mail yesterday. I have since finished my Christmas shopping, which was a huge relief. I am in now in the process of discovering just which bills I had set up to be automatically paid by the old one. Netflix already sent me a kind e-mail asking me to update my account. The storage unit facility where I've been keeping some boxes ever since learning of our basement's history of flooding called today. I have a feeling I'll be getting a note from Comcast and my gym soon too.
News
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