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Feedback ForumNOW wants to hear from you! Send us your opinions, reactions and ideas about "Credit Crunch"Submissions for this question are no longer being accepted. Previously submitted comments appear below. Comments may have been edited for content or space. Poster: Wanita Comment: We all know there was no Y2K or the end of the world as we know it. The Gramm-Leach-Billey of 1999 sure looks like Y2K. It proved to change even their world, which wasn't in the plan. I posted previously on paying credit counseling over $30,000 of a $32,000 credit card debt and the banks taking $33,000 on our 2005 bankruptcy. How many here can earn or be paid money then wipe that income out? That doesn't include the up to 15% of our payments our creditors paid back to our so called nonprofit credit counselor as a tax free donation, tax shelter on both ends. That they call fair share. My trying to get those amounts disclosed to me landed me in court. Patsy who posted about HSBC and credit counseling. HSBC was our only creditor that took us off credit counseling after a few years and we were put on direct pay at no interest. Best I can surmise from what I've found about HSBC is they are trying to keep clean. They've been the target of a few lawsuits for the same practices all the others do but they're small and different. Providian another creditor we had demanded double monthly payments through credit counseling and as we were paying they brought us to court. Getting that account off their books and on an attorney's we found a few years later prevented us from being included in two class action lawsuits against Providian at that time. Credit card banks did drop the % of fair share paid to credit counselors after the 2005 Bankruptcy Bill was passed. Greg Palast, BBC investigative reporter said credit card interest pays the interest only on debt borrowed from foreign countries. My attitude is admittedly sour having my reputation and credit history destroyed in a sham bankruptcy after half a century of life following the rules and paying all my bills. I worked with money almost my entire life, have been bonded, didn't lie, steal, owned a house before I was 21 and could have my name on it, paid that one off, the present one too, have three grown more accomplished than me daughters and a 10 year disability of husband's from a motor vehicle accident was thrown in. We haven't charged a cent other than home heating since 1998. Any shame is on them. If Elizabeth Warren is reading I want to thank her for her's and her daughter's book The Two Income Trap. It convinced me after many friends could not to shallow enough pride to file bankruptcy as I still was to learn much more after. Our bankruptcy reason wasn't our medical thankfully but we paid dearly to perpetuate sickness in the credit card bank- credit counseling relationship. Poster: Mark Newport Comment: Thank you for your program on the banks and the credit card industry. I left the program wishing you'd closed with a statement regarding the greatest travestry of this topic... something to the effect of... Many of the very banks that have been so deceptive in their marketing and unforgiving to their customers are the very banks that asked congress for forgiveness and recieved a bailout. While they are charging their miserable customers 29 and 30 per cent interest... they pay less than 1 percent interest. I do not know a time in our country's history when corporate America operated with such greed and corruption and when our government representatives were so willing to look the other way. Poster: Susan Elizabeth Siens Comment: The program pointed out the unfortunate American belief that there is no connection between choices and consequences. Mr Spurlock did not go to Iraq to protect our freedoms, but to protect the government that has refused to regulate the credit card industry (our president-elect voted against capping credit card interest rates); that refuses to declare people, both civilian and veteran, disabled in a timely fashion; that has again and again betrayed the interests of the American public. Unfortunately, that same American public voted the government into office. Until we stop mouthing corporate and false patriotic propaganda and start THINKING about our choices, as individuals and as a society we will continue to suffer the results. As Howard Zinn said, patriotism is not supporting the government, but supporting the ideals our nation was founded on. Those ideals do not include usury. Poster: Laurena Schuemann Comment: It is our nation's concern and outrate that the soldier who was wounded while protecting the credit card company's existence, if you will, was denied his EARNED disability pay for a ridiculously long period of a year and a half! What in heaven's name is going on with this horrific injustice to these soldiers? I hope that NOW would not be afraid to expose this because you always seem to be able to get things changed once you air things like this to the public as well as the perpetrators. Thank you. Poster: April Lewis-Parks Comment: Dear NOW Editors, We greatly enjoyed your program. I am the education director at Consolidated Credit, the credit counseling organization mentioned in the segment who help Francine Adams. I wanted to post that consumers can call a counselor for free advice at 1-800-326-3632 or they can visit www.consolidatedcredit.org for more education and information. We will help in any way that we can. Best wishes, April Poster: FWS Comment: Since taxpayer money is being used to bail out the lenders and the lenders are showing no mercy to the taxpayers (i.e. borrowers), these taxpayer/borrowers would be perfectly justified in a massive stop payment strike, wherein all credit card holders simultaneously cease making payments until the lenders show some decency. Poster: Lee Ann Comment: You should have talked about credit unions on your show. Credit Unions are owned by their members and, as a result, they don't do outrageous things to their member customers that commercial banks do. They offer Visa and MasterCards, and they charge reasonable rates with no surprise gotcha increases. My credit union charges 8.95% interest for my Visa card, and it's been that rate or lower for the 24 years I've been with my credit union. Credit unions don't do predatory credit cards, mortgages, loans or anything else. No one in her or his right mind should ever bank with a commercial, for-profit bank. That's especially clear this year, isn't it? Credit unions are the way to go. Poster: NP Comment: To the producers of NOW: You need to do a better job of finding people who have been hurt by the credit card companies. I could not help noticing that all the people you profiled live lives filled with luxury items. These are not poor people - they are greedy. The American Dream is for people who can afford it. The constitution does not guarantee an American Dream for every citizen. I could not believe the choice that the Spurlocks made - who buys a house before having a job in hand? Haven't these people heard of renting? Can the wife go to work? I am disappointed that the reporter failed to ask the profiled people just HOW they ran up such huge debts. Poster: Mike Comment: The Gramm-Leach-Billey bill removed Usury laws, made Enron deception and Sub-prime mortgages possible. The Commodity Futures Modernization Act told the Commodity Futures Trade Commission to look the other way leading to $4 gas and food riots world wide. The Bankruptcy reform act made it harder for people to declare bankruptcy. Tie all these bills together since 1999 and the bottom line is the passage of these bills, thanks to our government, has financially put its citizens in harms way, worst than 911. They have and are killing the foundation that makes America financially sound. For the last decade, I have written a key player of all this legislation, my US Senator Orrin Hatch from Utah. He has gone on record saying anyone that declares bankruptcy is a deadbeat. I wrote him and asked him if 100,000 college students under 25 were deadbeats for declaring bankruptcy according to a Readers Digest article years ago. He never answered the question. He seems to think he is above the law and rides Corporate Jets to and fro from Utah to Washington. I listen to the spin from PBS like the Laughlin report, the Sunday Meet the Press, 60 minutes and other spin programs. There is blame being passed around. The underlying tone is the consumer is the problem. They are using the shame that comes with debt. Your program about credit card debt and all financial programs should be passed along to every member of both houses of Congress and the news pundits like Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck, Bennett, and others who spout the vermin of conservatism. The bottom line, our government has supported loan shark banking money practices. In my lifetime, I have never witnessed so many