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Credit Card Company Tricks - 5/8/2008 12:36:19 PM
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imit8him
Posts: 340
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Anyone here ever find that the fine print from CC companies have nasty little details designed to rob you of your money? The more research I've done into credit card companies, the less respect I have for them. They are no different, if not much worse, than the predatory lenders of the sub-prime mortgage industry.
My friend, who worked for a cc company, recently informed me that some companies constantly change the balance due dates without notice (as can be done in their fine print rules) to confuse customers and have them pay late (to rack up fees). They also have set times too, where you have to pay by say 2pm on the due date, but only state the date and not the time on their billing statements. ....Quite a dirty little trick!
I'm curious as to what scams or tricks you've heard of or experienced with certain CC companies? It's quite a scary industry!
-Imit 
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RE: Credit Card Company Tricks - 5/8/2008 12:40:46 PM
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imit8him
Posts: 340
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Sometimes I feel like it's a game they play with/against you (the consumer). The probably sit in a room somewhere in that company and think of the myriad ways they can subtley trick and rob you legally. Once they get you signed on with a card, they then barrage you with all their tricks to get you to lose money to them.
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RE: Credit Card Company Tricks - 5/8/2008 12:48:43 PM
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Miss Giggles
Posts: 3670
Joined: 4/18/2005
From: MI
Status: online
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I have several cards I am paying down and will pay off. None of my cards have done that to me. The terms are laid out. They state which time the payment must be received by(usually 1 pm)
It is ALWAYS each person's responsibility to look over their statement and make sure it's correct. You can also set up email reminders for almost each card.
Using something like Quicken will help to remind you pay your bills as well.
< Message edited by Miss Giggles -- 5/8/2008 1:01:08 PM >
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RE: Credit Card Company Tricks - 5/8/2008 12:52:09 PM
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GroupW
Posts: 1668
Joined: 11/16/2007
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quote:
ORIGINAL: imit8him
They also have set times too, where you have to pay by say 2pm on the due date, but only state the date and not the time on their billing statements. ....Quite a dirty little trick!
This one is actually common across most financial services companies. Loan servicing shops work pretty much 8-5pm so they need a cut-off time to allow time for processing at which point anything received later than that goes onto the next day's business. For the most part payments are received by mail earlier than that cutoff time or by automated clearing house payment so the cutoff time is fairly irrelevant. Generally it impacts payments made by wire transfer or in person, neither of which is a big number.
BT
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RE: Credit Card Company Tricks - 5/8/2008 1:35:52 PM
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LCannon
Posts: 1298
Joined: 2/22/2007
From: Lebanon, OR
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The only 'dirty trick' I encountered was trying to charge me for their minimum monthly fee that I had lapsed over a month within their billing cycle. I called and they credited my account that day that amount so I only lost the interest(pennies)that I would have gained. Small annoyance to pay for using somebody else's money for a month.
_____________________________
"[Prayer power] hasn't never been taxed to[His]full capacity. His standing challenge, 'Call on
Me and I will answer with great and mighty things which thou can't imagine." Hudson Tayor
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RE: Credit Card Company Tricks - 5/8/2008 1:38:54 PM
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GroupW
Posts: 1668
Joined: 11/16/2007
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The only one I typically face are those mysterious "credit insurance" charges that keep cropping up when I haven't asked for it.
BT
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RE: Credit Card Company Tricks - 5/8/2008 2:17:43 PM
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imit8him
Posts: 340
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quote:
ORIGINAL: GroupW
The only one I typically face are those mysterious "credit insurance" charges that keep cropping up when I haven't asked for it.
BT
Ohhhhh....that one too!
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RE: Credit Card Company Tricks - 5/8/2008 3:26:53 PM
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GroupW
Posts: 1668
Joined: 11/16/2007
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Those really frost my begonias. They're so patently illegal. Even some of the reputable card issuers do it. One phone call gets them wiped out, no questions asked.
