Capital One Loan Sharks

[Nicksterdemus]

I realize I haven't paid my CC balance. Five days late so I call them up. Thirty-nine dollars of late fee on one hundred and thirty-seven dollars and change. What a racket.

I tell them I'll pay that and the four hundred clams that won't be due for another twenty-five days or so and no dice.

They'll "allow" me to pay my late bill over the phone for a measly, extra ten spot.

I asked them how much credit that card carried and as soon as he told me I told him to cancel the card.

Now, he'll be more than happy to do that and waive the ten for the whole shootin' match paid off here and now.

I laughed at him and paid my late bill online.

I'll pay the four hundred bucks next month and they can wreck my credit adding penalties, interest and trying to collect on that thirty-nine bucks.

Da bums...

 

[Sprefix]

HSBC

Got my sweet little announcement yesterday (in a flimsy folded paper that you would normally just toss as it is not a bill or check). I opened it to have it say they will charge any and all activity based on the months beginning APR OR the current APR at time my billing cycle. ### Meaning the higher of the two!!!### Thank God and greyhound I owe $700.00 dollars or less total on credit cards. **EDITED**--pardon my dyslexic french...... They'll be paid off and not used OR cut and canceled. I sure hope the "wonderful" (intelligent) voters (some of whom were duped) are happy with their CHANGE!!!!!! Oh well, I'm buying more ammo all the time........investment you know. Sprefix

 

[Nicksterdemus]

I was on my fifth day of being late on 187 so I figure paying it and the 400 that isn't due for three weeks would put us square.

No way Jose.

So, that tells me they're nuttin' except opportunist bums.

The Capital One card represents right at 5% of my total credit.

I carry no revolving balance w/anyone.

Read my lips Cap1.

No 39 clams for you!

What's in my wallet?

Several others that dwarfs yours.

Bend over & outsource this...

 

[Wheelgunner840]

"What's in your wallet?" indeed!

They are all the same. I finally finished paying off a huge debt about 5 months ago. It took me close to 10 years to do it. I am finally debt free, and I have one bit of advice. Do not try to avoid paying the late fees as you have suggested. Pay off everything, and cancel the card. That $39 will be turned over to a collection company and will turn into a grand with fees and fines in no time at all. Suck it up and pay it, and be done with them.

Credit cards are the devil. I know from experience. I probably paid 4 times back what I initially borrowed because of interest. The most recent ploy that they use is that they can change your "due date" without notifying you, causing you to have a late payment. It's in the fine print. A friend of mine just had this happen. When she called them, they said that the due date was variable as much as 5 or 10 days at their descretion.

The devil I tell you!!!

 

[Airpark]

Very interesting show not too long ago on PBS about credit cards and their charges.

A few years back Congress passed new laws making it harder for you to declare bankruptcy to get rid of credit card debt ......BUT... thanks to the industry lobbyists left intact the ruling that they can charge whatever interest rate they desire and can increase it for virtually anything they see fit.

As I remember, they can assess you a fee EVEN if you pay the entire balance current each month.....they do not like you borrowing THEIR $$$ at zero interest.

Fascinatingly, the gentleman who originally thought up all the ways to make money with credit card charges got tired of the mess, realized it was getting out of control, sold out and retired from the industry.

Most people do not, but really should, read all the FINE print...WOW! it is an eye-opener. Really proves that them what has the gold makes the rules.

 

[afriqueart]

And the late payment is who's fault? Going to cancel your card because they are honoring their agreement and you choose not to abide by the rules. I fail to see the logic in your argument.

 

[Spotteddog]

Just go buy a house with a payment 3 to 5 times what you can afford, then get a home equity line to pay off the card(s) with. Once the cards are paid off, stick the taxpayers with the bum paper on the home. Your problem is your A. thinking too small and B. trying to be far too honest and trustworthy.

 

[Sprefix]

Nicksterdemus, I'd take this advice!!!

"What's in your wallet?" indeed!

They are all the same. I finally finished paying off a huge debt about 5 months ago. It took me close to 10 years to do it. I am finally debt free, and I have one bit of advice. Do not try to avoid paying the late fees as you have suggested. Pay off everything, and cancel the card. That $39 will be turned over to a collection company and will turn into a grand with fees and fines in no time at all. Suck it up and pay it, and be done with them.

Credit cards are the devil. I know from experience. I probably paid 4 times back what I initially borrowed because of interest. The most recent ploy that they use is that they can change your "due date" without notifying you, causing you to have a late payment. It's in the fine print. A friend of mine just had this happen. When she called them, they said that the due date was variable as much as 5 or 10 days at their discretion.

The devil I tell you!!!

DITTO-DOTTO-DITTO------Look at it as a HUGE piece of mind for $39......JMO Sprefix

 

[Nicksterdemus]

Don't you know that you can't squeeze blood from a turnip?

Collection agency? They outlawed debtors prison a long time ago.

What they don't originally realize is that I have them by the short hairs which is the position they usually occupy.

I don't have revolving debt, I don't use them as a short term, never ending loan and usually pay the balance in full before the due date.

Just as the child w/divorced parents plays one against the other.

AAAR, 'eave to, assume the position n prepare to be boarded ye scurvy dawgs!

 

[Beemer-mark]

I don't feel too sorry for any of you. Pay cash. If you can't afford it don't buy it. The terms of the credit card was mailed to you, did you need to go with hold payment to find out how bad the charges were?