government passed laws that are so anti citizen and pro loan shark ever. Please keep up the good work and look deeper into the cause of this financial deception and eliminate the spin of American Express who just received a bailout award, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citibank. We have eliminated Electrical Engineering graduate jobs who create and make things to Financial Engeering graduate jobs who make money out of money. It has to stop and quick. Poster: Billy Comment: Hi-I really enjoyed reading all of your comments on credit cards--I have learned a lot. My story--I have an AMX and a visa card.When the bill comes in I send the payment in full the very same day ( I work nights --the one benefit of working the vampire shift--I know when ny mailman drops off my mail-lol). This month there was a note--thanks to you guys I now read these little note--before I would just toss the thing --that said they were going to charge a membership fee for having the visa card ( cREDIT ONE BANK)--of $88 bucks.I sent in a note saying AMX only charges $35--so why the big fee for a crdit card. My question is I heard that if you cancel a credit card it hurts your FICO score. However, I really refuse to pay a membership fee when I did not have one before--andf almost $100 bucks really irks me. To be fair ---I have not heard back yet from the COB--re. my letter asking to have the membership fee reduced or waved.My question is --how much will it hurt my FICO score if they insist on the fee--and I tell them keep your card ( I have a zero dollar balance--as Isaid I pay it off as soon as it comes in the mail)? Thanks for reading my post--and perhaps ansering my question--I look foward to reading your answers--thanks--billy Poster: eleanor Comment: it was said on your program that help with credit card usury problems that have run rampant could be had by going on to pbs.org...i did and couldn't even find vetted credit counseling organizations in my area, as promised...i typed in connecticut and kept getting florida...this is a pretty simple request...can you fix it..?? in addition, the new bill re c.c companies does not go into effect until 2010...is there any way to get this beefed up and applicable immediately..? i have over $50,000 in c.c. debt with bank america, citi cards, chase and others...a snowballing effect has been happening: i always pay the minimum on time...as a reward, they all have increased my interest rates and reduced my credit limit..what other choice is there to deal these thieves what they deserve...and that is not to pay at all or to declare bankruptcy...chapter 7? chapter 13? had they not resorted to these unfair (and should be illegal) tactics, i would have been able to pay off my debts over time and they would have made a hefty profit on me...now they will get nothing and i will have a low credit score for life (after having a 750)..now that's what i call a lose/lose situation.. is anyone out there to answer these questions???? to come up with solutions???? Poster: Your SillySister, PGar Comment: I see a fair amount of judgemental response in the comments here. Certainly there are people who str irresponsible. There always are; however, what is occurring in the credit card industry is NOT happening because of a collective lack of responsibility. The claim by the representative for the industry that changes being made to credit cards are based on changes in credit worthiness or other consumer induced activities does not stand the test of reality. With a credit score of over 800, less debt, more resources, and a history of never having been late on ANY account EVER ANYWHERE (I am 60), I too have been subjected to rate increases and egregious changes in terms. In 2000, after the death of my partner, I owed nearly $8,000. Over time, I managed to get the balances (on three cards) all transferred to fixed, life of the balance offers. Although I live on a fixed disability income, in the last eight years I have paid that debt down to just over $3,000. I have not used those cards, only paid on them. I use credit only when needed to facilitate a purchase (such as online) when I have already saved the money for an item and could pay the bill when it arrived. Once I used a short term zero interest offer to pay for a car repair, but paid it off in less than the six months before the rate expired. I am disgustingly diligent and consistently conscientious. Still, my 2.99 percent life-of-the-balance interest rate (on the card with the bulk--about 60 percent--of the debt) has been increased to 7.99 percent for two years and 9.99 percent thereafter. And this was second offer they made after I screamed bloody murder when the initial change notice arrived. That original change included an additional *fee* of $10 a month plus an increase from 2 percent to 5 percent of the percentage used to calculate the minimum monthly payment. I was paying $50 a month and the minimum payment was then $38, so this new scheme would have nearly tripled the amount I would have to pay just to keep to my goals. Another card from the same company (Chase) carries a much smaller balance (about 30 percent of the debt) at 4.99 percent for the life of the balance, and no changes were made to that account. Another Chase card--one I had had since 1992--was completely canceled with no notice (Chase has swallowed other companies resulting in having so many cards from one company) . I had a WaMu card which Chase also cancelled when they recently swallowed WaMu (who had swallowed MBNA). This was a card I had had since 1994. While Citi, whose card I have had since 1988 and was my first, has not changed the 2.99 percent life-of-the balance terms on what I owe them, they have raised the interest for new purchases from10.65 percent to 17.98 percent. Needless to say, I do not plan on adding to the card at ANY rate less than the one I have. Like the Chase cards, I have been paying and not adding to the balance on this card to preserve the rate until I paid off the debt. Again, never late, never over-limit FOR 20 YEARS. When I got this card, I had NO credit history, and now I have a FICO of 808, and still, they raised my rate to 17.98. So, please, anyone inclined to feel smug and superior, do not assume all debt is the result of irresponsible spending or lack of understanding the process, or that YOU cannot be affected. What choice would YOU make if the options are to buy on credit or forego the medicine that is not covered? What choice would YOU make between not getting the therapy or buying the gas to drive the 100 miles? There are a lot of choices to make, and most people will choose doing anything possible to keep their loved ones alive, even taking on debt that will require years to pay. More and more of us are now at the mercy of financial institutions that USED to be willing to work with us, to give a little slack to long-time, GOOD customers. But being a long-time and diligently paying customer now counts for nothing. Now they can change the rules in the middle of the game, and they have, and now that SOME regulations are being put BACK in place, the delay in their implementation has simply given the financial institutions the opportunity to change rates and terms before those very things become illegal. Gee, I wonder whose lobbyists had THAT brilliant idea? Poster: Bob Comment: Last month I received notice from both CITI and American Express that my interest rate would be increased to 20%, cash advance rate to 24%, and if a payment is late a 30% rate would then apply. They also added a 3% fee for any purchase in a foreign country. I can opt out of these changes but they will cancel my cards on the expiration dates. I have had the CITI card since 1993 and the American Express since 1996. I have paid any balances in full on time monthly, and I have not had a interest charge or late payment fee for at least 7 years. My credit score has not changed either. These financial companies have received Federal bailout money but choose to further hurt the economy of the United States by squeezing the consumer to increase their profits. Its not hurting me but this must be horrible for people with large balances. I have cards with Bank of America and GMAC which have not changed my rates of 12.9% and 9.9% respectively. I also don't have a balance on these cards. Poster: Mike Comment: I work with people who are trying to save and plan for retirement. I watched your program and run into people all the time who are maxed out in credit card debt that sometimes is more than their home mortgage balance. When the price of gas went to $4 a gallon, the Commodity Futures Trading Modernization Act led to 10 Companies trading Oil between themselves that allowed the price of gas to shoot up to $4 a gallon. Those Companies made $13 Billion in profit last year. Families used credit cards to buy gas. Their cost of gas shot up to above $300 a month over what they normally spent for gas. Today, the families are trying