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RE: Credit Card Company Tricks - 5/9/2008 10:08:24 AM
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kernsfamily
Posts: 1134
Joined: 4/26/2006
From: Dallas (originally Detroit)
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we were late one month on some bill (TOTALLY unrelated to the credit cards), and that got reported to the credit reporting agencies.
It didn't take long, and we noticed that our %rate on the credit card SKYROCKETED to around 29% or so......upon calling, they explained that because we were late on that one bill, they had justification to raise our rate....
whatever.
no credit card tricks anymore. no more late fees. no more "other fees"...no more "tricky" rules and "gotchas".....no more worrying about what they might try to pull next....
haven't used a credit card in over 5 years....have NEVER had a problem using my debit card ANYWHERE....we travel and everything, and there have been NO ISSUES at all.
_____________________________
Proud dad of 3 great girls....Erin, Emilie and Elise
Blessed to have all of them in a "totally awesome" public elementary school!
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RE: Credit Card Company Tricks - 5/9/2008 10:12:39 AM
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P31W
Posts: 1921
Joined: 6/13/2005
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We have never paid late. A few months ago some company we did business with in the past make a charge on one of our credit cards.
I called the card company and told them this was an unauthorized charge and they immediately took the charge off my account AND the company who made the charge credited my card. So "I" made money.
LOL
I like it. Maybe next month they will go it again! 
< Message edited by P31W -- 5/9/2008 10:19:04 AM >
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RE: Credit Card Company Tricks - 5/9/2008 10:22:55 AM
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mrtigger
Posts: 295
Joined: 4/12/2005
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quote:
ORIGINAL: imit8him
My friend, who worked for a cc company, recently informed me that some companies constantly change the balance due dates without notice (as can be done in their fine print rules) to confuse customers and have them pay late (to rack up fees). They also have set times too, where you have to pay by say 2pm on the due date, but only state the date and not the time on their billing statements. ....Quite a dirty little trick!
I experienced that as well. Long ago, for many years, my CC bill was always due on the same day of the month. And I always paid it at the same time of the month. One month I got zinged for a late fee and found they had started shifting the due date. The due date now shifts from month to month. I believe it is done deliberately on their part to try and collect late fees.
Charge cards & phone companies seem to be the most scummy but pretty much anyone in business is scum these days. Not all of them actually are but for your own protection, you have to deal with them as if they are.
Trickery & deception have become SOP for corporate america business.
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mr tigger
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RE: Credit Card Company Tricks - 5/9/2008 10:31:24 AM
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kernsfamily
Posts: 1134
Joined: 4/26/2006
From: Dallas (originally Detroit)
Status: offline
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quote:
Trickery & deception have become SOP for corporate america business.
as the vast majority of companies out there are great "corporate citizens" and stay "above the fray".....and, not going down to the "level" of Enron, MCI, most credit card companies, etc..etc...
trouble is.....most companies are on the "straight and narrow", and do what is right.....but, those companies NEVER make the news....the companies you see on the front page, and on the evening news are always the "wrong doers", which give everyone else a "bad rap".
additionally, the news outlets are the first to report that a company is "under investigation" (which is very, very common), and they proceed to make all kinds of "speculation" as to what it has done and what should happen.....but, when that particular company is cleared of any wrongdoing, no one is around to report that.
trickery and deception are the SOP for the companies you see on the news....for the vast majority of companies out there, it is not.
_____________________________
Proud dad of 3 great girls....Erin, Emilie and Elise
Blessed to have all of them in a "totally awesome" public elementary school!
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RE: Credit Card Company Tricks - 5/9/2008 3:16:27 PM
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christsstar
Posts: 4238
Joined: 4/8/2005
Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: kernsfamily
we were late one month on some bill (TOTALLY unrelated to the credit cards), and that got reported to the credit reporting agencies.