But don't worry, starting next month the Dems have protected you dead beats. No more big late fees. Instead people like me who pay on time see all fees and interest going up while my maximum has been decrease - even though I have perfect credit.

 

[ladder13]

No wonder COF went down 0.86% today.

 

[WC145]

No offense, but I'm pretty sure they were up front about their fees and charges when you applied for your card. It's your responsibility to pay your bill on time, as agreed. It sucks that you're getting banged $39 for being late, but you can't blame them because you didn't keep your end of the bargain.

 

[straightshooter1]

Sometimes people don't understand that when they use a credit card (which THEY applied for) and don't pay it off each month, then the money owed is just like a loan (actually, it is).

There's interest, payment dates to be met, and late fees when the dates aren't met.

Now, in the OP, it seems when the borrower hasn't done what he agreed to do, somehow he and the company that loaned the money is the "bad guy" because it wants the borrower to simply do what he agreed to do.

No one made him USE ANY credit card and, if one doesn't do what one agreed to do (and all those fees are disclosed in the application or in those little letters about changes to the terms of your account), then that person has WELCHED and there just isn't any wiggle room.

And, BTW, I have been with Capital ever since they took over one of my first credit card companies, Bank of Virginia.

I was late about a year ago. Simply missed seeing the bill in the stuff on my desk. As soon as I realized it, I called them just like the OP.

Difference, at least for me, is that I had never been late before, and the CS Rep simply told me not to worry about it and removed the late fee.

But, if she hadn't, I'd have paid it because I owed it and I am just not going to be thought of as a welcher.

I used the card, I agreed to the terms and I am responsible if I somehow fail to live up to those terms.

Bob

 

[Nicksterdemus]

" It's your responsibility to pay your bill on time, as agreed.."

All three of you have logical arguments.

I learned something from businesses.

Everything is negotiable.

If you bargain from a position of strength the odds are in your favor.

I just had a chat w/nice oriental gal named Maggie.

I wanted to know why the 5 days over on $137 wouldn't square us up if I paid the next months $400 bill three weeks early as I suggested yesterday.

She informed me that Cap1 policy is to charge a late fee after the second day.

I told her I fully understood Cap1 position, however I still wanted to know why the 5 days over on $137 wouldn't square us up if I paid the $400 bill three weeks early.

She assured me the late fee would be credited if I paid the four bills.

I told her I would pay online tomorrow and resume use of their card, effectively lifting the cancel order, when I received a statement from them showing a zero balance.

Once again truth, justice and the American way prevails over the evil that lurks as a fungus among us.

After firing a shot across their bow I stared them down.

They flinched and struck their colours.

It's me duty to keep them from plunderin' me booty.

 

[ladder13]

Good! Now I hope my stock goes up on Monday.

 

[Texas Star]

The members who defended card companies totally lose sight of the fact that the companies change the due dates when they want, to create more income for them. They can also raise interest rates as they please. And do!

This is highway robbery, and greed personified. I have little sympathy for credit card companies.

Better not lose a job if you have credit card balances. The (bleepers) even had their toadies in Congress decide that anyone making over about $37,000 (amount varies where you live) can't declare bankruptcy. That would be humiliating enough for most of us, but if it's not even an option, your life will be a made in hell existence by creditors, for years. I've read several horror stories about that.

If you can't always pay off your balance that month, credit is hazardous to your financial and emotional health. I pay cash when I can. I strongly suspect that few who use cards could pay off their balances if they became unemployed. Something to consider, for the average man.

T-Star

 

[straightshooter1]

Texas Star:

Assuming what you say is correct (and I might argue about one or two if it really mattered), remember:

It is the user of the card who applied, agreed to the terms, used the card and failed to do what he said.

It's a simple thing-you borrow money, you pay it back.

Doesn't matter who the lender is-if you borrowed it, you pay it back.

Turning the borrower into a victim is just a way to justify being a welcher who doesn't do what he agreed to do.

I realize there a folks who owe a lot of money on their credit cards-money they will never be able to pay in full because of the interest.

But, whose fault is it that they used the card? Some seem to say it is the Credit Card Company's fault-after all, if they hadn't given them the card, the borrower couldn't have used it.

So, since the CC Company is the "bad guy," it's okay not to pay.

That's silly. Some folks just don't do what they say they'll do.

I do understand about emergencies-but the OP's wasn't one, was it?

And, I understand trying to negotiate the debt, too. Or, bankruptcy, in some cases.

Bob

 

[onebadscrambler]

They can also raise interest rates as they please. And do!T-Star

How many remember when Capital One offered their card with a 4.9% fixed rate for life? It was a short life.

 

[straightshooter1]

No, I don't recall that. That would really be a stupid thing to do, though, since no one has a crystal ball to see what the future holds.

I have seen such interest rates for a certain period, often in an attempt to get users to transfer balances owed on other cards to a CC Company offering a lesser interest rate. Usually, the rate lasts less than six months.

Bob

 

[Toyman]

I use my credit card for both personal and buiness. My bill for November was $41,0000. I paid the bill in full as soon as bill arrived. Chase Card service showed I paid bill promptly BUT did not release the $41,000 asavailable credit for 30 days. I called and was told it is policy because it might be a drug related transaction, go figure how many drug dealers accept or pay with credit cards ??
And because of the available credit on that card and 2 others I was down graded on my last credit check ,not because I owed anything or was ever late with payment ,but because I had the available credit. You work hard get a good credit rating, are offered credit beacuse you worked hard and paid your bills then hit in the mouth because you had the credit available.
The American credit system is pure BS at its best.