to pay down this debt. The Gramm-Leach-Billey act de-regulated the bank's Usury laws. Credit Card companies can charge whatever they want. The de-regulation of the banks led to the sub-prime, Enron, and credit card debt. My US Senator stated that anyone who declares bankruptcy is a deadbeat including the 100,000 college kids under age 25. The financial mess today can be directly attributed to the predatory practices of American Express, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Citibank. The laws that allow this type of lending needs to be fixed to protect the average American. The average American does not know the long term effects of what debt costs verses the bankers, mortgage companies, credit card companies and loan sharks who victimize our populace. The Jay Leno Tonight show summed up 2008 with a sign placed in front of George Bush: So long, Suckers! The sign says it all. Poster: a e friedman Comment: Paid a card almost off. Response: Lowered credit limit and raised interest. Made regular timely payments on a credit card. Reward: Closing the account because of 'credit risk'. We asked why a card was charged fees for being a day late when the payment receipt (sent by certified letter) showed timely delivery. It is no wonder they needed a bailout. Now they can hoard taxpayer money and claim they help when they help few. If not for the financial community's crimes, the little people would not be hurting. Poster: Jack Pryor Comment: Love your program. Along with Frontline it is among the best programming on American television. But I was a little disappointed in your program on credit cards. Like most news coverage, you didn't highlight the real bad guys. If Congress passes a law allowing me to exploit my neighbor, I'm going to do it. That is what humans do. The bad guys are the congressmen who passed the law. I was working as a bankruptcy lawyer in 2006 when bankruptcy reform was enacted. I was so disgusted that I stopped. The so-called reform is an absolute rape of poor people. Who was at the center of the effort to pass reform? Joe Biden, chief whore for the credit card industry in America. Yet, you chose to show Obama pounding the table about those terrible credit card companies without saying a word about the whore he chose to be vice-president. Someday some reporter will skip the standard, what-a-guy story, about Biden, the good 'ol working class guy from Scranton who just loves folks, and expose the fact that he has been ass-deep in every aspect of the creation of the financial disasters that we have been experiencing. It would be nice if that reporter were working for you. Poster: tanya Comment: i watched some of your segment and had a simular experience. I was late paying my card for the first time a month or two ago and paid it off in full within that same week. When i tried to use my card weeks later I noticed my credit limit was reduded to three or four times lower than the original limit and my interest also went up. My plan is to pay my current balance and cut my card to cancel my account. Poster: Camille Comment: I keep watching news report after news report about families having serious financial difficulties, and they very often have small children who were obviously conceived after their financial difficulties had begun. I have yet to see a reporter question the irresponsibility of having more and more children when you can't afford to pay the expenses you already have. I realize the decision whether or not to have children, and how many children to have, is a very touchy, personal issue. But I have a hard time feeling sorry for someone who is complaining about not being able to buy diapers when they were already broke before they chose to have that baby. Poster: Dean Stelmach Comment: I carried 3 cards for years with minimal use and rarely even carried a balance over a month. My credit rating was over 850. My apartment was destroyed by hurricane Wilma at the same time housing costs were raised over 30 percent in a year in this area. These cost increases were mostly caused by dumb speculation that has created all those speculator hard luck stories. The FEMA guy said I was eligible for relief as I not only had to move but also had to replace about half my furniture (including beds) and many possessions like small appliances and electronics. I had to pay to store what we could salvage. My apartment in a quiet lower middle-class neighborhood (quiet because I spent my first year there chasing drug dealers and Johns with a baseball bat while harassing the police into actually spending some time patrolling my street corner) cost $675 a month. After Wilma I moved to a high crime bunker apartment at over $1000 a month. Temporarily out of work because of hurricane damage and still waiting for FEMA, I decided to use the cards to finance my own disaster relief. Because I did not use the cards I had a modest credit limit which I thought was a good thing. What happened was when I put up a suddenly larger revolving charge my interest rates were raised 3 or 4 percent. I immediately called and complained to the bank and explained the circumstances of the debt. They were apologetic but resolute. Then FEMA inexplicably denied my application for relief. I was on my own. I stoically decided to tough it out, pay down the debt and not ever let THAT happen again. In a few months the banks (Chase and BOA) decided to raise my monthly rate from slightly over 8 percent to a hair under 30 percent. Again I called and protested. More apologies - no relief. The reason: I was using too great a percentage of my artificially low credit limit. I decided to write my congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz. Surely she could bring some pressure to bear on the bank as I was a disaster victim. I got a pamphlet on hurricane preparedness in a form letter from her. I then realized that my congresswoman doesn't work for me. She works for the banks. She works for the insurance companies. She wants to rescue the dumb speculators and suckers who stupidly bought property at the highest price with adjustable mortgages. She stood silent while I was victimized and beaten down and that's when it occurred to me: Screw 'em all. I called the banks and said I'll pay 40 percent of my balance as of a certain date and until they agree I'm not paying another cent. NOW they want to talk about lowering my interest rate on my frozen useless cards. NOW they want talk about working together. I am apologetic but resolute. So now my credit is in the toilet but the six to eight hundred dollars a month I was sacrificially paying to reduce my debt stays with me now. With prices still artificially high and taxes and insurance cost completely out of hand I'm not going to own anything for a few more years. By then I will have paid off my debt without undue stress and I will also have a sizable down payment that will make me look quite attractive to lenders. My advice: retreat to a defensible position. Walk away from your debt. Your overpriced house. Your expensive SUV. If you can, make a pay off offer and rebuild. You've been gypped. You've been lied to. You've been manipulated into a permanent debtor relationship. You've been abandoned by legislators who helped the banks become loan sharks and now are beating their chests in sorrow for your terrible condition. Bruce Springsteen wrote in Atlantic City: I've got debts no honest man should have to pay. He was talking about you and me fellow victims. Poster: Clint Hyer Comment: Since 1996, credit card rates have been set under state laws (i.e. South Dakota or Delaware). Credit card companies can threaten to shop for states that will allow the companies to set their own rates. Given the results of this 12 year experience, why not return the setting credit card rates to the federal level? Poster: Wanita Comment: We were forced into bankruptcy just before the 2005 bankruptcy bill with mandatory credit counseling. Between 1998 and 2004 we paid more than $30,000 of a $32,000 credit card balance through a so called non profit credit counselor. In 2004 we heard a report on TV our non profit credit counselor was found to have a for profit processing center. Through TV and internet I discovered the combined deceptive, undisclosed relationship between that for profit credit counseling company using a non profit front and our credit card banks. Asked for paper trail of all transactions done under our names, why our balances would not be paid in remaining period left and stopped paying. For that they brought me to court for judgements against me knowing the very understanding to my case court would have it's hands tied legally. Bankruptcy was the only choice.The banks claimed $33,000.00. Reason for bankruptcy was enough paid to credit counselor. Our credit reports are marked identity fraud for using and destroying our names for another's financial gain. I wrote our Attorney General who turned it over to Consumer Protection. Haven't heard