It didn't take long, and we noticed that our %rate on the credit card SKYROCKETED to around 29% or so......upon calling, they explained that because we were late on that one bill, they had justification to raise our rate....
whatever.
no credit card tricks anymore. no more late fees. no more "other fees"...no more "tricky" rules and "gotchas".....no more worrying about what they might try to pull next....
haven't used a credit card in over 5 years....have NEVER had a problem using my debit card ANYWHERE....we travel and everything, and there have been NO ISSUES at all.
I read about this trick. Once I read about it, I went to read all my policies again. I'm not late on my bills ever, but just on teh off-chance I am sometime .........
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RE: Credit Card Company Tricks - 5/9/2008 3:21:13 PM
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GroupW
Posts: 1668
Joined: 11/16/2007
Status: offline
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To be 100% sure of catching this, you can also sign up for electronic bill presentment if you bank online and your bank supports it. The due dates are explicitly shown on your online billing system.
Just a thought.
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RE: Credit Card Company Tricks - 5/9/2008 3:24:30 PM
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christsstar
Posts: 4238
Joined: 4/8/2005
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quote:
ORIGINAL: GroupW
To be 100% sure of catching this, you can also sign up for electronic bill presentment if you bank online and your bank supports it. The due dates are explicitly shown on your online billing system.
Just a thought.
Yep!! I only have a couple bills that do ebills through my bank. But tehy ALL get paid through my bank.
I've NEVER had my credit card due date change. It's been the 19th of the month forever. (I only know this because it always falls on my bday.)
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RE: Credit Card Company Tricks - 5/20/2008 10:52:03 AM
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christsstar
Posts: 4238
Joined: 4/8/2005
Status: offline
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I get those checks with all my credit cards.
I have one through wells fargo (strictly for groceries), one from Discover (leftover from my college days), and a B of A card that I've never activated that came with my car loan. I get checks for all of them, even the card that's never been activated or used. I shred them all. Read the fine print. It's expensive to use those checks. (And talk about a waste of paper!)
I've never had any issues with any of my cards. I think it's the cards that cater to bad credit customers that will charge you the most and have the worst fine print.
Capitol One charges an annual fee. I've never had one that did that. I'm glad I never got a Cap One card.
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RE: Credit Card Company Tricks - 5/20/2008 11:36:15 AM
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stellaluna
Posts: 3325
Joined: 4/11/2005
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I think it depends on the card. My Capital One card doesn't have an annual fee.
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"Everything Stellaluna said (I do agree with her, honest)." -- miasma
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RE: Credit Card Company Tricks - 5/20/2008 4:12:42 PM
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his_chosen
Posts: 842
Joined: 4/11/2005
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Grandpa got suckered into credit card insurance. What kind of idiot sells CC insurance to a 90yo?! Sure enough, Grandpa died with a boat load of CC debt. ***poof*** Paid In Full!!!
We did have trouble with MBNA sticking in "service charges". I'd call 'em and they could credit our account.
We haven't had any trouble with our current CC. The due date is around the 15th. I pay bills on the 1st. No problems there!
_____________________________
You have a choice. You can throw in the towel or you can use it to wipe the sweat off your face.
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RE: Credit Card Company Tricks - 5/20/2008 6:12:25 PM
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christsstar
Posts: 4238
Joined: 4/8/2005
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Note to self: get CC insurance when I'm old and decrepit. No debt for family to worry about.
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RE: Credit Card Company Tricks - 5/21/2008 11:00:59 AM
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Ps103
Posts: 11637
Joined: 4/16/2005
From: Here, now
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quote:
Grandpa got suckered into credit card insurance. What kind of idiot sells CC insurance to a 90yo?! Sure enough, Grandpa died with a boat load of CC debt. ***poof*** Paid In Full!!!
Ha HAAAH hahahahaha!
That sort of made my day! Turned the tables on 'em, didn't he?
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Fasten your seatbelts...it's going to be a bumpy night.
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Christine 
You have to make sure you open everything they send and shred everything you don't need. If those envelopes got tossed, someone could write checks on my accounts. I need to call them and ask them to stop sending me checks, but I'm lazy.
