Topic: Credit Cards suck...

[UncleBob]

So, I thought I had this card paid off, right?

Then, bamn, they hit me with a $2.14 finance charge.

But this isn't any normal $2.14.  It's the two dollars and fourteen cents from hell.

I go online (as always) to make a payment.  However, it won't let me pay it.

They don't accept payments less than $10.

Wha?

So I call in and explain the situation to the rep on the phone.  She apologizes and says I can make a $10 payment and get a credit for the remainder.  I don't want to do that.  I don't want a credit - I want to be done with these evil pieces of plastic.  She says I can call in and request a check for the balance.

Now, logically, at this point, it would just make sense to waiver the balance.  Hell, the 10 minutes we've talked on the phone probably cost the Credit Card company more than the $2.14 I owed them.  Now, they're going to pay to cut me a check - stamp and all?

So, I ask if there's anyway she can just process the payment over the phone.  Sure.  We exchange the info she's going to need and then she tells me it's going to be $10.  Any electronic payment has to be a minimum of $10.

My options are to pay $10 and get a check in the mail or mail in a check for $2.14.  Or, mail in 214 checks for one cent each.  Meh. That whole 'me writing checks' thing is so outdated.  I mean, what's with a pen?  There's no keyboard on it.  And stamps don't have a "send" button.  What is this, the stone ages?

So, I thank her and tell her I'll just make the payment online to save us both the trouble.  As I go to do it, she's giving me some spiel about taking a customer service survey afterward our call.  I go to process the $10 payment (still had it on my screen when I called)...


..."We're sorry.  You cannot make a payment that exceeds your account balance."

...

...

I owe $2.14.  I can't make a payment less than $10.  I can't make a payment more than $2.14.

The automated form wouldn't let me make a payment of i either.

So, we go ahead and process the payment of $10 over the phone.  And I get to call in again in about a week to request a check for $7.86.

And this, folks, is one of many reasons you shouldn't use credit cards.

[vudu]

And this, folks, is one of many reasons you shouldn't use credit cards.

Unless you pay the balance in full every month so you don't get stuck with any finance charges.

But I agree--that's pretty ridiculous.

[Plugabugz]

And this, folks, is one of many reasons you shouldn't use credit cards.

Unless you pay the balance in full every month so you don't get stuck with any finance charges.

But I agree--that's pretty ridiculous.

I put 99% of my spending on my credit card, then pay it off every month. I get 1% cashback, so at the end of the year they give me about £50-£100 back.

I have another one that doesn't charge international transaction charges, so i only use that when i go to the states (and save like £50 on fees in the first place).

It works when you know how to use them properly.

But not wanting tot ake $2? That's silly.

*goes to shop and spend 30p on card*

[BranDonk Kong]

You should have just used the card to buy something online for $8 or so, then paid the whole thing off. I mean, really they should not be fucktards and should let you pay the $2.14, but it would be an easy solution.

[oohhboy]

ROFL. Which low rent company is this? If I wanted to, I could pay off my credit card 1 cent at a time over the net, however that just make more work for me.

Hell, the rubbish store cards I had to deal with back when I was in retail was smarter than this.

The easier solution is to buy 8+ dollars/pounds/whatever of stuff, immediately pay it off (via net I assume), then cancel the crap out if the card

Post photos of destroyed card(s) preferably with FIRE. kthxby

[UncleBob]

It's a State Farm Bank card issued by VISA.

It's actually a pretty good card with decent "rewards".

I considered the "buy something $8+, then pay it all off", but, honestly, I just want to be done with credit cards (after this, I'll be down to one left, aside from a small balance on my Walmart card, but that payment has already been made and was just a stop-gap because something came up and I couldn't use the gift card I was going to use and the only thing I had on me was the WM card...).

We don't owe "a lot" - just enough to make it a hassle (well, to be fair, if we only paid the minimum, it wouldn't even be a hassle... I just hate owing money.)  My plan is laid out to pay off the cards by the end of next year (ideally, August, but probably not...).  We're not poor or struggling by any means - we just don't have good impulse control.  Have you guys seen the pictures of my *AWESOME* Panasonic Q with Game Boy Player, imported from the UK that cost me $500?  That's the kind of stuff I have on my credit cards.  Not to mention dinners eaten out that we shouldn't have done and such.  It's good we don't have kids.

[oohhboy]

You don't need kids since your buying your own toys.

Serious question. Do we get to see your card(s) destroyed? Please with sugar on top? I am in the mood for some wonton violence against inanimate objects I don't own.

[UncleBob]

Probably not.  Like I said, no impulse control.  Might need them someday.  With no kids to worry about, the wife and I can max out all the cards (probably pretty close to $100,000 if we tried real hard) and just screw the system over when we die.

"Yeah, NPR - I'd like to become a member with a $20,000 donation.  I need to put this on my Bank of America card.  What kind of tote bag do I get with that?"

[D_Average]

I love my card. I've paid no interest the last year and I've earned $500 back. As long as you pay on time you can do well with them.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

What's in YOUR WALLET?

[BlackNMild2k1]

some pocket lint, chap stick, and 56..... no 58cents in change.

[Stratos]

That's why I never have and never will get a credit card. I've considered getting a gas card or an Amazon one and just paying off the balance right away, but every time I start reading the fine print I just say no way again. Better to be safe than sorry. College debt is more than enough for me right now.

Plugz has a good system there, and I don't know how the laws are on that side of the Atlantic, but a lot of those benefits are going to be cut off in the States like cash back. New US credit laws are stopping credit card companies from milking those without self control and to compensate the companies are cutting back the benefits that the good card users get to ensure they can charge more fees.

[vudu]

Credit cards are fine as long as you use them responsibly.  My main credit card earns me about $300 per year with no strings attached (I pay the balance in full every month).

I recently had to borrow a large sum of money.  I opened a new credit card that had a 0% introductory rate for a year, put the purchase on that and then paid it off in full before I had to pay any interest.

It's essentially free money.

[that Baby guy]

Sometimes, from the few financial and/or legal radio shows I've heard, those cards can cause trouble, unfortunately.  The situation I've heard of involved the actual bank that loans you the money for the credit went bankrupt and sold their assets, resulting in a different bank with other policies and terms taking over the card.  While nothing devastating happened, due to the shift in policy, the length of time the interest rate was advertised to last was shortened, which can seriously alter financial plans, in many cases.

Anyways, it wasn't the end of the world, but it's a potential wrench to look out for.

[Plugabugz]

Plugz has a good system there, and I don't know how the laws are on that side of the Atlantic, but a lot of those benefits are going to be cut off in the States like cash back. New US credit laws are stopping credit card companies from milking those without self control and to compensate the companies are cutting back the benefits that the good card users get to ensure they can charge more fees.

When the recession hit a LOT of them vanished over the following months, but since september several has sprang back up again. The thing with these cashback cards is that the interest charged eclipses the money earned back so you have to be very disciplined otherwise it isn't worth it. It's not really for people who know they are going to go crazy. They aren't banned here luckily.

I recently had to borrow a large sum of money.  I opened a new credit card that had a 0% introductory rate for a year, put the purchase on that and then paid it off in full before I had to pay any interest.

It's essentially free money.

I've done this too. I love abusing the system.