anything in two years. No response has come from my Senator's office. After the 2005 Bankruptcy Bill the IRS immediately removed the non profit status of more than 70 credit counselors whose names they did not release. Credit card banks need to do their own collecting, not refer their customers directly to their scam bill collecting units called credit counseling (no thanks to you, Citicorp), not tell customers there is no in house program and run their businesses like I had to and still do run my home on what is there. Poster: Art Comment: I happened to have a run-in with my Best Buy card the very day of your piece on credit cards. They charged me a late fee of $39.00 even though I send the bill over five days in advance (their billing address is only 15 minutes away from where I live). They say they received my payment the day after the due date. They credited my account. Another thing they did was not use my payment for one of the the same-as-cash promotional purchases--even though I paid over that particular amount. It's another tactic they use to charge you fees in an underhanded way. I called them on it and they promised use my payment toward that purchase. If you dont catch it they will take advantage of you. Poster: Bonnie Hartford Comment: Of course consumers should be wise, but if they are not, the punishment should fit the crime. Putting people in a prison without walls, holding them hostage, by charging loan shark interest, and outrageous fees is a sure way to have them give up and either walk away from the debt or file bankruptcy. I don't blame them. There are violent criminals in this country who are punished less than some who have maxed out a credit card . Poster: Eric Comment: David and PBS owe it to the NOW audience to present a show on people who take personal responsibility for their own actions. It is a dying breed in America apparently. A follow-up show on people don't go through life thinking that asset values and incomes always rise might be good too. It wasn't surprising to hear the sad stories of the credit victims, or even to see David nod in sympathy. The real surprises were the amazing baseless claims by a supposed expert from Harvard, and the weak rebuttal from the ABA representative. Neither lady seemed to feel that hard facts should be provided. Perhaps that was too much for a half hour show. Poster: Belle Comment: Citibank is in charge of Sears credit cards. Citibank is in charge of most gas staion credit cards. Citibank is in charge of a whole lot of businesses credit cards. Beware of Citibank ! Citibank created and was first to use a policy called UNIVERSAL DEFAULT! If you don't know what that is google it. It's bad news !! They claimed to Congress they were no longer using it, but I think they just call it something else now. If you are able to bank with USAA, bank ONLY with them ! They are the ONLY bank I trust ! Next best thing is a Credit Union. All these big name financial institions have shareholders they must please. Credit Unions and USAA have MEMBERS ! That makes all the difference in the world !! Poster: Dave M Comment: How come you didn't scream about the 30% interest rates? This is loan sharking. There are usury rates in every state except Delaware and South Dakota where the credit cards come from, but you didn't mention this. Although usury rates is a complicated topic and might not necessarily limit all types of loans, not mentioning this was a big oversight. Otherwise, good show. Poster: Hank Lee Comment: Couple of points I'd like to make: - I find it just incredulous that while the FRB has stated that they will modify some of the CC regs to make them more 'consumer friendly', they wont take effect for 18 months! Yet AMEX, Disocver and GMAC had their applications to be designated as a bank holding company so they could get bailout funds approved in less than 30 days (in fact in AMEX's case it was more like 14 days!). Can someone ask them why 18 months? My understanding from what I've read is that the CC companies asked for this amount of time in order to modify their computer systems accordingly. Bull! I'm an IT consultant for the banking industry and I can tell you first-hand that any and all regulatory changes required always get first priority in the change queue, and from what I understand of the regs these changes could be implemented in no more than 90-120 days tops! The CC changes make for nice pub, but the feds are disingenuous at best in delaying the implementation of these changes for 18 months! - Keep in mind that while CC companies don't want charge offs, they'll take them as they could use the tax deductions for such in offsetting anticipated record profits for 2008 and 2009. Poster: Michael Quinn Comment: Some 35 years ago,my father and I were watching some cop show on TV. The villian was a violent man the detectives referred to as a loan shark. I asked my dad what a loan shark was and he explained that it was someone who lends desperate people money at a huge,obviously illegal,rate of interest. I asked what interest rate a loan shark would lend at and he said Oh, say 20 or 25%. If he was still able to remember those words of wisdom, I'm sure he would be very embarrassed. The credit card he helped me obtain when I was 18 years old,on which I've paid at least the minimum payment but most often kept a zero balance although I had a line of credit over $20,000,dropped my credit line and raised my interest rate to 24.99%. All very legal. Poster: Patsy Comment: After hearing on Air America that debt consolidators could help a creditor reduce credit card debt, I decided to be pro-active and call the companies myself. For the most part I got very good results. Some set my interest at zero with reduced payments over a longer period of time; others reduced the interest considerably with similar results for paying off the balance. One, however, is not a credit card, but is Beneficial Finance, or HSBC, what they call a revolving credit line. The interest is 25%. After getting no response from a letter asking for help on reducing my interest and payment, I began to get 6 or 7 calls a day on my answering machine. I've called twice and talked to someone but only got limited advice on how to meet their plan for a six month only reduction in payment and interest. Meanwhile the late payments and high interest have run my debt to them up $2000 in the period I have been unable to make payments. Who in a consumer counseling position do you advise me to consult. I believe in paying my debt, and most is related to health and home expenditures. As I am 72 years of age, but keep working when health permits, I would like some guidance. Thank you. Poster: J ohn Sanders Comment: The credit card industry, like Wall Street, is out of control and has been for a very long time. These financial institutions have been blinded by greed and unethical behavior. Our elected officials have been bought and paid for and unrestrained, these political and business people are raping America! There is a business philosophy that says business is business and it is this business philosophy that lies at the core of the Credit Card companies! Somehow these companies have been allowed to grow too big for their britches! Somehow they have been allowed to become totally and legally unethical. They have given anyone and everyone unbelievable amounts of credit with contractual fine print that allows them to increase interest rates at any time to any amount for without cause. People being people, many decent people have fallen prey to these financial predators and have been driven to ruin! The preditirs could care less! Begging credit card institutions for mercy will not reign in these unethical criminals! They think that they are untouchable! They are very wrong! Unification overcame unethical industrial practices in this country and unification can bring the current unethical Credit companies to their knees! If Americans unify nationally and refuse to pay any credit card bills until these credit criminals get reasonable, they will fall off their high horses in short order! Poster: LYNN Comment: I,too got caught in the credit card trap. Am 56, had credit ever since I was 16 and had to buy my first car on credit-yes was forced to do this by father. I am not stupid, but was just not acting responsibly or facing reality. I got hurt at my job in 2003 and had to file bankruptcy in 2005 after a lifetime of perfect credit. I felt very bad about it for a long time. But I learned my lesson. I have no credit cards and soon will have no debt at all. Capitalism is an evil, predatory system. It has morally, ethically and financially corrupted this whole country. 2009 is going to be a year of harsh lessons to be learned. Lesson 1--face reality. Bankruptcy turned out to be a blessing and a second chance to get it right--no more debt. A comment about what a previous poster said about your show being fair and balanced--made me chuckle--there's nothing fair and balanced about credit cards and if you intelligntsia people think if 50 million people renege on their credit cards this year and you won't be adversely affected, you have some reality to face, too. We're all in this together. Poster: Rick, in Seattle WA Comment: Who's kidding who, the Regulators are nothing more than Ego's with Power. I was a customer that was inundated by the Regulators of a small Bank in the Seattle area that was destroyed by the FDIC Regulators. I happened to see first hand how they installed a new President tht misrepresented to the customers of the bank his intentions. He lied to the customers and above all, he made money on our backs. He screwed the investors by selling off loans at .50 cents on the dollar. When the Regulators came into the bank, it wasn't about helping prop them up, it was about tearing them down. They singled out this bank because one of the Regulators recognized a bank employee that the had it in for from a prior banking relationship. The FDIC needs to be completely shut down and started over from scratch. It is obvious from what I personally have seen that the FDIC is itself corrupt. What with all of the disasters in our Financial House, we could learn from the Boy Scouts of America. Honor above all else. Poster: Leah Comment: Where is the bail out for the middle class? What if....there was a Bail Out for people like us....hard working people that up to 2008 showed responsible credit management and have always worked very hard. Why can't a government backed fund be set-up for individuals as defined in your broadcast? A fund that you and I the average American Citizen who does not have a corporate jet to fly around in, can borrow from at a reasonable fixed interest rate? This money would be used to specifically pay off and close these cards, and remove the blemishes from our credit reports that we have all tried so hard to protect. The reasonable interest paid into the fund would support it. Hence a road to recovery for the middle class. An Average American Citizen that has endured every blow dished out to them. Like $5.00 a gallon fuel prices, Fees, fees fees, higher grocery prices, lower home asset values, loss in earnings, loss of a job, loss of health or life due to this stress, the list goes on....all at once in 2008 for each and every one of us. Can you and I, just the average American Citizen, go to congress, speak as the auto manufactures and banks did and get a bail out? Another option: All Americans just stop paying the credit cards...yes just stop. Until, the Credit Card companies go bankrupt. I suppose, they would go to congress and be granted a bail out too. Your program covered it well explaining the random % increases in interest and in payments. You also covered the part that refinancing is not an option because the home prices have dropped dramatically. Oh if you own a business at this point you cannot refinance if you wanted to with out a huge down. In addition, the Credit Lines are also dramatically reduced. For many individuals & businesses such as retail and manufacturing this is a must. Hence higher unemployment and no way to weather this Perfect Financial Storm. What was a good credit history is now in the toilet. What was missing in your broadcast was what can people do about it? That seems to be missing in most of this broadcast these days. Credit counseling and bankruptcy were mentioned, but who and which ones do you trust? Why is this are only option? That’s my thought, what are your solutions? Poster: Leah Comment: Where is the bail out for the middle class? What if....there was a Bail Out for people like us....hard working people that up to 2008 showed responsible credit management and have always worked very hard. Why can't a government backed fund be set-up for individuals as defined in your broadcast? A fund that you and I the average American Citizen who does not have a corporate jet to fly around in, can borrow from at a reasonable fixed interest rate? This money would be used to specifically pay off and close these cards, and remove the blemishes from our credit reports that we have all tried so hard to protect. The reasonable interest paid into the fund would support it. Hence a road to recovery for the middle class. An Average American Citizen that has endured every blow dished out to them. Like $5.00 a gallon fuel prices, Fees, fees fees, higher grocery prices, lower home asset values, loss in earnings, loss of a job, loss of health or life due to this stress, the list goes on....all at once in 2008 for each and every one of us. Can you and I, just the average American Citizen, go to congress, speak as the auto manufactures and banks did and get a bail out? Another option: All Americans just stop paying the credit cards...yes just stop. Until, the Credit Card companies go bankrupt. I suppose, they would go to congress and be granted a bail out too. Your program covered it well explaining the random % increases in interest and in payments. You also covered the part that refinancing is not an option because the home prices have dropped dramatically. Oh if you own a business at this point you cannot refinance if you wanted to with out a huge down. In addition, the Credit Lines are also dramatically reduced. For many individuals & businesses such as retail and manufacturing this is a must. Hence higher unemployment and no way to weather this Perfect Financial Storm. What was a good credit history is now in the toilet. What was missing in your broadcast was what can people do about it? That seems to be missing in most of this broadcast these days. Credit counseling and bankruptcy were mentioned, but who and which ones do you trust? Why is this are only option? That’s my thought, what are your solutions? Poster: Jay Comment: The poor gets punished for being poor. Can this ever be changed in this capitalistic America? It has been this way forever. I googled to find most trusted bank in America that actually helps financially distressed customers. I could not find any helpful information. Can PBS provide or help us to find out trustworthy bank? Where should I go to get some help when I have trouble like this. Who can help us? Is there such a thing out there? Poster: stanley Comment: It's Friday the 3rd and I've just finished watching the report on credit card problems on Now. I've had my share of shoving matches with credit card companies, one or two quite nasty, so I hold no brief for those bums. But your report just doesn't align with my experiences. Something doesn't add up here. To set the stage, I've been using credit cards since they first came out. I was the first on my block to charge groceries, 40+ years ago, causing the neighbors to stare and shake their heads sadly. Whenever a new use for the card came out I jumped on it immediately. At this time I have 8 active accounts, on which I owe over $36,000. My yearly earned income has never been over $40,000, and at this time social security is my main income. So most of my income goes toward servicing credit card debt, my home mortgage, and my home equity loan. I'm in pretty bad shape financially. In the heyday of the credit card boom I had over 15 active credit cards, with probably a total credit limit of $150,000 and debt as high as $50,000, more than my total income in any given year. That's why I find the guidelines put forth by the wise young (some not so young) personal finance experts utterly laughable. The banks must take the guidelines seriously because they've now taken most of my cards away and reduced my limits to a total $62,000 as of now. And the 3 credit rating agencies apparently rate me quite low. At least that's what the banks tell me. I've never bothered to find out just what it is because I don't care. Here's where my experience doesn't match up with your report. On those few occasions when I've had a late payment or over limit penalty, I always call the bank and request them to waive the penalty. The bank does so 90% of the time. When the bank changes the terms on me, they always give me the option of turning down the terms and closing the account. Naturally, I always refuse the changed terms. If the changed terms include an interest rate increase and there was a balance on the account I couldn't pay off in cash, I would transfer the balance to another card. Admittedly, in the hostile new credit environment, this option has become increasingly less available. This was the situation I encountered for the first time in June of 2002. The bank informed me that they were increasing the interest rate on my balance of $11,376.56 from 5.71% to 23.99%. As usual, I declined the offer. So they closed my account to further borrowing. But they maintained their right to set the interest rate to whatever they pleased for any reason. Their reason was not any delinquency of mine on that account, but rather something they read about me in the credit reports. Scrutiny of the fine print in the credit agreement showed me they had the right to do this. But I told them I would nevertheless not pay that interest rate, and the only way I could avoid paying interest was to not pay anything at all. So month after month my statement showed the high interest charges, piled up late penalties, and no credited payments. Naturally, their collections department got right on the case. Their saber rattling and warnings of the negative impact on my credit rating I ignored. After nine months of that, seeing their principal was lost otherwise, they waived all late penalties and excess interest and restored the original interest rate. I then resumed payments and, when another credit opportunity appeared in March 2005, repaid the balance in full. See, your program likes to present sensationally anger-arousing content accompanied by David's look of stunned incredulity, but doesn't tell the whole story. The key to the right relation with the bank is two-fold: 1. ALWAYS pay on time. When you have as many accounts as I have, set all accounts up for auto pay. At times this could result in overdrafts on your checking account. So you must also arrange for an automatic overdraft loan to back up your checking account. 2. In the unfortunate event of a slippage, talk to the bank and beg forgiveness. If they won't listen to reason and a lot of money is involved, and you can't transfer the balance to another bank, refuse to pay. The bank won't take you to court. They can't afford to. I might just add a couple more tips: if the bank sends you a bunch of checks for you to use against your remaining credit, DON'T USE ONE FOR EACH PAYEE. You'll pay a transfer fee for each one. Use only ONE check, payable to your checking account, and distribute to payees from there. More importantly, if you've already got a promotional rate on the account, don't use the checks at all. You get stuck with a high rate of interest on the newly borrowed amount without any opportunity of paying it down until the low interest bearing amount is completely paid off. Programs like yours love to pontificate about the sins of banks and business, but the only remedy you offer is government intervention. The practical remedies I gave here I have never heard offered either by programs like yours nor any personal financial advice columns, other than that you should always pay on time. Poster: Jeff Comment: Sean, And if you slip on the card you mention above, any other low or no-interest loans can go to their Universal Default Rate. As I understand it GMAC has such a clause built into their auto loans. They, and others reportedly phish on a regular basis for clients' slipping on their payments in all financial arenas by pulling a short report ( one that I understand will not show if you are watching your credit scores and inquiries. Even paying ontime, can have glitches. I called into MBNA on a Friday, the day before my payment was due, and they told me I coudl pay online with no processing fee. This seemed quite nice.... till I processed the payment, and found it would post the following Monday... not same day or Saturday, when due. Do Credit card processing centers take the weekend off? Does the Internet where I paid it, hold it till Monday ? When I get next statement, I will see if I got hit with a late payment, penalty and interest. Poster: Flat Screens and Bottles of Wine Comment: I was dumbfounded at some of what I saw: * First woman had a flat screen TV in the background and it was huge. I still own the CRT TV I bought 10 years ago. Do they have cable? * Second couple who filed bankruptcy had two bottles of wine on the kitchen counter. That could be 10 bucks a meal on wine alone if they each had two glasses. (Why not buy box wine?) I feel for these people. And the credit card companies are way out of control. But there is some more belt tightening that could have happened. The first couple never even had a chance. Going from 1500, 1800 to 2000 in mortgage payments, the CC just prolonged the inevitable. * Warren said credit card companies want to simply charge interest of 30%. And the sweet spot it to get the most disparate person. What good is it if that person goes bankrupt in a year? That is a complete loss for the Credit Card company. Don't forget CC companies make a ton of money on transactions too. Poster: Jackie Miller Comment: I was so glad that you did the show on the credit card problems facing so many of our fellow citizens. The people interviewed were credible and representative of many of those impacted by the recession and then victimized by the card companies. I was very surprised and disappointed, however, in how unchallenging you were to the bank representative. She fed you their party lines and you never challenged or held her to task. I would have assumed that you might have included some of the real life stories to elicit her response or those of the banks in question. It seems that no one holds them accountable in any meaningful way. You have the power with your show to highlight hypocrisy and cruelty. Poster: Johanna C Comment: Congratulations on running this very fair and balanced report on the evils behind predatory consumer lenders. I wish and I hope that the same sort of attention could be devoted to the equally daunting and threatening college tuition creditor -- Sallie Mae. My original loan was less than $15,000 and is now more than $30,000. Unlike consumer debt the govt. does not allow you to discharge the debt via bankruptcy. After having asked for time to pay the loan, Sallie Mae grants only a certain number of breaks in making payments and then demands what it demands. In my case (theoretically)...Sallie Mae currently wants more than $250 a month regardless of whether or not I can actually pay. Since I can't discharge the debt, Sallie Mae will just go ahead and seize what it wants from my salary. If I were unemployed, however, I would be safe from the beast. The same is true of my debt to the IRS (theoretically) -- my accountant made a mistake and I ended up owing $20,000 in back taxes. You cannot discharge back taxes via bankruptcy either. I now owe more than $50,000 between Sallie and Uncle Sam -- not counting the exponential finance and late charges I am accruing from my credit cards. All this while I am working as hard as I can at a job that requires long hours and overtime. I would love to see more attention given to including Sallie Mae and the IRS into the cluster bomb called credit dynamite. -- fieldjo@aol.com Poster: Leonard Comment: Bank of America is the biggest bunch of crooks there is! I have paid off the balance of my card at least twice over (All in the name of higher interest rates and fees), and still somehow, owe the original balance. How does paying 10 grand+ (and counting) on a $5,000 balance equal 20, or 30% interest?? I like to pay my bills online, yet somehow the due dates for my B of A account always seemed to end up being on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday. Even after going online 3 or even 4 days before the due date to set up the payment, the website would somehow never be able to process the payment within the time frame before the due date, but it was more than happy to do it for the day AFTER the due date, then I get slammed with the late fee, and a higher interest rate. Even when you call them to tell them that you went online a full 4 days before the payment was due, they would politely agree with you, that yes, you did indeed go online before the due date to make your payment, but we didn't RECEIVE the payment until the day after it was due. Why does the computer care what day of the week you make the payment on? WHY does it have to be on a day that the bank is open for business? The computer doesn't know that it's Labor day, or Arbor day, or one of the other endless holidays the bank seems to take off for, or even if its a Saturday for that matter! Are the electrons in the B of A computer part of some sort of Banking Electrons Union that doesn't work on these days? I thought the whole purpose of being able to pay online was that it was fast and CONVENIENT? It's funny how I can ADD to my balance 24/7, and it goes right through immediately, but it doesn't work with the same level of expediency when trying to pay it off. I called numerous times to ask for this so-called Special Payment and interest Plan they're claiming to making so available, and every time I was told too bad,so sad. Finally, I got fed up and signed up for one of those credit consolidation services like the lady from Florida in the story did. Only AFTER B of A had accepted the proposal from them did they have the gall to send me a letter and then call me to ask if I was having trouble, then why didn't I call and ask them to help me, as they had an inhouse service for people in my very situation? They would be more than happy to sign me up for it right away! I told them EXACTLY how I felt about them and their company in no uncertain terms, and that I could go back to Queens, NY where I was born and get better terms from Guido the loan shark then I get from them now, and how is it they can get away with these things now that a lot of other folks like Guido got locked up for in the not too distant past? The sooner I'm done with these crooks and all their cards, the better. The only thing that will make me happier than when I watched these cards melt in the fireplace, will be when my balance to them reads ZERO. (Even that satisfaction of watching them burn was short lived, as my new cards magically showed up in the mail shortly thereafter to take the place of the old ones which were expiring soon.) A whole lot more needs to be done at the Congressional level to reign in these crooks, other than the lip service they're paying us now. Poster: chuck Comment: I am so tired of people crying about the fact that they are unable to live within their means. Grow up, pay cash and don't be a fool. Just because popular culture say that you need to accumulate all that is offered , does not mean that it is necessary. Everyone should not own a home, that is why rental property is available. And moreover, if you choose to buy a home & assume a mortgage, understand the paperwork that you are signing. Hire an attorney & have them clearly explain what you are getting yourself into. If you just sign an A.R.M. and think that everything will be the same from that time forward, you are just plain stupid. And for God's sake don't blame the credit card companies for your own financial irresponsibility . In the old days you would have had your legs broken if you had welshed on your debt. Reality is a hard lesson, and many Americans have been living in an unrealistic fog and need to snap out of it. Gee, it's no surprise that Obama was elected to office when there are so many lemmings that couldn't find there asshole with both hands & a mirror. Poster: Jason Comment: This is among the most important information the average card user could ever hear or read. Finanical institutions are the big bad wolf, and we can't keep opening the door for them. We should have had this type of information drilled into us as children in school! Poster: Robert Allen (robert_c_allen@yahoo.com) Comment: It is difficult for me to believe how many people can justifiably feel victimized by something they have the choice not to participate in. In particular, the Harvard Law professor who teaches contract law and yet admits to signing a credit card agreement without understanding it. How is it not Contract Law 101 to refuse to sign any document that you don't understand? PBS does a great disservice to the community by demonizing the industry for unfair practices while simultaneously ignoring the options consumers have in the matter. When a credit card company tries to change any part of a signed agreement, their customer always has the option to refuse the new terms by simply informing the company and, most important, not putting additional purchases on the card. This fact is conveniently omitted in every PBS broadcast about consumer credit. Even Frontline, which normally does an admiral job of presenting multiple aspects, gave a one-sided view. Lasting positive change in the credit card industry will only occur when more of us are willing to forego the instant gratification of acquiring debt. Taking the money and then demanding relief afterwards is no different than asking for yet another undeserved bailout. Poster: TJ Comment: B of A, as well as other major banks, insurance companies, auto makers, etc., had no qualms asking (demanding) taxpayers bail them out! Where is the taxpayer's TARP? Our Congress needs to examine and curtail the greed, and deceptive practices of the credit card industry. B of A is at the top of my list of the very culprits that have caused our current economic meltdown. Poster: Nancy Comment: I really enjoyed the show. It was very informative. I also am paying off my credit cards and not using them. I wonder if consolidation is a good solution or will it havean adverse affect on my FICA score. Poster: Yolanda Saldivar Comment: Hello: Me and my family are experiencing the same situation with credit cards, today a called Bank of America to try to negotiate a lower interest rate and they told me to call in March,(it will be a year after I applied for this credit card)and that maybe they would think about it and give me a better rate, in the mean time most of the monthly payment is for interest. We also have another problem 2nd Mortgage @ 9.5% which I have been trying to have it refinanced and can't find a bank. Thank you for addressing these problems in letting us know. It would be nice if you could have them in Spanish. Poster: Jerald Comment: I have a question. Would it make sense to use a promotional offer of a zero annual percantage rate from one credit card company to pay off another credit card company? The card that I want to pay off, a Sears mastercard, recently lowered my credit limit and I fear that their next step will be a significant increase in my interest rate. The promotional offer was made by Bank of America. In short, would such a consolidation work in my favor? Jerald Poster: Vinny Comment: Our representatives in Washington have written legislation that allows banks AND credit card companies to crush the average American with fees, assessments, and outrageous interest rates. It is sad, but Congress is starting to wake up with better consumer protection. Albeit, too little too late! Poster: Patricia Comment: I didn't realize that my checking account was linked 3 years prior to my low 3.99% interest high balance $25,000 credit card. So when my auto payment was paid the night before my direct deposit went in, Chase gave my a $1300 over-draft loan at 19.24%. I called the bank to find out what I could do to pay off the loan in full or reduce the interest rate, and they said NOTHING can be done. So when I watched your show, I called CHASE again and was told that they have no desire to help me out because there is nothing that I can do about it except pay off the full $19,000 balance. They win, I lose. Poster: Bernie Comment: We have been 20 year users of a Sears credit card. The balance has always been reasonable. Last August we purchased a new refrigerator, with ZERO interest when using the credit card. The sign on each of the appliances was broken down into monthly paymen amounts. To us monthly payments means one payment per month, 12 payments per year. Imagine our surprise when we received two bills within the same 30 month! Luckily, we opened it, as we have always set bill paying for 30-31st or 1st of the month! In looking closer to the contract, it indicated that payments would be on a 20 day schedule, not monthly, of which we were never verbally informed. Also, we received a bill on December 20th that was due NOT LATER THAN DEC 29th!! Because of the holidays, there would be no way to get a payment to them via US Mail in that time frame from North Dakota, in which case, all interest would become due and payable! Now that's just plain dirty, underhanded, unethical and inexcusable! I called and payed the payment via telephone, but had to give the bank routing number, our checking account number and check number, which I was very uncomfortable doing. When I protested saying the payment would be late and I was never paying the interest, I was told quite bluntly that the parameters for interest and payments were in the computer system and cannot be over-ridden! We will be paying off the balance in full, and cuttinmg up our Sears card, and if we choose to purchase anything from Sears again, it will most definitely be on a cash basis. They've lost a long-time customer! Poster: Frank, Boston, MA Comment: The credit card companies can often be greedy and shrewd moneylenders. Your program placed most of the blame on them. But you failed to look beyond the symptoms. The power that the credit card companies have comes from the irresponsible, ignorant and uninformed (lack of education) consumer. Who in their right mind runs up a $16,000 debt on one card? Did we see the $40,000 SUV in the driveway? The $10,000 trip to Disneyworld or the $2000 48 inch televison on the living room wall? Not everyone in the credit quick sand subscribes to the keep up with the Jones mentality which is financed with all too easy credit and debt, but we will not solve the credit mess unless we have strong and responsible citizens AND journalists that can place at least some of the blame where it truly belongs. In doing so the media will educate and enlighten the public. Is this not a big part of the PBS mission? Poster: Thomas F Lynch LCSW Comment: I was raised as a Roman Catholic and attended Catholic Schools and Universities until Grad School. I was always aware of the sin of Usury from this experience. It was part of my culture and heritage. It to me is still a very serious sin although not strssed anymore by any church that I know. My understanding is that historically governments treated usury as a serious crime. I have a simple solution to the credit card criminals invoved in the crime of usury. Pass a law that makes it a crime to practise usury by limiting the amount of interest that can be charged. A loan shark in the worst case scenarios of the annals of the Mafia did not charge 29% interest. If a limit is placed on the amount of interest that is considered usurous, the problem could be erased, and I dont think that credit card companies would go out of business by charging consumers reasonable rates that also could be profitable. Poster: Ruth Comment: After watching your show, I called my credit card company and found out that I had been exploited for the past seven to eight years. just making the minimum payment without making any impart. I am self employed and my bills are really had to pay. the other issue is that my balances never went down. for a credit transfer balance of $5,000 making payments of $130 every month for 7-8years. i still have a balance of $4,500. i need your imput on this. Poster: Giovanni Rossi Comment: I and my wife don't have any problems with the credit cards, we pay on time and we receive money back for using a credit card. The program NOW is very interesting and useful to ask regulations that of course the credit card's Companies are trying to block. There is an aspect that also has to be point out: many times the costumers are irresponsible, they spend more than they have, believing in the fable. When I see in the interview the women saying she is behind the payment and she has a SUV, or she has spent to much money to visit her children, I am disappointed. The practices of the Credits Card's Companies are immoral, but I cannot avoid the bitter taste of many people who are irresponsible in their spending Poster: Lynn Comment: What happened to Sean is exactly what happened to me. I applied earlier this year to BOA to extend my credit limit and utilize a low rate offer sent to me by the credit card company. I was successful and did subsequently move other balances to the card with the low rate. A short time later BOA lowered my credit limit without cause to just over the amount that I had on my balance. Like Sean says this caused a negative impact to my FICO score. I paid the card in full and I promised them that I would tell everyone I know about their practices. What bothers me is if they had given me the slightest notice of their intentions I could have paid the balance prior to their action and saved my score. How is the average consumer to deal with them if they play unfairly. Poster: Rod Comment: True story. Citibank, customer for 10 or so years, never late on a payment. My rate was about 6-7%. One month I accidentally wrote a wrong amount on my check that was off by one penny! On my next bill i noticed the rate had jumped to 29%. I immediately phoned Citibank and pleaded my case, highlighting my history and creditworthiness but to no avail. One penny Poster: harold Comment: Oh to have credit card balances like most of your respondents. We started several years ago with minimal amounts on a few cards, now on 30 cards we have combined balances of $220,000. The irony is that we have no large drafts for frivolous stuff like Ferraris, etc. Do you have others in this category? Poster: Fred Comment: Many homeowners have tapped into their home equity in the past to pay off credit cards. This is no longer possible due to the decrease in home values. We will see an increased number of foreclosues causing lower home values and a spiral down from here. I agree with Elizabeth Warren that this could be 'the big one'. With a large increase in unemployment, increased use of credit cards will follow and we may be in for a very negative impact on middle class America. Forget about buying a new car, new home appliances and many other non-essential consumer products, which of course will further adversely impact the unemployment picture. Poster: Fred Comment: Many homeowners have tapped into their home equity in the past to pay off credit cards. This is no longer possible due to the decrease in home values. We will see an increased number of foreclosues causing lower home values and a spiral down from here. I agree with Elizabeth Warren that this could be 'the big one'. With a large increase in unemployment, increased use of credit cards will follow and we may be in for a very negative impact on middle class America. Forget about buying a new car, new home appliances and many other non-essential consumer products, which of course will further adversely impact the unemployment picture. Poster: RIchard Hillebrand Comment: I am in the situation that was depicted on Credit Crunch. I am living on a Veterans Disability. Knowing full well that I am on a fixed income my living expenses and rent have out paced my income. I have made some foolish purchases but all were investments I thought. I have three major credit cards, one being Bank of America. I have most statements are E-statements. Without a paper statement in hand I just ignore the amounts. I am going back to paper statements so I can see in hand my charges. I think this is a way to get credit card holders to just pay their monthly payment without seeing the interest rate. I am about to declare Chapter 13 as I have no way to make more income in my situation. I have fallen from a high pinacle to this. I can feel the stress every day. I am afraid to contact a credit counciling services as I hear so many people being ripped off and nothing being done for them. Poster: Sandra Comment: I had the same experience of having two credit cards closed as I had not used them in several months. What do you think of debt settlement companies to reduce the debt in about half for a fee of $5000.00, one quoted to me? Poster: carolyn Comment: I hope the Spurlocks in the credit crunch piece are able to get themselves back on track, but I do wonder about their spending. They were interviewed in front of what looked like a huge flat screen tv with dozens if not hundreds of DVDs on their shelves. This may have nothing to do with the jump in their credit card interest rate, but it does make me wonder about things people consider necessities vs luxuries these days. Poster: Erik Comment: Boo-hoo. All the people I saw were clearly living well beyond their means. People who can't afford their payments and companies who go broke are equally deserving of their fates. Poster: Desiree Comment: Several years ago (2001) I had begun to pay ahead and pay double on my credit cards. For 3 or for months, the companies all held my payments until they were late and put me in delinquent status, over limit and expected all those fees. They tripled my interest rates and (no surprise) my credit score plummeted. I lost my job and could not find work. I was getting close to paying everything off, because I did have a good job, plus a second. By doubling up on everything and not charging anything, I had planned paying off 1 or 2 cards in the next 18 months, and the rest in another 2 or 3 years. I checked with friends and online and found out this was some scheme by the credit card companies. Because of what the card companies did, I lost my drive to pay them, tried to reason with them and when they would not charge back the excessive charges, I quit paying altogether. Now, everything except 2 judgments should be removed from my credit report in the next 6 months, however the judgments can remain 13 years and I have no recourse. I am in my 50's now, so it is so difficult to find work. Poster: Sean Comment: After watching the broadcast and applying it to my family's own situation, I cannot agree more that something has to be done, and done soon. We have a substantial amount of credit card debt in the tens of thousands, but we stopped using our cards several months ago. We always pay our bill, and are paying down the debt (more than the minimums). In other words, at the moment, we manage. However, that could all change very quickly, and we are already seeing signs of that. For example, we had a card at a very low rate, and I think we were carrying a $12K and some change balance, but had a $20K limit. The company, with no warning, went and dropped the limit to $13K. Although we did not intend to use the card, it has had a negative impact on our FICO based on what credit we had available. In another example, I had a card with a low rate that had a zero $ balance. It was closed by the issuer without warning. It had not been used in a few months, so I guess they just figured close it. These companies want a balance, and they do want to push people to the limit to get the maximum amount of profit. But, the fact that they can change terms for no reason at all greatly concerns me. If we have an interest rate increase on a couple of cards, change in minimum payment, or another lowering of available credit, our options to pay off these debts may dissapear quickly. |
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